Balin's Mission to Moria Explained

I personally think balin took just atleast 2500 Dwarves to Moria knowing how big it was and it would probably be roughly 1000 warriors with the others being scholars miners masons explorers engineers and builders with there being roughly 1000 Dwarves in each the East and Northern parts of the kingdom those parts were said to be under Dwarven control and safe and the other 500 loosely spread throughout the Western and Southern parts still exploring and re mapping those parts of the kingdom it was said those parts were not under Dwarven control and still had orcs and trolls in them

Great video with lots of detail. Balin put himself in a position to be trapped. Should secured the east gate inside and the area outside, not stray too far from it, and have larger forces of dwarves come to reinforce, support, build fortifications, and a secret escape route, perhaps a secret passage around the east gate to slip behind any orcs attacking them?

I quite like hearing about the orcs strategizing and being smart about their actions. Not attacking when the dwarves first entered, making the damn etc Not just mindless monsters.

Ori is the reason why we have the most epic line from Gandalf.
"THEY ARE COMING!" 😮

Per tolkeins style, it needed to be tried, and if failed, failed almost to success even still. thinking as tolkein may have, the race had to try and fail, so that the way could be ready.

There is a question that has bothered me for decades, since I first read LOTR in the 1970's: Balin and his companions re-took Khazad-dum in TA 2989, and for the next 5 years, messages were sent to Erebor, until Balin's death on November 10, TA 2994. The orcs, who vastly outnumbered the dwarves, then began an all-out assault, and within a few days, the colony was completely wiped out; there were no survivors to transmit news of the disaster back to Erebor. The next reference to Balin's attempt to re-take Moria, comes on October 25, TA 3018, at the Council of Elrond, when Gloin reports that Dain II has sent him to Elrond to try and get any news of Balin that Elrond might have. At least 23 years passed since the last messages from Balin reached Erebor, before Gloin sets out to make the journey to Imladris. Now here's the question: Why didn't Dain send someone to check up on Balin sooner? Like within 2 or 3 years after the messages stopped? I've never read anywhere, of an explanation for this seeming lack of concern on the part of Dain. Maybe this question is a plot element that JRRT never thought of, or didn't think important enough to write about. Or is there some answer to this question in his letters and notes that I've not read?

It's been awhile but I always felt like Moria should have been revisited.

What I mean is that strategically it was a major road that armies could use to traverse the mountains with stockpiles of mithril weapons, armor, and raw metal.
It seemed to me that after gandalf reported the Balrog was no more the elves should have sent a contingency to deal with the orc.
The mines are large, there are many orc, the west gate and the watcher would have to be delt with and the east gate bridge repaired but these are not impossible obstacles.

I have a question though. If the west gate was sealed how did the orc damn the river to create the lake outside?

Even gollum couldn't find a western exit iirc.

Balin got cocky, should known better

:D<3

Is anyone else really bothered by the way the dwarves look in the Hobbit live action films?

I've never heard a real answer, and the text doesn't have one except for Gimli stating that he is sure the sound is that of a hammer, but I've always thought the tapping sound in Fellowship might have been the spirit of Balin warning them.

Great episode. Yes, these people's livelihoods should not be encroached upon

Is there a video of the successful Moria retaking?

Thanks for this. I never read the book but just saw the movies a couple of times. My hearing isn't great and they talk so backwards I had a hell of a time understanding what was going on. I never got even half these details so this is really helpful. Next time they come on I'll probably like the films better. A+ boys!

