760: Moria
| Moria |
 Title text: Someone should really bring them a ladder and remind them to build the Endless Stair *first* next time. |
[edit] Explanation
This is Randall's take on the story of Moria in the fantasy story Lord of the Rings. In the original the dwarves, hunting for the precious metal mithril dug so deep that they awoke a balrog - a fearsome demonic creature. However, in this version, they simply got stuck down the mine. The title text suggests a mundane solution to their problem - a long ladder. The Endless stair was a very long staircase from the lowest dungeon up to the top of the mountain above Moria.
However, Gandalf's final line may be a hint that the comic's version is closer to the original than it appears - in the story, the adventuring party discovers a journal of the last dwarves to occupy Moria. The last page starts ominously: "We cannot get out. We cannot get out." That memorable sentence is used again near the end of the page as the impending final orcish attack is described by the now-dead dwarves, and repeated by Gimli as they reflect on the terrible news, lending a much darker tone to the comic's punchline.
[edit] Transcript
- [A far shot of Gandalf the Grey and the four hobbits standing in a dark, underground city.]
- Gandalf: Behold, Khazad-Dum; the Dwarrowdelf; the mines of Moria -- once the greatest and mightiest city of the dwarves.
- [Full body shot of Gandalf.]
- Gandalf: But the dwarves delved too greedily.
- [Close-up on Gandalf.]
- Gandalf: And too deep.
- [Full shot of the hobbits and Gandalf.]
- Hobbit: ...and awoke a terror of shadow and flame?
- Gandalf: No. They couldn't get out.
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