 “At that moment Gandalf lifted his staff, and crying aloud he smote the bridge before him. The staff broke asunder and fell from his hand. A blinding sheet of white flame sprang up. The bridge cracked. Right at the Balrog’s feet it broke, and the stone upon which it stood crashed into the gulf…” |
The Bridge of Khazad-dum
Woah! So, now I’m like little Fred Savage’s character in “the Princess Bride,” “Look, I’m telling you! You read it wrong! Gandalf can’t die!”
Okay so this chapter brings out the action…and the dreadful. Orcs, trolls (that are far more scary than the retards in the Hobbit) and to top it all off:
A Balrog!
This Balrog also comes across as more terrifying than the Balrogs in the Silmarillion.
The foreshadowing clearly indicated that something bad would happen to Gandalf in Moria, but somehow it didn’t stick. So, when he fell, it was a total surprise.
So now, I’m trying to figure out how he survives the fall. I have to admit that I heard a long time ago, I think when I was just starting the Silmarillion, that Gandalf is actually a Maia of some kind…which could make his survival possible…and explain his longevity.
But then someone also said Gandalf is like a guide. So, maybe his future role will be as a spirit-guide of sorts, like Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars.
till next time, keep thinking,
Mark-Edmond Howell
Kanazawa, Japan
