Durins Bane - Tumblr Posts
"The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"
2021
...suddenly it drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall; but still Gandalf could be seen, glimmering in the gloom; he seemed small, and altogether alone: grey and bent, like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm.
-"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", by J.R.R. Tolkien
Behold! Unarguably the most iconic scene in the whole of the Lord of the Rings: Gandalf the Grey's battle against the Balrog of Morgoth upon the Bridge of Khazad-dûm.
This scene embodies everything that makes the fantasy genre great. It's a classic, mythical clash of good and evil, a confrontation between magical equals (more or less) of opposing sides. Yet Gandalf, alone on the bridge, appears to be small and weak against the monstrous power of the Balrog. At the same time it's this contrast that makes Gandalf's stand all the more courageous, and it's through his bravery that his inner power is revealed and matches that of his seemingly greater enemy.
Long before Game of Thrones this scene also provides with a devastating plot twist, when Gandalf, after having cast down the Balrog, gets dragged into the abyss with it. At the time I first watched it as a kid, I don't think I've ever felt as shocked by any film I had watched since. Already kind of bummed that my favorite villains (the Nazgûl) had been seemingly destroyed, I was completely out of words to watch my favorite hero perish too. I remember having doubts at this point on wether I liked a film that killed off all of my favorite people, but I was undeniably very involved in the story indeed.
It's easy to overlook the significance of Gandalf's sacrifice because of his later return. But at this time he was not only laying down his life for the Company, he was also sacrificing any hope of personal success in his mission on Middle-earth. With his demise the Order of the Istari would have effectively failed. His last stand at the bridge was a very courageous act of self-sacrifice and of faith in his comrades to carry on the struggle after his passing... and given his divine nature and his commitment to the cause entrusted to him, that sacrifice and that faith would be rewarded.
"Battle of the Maiar"
2022
"Long time I fell. Long I fell, and he fell with me."
-"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", by J.R.R. Tolkien
Without question or doubt, my favorite scene in The Two Towers is the opening: the flashback to Gandalf's fall at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, his plunge beyond the furthest depths of the mines of the dwarves and into the very foundations of the earth, all whilst locked in a fierce battle to the death with the Balrog of Morgoth.
I challenge anyone who has read the novel if they say they imagined something near as grand and epic as the duel we saw on the screen. Everything about this sequence is perfect: from the way Gandalf grabs his sword in midair, to the way the chasm lights up as he catches up to the Balrog, giving the impression as if he were falling into a fiery hell; the phenomenal chorus, the enormous underground lake that opens up at the end of their fall that makes the Balrog appear like a little speck of fire in the darkness.
It's a great clash of powers at the heart of the Earth itself, a battle worthy of the legends of the Elder Days. And as far as I'm concerned, the greatest, most epic duel ever put to screen.