Seriously, Why Doesn’t Gandalf Call In The Eagles All The Time

22 responses to “Seriously, Why Doesn’t Gandalf Call In The Eagles All The Time”

1. 

   bagmup

   January 16, 2014 at 2:04 pm

   Because he usually runs the support killstreaks…

   Reply
   1. 

      nunyabuismess

      January 16, 2014 at 2:58 pm

      ROFL LOL ROFL good one 😛

      Reply
2. 

   shadow

   January 16, 2014 at 2:13 pm

   The Desolation of Smaug could have a laugh track and it wouldn’t be out of place one bit.

   Reply
3. 

   cufcfan616

   January 16, 2014 at 2:14 pm

   I’m not too fussed about the eagles not taking them all the way to the lonely mountain at the end of the first film. What I was perplexed about was why the hell did they leave them on top of a peak surrounded by forest? Now they had to climb down, go through the forest…couldn’t they’ve dropped them off in a nice open field somewhere?

   I assume that Gandalf doesn’t call them in to carry him everywhere because he doesn’t own them and is calling in favours. They’re not a taxi service and Gandalf probably doesn’t want to abuse them or something wizardy like that

   Reply
   1. 

      l-o-quince

      January 16, 2014 at 4:44 pm

      Ask Tolkien why they dropped them off there, that’s in the book. Probably as you said though, they were only called upon to get them ‘out of the fire’ as it were, and not as a delivery service.

      Reply
      1. 

         tsengan

         January 16, 2014 at 5:38 pm

         It’s easier for a massive eagle to get a wind current at the top of a mountain than an open field.

         Reply
   2. 

      shaoken

      January 16, 2014 at 8:41 pm

      In the books at least they were exhausted at carrying the dwarves so far and dropped them off at the first suitable location.

      Reply
4. 

   neo_kaiser

   January 16, 2014 at 2:15 pm

   Actually, there are plenty of good reasons why the Eagles weren’t used in the Lord of the Rings. I don’t know anything about the Hobbit and why they couldn’t be used.

   Reply
5. 

   popdart5

   January 16, 2014 at 2:25 pm

   Spoilers for the Hobbit trilogy as I’m about to use book knowledge which may/may not occur in the third film:

   The Eagles show up in a pretty big way at the Battle of Five Armies led by their king, Gwaihir, and this is likely to be the big climax of the third film. Gandalf can’t really ask Gwaihir for favours all of the time because it would be like asking Elrond to give them all magic items.

   Reply
   1. 

      weresmurf

      January 16, 2014 at 2:31 pm

      Yeah but instead of saying ‘Hey can you take us from here to the top of that really tall rock we have to climb down from’ why doesn’t he just say

      “Can you take us from Bilbos to Smaugs lair? Ta dude!”

      50 years later…

      “Can you take us from the Elvish council to Mt Doom? Ta dude!”

      Reply
      1. 

         morto

         January 16, 2014 at 3:26 pm

         It goes more into the Eagles in the Silmarillion but basically I’m pretty sure it’s to do with the fact that the Eagles are their own noble race and not at the beck and call of humans. Pretty sure they view themselves as above all of us and just dont give a sh*t if Sauron wins.

         Plus if an Elf can see a normal bird in the sky from ages away how quick do you think Sauron would spot a massive eagle with a hobbit on its back and just send the Nazgul at them.

         Reply
   2. 

      namiwakiru

      January 16, 2014 at 3:25 pm

      Pretty much.
      It is explained in the lore to that effect somewhere.

      Reply
   3. 

      Bemused

      January 16, 2014 at 6:10 pm

      as the eagles are pretty much favoured by Manwe, head of the Valar, i’ve always seen it as the ultimate favor that can be pulled in by Gandalf, himself a Maia (Olorin) though human in this incarnation.

      as with all ultimate powers, they are happy to help a lil bit but dont expect them to take away all the hard parts. See how many elves n such died in the Silmarillion due to the Oath of Feanor, which admittedly was a fairly hard-core oath which called upon a high power than even the Valar. The Valar said they’d never step in to assist but eventually did so and wrecked up the place, matching a previous effort to take the war to Morgoth (Sauron’s boss) themselves where they, not surprisingly, wrecked up the place.

      It all comes back to The Silmarillion 🙂

      Reply
6. 

   stealmoreoldjokes

   January 16, 2014 at 2:29 pm

   Thanks for making the same observation that 10million other people have pointed out 10million times. Do someone get paid to regurgitate this old plot hole?

   Reply
7. 

   decoy

   January 16, 2014 at 2:32 pm

   They stayed away from humans because they were usually fired upon out of fear or sport. So they took them to the outskirts of where they needed to go.

   Reply
   1. 

      transientmind

      January 16, 2014 at 2:50 pm

      *slaps a hunter*
      This is why we can’t have nice things.

      Reply
   2. 

      elthaco

      January 16, 2014 at 3:10 pm

      Agree with this one. In the Hobbit just after they take Bilbo’s party to their eerie, it’s mentioned that the leader of the great eagles wouldnt risk their kin flying over human lands. As @decoy said humans are jerks and hunt the giant eagles.

      Reply
8. 

   nunyabuismess

   January 16, 2014 at 2:59 pm

   my thought was . they don’t work for free haha

   Reply
9. 

   jacka

   January 16, 2014 at 3:34 pm

   Maybe it’s more a question of a lack of suitable moths.

   Reply
10. 

    googieknights875

    January 16, 2014 at 3:34 pm

    He trades the eagles favours for miles and once he has used up all his miles he has to do them another favour before they will take him any further

    Reply
11. 

    valhalla

    January 16, 2014 at 4:01 pm

    The eagles aren’t salves…

    Reply
    1. 

       tsengan

       January 16, 2014 at 5:40 pm

       Awesome wordplay. By mistake I’m assuming because they weren’t slaves but they were a salve at times when the heroes needed salvation.

       Reply
    2. 

       a2113

       January 16, 2014 at 6:42 pm

       True, have you ever tried to rub an eagle over a injured arm or leg..NOT a good idea, they REALLY dont like it..

       Reply
12. 

    thatsphresh1

    January 16, 2014 at 4:23 pm

    Let’s be honest though, what else have the eagles got going on? Are they busy doing some important paper work, or are they just making huge nests and dicking around until Gandalf needs a lift.

    Reply
    1. 

       shaoken

       January 16, 2014 at 8:37 pm

       Carrying people around is very tiring for them. In the books at least carrying them to the cliff they get dropped off at the end of An Unexpected Journey was all they could manage. Plus the whole “humans shoot them down” thing.

       Reply
13. 

    poweredbyme

    January 16, 2014 at 6:42 pm

    Am I the only one who still waiting for an epic LOTR style war scene to happen in the Hobbit?

    I have not read the hobbit so I’m not sure what will happen in the 3rd.

    1 and 2 were both meh, Kinda wish they came out before LOTR so it built up to all that epicness

    Reply
    1. 

       fletcher

       January 16, 2014 at 6:53 pm

       Towards the end of The Hobbit there is something called ‘The Battle of Five Armies’. So look forward to that.

       Reply
       1. 

          poweredbyme

          January 16, 2014 at 6:55 pm

          awesome cheers

          Reply
14. 

    fletcher

    January 16, 2014 at 6:52 pm

    They’re sentient beings, not slaves. I doubt they would help all the time if Gandalf called on them constantly

    Reply