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Originally Posted by Mansun
I think we will have to agree to disgree on the above - I am of the belief that Tolkein threw in the added demonic force for the WK so as to save his credibility of being some sort of threat to Gandalf the White, which might not have otherwise looked like the case.
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Since when did you speak for everyone in the thread? Also, if Tolkien was anything with his stories, it was picky. If Tolkien was going to make that confrontation, he would make it have meaning, not just some page filler.
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Originally Posted by Mansun
If Mordor wasn't so easily infront in terms of numbers etc ahead of Gondor then I doubt if Gandalf would have been as anxious of the WK. I believe in battles of this sort the human on the Good side needs confidence to see out his full potential. This applies to the Bad side too - even the WK had in the past been shaken in confidence after the battle with Gandalf at Weathertop, & the narrow escape with Frodo's enchanted blade.
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Gandalf never said he was dismayed by Mordor's armies, he was grim and doubtful only when talking about him fighting the Witch-King mano-e-mano. The Witch-King wasn't shaken when fighting Gandalf, and anyone would be slighty dismayed that they almost got killed by a specific weapon to kill them. Even then, he recovered pretty quickly from that.
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Originally Posted by Mansun
As for the Balrog encounter, the movie potrays things slightly differently in that Gandalf does not contest with it until it reaches the bridge; in the book Gandalf has already ''met his match & had been nearly destroyed'' by then after ''doing all he could'' - at this stage he did not know his nemisis but admitted it was one which never gave him such a challenge compared to anything else before (therefore including the encounter with all nine Nazgul).
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Yes, but when Gandalf was Gandalf the White (and thus stronger than Gandalf the Grey) He doubted that he could defeat the Witch-King in one-on-one combat. Therefore, the Witch-King was not at full power at Weathertop.
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Originally Posted by Mansun
Tolkein never got to show (out of choice) whether the powered-up WK had the power in him to match a Balrog, but just consider the scenario of a Balrog being defeated as easiliy as the WK was by Eowyn & Merry - impossible as it would be far too strong physically as well as through it's sorcerous armoury.
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If the Balrog was stabbed in the knee by a blade specifically made to cripple and kill it, I could very well see that happening. That was the catch with the Witch-King's death: it was a surprise attack that was done by quite possibly the most stealthy race in all of Middle-Earth with a powerful blade made to kill the Witch-King. If Merry's blade had an evil opposite, the same thing could have happened to Gandalf.