Reddit Spots a Glaring Balrog Plot Hole in The Rings of Power
It's not enough to introduce a familiar character into the show — it also has to be reasonable, and The Rings of Power fans do not think that it is the case with the fiery demon.
The seventh episode of The Rings of Power was rich in reveals. One such reveal was that the Southlands no longer exist, replaced by the orc land of Mordor. Another one made it official: Balrog exists in The Rings of Power, and he was awaken.
But this is where things are starting to get weird. One attentive fan on Reddit has spotted an inconsistency related to the fiery demon and his introduction into the universe of the show.
"The Dwarves tell no tale; but even as mithril was the foundation of their wealth, so also it was their destruction: they delved too greedily and too deep, and disturbed that from which they fled, Durin's Bane," the fan quoted the show.
Which basically means that they did not wake Balrog by digging for mithril, but he was rather awake "before they even started mining it (more than 3-4 people at a time which isn't really more than a mining expedition)."
Other fans joked that the autumn leaf that King Durin dropped in the mine was to blame, and not the dwarves.
"It was that damned autumn leaf that did it! "The Smell of Fall-Pumpkin-Spice awakened a great evil in the depths of Khazad-Dum." – u/metalunamutant
However, some fans suggest that it might be more than a joke.
"Isn't the leaf to some sacred tree of the elves that holds within it the light of the Valar? [...] Maybe it was the presence of something light/Valar related that woke the Balrog. As in, a normal leaf would not have had the same effect," Redditor throawaykeyofdecency mused.
Besides, some people noted that "disturbed" does not necessarily mean "woke up", even though this is the first meaning one might think of.
Still, the introduction of Balrog and the foundation of Mordor only raises the stakes for the season finale, which is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video this Friday, October 14.