Remember what Frodo said. “How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold.”
Sam's little girl is his daughter in real life, and Rosie's baby is her actual baby in real life. Of course, they may be having babies of their own now...
Rex ámbulat aulas antiquórum, coram claris quibus non habébit dolórem. rip indeed From the Book, I remember Tolkien said he’d keep etymology as British Isles inspired as possible. But what Theoden sounds like in Latin or even Greek is fantastic. Wouldnt put it past the genius. When Gondor was surrounded by raging enemies and wild beasts, they called for help, and the Fang of God answered.
If you really want to cry, know that after long, happy lives, Merry and Pippin returned to Rohan and Gondor, and their graves lie in a place of honor next to Aragorn.
@@StefanJohannesberg Al becasue he was a ringbearer for a small amount of time. Gimli also was the only dwarf allowed there, LEgolas build a ship and took his best friend Gimli with him. He probably met Lady Galadriel again there
@@StefanJohannesberg good ending all around! King Eomer and King Aragorn are battle brothers in the afteryears, fighting against the scattered warbands of orcs Faramir is made Prince of Ithilien-the black gates and fortress were once Gondor’s, and he’s just the man to restore the land Even little Eleanor, Sam’s eldest daughter, is awesome. She becomes the royal handmaid of Queen Arwen herself
@@simondeep Arwen's fate is pretty sad. Outlived Aragorn and walked off into the woods to die of a broken heart, rather than live without him. It is, of course, romantic tho.
Sauron's greatest defense for the Ring was the fact that *noone* could possibly destroy it willingly. Tolkien was very clear on that point. Frodo "failed", because the "test" was unclearable from the beginning. However it is also a theme that evil ultimately destroys itself, and it is the greed that the Ring plants into people that leads to it's demise.
Absolutely. This is one thing that Frodo’s critics need to understand. It was impossible for the Ring to be destroyed intentionally because its influence over its bearer was its strongest in Mt Doom. The only way it could be destroyed was accidentally. Genius.
It's unfortunate that despite seeing Boromir and Smeagol fall for the ring so quickly, and knowing that Frodo carried it on him for the whole journey before turning, that Frodo's struggle with the ring's influence doesn't carry through to a lot of viewers because it is largely internal
@@maxajax5 It's not entirely an accident though, is it? Gollum is there to take the Ring and provide said accident, and Gollum is alive and there because Frodo shows compassion and mercy and spares his life several times, even when doing so seems unwise. Frodo's quest is ultimately a success not because Frodo is mentally strong, or determined, or possessed of great inner will... all of these things are useful to him on the way but ultimately fail him... it succeeds because he showed kindness and forgiveness and mercy on the way there.
Yes, I wanted to emphasize that point, too. Frodo didn’t fail, exactly. No one could have destroyed the ring in the heart of Sauron’s kingdom of Mordor, which was the seat of all his power. Gollum falling into the volcano with the ring was really the only way that it could’ve been destroyed.
The “you bow to no one” moment in the movie theater was electric. The collective gasp and immediate crying of so many of us. Pure movie magic. The score of this movie also is just perfection from beginning to end. My all time favorite movie trilogy.
@@janinegarropy8187 Not true though. I the Books one Eagle for Gandalf, one for Frodo, and one for Sam..I would guess Peter Jackson wanted Gandalf in frame so that Eagle picked up Frodo. You see how quickly Bilbo aged, and it was pretty instantanious with the destruction of the Ring. Smeagle aged to 500 years old. Smeagl knew the he wouldn't survive the destruction of the Ring, and if Smeagle knew certainly Gandalf would also.
No. Gandalf knew at the end, Smeagól had a part to play. The ring was too powerful, Frodo would not have thrown it into the fire. It was Smeagól taking the ring and falling that did it
Frodo suffered from PTSD and deep trauma that the Ring and the whole journey inflicted on his mind, body, and soul. When Frodo came back to the Shire, he wasn't really back, he wasn't the same innocent hobbit that left the Shire a year ago. You can really see Tolkien's own struggles he went through as a veteran in the army through his writing, he went through hell and when he returned to his hometown, all of his childhood friends were dead due to the war and he was scarred mentally and physically as well. This is why Frodo was allowed onto the ship (aside from the fact that he was a ring-bearer of course, which as a side note is also the reason Bilbo had the honor of going as well). Sailing to the Undying Lands of the elves was the only way he could ever truly heal from his wounds, it was the only place he could ever truly be happy again. Sam lived on for many years afterwards in the Shire, and became the mayor of Hobbiton and had thirteen children with Rosie. When his wife eventually passed away, he was also allowed onto one of the last ships leaving Middle-Earth, since he was also a ring-bearer technically for a short period of time when he thought Frodo was dead, so he and Frodo do get reunited in the end.
The 4 Hobbits returning to the Shire is an excellent showcase of how soldiers all deal with their trauma from war. Sam went the route of starting a family, Merry and Pippen chose to travel and had each other. Frodo struggled and didn't have a romantic relationship or friendship that helped. Ultimately, his PTSD was too severe, and the only escape that would bring true peace was through "death." Between bearing the ring at the height of its power (basically being mentally tormented for a year straight), and the stab wound (Ring Wraith wounds are spiritual. They basically poison your soul) Frodo never had a chance to be normal again.
Not saying you’re wrong but that wound from the first movie said… it’ll never be fully healed and he says it again to Sam at the very end. He was already gonna suffer if he didn’t leave with the elves.
It’s been said many times, but I’ll go ahead and say it again… Bernard’s performance in both films is remarkable. It’s hard to be both subtle and weighty, quietly reflective and bombastically warlike all in one character, but he does it with ease.
Théoden has the most weighty and poetic lines in the entire films and books in my opinion. He comes across and an Anglo Saxon warrior poet, which is how Tolkien seemed to want him portrayed.
Basically, the dwarves were busy defending their own front against Sauron's troops, which helped keep those armies of sauron away from the other places. They held Erebor together with the humans from Dale and suffered heavy losses there, but ultimately they did manage to hold.
If I recall correctly the king of erebor (who will not be named because spoilers for the next trilogy) actually died in battle while still standing on his feet.
@@weirdkokiri2898 yes. He was defending King of Dale, who is grandson of another not to be named here character. Correction: he was defending dead body of king of Dale, died protecting. They were friends, if I remember correctly. Dwarves and humans abandoned Dale and went to Erebor to do a last stand there, but, luckily elves came to lift the siege.
@@michailburgesmeir8623 Galadriel, her husband Celebrimbor and i think Tranduel went and destroyed Dol Guldur, thats something i woud love to see on the big screen done right.
Gollum is actually a critical character for ultimatly destroying the ring, he also serves as a constant reminder for frodo of what he will become if he fails
Absolutely. Gandalf reminds Frodo in the first movie that pity was what kept Bilbo from killing Gollum. There's that essential empathy and decency from Frodo that basically keeps Gollum alive through the whole quest to destroy the Ring, and it pays off in the end because the Ring is just too powerful to be destroyed willingly in the place of its making - if Gollum hadn't been there, then the Ring would have been right back in Sauron 's grasp. Frodo and Isildur certainly weren't weak, they were just weaker than Sauron at the height of his power, which isn't saying much.
@@sam_imp2743 Indeed. Tolkien wrote that no one was capable of resisting the ring in Mount Doom. It was Gollum celebrating his "sin" and relishing the ring's power that ended up being the downfall of both Gollum and the Ring.
@@rupertjohanson3010 not according to how throwing a spear/physics works! Eomer know that the Oliphant would lose control and hopefully smash into another. Either way, Eomer DOES have the skill, it is just harder to see because you have to know what it's like to throw a spear.
I used to write down many fun facts and lore details for reactors, but hardly anyone ever payed attention to them. So, here is atleast one. Although it is more of a realizations, then actual fact. Back in the first movie, just before Frodo gets "scare-jumped" by Gandalf in his home, You see all four hobbits in the tavern. Two of them were little local thieves and rascals, stealing vegetables and causing mischeaf all around, dancing marrily on the tables. One was a gardener smoking his pipe, blushing and gazing away when Rosie's sight fell upon him. The fourth one was just a local member, well liked by most of the Shire-folks. Right in the end of this movie, when these four return to that very tavern, all four of them sat quietly by the table. For a while, none of them said anything. One of them was Rohan's squire, a bit taller then when he left the Shire, with a kill-assist on the Witchking of Angmar himself. The other one, who rarely left the first one's side, was a member of Gondor's city-guard, a beacon-lighter who single-handedly pulled future steward of Gondor from a firepit. The third one eventually got up from the table and went after Rosie. He wasn't blushing anymore and his gaze was firm, for he was the bravest of all Hobbits, who was the only living being in the whole history of Middle-Earth, who succesfully wounded Shellob - the giant spider. The fourth one sitting by the table was a ring-bearer, who carried the ring's weight for 12 months stright without getting corrupted until the very end. In the end, he was one of the very few non-elf beings, granted the honor of sailing to their undiing lands. If you would be interested, I strongly recommend checking out the "making of LotR" videos, here on youtube. There are also channels dedicated to telling stories from the history of Middle-Earth (like 'men of the west', for example), if you want to learn more about the world. I hope you had a fun ride :) Thanks for the videos!
Sam was elected Mayor of The Shire for seven consecutive years and lived happily with his family until he went to join Frodo and Bilbo when he was old Legolas didn't go with the other elves when they left but stayed with Gimli until he'd lived to old age so they could both go together - Gimli was the first Dwarf ever allowed into Valinor by the elves
At 22:54 you say, "She can't be dead!" One doesn't take a sword to a Nazgul without consequences. In the book, her sword broke sparkling into many pieces, and the psychic shock left her near death. Merry, too, was left with a numbed arm and a big systemic shock.
