The Great Eagle Mystery

[Sardy]

Originally Posted by A_Brandybuck

I think, that the real question concerning the eagles is not, if they would make it to fly to the Orodruin with Frodo and the Ring, but if they are allowed to interfere in the events of Middle-Earth.
It has been often posted, that the Eagles are the messengers of Manwe in Middle-Earth. Consequently they are under the control of Manwe. But we know, that the Valar, of course including Manwe, sent the Istari to Middle-Earth to assist the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth in their fight against the Dark Lord Sauron.
But the Valar didn't send the Istari to lead the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth against Sauron and consequently play the main-role in defeating Sauron. So why shouldn't the same rules count for the Eagles?

When the Valar wanted the Eagles to play a main-role in freeing Middle-Earth, why did they make the efforts that the Istari were diminished in power and their mission had only supporting character?

But flying with Frodo to Mount Doom means exactly taking a(the) main-role in defeating Sauron.

Agreed. None of the other explanations (tired eagles, eagle zappers, etc.) make much sense and seem to be grasping at straws. On a side note, I disagree with Frodo needing to make the long jouney in order to be "tempered" enough to release the Ring---I believe the opposite. The Ring's power over Frodo grew with every passing moment of the journey, until it nearly had him in the end. I think that Frodo was in much better physical and psychological---and spiritual---condition ealier in his journey...

I prefer to consider the Eagles as messengers of Manwe and not wanting to take an active role in changing the course of history in Middle-earth. Their actions (rescuing Gandalf from Orthanc could be viewed as an "issue" between Istari that never should have occured in the first place---and rescuing Frodo and Sam from Mount Doom as action after the conclusion of the war had been determined).

One question though: What of the Eagles involvement in The Battle of Five Armies? (Other, of course, than that Tolkien had not adequately thought out his mythology at that point...)

Also, the Eagles mandate of non-involvement aside, there is a point about them vs. Nazgul that I would like to make. At the Council of Elrond (where the decision to have an Eagle carry Frodo would have been made) the ringwraiths had just been washed away at the Ford. When Frodo asks if that is the end of them, Gandalf replies, "No, their horses must have perished, and without them they are crippled. But the Ringwraiths themselves cannot be so easily destroyed. But there is nothing more to fear from them at present." If the Eagles had been an option, the timing could not have been better---the Ringwraiths were crippled and far from their Fell beasts. And I know of no other winged forces of Sauron...