The Sauron Strategies: One war to win them all, except...: Older and Fouler Things

» proudfoot - Older and Fouler Things

In response to message posted by desertblue:

The exact quote is, "There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the Earth." There's a line with resonance, right? Gandalf referred to the Underdeeps, a system of caverns that extended for an unknown distance and depth below the Misty Mountains. The Underdeeps were a remnant of Morgoth's time on Arda, and inhabited by his twisted creations. The Dwarves of Moria broke into the Underdeeps while they were following a rich vein of mithril. That is where they found the refuge of the Balrog. Or maybe it found them first... The Watcher in the Water was another creature from the Undeeps. Somehow it found its way out of the depths and into the pool by the West-Gate. It dammed the stream and created a large pool that blocked access into and out of the gate. When the Dwarves of Balin's colony tried to escape from the Orcs, they fled to the West Gate, and found the Watcher lurking there. They could not get out... What manner of creature the Watcher was is not told, but Tolkien meant it to be a periphery menace and a warning, like the sea-monsters in Beowulf. "Here be monsters..." The Watcher grabbed Frodo first, and it was not an accident. The Ring had a nasty habit of drawing unwanted attention. The Watcher didn't have to be intelligent, just feel an impulse to grab a particular person. The movie showed more of the creature than the text, but that was just WETA showing off.

-- posted by proudfoot