Faramir also, struck by an evil arrow, and all were healed by Aragorn, as a snippet appears in the extended version of this movie. According to the book: 'The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and thus shall the rightful king be known.'"
@@luanarutzmovie rushed the explanation, but makes sense why. The whole med scene was of a yapping surgeon,or herbalist, and his nurse going on and on about history and why Aragorn made him waste time looking for kingsfoil, a supposedly useless plant. Only works for Aragorn of course
@@simondeep does it say anywhere that kingsfoil only works for Aragorn? My understanding was that it is a herb that has many healing properties, but its lore is passed down the dunadain line
@@TYANTOWERS i think it couldve very well been a dunedain skill. It lines up with what the motto above, the townsman knowing his king. I’d have to reread the passage
It has been noted that at that particular instance when a person has the ring right above the fires of Mount Doom, no one will be able to willingly let go. That's why Gollum being there was so crucial, and as Gandalf said in the first movie, Smeagol still had a part to play, and it was to have the ring go in the fire.
Sam may be the MVP... but man... Frodo is such a Gigachad. Nobody lasted that long, yet Pure evil at the end of the day is still Pure Evil. And Frodo was being *mentally raped* by pure evil. In the end of the day, the only reason the Ring got destroyed was because of the kindness shown gollum that let him survive until the very end.
Frodo is MVP! (As is Sam.) I know people love Sam more for his positivity and strength, but I more so respect the kindness and empathy that Frodo demonstrated in these movies. Strength is too often overvalued over kindness imo.
@@underthegardenwall I always felt bad for Frodo when they get back to the shire. Merry and pippin are greatly celebrated after the battle of bywater as is Sam but Frodo was greatly unnoticed and after what he went to through and accomplished too.
@@TheCraftyNinjaSculpts Right? I don't think the ending would've hit nearly as hard for me if these movies didn't emphasize just how immense of a sacrifice Frodo made for Middle Earth, and he gets rewarded very little for all his troubles. Heck, he even gets brushed off by the fandom, but the fact that dude had to leave Middle Earth from all the trauma had me straight up bawling at the end. True hero I'd say.
I love that frodo didn't end up throwing it away in the end. It just shows how truly powerful the ring is and what is at stake. It makes the whole problem of destroying it even more evident and true; that it's not "easy" to just destroy it or overcome its power. All the struggle and death and pain wasn't just for some measly ring but THE one ring. If it was easily tossed into the lava in the end, it wouldn't have hit as hard. It also shows the purity of frodo, he really was the only one that could've carried it and endured it for that long. He took it to the very end, and he deserves all praise for that, and of course driving home the point that we all need a friend who will never give up on us, especially when it matters the most.
Very well put. I feel Frodo is very underappreciated at times. Sure, he didn't have the flashy and apparently "strong" moments that Sam did, but his inner struggle was much darker and he also sacrificed himself for the greater good in accepting this mission - he could've just gone back to his cushy life, but he didn't, and the sacrifices he makes are nothing to be scoffed at.
In the books, Gandalf did not get is ass handed to him by the Witch King. They had a stand off when Gandalf blocked his entrance to the city, and then Theoden arrived with his army.
@@TheCraftyNinjaSculpts Well, I'm not sure we should fault the director for this. After all, the DIRECTOR's cut left this scene out. And to him apparently that is still the definitive edition. We shouldn't forget that there are more than just that one person who have significant influence on how a movie is created.
The army of ghosts: Back in Isildur's time, those soldiers fled from battle and Isildur cursed them to never find rest again until their oath to defend Gondor was fulfilled, and only a King of Gondor from his line could call upon their aid and release them. In tolkien's world broken oaths had very serious and real consequences.
Frodo didn't really fail at Mount Doom; the ring was literally never going to allow anyone bearing it to destroy it. He succeeded in that he bore it so long at such a terrible personal price and got it right there to the brink. The ring simply wouldn't allow him to willingly drop it into the fire. Gollum was the necessary antagonist who rather unintentionally, along with Frodo, brought about the ring's destruction. As I recall, Gimli and Legolas' adventures together continued. When Aragorn finally died, Arwen died of a broken heart. Sam lived a long, full life and, because he was briefly a ringbearer, was afforded the same privilege as Frodo to sail off with the Elves, so you could say they eventually were reunited. ❤
And one could strongly argue that it was Frodo's kindness and empathy towards Gollum that led to the destruction of the Ring, which inadvertently means Frodo DID succeed in his mission.
The ring was also incredibly good at dominating the wills of other creatures, and actually was expressly designed to do so. Allegedly the dwarves were so stubborn that Sauron was entirely unable to use the one ring to bend them to his will with the 7 that he gave them
Tolkein fought in WWI, which was more horrific than man had experienced before, as war went from line formation to trench warfare with automatic weapons, gas, tanks, artillery, etc. His experiences in the war were a huge reason for why he started writing lotr. Frodo is a pretty massive representation of PTSD and how the trauma and sacrifice involved in war can leave you with permanent scars where things can never go back to normal. Going to Valinor for relief was a peace that no one Tolkein knew in war was able to get. Also, there's a few moments where things are said like "war is the province of men" by Eomer. It can be interpreted at face value as a sexist comment but I think it's much more that Tolkein is disparaging war and saying that it isn't a glorious thing, but a heinous, hate filled, path of destruction and grief and Eomer want's to spare Merry and Eowyn from that. I'd recommend looking up what happened to all the other members of the fellowship, as sailing west was a peace that ended up being offered to a lot of them
WW1 was the last war with horsemounted lanciers, it begun as an 19th century war with cavallry, sabers, lances and ended as a 20th century war with airplanes, bombing, tanks and trench warfare
Denethor had been looking into his own Palantir (one of the crystal spheres) and had been deceived by the visions presented by Sauron showing the inevitable defeat of Men. He had indeed gone mad.
Yes the portrayal of Denathor in ROTK is not as nuanced or sympathetic as in the books, but the movie needed a strong antagonist to keep tensions high throughout the first half of the film so I had no difficulty with the changes made by Peter Jackson to this aspect of the story.
You should watch the behind the scenes that came with the movies. The amount of work, craftsmanship, and attention to detail on every aspect of this movie is unbelievable.
At 27:11, this scene of Eowyn and Faramir in the Houses of Healing isn't in the Theatrical version of the movie, but in the book, it's a pretty little story (in which Merry plays a minor role also).
I’ve watched this movie dozens of times if not over 100. And EVERY SINGLE TIME I get choked up at the end. Even if it’s just watching a clip, it still gets me. So incredible
At 37:03 you say, "Tolkien, don't do this to me!" Nope, it was Peter Jackson & Co. In Tolkien's version, only Gollum fell into the lava: "'Precious, precious, precious!' Gollum cried. 'My Precious! O my Precious!' And with that, even as his eyes were lifted up to gloat on his prize, he stepped too far, toppled, wavered for a moment on the brink, and with a shriek he fell. Out of the depths came his last wail 'Precious,' and he was gone."
The fact that Viggo Mortensen was NOT the actor originally cast as Aragorn still blows my mind. Like the rest of the cast was already in New Zealand and filming was already under way and the first actor (Stuart Townsend) was really not working out so they canned him and scrambled to find a replacement. I can't imagine the trilogy without him
So something that might make you feel better about Frodo at the end (and Isildur at the start): Tolkien himself wrote that it was the case that *no-one* by themselves could have thrown the Ring willingly into the fires of Orodruin (Mount Doom). Remember the Ring was becoming exponentially more powerful and mind-shattering the closer it was coming to its home, remember also how everyone who possesses the Rings ends up calling it their Precious in some way (even Isildur with this "it is precious to me" and Bilbo and Gollum with their "my precioussss"). Even the MVP Sam probably couldn't have done it - especially not if he had carried it all the way from Bag End to the Cracks of Doom, nor could the mighty like Gandalf or Galadriel. So don't feel disappointed in Frodo. His and Sam's triumph was that they were able to get to the one place where the Ring could be destroyed, and where Fate could intervene to do the rest. Although Gollum was a villain, also consider that he (a) was also poisoned by the Ring, having had it for 500 years (way, way longer than even Bilbo, let alone Frodo) and that it ensnared him within seconds of setting eyes on it, and (b) he was also *necessary* for the Ring to be destroyed, as Frodo couldn't have done it alone and Sam wouldn't have been able to force Frodo to do it or kill Frodo to make it happen any more than Elrond could have forced/killed Isildur back in the day. And then you see the hand of Eru Iluvatar (the One God of Tolkien's Legendarium) at play in having Gollum there to be the nudge needed to have the Ring destroyed. Tolkien was a believer in divine intervention, so this was not a chance. Remember also that Gandalf had some kind of foresight into this too all the way back in Moria, when Frodo said it was a pity that Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance. His admonishment that Bilbo's pity might rule all their fates and that Gollum may yet have some part to play in all this was prescient and is of course because Gandalf is actually an angelic being (a Maia) in human form, such that he has a partial understanding of Eru's will. The victory was therefore a shared one: yes, Frodo & Sam's, yes for sure, but also Bilbo's, the rest of the Fellowship's and yes, even Gollum's in a strange way.
Faramir and Eowyn are my favorite minor characters, and the extended edition shows a little more of their relationship growing as they get to know each other while healing from their wounds. Great reaction! I'm happy to have taken this journey with you :)
Its only in the novel, but i remember King Aragorn made Faramir the Prince of Ithilien. He was such a good guy, he was put in charge of the land restored from Sauron
You're not a man if you don't cry at the charge of the rohirim, the charge of the last men & the reunion of the fellowship of the ring... The last 12 minutes of this movie is word for word of the books. Me and my uncle can't watch it because we just end up in tears its just too good...