Balin is a beloved Tolkien character, but perhaps the love we have for him as a character can cloud our judgment on what his true intentions were when he took up the quest to reclaim Moria. Balin's quest was fueled by the rumors of the riches left in Moria. The haste at which he was quick to declare victory and declare himself Lord of Moria even with Orcs still present in Moria is indicative of a very desperate man with a limited time frame. Balin was royalty, he had a slim legitimate claim to the throne and he must have thought of his quest as his last chance to prove his royalty. His death is somehow poetic because he visited the Mirrormere Lake that the first Durin gazed into and saw a crown of stars on his head that signified his right to rule and set up his kingdom there. Balin must have been weighed down by thoughts of his illegitimate rulership and visited the lake to seek any signs that can prove he is indeed a legitimate ruler of Moria. His death at the lake, however, was the outcome. A fitting end to a beloved character. I would like to believe when he gazed into the lake he saw the doom that awaited his quest and accepted his fate.

Thank you for moving the live content to another channel. I don't have hours and hours to sit and listen to random ramblings that take forever to get to the point - if any point is to be had - so moving that type of content elsewhere is appreciated.

Gotta risk it for the biscuit

Of course, the strange thing was that the dwarves would have thought that they could reclaim Khazad-dum in the first place. As I recall it, after the final battle in the war with the orcs, Dain himself warned that Durin's Bane was still inside. And their own folk were in such small numbers that even a bunch of orcs with no special help were able to kill them all. Why wasn't Balin's expedition considered a suicide mission?

lol i've always thought Balin and party was shockingly stupid. robert, you make many excellent points - all was going well for the dwarves. but like, where'd the balrog go? LOL did he just wander off? and the WitW? how'd that conversation with dain go? "yo son, i wanna go retake moria." / "ummmmmmmmmmm the balrog though? and the watcher in the water?" / "EH." / "alright have fun then." :)

Was it Ori's skeletal corpse holding that book that Gandalf finds? In Fellowship of The Ring, Gandalf does read the words from the book, "Here lies Balin", unless of course Ori and Balin died in the same room and Ori wrote that specific quote in the book.

There should be a movie Balin lord of moria

They should make a movie about that

Such a nice video without rotten background music. Terrific!

Tbh, the way Tolkien lets them die is really not good i find. Killed by a orc archer which he didnt even see? So a random or just chilling? Wtf

How did they have colonies if their numbers didn't really change

What is your source or sources for this? I'm not asking critically.

..play on the word "crematoria"?

I could watch a movie just about Balins expidition they could make it so well, obviously it has to be dark

Lord of Moria ... for 5 years ... neat... i always thought they got killed as they entered .... glad they had their fun in there too

What happend to the dwarven race after that the ring was destroyed in the last movie?

Why did the orcs not mine Moria's vast riches for themselves. and craft their own Mithril armor? Was it harmful to them in some way?

I want that book!

Lord of the rings online maps are the best!

That was awesome!! Great job!

J R R Tolkien knows the power of tragedy to draw readers into the tale. He uses it so well.
Balin was one cool Dwarf! 😁👍

M 🦘🏏😎

Thank you for this video

This might be the best video you have ever done. Brilliant. I love the character of Balin, and have always wanted a summary of what happened to him after the events of The Hobbit.

Sounds good to me and what-have-you I'm already subscribed have been , 🤌👌

Where do you guys get your information from?

Why show the abomination of P. Jackson? That garbage should be destroyed and Jackson should apologize for stealing and butchering Tolkien's masterpiece.

I love Balin in The Hobbit trilogy. The actor did a wonderful job.

Very cool video

good use of Lotro

They had every reason to believe they had a chance, but they did not know the extent of the Balrog's dark influence (it was a fallen Maiar, originally like Gandalf and Saruman; Sauron himself was a fallen Maiar), or even what it truly was. The level of influence was probably comparable to Sauron himself at such close range. Without that, the orcs were effectively leaderless.

So why go to Moria...what were they mining? Rock? He left Erabor for rocks?

1970s balin is the best version

How big was Balin´s company? Several hundred?

well said, even if it exaggerates Balin's importance. Gandalf sent him to Bilbo's doorstep, remember?

The maps of Moria gave me such a flashback moment to playing LOTRO and wandering Moria and the experience of playing as one of those doomed dwarves. One of my favorite quests from the area.