Quote:
Originally Posted by Boromir88
Could the Balrog use the Ring? Yes. I suspect it could, in the sense that anyone could use the Ring.
Would? Is a bit of a trickier question. The Balrog had fled from Morgoth's service and taken up abode in the Misty Mountains. Where he seemed pretty content to just sleep deep beneath the world until Dwarves came hi-hoing down into his new home. Balrog and Orcs drive out dwarves. Balrog doesn't try to gain more power or control. He just goes back to the nice, dark place he found in the Misty Mountains. Until the Fellowship comes through, and yet again he's disturbed. Yet again, Balrog and orcs drive out the intruders. Only this time he gets into an all time epic battle with Gandalf.
The Ring tempts with supreme power. It tempts with the power of the bearer to overthrow Sauron and fulfill the bearer's deepest wishes. For Boromir it was being the savior of Gondor. For Sam it was to turn Gorgoroth into a garden. But the key link is, the Ring tempts with power, and the supreme power to defeat Sauron.
The Balrog had no interest in joining Sauron and had no interest in defeating Sauron. Quite frankly, the Balrog didn't care. He just wanted a nice, simple retirement under Moria. When Durin's Bane is disturbed out of retirement, his objective is to restore it by driving out the intruders.
So could the Balrog use the ring? Yes. Would Durin's Bane? I'd say no (but that is just imho  )
Durin's Bane did command the orcs. Which is not too surprising, since as Morgoth's greatest servants, the Balrogs were the captains of Morgoth's armies. |
This is a kinder, gentler balrog than I'm used to.
In the Council of Elrond, there was talk of sending the Ring back to Tom Bombadil, one individual so powerful that he can ignore the temptation of the ring and not be likely to go wild messing up the whole of Middle Earth.
Might they also have considered giving it to Durin's Bane? I mean, if all he wants to do is to be left alone in his hole in the ground, why not give him the Ring and let Sauron just try to take it away?
I'm not really serious about this option. Even a balrog might be tempted and corrupted by the Ring. I'm just not sure of Boromir88's understanding of balrog psychology