And when Sean's daughter looked away as Sam kissed Rosie, that was purportedly because she did not want to watch Sean kiss another woman besides her mother, Sean's wife IRL. At least, that's the story I heard.
I grew up on these films, and have literally seen each of them hundreds of times. The end of this movie, when they're leaving on the boat still makes me emotional every single time
Same ! Seen it so many times and I’m not spared at the end and always end up sobbing. Into the west playing at the end doesn’t help, the lyrics are so poignant
Sugestion: Afterwards try to watch the making of, it's insane the amount of hard work they put on everything. From making a literal battering ram to assault the gates of Helm's Deep (attacking a real gate that they created), to a member of the production team being left alone at christmas and obssessing over creating Barad-dûr for the last movie. It's a whole new journey. You will also see their love for Tolkien's work and that they had a HUGE amount of books on set for consulting while shooting the movie. That Viggo Mortinsen actually became one of the best western swordsman in preparation for this movie, that allowed him to litteraly deflect a real dagger thrown at him in the first movie. Man, such a ride. If i made a mistake on my spelling, i'm sorry, not my native thongue Get my like, directly from Brazil, and my subscription
I think I watched the bts special features more than I watched the films, as a teen! There was love woven into every piece of this trilogy, and it shows!
Finishing this movie is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because you now have seen one of the greatest pieces of film ever created, and a curse because you cannot watch it for the first time ever again.
Only issue with extended version is that it spoils the decision by the Dead Army to fight with Aragorn. In original cut, we saw Aragorn challenge them to fight to regain their honor, but we didn’t see the answer or see them again until they showed up in time to save the battle.
the song that starts to play when Aragorn charges the orc line aren't random lyrics. It contains Elvish of his oath to Frodo, the one he swore way back in the first movie: "If by my life or my death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword."
LoTR and the hobbit are by far my favorite movies. I know there's plenty of people that put down the Hobbit because they're expecting it to be another LoTR but they aren't the same. One is a cinematic masterpiece and the other is a fun adventure. Great reaction vids!
If they had only toned down some of the CGI in the Hobbit and had a few things changed it woud not have been so hated. And by lower CGI i mean more wide shots of towns and places using IRL made miniatures like these films or a real helmet for Dain ( like cmon why didnt they give him a real helmet ). And afcorse more real orcs, like Azog was cool but i prefer Lurtz, him being there makes him way better. I saw so much hate for the films gowing against things that are just stupid, it honestly looked like star wars fans.
@@stefankatsarov5806 I agree 100% about the CGI and I think it would have been better if it was just two films but I loooooved the casting and the story.
the pain in your face when frodo said “the ring is mine”💀 love it hahaha the editing in this one (as with all of them!) was great. i love how much attention to detail you pay and how invested in the world you are. it was beautiful taking this journey with you once again!!❤
At 3:47 you say, "That is a terrible noise!" The Nazgul's screech is a heavily modified version of Fran Walsh's scream--apparently, she can be terrifying when she wants!
I watched the extended behind the scenes on the discs, they used a modified donkey screech as the main sound, they might have added more at the same time but that’s what they talked about
21:52 I probably commented in The Two Towers, that you should remember this line. “I know your face” was the first thing Theoden said when he woke from Saruman’s spell. Love this guy. Best death scene in any movie, held by Sean Bean for 2 years. Then Bernard Hill forever. RIP. Legend ❤
Denethor was done dirty in the movies, he's pretty much said to be the only one that held Mordor at bay by his personnal abilities at governing and not falling to the Palanthir, it's only after decades of 1v1ing a literal ANGEL and the end of his line that he breaks, no one else could have
Only to a small degree. While many viewers do miss all the clues (especially as some of them are only in the extended cuts. But my sister who never read Tolkien and never watched the films, finally saw screenings of all the extended cuts with me. And she put it all together without any issues. Clues. The word that the ring of power has been found. Boromir talking in Fellowship about how its only through Gondor that the other races remain safe, then alter how great a man his father was. but he is fading. In Return of the King, we see how the use of the Palantir can impact ones mind, even over a short use. And we have been warned about its use in Fellowship, being a two way connection. In Return of the King we also her Denethor talk about the eyes of the White Tower, and later of course we see a Palantir in the throne room of Gondor. We also hear Denethor talk that there is no victory versus the force that Mordo has brought forth. All these things signify that Denethor has been using the Palantir that he is suffering from repeated mental battles with Sauron. That predate Bormir heading to Rivendell. Really the big difference is just how far he is going, but its not really that dramatic of a change. Of course as someone who has read the books about 30 times when the films first came out was looking for everything fragment that tied into the written word.
@@Overlord734 i exactly had Aragorn in mind when writing that, no he couldn't have, his whole character arc is to accept himself and claim the throne, implying a change, implying he wasn't "the king" before. he could have done it after becoming the king, not before, and might not have that good a result on the long run
@@maximusd26 Aragorn didn't press his claim to the throne of Gondor because he didn't want to have a conflict with Denethor. The whole "reluctant hero" arc was mostly invented by the movies.
The scene with aragorn and sauron with the Palantir is basically both of them giving each other figurative middle fingers. Sword cut Sauron finger/ring off- Sauron showing Arwen is dying.
41:32 The Dwarves were being attacked by separate armies far away from Gondor at the same time. The Elves as well in Lorien, where through the strength of Galadriel and her Ring of Power they were able to eventually defeat the Orcs. Both races were occupied at the same time as Gondor was on the brink of defeat.
"I just want more" Imagine when he discover the appendices and that the books stand for a few more years until the end of Sam's, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and Arwen's journey
"Frodo chill". In that scene, despite only having the Ring for a short time, it was already corrupting Sam. As most Hobbits Sam was able to allow Frodo to take it, but notice he could not willingly give it up. Frodo was able to offer it to Gandalf, then Galadriel, then Aragorn, showing Frodo does indeed have a stronger than average fortitude against the Ring. Tolkien himself stated that NO living creature could have dropped the Ring into the fire, which calls back to Gandalf's quote in Fellowship: "Do not be so quick to deal out death and judgment, for even the very wise cannot see all ends." Sam certainly deserves all the praise he gets, but due to a movie not being able to show inner turmoil in quite the way a book can, Frodo usually doesn't get anywhere near the credit he deserves. Every second of every day, and stronger as they got closer to Mordor, the Ring was attempting to force or weasel its tendrils into Frodo's mind, heart, and soul. While people near him had to fight against occasional desires, Frodo's fight was continual for the entire journey.
No one could destoy the ring. no one! The desire and evil it woke through its malicious corruption destroyed it as two individuals fought over it in their desire. Frodo got the ring so far, and in that he did suceed, but also due to his mercy towards gollum. He he had not shwon gollum mercy, then he would never had go that far, and gollum would not have tried to take the ring, and Frodo would have failed, and the world fallen. Frodo could not have done it without Sam, but Sam would not have spared Gollum and held on the hope that brought him to the edge. Frodo was the hero in the end and suffered for it.
19:00 Frodo MVP 100% cause non of the rest could've resist the Ring... 37:56 Sam would've kept the Ring for himself 1000miles away from the Mount Doom xD... the closer it gets to the spot of it's creation the stronger and havier it gets... to resist the power of the Ring inside the mountain is impossible :)
You can't really blame Frodo for being unable to destroy the Ring. It's at it's most powerful and influential right at the heart of where it was created. No one could have let it go.
So Tolkein wrote the story in a very grandious story telling way and in universe the LOTR books are just the story from what gets called The Red Book of Westmarch. If you notice Bilbos book is red.
The ending is extra heart-breaking when you realise that Tolkien was drawing on his own experiences in WW1: some experiences leave physical and mental scars that never fully heal.
I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying! 💜 Another great reaction. The score was by Howard Shore. All 3 films were shot together in New Zealand over 15 or 16 months -x-
To answer your question about the dwarves. They were fighting up north of the events of the movies. There was a kingdom of men and a kingdom of dwarves north of Mordor that were fighting their part of the war. While the movies show some of the most pertinent parts of the war, Mordor was invading everywhere. Elves were fighting, dwarves, men, even hobbits were part of the war. Also, Sam eventually crosses the ocean to be with Frodo again since he was a ring bearer. He lives his life to the fullest and at the end crosses over.
so fun to watch someone see this for the first time and TRULY enjoy and be a part of it! I've watched a couple reactions to these films as they are so important to me and you are by far the most enjoyable to watch. You can tell right away you are a fan and let yourself get immersed into middle earth. Great job all around!
Frodo, finally seemed to be at peace, parting ways from his friends with _that_ smile. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes no matter how many times I watch. Your reaction is great, Kay. I love how your love for fantasy lores enables you to predict near future happenings throughout the 3 films. It's been a joyful journey with you!
I feel like the ending of the ring is so good because Smeagol was the reason it was destroyed but still held it up right till the end. Arguably Smeagol was the most envious and greedy when it came to the ring, he lived for over 500 years just because he coveted the ring so much. He's also arguably the most complex character in the movies too. I also think that Frodo almost thinks he's dead up until the moment he see's Sam and realizes it's not over. They survived.
If I remember rightly; Eowyn is able to kill the witch king because Merry stabs him with an enchanted dagger. Theres a bit in the books, before Bree, where they get them in a burial mound but its tied to a character left out of the films.
It's a blade made in the now destroyed Kingdom of Arthedane which fought the Witch King's armies. We do not see it in the film but Tom Bombadil gives the blades to the Hobbits when he rescuers them from the Barrow-Wight. It's material that I think would make a wonderfully creepy short film.
