In season one, we learned the Balrog makes an appearance in The Rings of Power‘s Second Age. Though this messes with Tolkien’s timeline, it’s an inevitable part of the story as we watch the dwarves of Khazad-dûm, their quest for mithril, and their struggles with the Rings of Power. Even if they have thousands of years of prosperity before Durin’s Bane appears, the shadow and flame was always lurking deep within the mountain.
What Is a Balrog in The Lord of the Rings Lore?
Balrogs are one of the Maiar, spirits designed when the Valar first created the world. Gandalf and the other wizards are also Maiar, but Morgoth, Middle-earth’s original Dark Lord, twisted the Balrogs into demons. In the First Age, they fought alongside him and his orcs against the elves. After the War of Wrath that saw the destruction of Morgoth and ushered in the Second Age, the remaining Balrogs fled and hid in the bowels of Middle-earth.
Tolkien was never quite clear on how many Balrogs there were. Depictions of them vary greatly over the years as well, as evidenced by the animated version below.
Balrogs passed into myth in the Second Age. But in the Third Age, in the deep chasms of Khazad-dûm the dwarves mined too greedily for mithril and awoke one. They were forced to flee their home and King Durin VI was killed. The Balrog of Moria became known as Durin’s Bane. It wielded a sword and whip made of flame. Over a thousand years later, the fellowship of the ring entered the mines and encountered the demon.
The Balrog’s Famous Battle with Gandalf
Gandalf kills a Balrog at great personal cost. What begins as a showdown on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm ends at the Battle of the Peak 10 days later. Gandalf holds the demon back from pursuing the fellowship, calling it the Flame of Udûn, a land of evil before Mordor. But it drags him down as it falls. The rest of the fellowship leaves Moria thinking Gandalf is lost.
Though Gandalf’s staff is broken, he wields his elvish blade Glamdring while fighting the Balrog. They battle even as they fall into the depths of Khazad-dûm and when they reach water at the lowest levels of the mountain. Gandalf then pursues the Balrog as it flees into tunnels and back up the mountain and onto its very peak. They battle for two days above the clouds at the Tower of Durin before Gandalf finally defeats the demon and its body falls down the mountainside. Gandalf the Grey also dies in this battle, though Gandalf the White revives in his place.
The Balrog in The Rings of Power
We were surprised to see a Balrog in The Rings of Power season one. Durin’s Bane should have slumber edwell into the Third Age. But it seems like The Rings of Power season two explained better how the Balrog can emerge in the Second Age, but not really be prominent until the Third.
In the season two finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the Balrog fully awakened. This happened because King Durin III, swayed by his Ring of Power, greedily dug deeper and deeper into the mountain. Eventually, he dug so deep that he disturbed the Balrog from its shadows. But this disruption was short lived and Khazad-dûm didn’t yet suffer a downfall at the hands of the Balrog. Coming to his senses at the last minute, King Durin removed his ring and instead, fought the Balrog. The pair of them fell back into the mountain’s depths and were encased by falling rocks, leading to King Durin III’s death. It seems like it will be some time before the Balrog awakens again.
There are still plenty of questions about the Balrog to explore in The Rings of Power. Is Durin’s Bane the same demon who fought over the tree hiding the last of the lost Silmarils? Will we see the Balrog again in the future of the series or is it gone for good? What will the Dwarves do with the knowledge of its existence?
And, of course, how will the rest of the Dwarves come to wear the Rings of Power… and if so, will the evil of the rings call to the Balrog?
Originally published on October 6, 2024.
Original reporting by Melissa T. Miller.
