Furthermore, it allowed Frodo to not fall into the hands of slowly-tempted fellowship members because Moria's stress test weakened all their resolves quickly. In a way, The Watcher In The Water made it possible for Gandalf to usurp Saruman as "The White". Perhaps they would have tried a long but safer path that Gandalf once took in The Hobbit and then moved southward hidden in Mirkwood for a time before heading straight for the Northern mountains of Mordor's borders. They might have braved through the Dunlands and their wild men to make a sprint to the Gap of Rohan. They would have been able to see the bodies and retreat from the idea of taking the mines. In a way, if The Watcher In The Water hadn't been there to attack them, a very different fate and story may have transpired in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Furthermore, it built a great uncertainty in Gandalf's abilities and knowledge while he scrambled to get everyone through the mines safely, at the expense of his own life. It's one of the greater shakes in the confidence the fellowship faces and it mars their trust in Frodo. Especially once they are forced in by The Watcher In The Water's attack. In the case of Frodo and Gandalf, they are affected heavily by the decision to take the path through Moria. However, Cerberus is not just a tri-headed guard dog, but an obstacle the Hero must overcome to move forward in a pivotal part of their character development. Unlike the Greek heroes Orpheus and Hercules, the Fellowship of the Ring was completely taken by surprise by the creature and forced into Moria to flee from its clutches. These ancient Dwarven mines were now an underworld darkened by the armies and beasts of Sauron. Much like Cerberus, the guardian of the gate to the underworld in Greek mythology, The Watcher In The Water may have been purposely placed by its makers to guard the gate into Moria. If speculation serves correctly and The Watcher In The Water is a cold drake created by Melkor or Sauron, then it fits perfectly into the parallels Tolkien would have derived his mythological inspirations from.
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