Frodo not being able to throw the ring into the fire has a huge meaning in Tolkien’s story telling. The ring was so powerful that no one could have done it all by himself, no one was so pure. So it took, as Tolkien called it, eucatastrophy - a mixture of heroic struggles and little acts of goodness of many people to bring ring to the Mount Doom, and yet it would still fail (catastrophy), if not for an apparent coincidence. But it is only apparent, because as Gandalf said in Moria „there are other forces at work in this world besides the will of evil” - and this is Eru Iluvatar, God. It takes both God’s providence/grace and peoples deeds of love and goodness working together that defeat evil (which is a deeply Catholic thinking). LOTR is just a top of an iceberg of the Tolkien’s world, both in terms of the lore as well as the deep meaning of the stories. There is a whole brunch of literature studies that dwells into this world.
One interesting detail from the book, Aragorn had crossed paths with Denethor's father, Ecthelion, in the past, under the identity of Thorongil. Both Aragorn and Gandalf were welcomed guests in Gondor under the stewardship of Ecthelion. Denethor hated them both, it appeared his father loved them both more than him. And he despised Faramir too, for becoming a pupil of Gandalf. So even without Sauron's influence through the Palantir, he was already very opposed to the idea of handing the kingdom to Aragorn.
Legolas and Gimli are two high level mmo-rpg players that are just there for the loot and the sport and Aragorn third in discord actually roleplaying becoming a king
And straightway, all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains. Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
Now you need to watch the appendices in the dvds, 100s of hours of behind the scenes, set and world building . It's amazing and really shows the passion involved. Loved your videos, watching your reactions knowing what was coming next was priceless and yes it makes me cry every time, just the music gets me going . 😢
At 24:00, in the book there are two companies of Orcs, the company in the Tower of Cirith Ungol under Shagrat, and another company from Minas Morgul that had followed Frodo and Sam up the Stairs, under Gorbag. The movie would imply that the Orcs just spontaneously started fighting each other randomly, but in the book it was the two different companies fighting each other. Even Tolkien's version is a little hard to swallow, but it saves Sam a lot of trouble.
Meh, differences between kinds of orc feel established enough for it to work, and the orcs generally seem prone to fighting so it doesn't feel like too much of a stretch imo
25:06 IT's a really interesting passage in the book - what goes through Sam's mind while briefly possessing the ring, and when Frodo asks for it back. Delusions of grandeur and other emotions.
Ring: you could turn Mordor into a garden and force others to take care of it for you! Sam: don't be silly. I want to do the gardening myself and I only need a small garden for that, not a whole country.
The most hesitations he had of giving the ring back to Frodo was becourse he did not want it to hurt Frodo any more. It was of concern of Frodo, more than his own desires.
When Galadriel said the quest will claim his life, it did. Not in death but mentally. The ring changed his whole life and he was never able to be the same.
Gandalf is still the coolest. Despite being an ancient elderly man, a wizard no less, he's out there fighting, dual wielding a staff and a sword with no magic. That's just badass.
Grond was named after the Hammer of the Underworld - the mace used by Melkor (Morgoth) - one of the original Valar and Sauron's boss until he was cast into the Void beyond the Door of Night by the rest of the Valar after the War of Wrath.
At 43:06 you say, "For my mental health I'm just happy; this is a happy ending obviously..." In his essay "On Fairy Stories," published in the 1930s before LOTR, Tolkien coined the word "eucatastrophe." If a catastrophe is a sudden stroke of tragedy, then a eucatastrophe is a sudden stroke of bliss. Lots of eucatastrophes at the end of ROTK!
For those who don't wish to read the appendices, here's what happened after...(Spoilers) Aragorn live to be 210 years old and with Arwen at his side, ruled the race of men. He is buried in the Hall of Kings. Arwen passed away in Lothlorien (Galadriels old digs), a year later since she chose a mortal life. Gimli and Legolas traveled back to helmsdeep where Gimli ruled in the glittering caves (the caves the people of Rohan were hiding in). Down the road Legolas built a ship and asked Gimli to accompany him to The undying lands of Valinor. But before they did that they went on many adventures together. Eowyn married Faramir and moved to Ithilian were they ruled as per King Aragorns request. They had a son. Sam became the Mayor of the Shire and ruled for a continuous 7 year, 7 term. He passed the book to his daughter and went it was his time, Rosie died and so with Legolas and Gimli, went to Valinor because he too, was the ring bearer for a time. Pippen became Thain of Buckland, got married and had a son that he named Faramir. Merry became the master of Buckland, and led a Hobbit army when some ruffians from Sarumans old army came, which was called The Battle of Bywater. When they reached old age, I think Pippin was 94 and Merry was 102, they went to Rohan where they spent the rest of their days and passed away. I can't for the life of me remember who passes away first but most likely Merry, as he was older. What breaks me is that they were moved and now they rest on either side of Aragorn. á na márië!!!!!
And the elves of Lorien are fighting on their borders, and the elves of Mirkwood (Legolas' people) are fighting on their borders. (not elves at Helm's Deep in the book).
Genuinely cried when you started crying, I know these films back to front and it was a genuine overwhelming joy to watch you experience them for the first time. I got proper emotional with you at the end, thanks so much for making these. Look at our boys!!
Amazing reactions for all 3 chapters! It's not been mentioned here that I've spotted yet, but Tolkien fought in WW1, so this story follows a lot of metaphors (different races and kingdoms, coming together to fight a greater evil) and leads to incredible speeches (Gandalf especially for "...so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." and the "End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.") - and when the hobbits all come back to the Shire, life just goes on... but they have the wounds that never heal. It's such a sad story told in an incredible way. (You said make it a happy ending - don't read the book's ending unless you want additional misery!) I'd love a Hobbit reaction, it fills in a lot of blanks and gives you a deeper insight into the world. I've loved all your D&D references too, a lot of the law originates from Tolkien's world. Thanks so much for these - subscribed and excited to see what else you'll react to!
Here at last, on the shores of the sea... comes the end of our Fellowship 😢
I'll be in Farmer Maggot's back field if you need me.
Been a great and insightful reaction, thank you for sharing it with us!
Remember what Frodo said. “How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep, that have taken hold.”
Btw, Sam and Rosie had 13 kids in total ;)
Sam's little girl is his daughter in real life, and Rosie's baby is her actual baby in real life. Of course, they may be having babies of their own now...
King Theoden goes to the halls of his forefathers, in who's mighty company he shall no longer be ashamed. Farewell, Bernard Hill.
Rest in peace, Theoden King.
May he rest in power ❤
Hail the victorious dead
Hail! Theoden King!
Rex ámbulat aulas antiquórum, coram claris quibus non habébit dolórem. rip indeed
From the Book, I remember Tolkien said he’d keep etymology as British Isles inspired as possible.
But what Theoden sounds like in Latin or even Greek is fantastic. Wouldnt put it past the genius.
When Gondor was surrounded by raging enemies and wild beasts, they called for help, and the Fang of God answered.
If you really want to cry, know that after long, happy lives, Merry and Pippin returned to Rohan and Gondor, and their graves lie in a place of honor next to Aragorn.
And Sam was last seen as an old man with a ship sailing to the great havens according to one of his daughters. NOW YOU CRY!
@@StefanJohannesberg Al becasue he was a ringbearer for a small amount of time. Gimli also was the only dwarf allowed there, LEgolas build a ship and took his best friend Gimli with him. He probably met Lady Galadriel again there
And Sam go to Frodo
@@StefanJohannesberg good ending all around!
King Eomer and King Aragorn are battle brothers in the afteryears, fighting against the scattered warbands of orcs
Faramir is made Prince of Ithilien-the black gates and fortress were once Gondor’s, and he’s just the man to restore the land
Even little Eleanor, Sam’s eldest daughter, is awesome. She becomes the royal handmaid of Queen Arwen herself
@@simondeep Arwen's fate is pretty sad. Outlived Aragorn and walked off into the woods to die of a broken heart, rather than live without him. It is, of course, romantic tho.
Sauron's greatest defense for the Ring was the fact that *noone* could possibly destroy it willingly. Tolkien was very clear on that point. Frodo "failed", because the "test" was unclearable from the beginning. However it is also a theme that evil ultimately destroys itself, and it is the greed that the Ring plants into people that leads to it's demise.
Absolutely. This is one thing that Frodo’s critics need to understand. It was impossible for the Ring to be destroyed intentionally because its influence over its bearer was its strongest in Mt Doom. The only way it could be destroyed was accidentally. Genius.
It's unfortunate that despite seeing Boromir and Smeagol fall for the ring so quickly, and knowing that Frodo carried it on him for the whole journey before turning, that Frodo's struggle with the ring's influence doesn't carry through to a lot of viewers because it is largely internal
@@maxajax5 It's not entirely an accident though, is it? Gollum is there to take the Ring and provide said accident, and Gollum is alive and there because Frodo shows compassion and mercy and spares his life several times, even when doing so seems unwise. Frodo's quest is ultimately a success not because Frodo is mentally strong, or determined, or possessed of great inner will... all of these things are useful to him on the way but ultimately fail him... it succeeds because he showed kindness and forgiveness and mercy on the way there.
@@cenotemirror Yeah, you’re right. I was more so just trying the highlight the fact that the Ring couldn’t be destroyed willingly.
Yes, I wanted to emphasize that point, too. Frodo didn’t fail, exactly. No one could have destroyed the ring in the heart of Sauron’s kingdom of Mordor, which was the seat of all his power. Gollum falling into the volcano with the ring was really the only way that it could’ve been destroyed.
The “you bow to no one” moment in the movie theater was electric. The collective gasp and immediate crying of so many of us. Pure movie magic. The score of this movie also is just perfection from beginning to end. My all time favorite movie trilogy.
Notice that Gandalf held out hope for Smeagol at the end, coming with three eagles to rescue him, Frodo and Sam.
