How "Lord of the Rings" should have ended
I can't believe that I, Lord of the Rings geek that I am, hadn't thought of this before. Here's a How it Should Have Ended cartoon for the movie version Tolkien's saga (though it could be applied to the books just as easily):
Comments
Grishnash, remember that at first the Nazgul didn't have their flying mounts. They were on horseback until they lost their horses in the river near Rivendell. Then their spirits went back to Mordor and they got re-outfitted. If they had flown on eagles, directly from Rivendell, the Nazgul would still be flightless by the time they got to Mount Doom.
I always wanted to see the scene where the Nine come back to Mordor having failed in their mission. I'd love to hear old Sauron chewing out his flunkies.
If Gandalf was riding on one eagle, I think they'd have a pretty good chance of getting through. We know from the time when the Nazgul was coming after Farimir as he rode back towards Gondor that Gandalf can shoot white rays of energy out of his hands that can repel Nazgul. And we know Aragorn has the mojo to drive them off, too, from the encounter at Weathertop. We also know that Legolas can shoot down their steeds. So together, I think they'd have a pretty good chance of breaking through.
Of course you could argue that Gandalf only gained the cool ray power when he "gained a level" and became Gandalf the White, which he would not have had the experience points to do if he hadn't fought the Balor I mean Balrog in Moria. But I still think they would have had a good shot, especially if they got Elrond and Galadriel to provide magical artillery cover.