re: Laundry list of LOTR questions

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The elven rings were never touched by Sauron. They were used to heal and preserve Middle Earth which had been corrupted by Morgoth and Sauron, as long as Sauron didn’t have the One Ring.

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Yep.

The bearers of the three elven rings were Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel. At the end of LOTR, all three went over seas to he Gray Havens, leaving Middle Earth forever. Another reason why magic faded from the world.

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As a very casual watcher and reader, I've always wondered what happened to all the human/elf/dwarf rings and did they do anything at all anyway?

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The 9 Rings the Nazgul had, the 7 Rings were all over the place (Sauron I believe captured 2 of them), and as for the 3 Gandalf had one, Galadriel had another, and Elrond had the last one. As for their fate, they were bound to the power of the One, and once it was destroyed the other Rings lost their power.

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Why did no one know Moria had been sacked? The dead bodies look like they've been there for 30 years and skeltonized.

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There's no Internet/phone service in Middle Earth.

Each Dwarf settlement was essentially a separate kingdom, with not much in the way of interaction (before retaking the Lonely Mountain, dwarves inhabited the Iron Hills and the Blue Mountains).

Balin and other members of the 13 from The Hobbit tried to re-establish Moria in 2989 (Third Age) and were wiped out in TA 2994. The Fellowship got there in TA 3019 and while the movie made it look like it was a complete shock as to what happened, the dwarves knew something likely bad had gone down there. Also, remember that any group that would have gone down there to check things out would likely have run afoul of the orcs that were in Moria, the Elves in Lorien, or the forces that had crept back into and around Dol Guldur.

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Why were goblins still occupying the caves if a fricking Balrog was roaming the hallways.

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Balrog was essentially the "lord" of Moria with the orcs his uneasy servants. This Balrog survived the fall of Angband and the rending of the World and by some measures was the second most powerful evil being in Middle Earth other than Sauron.

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How did Gollum get across the bridge a Khazad Dume when it was broken by Gandalf?

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There were many other chambers and vents throughout Moria by which he could have escaped.

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Why werent the Urak-hai created before and why the hell are they growing in some earth pod.

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Orcs were the bastardized creation of Melkor/Morgoth in his attempt to copy the Elves. Just as there are different types of Elves, there are different types of Orcs. All orcs were/are "born" this way.

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Why did Sauromon turn so quickly? Did he honestly think he could co-exist or defeat Sauron?

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He didn't. It took time. He thought if he attained the One Ring, he could challenge and supplant Sauron.

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How did the Witch King beat Gandalf so easily? He's not even an angelic being like Sarumon, Sauron, the Balrogs and others, yet broke his staff. And speaking of the staff, why the wizards sometimes seem powerless without them and then sometimes don't seem to need them at all.

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He didn't in the book. They had to create a "physical" heavy for Gandalf to do battle with since Sauron still did not have physical form.

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And lastsly, what the hell did the one ring actually do besides cloud men's minds? Is that it? And why did Sauron wear it? Did it make him physically any stronger? He is the same being as the wizards, but he was seemingly far more powerful? Is that all because of the ring?

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The ring gave commensurate power to the wearer. The more powerful the wearer, the more power it gave (and the more it corrupted). That's why Gandalf did not want it.

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Hasn't there been some Hollywood talk of making a few movies out of Silmarillion?

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There are always rumblings, but there's rights issues with it (Christopher actually finished it and got it published, so it wasn't subject to the same agreements his father had agreed to before he died.

Also, while it is ripe for some epic scenes, it would be damned difficult to actually adapt it to the big screen because it is not a cohesive narrative, but a collection of stories. I would imagine Amazon could do something like they are doing with LOTR (which as I understand it is Second/early Third Age LINK / )

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I would imagine Amazon could do something like they are doing with LOTR (which as I understand it is Second/early Third Age LINK / )

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I believe this is what I heard. Guess they worked the rights out somehow? Weird that its in post production and no premier date.....COVID maybe. Wouldn't think that would impact a TV premier.

You gotta remember also that between the Hobbit and the LotR is 60ish years.

And The One Ring on top of being a massively cursed object if you weren't Sauron was effectively his invincible and endless life and even without the ring Sauron was a potent and overpowering force who was forced to be be essential a fleet-in-being because if he really left port, he would be vulnerable. That's why he's parked in the tower and armies stationed around mt doom, chipping away at the kingdoms of man, instead of conquering middle earth in a leisurely stroll.

Even though Aragorn's ancestor massively fricked up. He still effectively made it a tense creeping stalemate until some Hobbits finally got in on the act.

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Why didn’t they just let an eagle carry Frodo and Sam directly to Mordor ? Drop them off by the front door and wait and boom it’s over

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Nazgul and the Eye of Sauron would strike them down.

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Nazgul and the Eye of Sauron would strike them down.

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This. And it was established the Hobbit that they aren't just random beasts of burden to be ridden whenever like a steed. They were immensely proud and powerful creatures that had to be shown a lot of deference by someone the stature of Gandalf.

Also in the Hobbit the Eagles made it known that they didn't even like being threatened by the long bows of men protecting their sheep. They aren't all invincible beings that are immune to sharp objects.

No worries he does go to Aman. After Rosie dies(and they have tons of kids) he goes to the grey havens and sails the straight road like the other ring bearers.