I never thought of that. Thank you
@@janinegarropy8187 Not true though. I the Books one Eagle for Gandalf, one for Frodo, and one for Sam..I would guess Peter Jackson wanted Gandalf in frame so that Eagle picked up Frodo. You see how quickly Bilbo aged, and it was pretty instantanious with the destruction of the Ring. Smeagle aged to 500 years old. Smeagl knew the he wouldn't survive the destruction of the Ring, and if Smeagle knew certainly Gandalf would also.
@@matthewgreiner2766 Gandalf would have not let Smeagol there if he had survived.
No. Gandalf knew at the end, Smeagól had a part to play. The ring was too powerful, Frodo would not have thrown it into the fire. It was Smeagól taking the ring and falling that did it
Frodo suffered from PTSD and deep trauma that the Ring and the whole journey inflicted on his mind, body, and soul. When Frodo came back to the Shire, he wasn't really back, he wasn't the same innocent hobbit that left the Shire a year ago. You can really see Tolkien's own struggles he went through as a veteran in the army through his writing, he went through hell and when he returned to his hometown, all of his childhood friends were dead due to the war and he was scarred mentally and physically as well.
This is why Frodo was allowed onto the ship (aside from the fact that he was a ring-bearer of course, which as a side note is also the reason Bilbo had the honor of going as well). Sailing to the Undying Lands of the elves was the only way he could ever truly heal from his wounds, it was the only place he could ever truly be happy again.
Sam lived on for many years afterwards in the Shire, and became the mayor of Hobbiton and had thirteen children with Rosie. When his wife eventually passed away, he was also allowed onto one of the last ships leaving Middle-Earth, since he was also a ring-bearer technically for a short period of time when he thought Frodo was dead, so he and Frodo do get reunited in the end.
And Legolas brings Gimli ❤
The 4 Hobbits returning to the Shire is an excellent showcase of how soldiers all deal with their trauma from war. Sam went the route of starting a family, Merry and Pippen chose to travel and had each other. Frodo struggled and didn't have a romantic relationship or friendship that helped. Ultimately, his PTSD was too severe, and the only escape that would bring true peace was through "death." Between bearing the ring at the height of its power (basically being mentally tormented for a year straight), and the stab wound (Ring Wraith wounds are spiritual. They basically poison your soul) Frodo never had a chance to be normal again.
@@Glundberg84Yes! I love their friendship so much ❤
@@joshuawiedenbeck6944Exactly, well said
Not saying you’re wrong but that wound from the first movie said… it’ll never be fully healed and he says it again to Sam at the very end. He was already gonna suffer if he didn’t leave with the elves.
Between the first "I know your face" in The Two Towers to the last "I know your face" in Return of the King a King's arc got us in the feels
The first time he said it, he got his life back. The second time he said it, he was passing on from this life.
It’s been said many times, but I’ll go ahead and say it again… Bernard’s performance in both films is remarkable. It’s hard to be both subtle and weighty, quietly reflective and bombastically warlike all in one character, but he does it with ease.
Théoden has the most weighty and poetic lines in the entire films and books in my opinion. He comes across and an Anglo Saxon warrior poet, which is how Tolkien seemed to want him portrayed.
Basically, the dwarves were busy defending their own front against Sauron's troops, which helped keep those armies of sauron away from the other places. They held Erebor together with the humans from Dale and suffered heavy losses there, but ultimately they did manage to hold.
Yap -and Galadriels Wood-Elves also had been under attack
@@michailburgesmeir8623and Mirkwood, with Tranduil (Legolas’ father). I just don’t remember if Imladris (Rivendell) was under siege?
If I recall correctly the king of erebor (who will not be named because spoilers for the next trilogy) actually died in battle while still standing on his feet.
@@weirdkokiri2898 yes. He was defending King of Dale, who is grandson of another not to be named here character.
Correction: he was defending dead body of king of Dale, died protecting. They were friends, if I remember correctly. Dwarves and humans abandoned Dale and went to Erebor to do a last stand there, but, luckily elves came to lift the siege.
@@michailburgesmeir8623
Galadriel, her husband Celebrimbor and i think Tranduel went and destroyed Dol Guldur, thats something i woud love to see on the big screen done right.
Gollum is actually a critical character for ultimatly destroying the ring, he also serves as a constant reminder for frodo of what he will become if he fails
Absolutely. Gandalf reminds Frodo in the first movie that pity was what kept Bilbo from killing Gollum. There's that essential empathy and decency from Frodo that basically keeps Gollum alive through the whole quest to destroy the Ring, and it pays off in the end because the Ring is just too powerful to be destroyed willingly in the place of its making - if Gollum hadn't been there, then the Ring would have been right back in Sauron 's grasp. Frodo and Isildur certainly weren't weak, they were just weaker than Sauron at the height of his power, which isn't saying much.
"my heart tells me gollum has some part to play, for good or ill"
"my heart tells me gollum has some part to play, for good or ill"
And I love the fact that apparently the one of the only times Eru Iluvatar intervenes is to push Gollum into the fire
@@sam_imp2743 Indeed. Tolkien wrote that no one was capable of resisting the ring in Mount Doom. It was Gollum celebrating his "sin" and relishing the ring's power that ended up being the downfall of both Gollum and the Ring.
I don't care how cool Legolas looked when he took down that elephant. Eomer took down _two_ with one spear! 😆
Well legolas killed it xD eomer killed the dude who crashed it randomly
Eomer didn't kill two oliphaunts. He killed a rider, the rest was just luck
@@rupertjohanson3010 At LeAsT hE hAs No PoInTy EaRs 😛
@@rupertjohanson3010 not according to how throwing a spear/physics works! Eomer know that the Oliphant would lose control and hopefully smash into another.
Either way, Eomer DOES have the skill, it is just harder to see because you have to know what it's like to throw a spear.
*Oliphant
I used to write down many fun facts and lore details for reactors, but hardly anyone ever payed attention to them.
So, here is atleast one. Although it is more of a realizations, then actual fact.
Back in the first movie, just before Frodo gets "scare-jumped" by Gandalf in his home, You see all four hobbits in the tavern. Two of them were little local thieves and rascals, stealing vegetables and causing mischeaf all around, dancing marrily on the tables. One was a gardener smoking his pipe, blushing and gazing away when Rosie's sight fell upon him. The fourth one was just a local member, well liked by most of the Shire-folks.
Right in the end of this movie, when these four return to that very tavern, all four of them sat quietly by the table. For a while, none of them said anything.
One of them was Rohan's squire, a bit taller then when he left the Shire, with a kill-assist on the Witchking of Angmar himself.
The other one, who rarely left the first one's side, was a member of Gondor's city-guard, a beacon-lighter who single-handedly pulled future steward of Gondor from a firepit.
The third one eventually got up from the table and went after Rosie. He wasn't blushing anymore and his gaze was firm, for he was the bravest of all Hobbits, who was the only living being in the whole history of Middle-Earth, who succesfully wounded Shellob - the giant spider.
The fourth one sitting by the table was a ring-bearer, who carried the ring's weight for 12 months stright without getting corrupted until the very end. In the end, he was one of the very few non-elf beings, granted the honor of sailing to their undiing lands.
If you would be interested, I strongly recommend checking out the "making of LotR" videos, here on youtube. There are also channels dedicated to telling stories from the history of Middle-Earth (like 'men of the west', for example), if you want to learn more about the world.
I hope you had a fun ride :) Thanks for the videos!
Sam was elected Mayor of The Shire for seven consecutive years and lived happily with his family until he went to join Frodo and Bilbo when he was old
Legolas didn't go with the other elves when they left but stayed with Gimli until he'd lived to old age so they could both go together - Gimli was the first Dwarf ever allowed into Valinor by the elves
Not trying to be a stickler, but Sam was elected to 7 consecutive TERMS as mayor. Each term was 7 years. So 49 years in all.
@@Hkstech26 I came here to comment this! Sam was a hero to his fellow hobbits, a true MVP at home as well as on adventure.
At 22:54 you say, "She can't be dead!" One doesn't take a sword to a Nazgul without consequences. In the book, her sword broke sparkling into many pieces, and the psychic shock left her near death. Merry, too, was left with a numbed arm and a big systemic shock.
Faramir also, struck by an evil arrow, and all were healed by Aragorn, as a snippet appears in the extended version of this movie. According to the book: 'The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and thus shall the rightful king be known.'"
It was more than that, all Nazgul emit a fould energy around them and if you stay for too long you will fall sick and eventually die.
@@luanarutzmovie rushed the explanation, but makes sense why. The whole med scene was of a yapping surgeon,or herbalist, and his nurse going on and on about history and why Aragorn made him waste time looking for kingsfoil, a supposedly useless plant. Only works for Aragorn of course
@@simondeep does it say anywhere that kingsfoil only works for Aragorn? My understanding was that it is a herb that has many healing properties, but its lore is passed down the dunadain line
@@TYANTOWERS i think it couldve very well been a dunedain skill. It lines up with what the motto above, the townsman knowing his king. I’d have to reread the passage
It has been noted that at that particular instance when a person has the ring right above the fires of Mount Doom, no one will be able to willingly let go. That's why Gollum being there was so crucial, and as Gandalf said in the first movie, Smeagol still had a part to play, and it was to have the ring go in the fire.
added: -was to have the ring go in the fire WITH HIM. It was the only way Frodo could've survived.
Sam may be the MVP... but man... Frodo is such a Gigachad. Nobody lasted that long, yet Pure evil at the end of the day is still Pure Evil. And Frodo was being *mentally raped* by pure evil.
In the end of the day, the only reason the Ring got destroyed was because of the kindness shown gollum that let him survive until the very end.
Frodo is MVP! (As is Sam.) I know people love Sam more for his positivity and strength, but I more so respect the kindness and empathy that Frodo demonstrated in these movies. Strength is too often overvalued over kindness imo.
