I love this scene so much that I have a painting of it on my wall. We just witnessed our heroes defeat a swarm of orcs, goblins, and a cave troll, so we know they are heroes of the ages, but when they hear the balrog, Gandalf is terrified and says “This foe is beyond any of you. RUN!”. The sheer power of the balrog is obvious, and we’re not even aware of its magical abilities. Yet Gandalf stands and faces it, commands it that it shall not pass, and then defeats it in combat while falling thousands of feet through the air. This is the scene that solidifies just how powerful Gandalf is, even though we never see further demonstrations of this type of power from him.

This drawing is a unique portrayal of the scene and it’s very cool.