@@underthegardenwall I always felt bad for Frodo when they get back to the shire. Merry and pippin are greatly celebrated after the battle of bywater as is Sam but Frodo was greatly unnoticed and after what he went to through and accomplished too.
@@TheCraftyNinjaSculpts Right? I don't think the ending would've hit nearly as hard for me if these movies didn't emphasize just how immense of a sacrifice Frodo made for Middle Earth, and he gets rewarded very little for all his troubles. Heck, he even gets brushed off by the fandom, but the fact that dude had to leave Middle Earth from all the trauma had me straight up bawling at the end. True hero I'd say.
@@underthegardenwall so true!
Excellent point
I love that frodo didn't end up throwing it away in the end. It just shows how truly powerful the ring is and what is at stake. It makes the whole problem of destroying it even more evident and true; that it's not "easy" to just destroy it or overcome its power. All the struggle and death and pain wasn't just for some measly ring but THE one ring. If it was easily tossed into the lava in the end, it wouldn't have hit as hard. It also shows the purity of frodo, he really was the only one that could've carried it and endured it for that long. He took it to the very end, and he deserves all praise for that, and of course driving home the point that we all need a friend who will never give up on us, especially when it matters the most.
Very well put. I feel Frodo is very underappreciated at times. Sure, he didn't have the flashy and apparently "strong" moments that Sam did, but his inner struggle was much darker and he also sacrificed himself for the greater good in accepting this mission - he could've just gone back to his cushy life, but he didn't, and the sacrifices he makes are nothing to be scoffed at.
In the books, Gandalf did not get is ass handed to him by the Witch King.
They had a stand off when Gandalf blocked his entrance to the city, and then Theoden arrived with his army.
I hate that PJ had Gandalf s staff broken in that moment
@@TheCraftyNinjaSculpts Well, I'm not sure we should fault the director for this. After all, the DIRECTOR's cut left this scene out. And to him apparently that is still the definitive edition. We shouldn't forget that there are more than just that one person who have significant influence on how a movie is created.
The army of ghosts: Back in Isildur's time, those soldiers fled from battle and Isildur cursed them to never find rest again until their oath to defend Gondor was fulfilled, and only a King of Gondor from his line could call upon their aid and release them. In tolkien's world broken oaths had very serious and real consequences.
YES! Spoken word is incredibly important, particularly oaths and curses.
And remember, Sméagol swore an oath on the Precious. The oath he later broke and paid with his life for it
Frodo didn't really fail at Mount Doom; the ring was literally never going to allow anyone bearing it to destroy it. He succeeded in that he bore it so long at such a terrible personal price and got it right there to the brink. The ring simply wouldn't allow him to willingly drop it into the fire. Gollum was the necessary antagonist who rather unintentionally, along with Frodo, brought about the ring's destruction.
As I recall, Gimli and Legolas' adventures together continued. When Aragorn finally died, Arwen died of a broken heart. Sam lived a long, full life and, because he was briefly a ringbearer, was afforded the same privilege as Frodo to sail off with the Elves, so you could say they eventually were reunited. ❤
And one could strongly argue that it was Frodo's kindness and empathy towards Gollum that led to the destruction of the Ring, which inadvertently means Frodo DID succeed in his mission.
The Ring was in its own home territory, thus as strong as it could get.
The ring was also incredibly good at dominating the wills of other creatures, and actually was expressly designed to do so. Allegedly the dwarves were so stubborn that Sauron was entirely unable to use the one ring to bend them to his will with the 7 that he gave them
Tolkein fought in WWI, which was more horrific than man had experienced before, as war went from line formation to trench warfare with automatic weapons, gas, tanks, artillery, etc. His experiences in the war were a huge reason for why he started writing lotr. Frodo is a pretty massive representation of PTSD and how the trauma and sacrifice involved in war can leave you with permanent scars where things can never go back to normal. Going to Valinor for relief was a peace that no one Tolkein knew in war was able to get. Also, there's a few moments where things are said like "war is the province of men" by Eomer. It can be interpreted at face value as a sexist comment but I think it's much more that Tolkein is disparaging war and saying that it isn't a glorious thing, but a heinous, hate filled, path of destruction and grief and Eomer want's to spare Merry and Eowyn from that.
I'd recommend looking up what happened to all the other members of the fellowship, as sailing west was a peace that ended up being offered to a lot of them
WW1 was the last war with horsemounted lanciers, it begun as an 19th century war with cavallry, sabers, lances and ended as a 20th century war with airplanes, bombing, tanks and trench warfare
Denethor had been looking into his own Palantir (one of the crystal spheres) and had been deceived by the visions presented by Sauron showing the inevitable defeat of Men. He had indeed gone mad.
Not exactly mad, but definitely driven to despair. And nothing like in the movie, in which I understand why the writers made him such an obstacle.
@tonypapas9854 yeah book version wasn't quite as bad shit crazy. But makes sense for movies
Yes the portrayal of Denathor in ROTK is not as nuanced or sympathetic as in the books, but the movie needed a strong antagonist to keep tensions high throughout the first half of the film so I had no difficulty with the changes made by Peter Jackson to this aspect of the story.
@@brendansheehy8124 I still wish they'd had him pull out his different Palantir when on the fire to show why he had gone so wrong.
@@lordjimbo2Or just have aline or two about it and his battles whit Sauron.
Fun Fact!!! 5:20 the pirat hit by the arrow, is Peter Jackson himself, the director of LOTR.
You should watch the behind the scenes that came with the movies. The amount of work, craftsmanship, and attention to detail on every aspect of this movie is unbelievable.
Yes!!! The behind the scenes on the extended dvds is soooo fun I used to watch them when I was home sick from school they’re so fun to watch
At 27:11, this scene of Eowyn and Faramir in the Houses of Healing isn't in the Theatrical version of the movie, but in the book, it's a pretty little story (in which Merry plays a minor role also).
It's a charming set of passages as they both heal, worry about their loved ones marching on Mordor and slowly fall in love.
I’ve watched this movie dozens of times if not over 100. And EVERY SINGLE TIME I get choked up at the end. Even if it’s just watching a clip, it still gets me. So incredible
At 37:03 you say, "Tolkien, don't do this to me!" Nope, it was Peter Jackson & Co. In Tolkien's version, only Gollum fell into the lava: "'Precious, precious, precious!' Gollum cried. 'My Precious! O my Precious!' And with that, even as his eyes were lifted up to gloat on his prize, he stepped too far, toppled, wavered for a moment on the brink, and with a shriek he fell. Out of the depths came his last wail 'Precious,' and he was gone."
The fact that Viggo Mortensen was NOT the actor originally cast as Aragorn still blows my mind. Like the rest of the cast was already in New Zealand and filming was already under way and the first actor (Stuart Townsend) was really not working out so they canned him and scrambled to find a replacement. I can't imagine the trilogy without him
So something that might make you feel better about Frodo at the end (and Isildur at the start): Tolkien himself wrote that it was the case that *no-one* by themselves could have thrown the Ring willingly into the fires of Orodruin (Mount Doom). Remember the Ring was becoming exponentially more powerful and mind-shattering the closer it was coming to its home, remember also how everyone who possesses the Rings ends up calling it their Precious in some way (even Isildur with this "it is precious to me" and Bilbo and Gollum with their "my precioussss").
Even the MVP Sam probably couldn't have done it - especially not if he had carried it all the way from Bag End to the Cracks of Doom, nor could the mighty like Gandalf or Galadriel. So don't feel disappointed in Frodo. His and Sam's triumph was that they were able to get to the one place where the Ring could be destroyed, and where Fate could intervene to do the rest.
Although Gollum was a villain, also consider that he (a) was also poisoned by the Ring, having had it for 500 years (way, way longer than even Bilbo, let alone Frodo) and that it ensnared him within seconds of setting eyes on it, and (b) he was also *necessary* for the Ring to be destroyed, as Frodo couldn't have done it alone and Sam wouldn't have been able to force Frodo to do it or kill Frodo to make it happen any more than Elrond could have forced/killed Isildur back in the day.
And then you see the hand of Eru Iluvatar (the One God of Tolkien's Legendarium) at play in having Gollum there to be the nudge needed to have the Ring destroyed. Tolkien was a believer in divine intervention, so this was not a chance. Remember also that Gandalf had some kind of foresight into this too all the way back in Moria, when Frodo said it was a pity that Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance. His admonishment that Bilbo's pity might rule all their fates and that Gollum may yet have some part to play in all this was prescient and is of course because Gandalf is actually an angelic being (a Maia) in human form, such that he has a partial understanding of Eru's will.
The victory was therefore a shared one: yes, Frodo & Sam's, yes for sure, but also Bilbo's, the rest of the Fellowship's and yes, even Gollum's in a strange way.
Faramir and Eowyn are my favorite minor characters, and the extended edition shows a little more of their relationship growing as they get to know each other while healing from their wounds. Great reaction! I'm happy to have taken this journey with you :)
Its only in the novel, but i remember King Aragorn made Faramir the Prince of Ithilien. He was such a good guy, he was put in charge of the land restored from Sauron
@@simondeep That's a wonderful tidbit, thank you! He would make a great ruler.
The healing touch of the true king
You're not a man if you don't cry at the charge of the rohirim, the charge of the last men & the reunion of the fellowship of the ring... The last 12 minutes of this movie is word for word of the books. Me and my uncle can't watch it because we just end up in tears its just too good...
And you are not a true Warrior if you dont feel touched by "my friends, you bow to no one"
The 2 little kids that Sam has when he says "I'm back" right at the end are his actual kids.
One of them is Sean’s
The little girl is
The baby was his “wife’s” daughter and the older girl was his daughter.
And when Sean's daughter looked away as Sam kissed Rosie, that was purportedly because she did not want to watch Sean kiss another woman besides her mother, Sean's wife IRL. At least, that's the story I heard.
omg, did not know that! that's absolutely wonderful!!
I grew up on these films, and have literally seen each of them hundreds of times. The end of this movie, when they're leaving on the boat still makes me emotional every single time
I’ve cried even now just watching his reaction 🥹
I literally cry every time even though I know it’s coming
@@84CrazyDiamond So did I. I always put myself in their shoes and imagine it's me and my friends having to say goodbye for the last time
Same ! Seen it so many times and I’m not spared at the end and always end up sobbing. Into the west playing at the end doesn’t help, the lyrics are so poignant
Sugestion: Afterwards try to watch the making of, it's insane the amount of hard work they put on everything. From making a literal battering ram to assault the gates of Helm's Deep (attacking a real gate that they created), to a member of the production team being left alone at christmas and obssessing over creating Barad-dûr for the last movie. It's a whole new journey.
You will also see their love for Tolkien's work and that they had a HUGE amount of books on set for consulting while shooting the movie. That Viggo Mortinsen actually became one of the best western swordsman in preparation for this movie, that allowed him to litteraly deflect a real dagger thrown at him in the first movie.
Man, such a ride.
If i made a mistake on my spelling, i'm sorry, not my native thongue
Get my like, directly from Brazil, and my subscription
I think I watched the bts special features more than I watched the films, as a teen! There was love woven into every piece of this trilogy, and it shows!
"I've inserted myself like a character."
Glad to have you along for the Fellowship, friend.
Finishing this movie is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because you now have seen one of the greatest pieces of film ever created, and a curse because you cannot watch it for the first time ever again.
but you can read the books ... many, many, maaaaany times and then more books on more background lore :D
Never clicked so fast in my life! Cheers, man. Been enjoying these videos a lot.
"No man can kill me"
"I am no man"
And it was truth: a hobbit stabbed the Witch King and a woman finished him.
Only issue with extended version is that it spoils the decision by the Dead Army to fight with Aragorn. In original cut, we saw Aragorn challenge them to fight to regain their honor, but we didn’t see the answer or see them again until they showed up in time to save the battle.
the song that starts to play when Aragorn charges the orc line aren't random lyrics. It contains Elvish of his oath to Frodo, the one he swore way back in the first movie: "If by my life or my death I can protect you, I will. You have my sword."
This trilogy is the pinnacle of fantasy movies
It's the pinnacle of movie making, PERIOD.
LoTR and the hobbit are by far my favorite movies. I know there's plenty of people that put down the Hobbit because they're expecting it to be another LoTR but they aren't the same. One is a cinematic masterpiece and the other is a fun adventure. Great reaction vids!
If they had only toned down some of the CGI in the Hobbit and had a few things changed it woud not have been so hated.
And by lower CGI i mean more wide shots of towns and places using IRL made miniatures like these films or a real helmet for Dain ( like cmon why didnt they give him a real helmet ). And afcorse more real orcs, like Azog was cool but i prefer Lurtz, him being there makes him way better.
I saw so much hate for the films gowing against things that are just stupid, it honestly looked like star wars fans.
@@stefankatsarov5806 I agree 100% about the CGI and I think it would have been better if it was just two films but I loooooved the casting and the story.
the pain in your face when frodo said “the ring is mine”💀 love it hahaha the editing in this one (as with all of them!) was great. i love how much attention to detail you pay and how invested in the world you are. it was beautiful taking this journey with you once again!!❤
The last scene with Frodo before he gets on the ship is just so amazingly well done, yet such a heartbreaker.
The guy Legolas shoots on the ship when the ghost army runs out is Peter Jackson the director
He's got a cameo in all of the films, my favourite is the first one. Burpy carrot man!
Shelob was the last daughter of Ungoliant, a creature from before time itself, and one of the Unnamed Ones from eons before. Nasty business.
It hurts even more when you remember the actor that played King Theoden actually passed away irl 😢
It sure does. It hits different now. 💔
“I go to my fathers, in whose mighty company I shall not now feel ashamed” RIP to the legend, Bernard Hill.
At 3:47 you say, "That is a terrible noise!" The Nazgul's screech is a heavily modified version of Fran Walsh's scream--apparently, she can be terrifying when she wants!
She had bronchitis
I watched the extended behind the scenes on the discs, they used a modified donkey screech as the main sound, they might have added more at the same time but that’s what they talked about
21:52 I probably commented in The Two Towers, that you should remember this line. “I know your face” was the first thing Theoden said when he woke from Saruman’s spell.
Love this guy. Best death scene in any movie, held by Sean Bean for 2 years. Then Bernard Hill forever.
RIP. Legend ❤
2:27 "Release the prisoners." LOVED that! and it WAS a tactic used occasionally - talk about intimidating.
Denethor was done dirty in the movies, he's pretty much said to be the only one that held Mordor at bay by his personnal abilities at governing and not falling to the Palanthir, it's only after decades of 1v1ing a literal ANGEL and the end of his line that he breaks, no one else could have
Aragorn could have.
Only to a small degree. While many viewers do miss all the clues (especially as some of them are only in the extended cuts. But my sister who never read Tolkien and never watched the films, finally saw screenings of all the extended cuts with me. And she put it all together without any issues.
Clues. The word that the ring of power has been found. Boromir talking in Fellowship about how its only through Gondor that the other races remain safe, then alter how great a man his father was. but he is fading. In Return of the King, we see how the use of the Palantir can impact ones mind, even over a short use. And we have been warned about its use in Fellowship, being a two way connection. In Return of the King we also her Denethor talk about the eyes of the White Tower, and later of course we see a Palantir in the throne room of Gondor. We also hear Denethor talk that there is no victory versus the force that Mordo has brought forth. All these things signify that Denethor has been using the Palantir that he is suffering from repeated mental battles with Sauron. That predate Bormir heading to Rivendell.
Really the big difference is just how far he is going, but its not really that dramatic of a change.
Of course as someone who has read the books about 30 times when the films first came out was looking for everything fragment that tied into the written word.
@@Overlord734 i exactly had Aragorn in mind when writing that, no he couldn't have, his whole character arc is to accept himself and claim the throne, implying a change, implying he wasn't "the king" before. he could have done it after becoming the king, not before, and might not have that good a result on the long run
@@markwood6056Slight note, the palantir we see in Gondor is the one taken from Ortanc.
@@maximusd26 Aragorn didn't press his claim to the throne of Gondor because he didn't want to have a conflict with Denethor. The whole "reluctant hero" arc was mostly invented by the movies.
The scene with aragorn and sauron with the Palantir is basically both of them giving each other figurative middle fingers. Sword cut Sauron finger/ring off- Sauron showing Arwen is dying.
41:32 The Dwarves were being attacked by separate armies far away from Gondor at the same time. The Elves as well in Lorien, where through the strength of Galadriel and her Ring of Power they were able to eventually defeat the Orcs. Both races were occupied at the same time as Gondor was on the brink of defeat.
"I just want more"
Imagine when he discover the appendices and that the books stand for a few more years until the end of Sam's, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn and Arwen's journey
Not to mention the Scouring of the Shire, which elevates all of the hobbits to even greater standings!
"Frodo chill". In that scene, despite only having the Ring for a short time, it was already corrupting Sam. As most Hobbits Sam was able to allow Frodo to take it, but notice he could not willingly give it up.
Frodo was able to offer it to Gandalf, then Galadriel, then Aragorn, showing Frodo does indeed have a stronger than average fortitude against the Ring.
Tolkien himself stated that NO living creature could have dropped the Ring into the fire, which calls back to Gandalf's quote in Fellowship: "Do not be so quick to deal out death and judgment, for even the very wise cannot see all ends."
Sam certainly deserves all the praise he gets, but due to a movie not being able to show inner turmoil in quite the way a book can, Frodo usually doesn't get anywhere near the credit he deserves. Every second of every day, and stronger as they got closer to Mordor, the Ring was attempting to force or weasel its tendrils into Frodo's mind, heart, and soul. While people near him had to fight against occasional desires, Frodo's fight was continual for the entire journey.
No one could destoy the ring. no one! The desire and evil it woke through its malicious corruption destroyed it as two individuals fought over it in their desire.
Frodo got the ring so far, and in that he did suceed, but also due to his mercy towards gollum. He he had not shwon gollum mercy, then he would never had go that far, and gollum would not have tried to take the ring, and Frodo would have failed, and the world fallen.
Frodo could not have done it without Sam, but Sam would not have spared Gollum and held on the hope that brought him to the edge.
Frodo was the hero in the end and suffered for it.
Really enjoyed your reactions! "I will not say, Do not weep, for not all tears are an evil."
When the Witch King dies, they use a deflating balloon as part of the sound effect. 🤣
Reminds me of the soda can exsperiment were the heat and speed icing creates vaccum inside it an the can inverts itself with no air left inside.
Bernard Hill brought such weight to Theoden. RIP.
Extended are the regular versions. Theatrical are the abridged versions :)
19:00 Frodo MVP 100% cause non of the rest could've resist the Ring...
37:56 Sam would've kept the Ring for himself 1000miles away from the Mount Doom xD...
the closer it gets to the spot of it's creation the stronger and havier it gets... to resist the power of the Ring inside the mountain is impossible :)
You can't really blame Frodo for being unable to destroy the Ring. It's at it's most powerful and influential right at the heart of where it was created. No one could have let it go.
21yrs ago I was 16y/on when this fi came out in theaters. I cried sooo much esp during/after Théoden‘s speech. So much emotions to this day!
"GG Sauron, don't let the door hit you on the way out." lmao you're awesome lol
Also If you notice Gandalf showed up with 3 eagles, he was holding out hope for Smeagle to be saved in the end.
So Tolkein wrote the story in a very grandious story telling way and in universe the LOTR books are just the story from what gets called The Red Book of Westmarch. If you notice Bilbos book is red.
The ending is extra heart-breaking when you realise that Tolkien was drawing on his own experiences in WW1: some experiences leave physical and mental scars that never fully heal.
One of the best storytellings together with First Blood about untreated PTSD
One does not simply remain dry cheeked at the 'you bow to no one' scene
Yes. Eowyn is a badass. My first time ever on the internet, I immediately became her namesake. My spirit animal.
The movie rushes past it so quickly, but the book chapter in which Faramir and Eowyn get to know each other is truly lovely 😍
I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying! 💜
Another great reaction.
The score was by Howard Shore.
All 3 films were shot together in New Zealand over 15 or 16 months -x-
To answer your question about the dwarves. They were fighting up north of the events of the movies. There was a kingdom of men and a kingdom of dwarves north of Mordor that were fighting their part of the war. While the movies show some of the most pertinent parts of the war, Mordor was invading everywhere. Elves were fighting, dwarves, men, even hobbits were part of the war.
Also, Sam eventually crosses the ocean to be with Frodo again since he was a ring bearer. He lives his life to the fullest and at the end crosses over.
so fun to watch someone see this for the first time and TRULY enjoy and be a part of it! I've watched a couple reactions to these films as they are so important to me and you are by far the most enjoyable to watch. You can tell right away you are a fan and let yourself get immersed into middle earth.
Great job all around!
Frodo, finally seemed to be at peace, parting ways from his friends with _that_ smile. It never fails to bring tears to my eyes no matter how many times I watch.
Your reaction is great, Kay. I love how your love for fantasy lores enables you to predict near future happenings throughout the 3 films. It's been a joyful journey with you!
I feel like the ending of the ring is so good because Smeagol was the reason it was destroyed but still held it up right till the end. Arguably Smeagol was the most envious and greedy when it came to the ring, he lived for over 500 years just because he coveted the ring so much. He's also arguably the most complex character in the movies too.
I also think that Frodo almost thinks he's dead up until the moment he see's Sam and realizes it's not over. They survived.
If I remember rightly; Eowyn is able to kill the witch king because Merry stabs him with an enchanted dagger.
Theres a bit in the books, before Bree, where they get them in a burial mound but its tied to a character left out of the films.
It's a blade made in the now destroyed Kingdom of Arthedane which fought the Witch King's armies. We do not see it in the film but Tom Bombadil gives the blades to the Hobbits when he rescuers them from the Barrow-Wight. It's material that I think would make a wonderfully creepy short film.
@@deanzaZZRIn the film version, Strider gives the Hobbits four blades. Nothing is said about what they could do however.
Frodo not being able to throw the ring into the fire has a huge meaning in Tolkien’s story telling. The ring was so powerful that no one could have done it all by himself, no one was so pure. So it took, as Tolkien called it, eucatastrophy - a mixture of heroic struggles and little acts of goodness of many people to bring ring to the Mount Doom, and yet it would still fail (catastrophy), if not for an apparent coincidence. But it is only apparent, because as Gandalf said in Moria „there are other forces at work in this world besides the will of evil” - and this is Eru Iluvatar, God. It takes both God’s providence/grace and peoples deeds of love and goodness working together that defeat evil (which is a deeply Catholic thinking).
LOTR is just a top of an iceberg of the Tolkien’s world, both in terms of the lore as well as the deep meaning of the stories. There is a whole brunch of literature studies that dwells into this world.
Also, I highly recommend this movie - it is as informative as beautiful and touching.
th-cam.com/video/N73GXN_pb7g/w-d-xo.htmlsi=QpqL6xbgop8StqYK
A+ reactions to these 3 movies, my friend. You caught more little details and bits of lore than anyone else I've seen.
Welcome to LOTR fandom.
One interesting detail from the book, Aragorn had crossed paths with Denethor's father, Ecthelion, in the past, under the identity of Thorongil. Both Aragorn and Gandalf were welcomed guests in Gondor under the stewardship of Ecthelion. Denethor hated them both, it appeared his father loved them both more than him. And he despised Faramir too, for becoming a pupil of Gandalf. So even without Sauron's influence through the Palantir, he was already very opposed to the idea of handing the kingdom to Aragorn.
Legolas and Gimli are two high level mmo-rpg players that are just there for the loot and the sport and Aragorn third in discord actually roleplaying becoming a king
And straightway, all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains. Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
Now you need to watch the appendices in the dvds, 100s of hours of behind the scenes, set and world building . It's amazing and really shows the passion involved. Loved your videos, watching your reactions knowing what was coming next was priceless and yes it makes me cry every time, just the music gets me going . 😢
At 24:00, in the book there are two companies of Orcs, the company in the Tower of Cirith Ungol under Shagrat, and another company from Minas Morgul that had followed Frodo and Sam up the Stairs, under Gorbag. The movie would imply that the Orcs just spontaneously started fighting each other randomly, but in the book it was the two different companies fighting each other. Even Tolkien's version is a little hard to swallow, but it saves Sam a lot of trouble.
Meh, differences between kinds of orc feel established enough for it to work, and the orcs generally seem prone to fighting so it doesn't feel like too much of a stretch imo
@@arthurspils2565 This. If you pay attention, the movie plays it off as more Uruk-hai vs ork fighting to make further set up unnecessary.
25:06 IT's a really interesting passage in the book - what goes through Sam's mind while briefly possessing the ring, and when Frodo asks for it back. Delusions of grandeur and other emotions.
Ring: you could turn Mordor into a garden and force others to take care of it for you!
Sam: don't be silly. I want to do the gardening myself and I only need a small garden for that, not a whole country.
The most hesitations he had of giving the ring back to Frodo was becourse he did not want it to hurt Frodo any more. It was of concern of Frodo, more than his own desires.
When Galadriel said the quest will claim his life, it did. Not in death but mentally. The ring changed his whole life and he was never able to be the same.
13:43 The horns as they start the charge still makes me tear up a little.
Gandalf is still the coolest. Despite being an ancient elderly man, a wizard no less, he's out there fighting, dual wielding a staff and a sword with no magic.
That's just badass.
They dont make them like that no more.
Loved your reactions on this trilogy !
KP arrives precisely when he means too
Grond was named after the Hammer of the Underworld - the mace used by Melkor (Morgoth) - one of the original Valar and Sauron's boss until he was cast into the Void beyond the Door of Night by the rest of the Valar after the War of Wrath.
Legolas, Gimli, Sam, and Frodo were reunited years later in the undying lands!
Merry and Pippin standing on business when that 'For Frodo' hit... gets me everytime man!!!!
At 43:06 you say, "For my mental health I'm just happy; this is a happy ending obviously..." In his essay "On Fairy Stories," published in the 1930s before LOTR, Tolkien coined the word "eucatastrophe." If a catastrophe is a sudden stroke of tragedy, then a eucatastrophe is a sudden stroke of bliss. Lots of eucatastrophes at the end of ROTK!
Tiny thing, but was a nice touch. During the reunion.
You are the first one of these reactors I have seen to mention Boromir.
Well done.
For those who don't wish to read the appendices, here's what happened after...(Spoilers)
Aragorn live to be 210 years old and with Arwen at his side, ruled the race of men. He is buried in the Hall of Kings. Arwen passed away in Lothlorien (Galadriels old digs), a year later since she chose a mortal life. Gimli and Legolas traveled back to helmsdeep where Gimli ruled in the glittering caves (the caves the people of Rohan were hiding in). Down the road Legolas built a ship and asked Gimli to accompany him to The undying lands of Valinor. But before they did that they went on many adventures together.
Eowyn married Faramir and moved to Ithilian were they ruled as per King Aragorns request. They had a son.
Sam became the Mayor of the Shire and ruled for a continuous 7 year, 7 term. He passed the book to his daughter and went it was his time, Rosie died and so with Legolas and Gimli, went to Valinor because he too, was the ring bearer for a time.
Pippen became Thain of Buckland, got married and had a son that he named Faramir.
Merry became the master of Buckland, and led a Hobbit army when some ruffians from Sarumans old army came, which was called The Battle of Bywater.
When they reached old age, I think Pippin was 94 and Merry was 102, they went to Rohan where they spent the rest of their days and passed away. I can't for the life of me remember who passes away first but most likely Merry, as he was older. What breaks me is that they were moved and now they rest on either side of Aragorn.
á na márië!!!!!
Seeing you react to this trilogy made me feel like I was watching the films for the first time again. God bless you bro
You caught every single emotional beat-what a satisfying reaction! ❤
Dwarves were fighting orcs in the north. Legolas did say “I fear war already marches on their door”
And the elves of Lorien are fighting on their borders, and the elves of Mirkwood (Legolas' people) are fighting on their borders. (not elves at Helm's Deep in the book).
Genuinely cried when you started crying, I know these films back to front and it was a genuine overwhelming joy to watch you experience them for the first time. I got proper emotional with you at the end, thanks so much for making these. Look at our boys!!
Amazing reactions for all 3 chapters! It's not been mentioned here that I've spotted yet, but Tolkien fought in WW1, so this story follows a lot of metaphors (different races and kingdoms, coming together to fight a greater evil) and leads to incredible speeches (Gandalf especially for "...so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." and the "End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.") - and when the hobbits all come back to the Shire, life just goes on... but they have the wounds that never heal. It's such a sad story told in an incredible way. (You said make it a happy ending - don't read the book's ending unless you want additional misery!)
I'd love a Hobbit reaction, it fills in a lot of blanks and gives you a deeper insight into the world. I've loved all your D&D references too, a lot of the law originates from Tolkien's world.
Thanks so much for these - subscribed and excited to see what else you'll react to!
The films hold up so so well. Most films that are even ten years old seem dated, but this one is over 20 and you still just fall into it.