Underrated moment is the look from Theoden when Gandalf puts his hand on his chair. He has a flashback of wormtongue and sees Gandalf as someone else who might use him as a puppet, possibly explaining why he is so eager to assert his independence.
Yes - but it also has a deeper layer too for the fans of the books and lore - Gandalf is wielding the Ring of Narya in secret, one of the Three Elven Rings - his one in particular that has the power to inspire, unite, motivate and 'Kindle' the heart of Men. The hand on the chair is him waking up the inner warrior of Theoden. We see him since Gandalf leaves shortly after grow into the King he always aspired to be.
You both seem so attentive and involved in this rather special film. It is refreshing to see. I was in NZ during filming, gave lifts to a few extras hitching across the North Island. The whole country got behind the films, you can see it in the wonderful detail of the props and the gorgeous costumes and the hordes of talented and patient extras (many Kiwi horsewomen are in this film).
As someone else said, Eowyn is singing the lament for Theodred in Rohirric, but it's actually Old English. Old English was the version of English spoken between around 450 to 1100 AD. Because Tolkien used English to represent the common speech in his writing, he used Old English to represent Rohirric, which was an ancestor of the common speech. The song goes like this: Nú on þéostrum licgeþ Þéodred se léofa hæleþa holdost. (Now in darkness lieth Theodred the dear hero most loyal) ne sceal hearpan sweg wigend weccean; (Not shall the harps' sound wake the warrior) ne winfæt gylden guma sceal healdan, (Nor wine-cup golden shall the man hold) ne god hafoc geond sæl swingan, (Nor good hawk flap through the hall) ne se swifta mearh burhstede beatan. (Nor the swift steed tramp the city-square) Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forþ onsended (A violent death hath the sent the noble warrior forth) giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende (A song shall sing the sorrowing minstrels) on Meduselde thæt he ma no wære (In Meduseld that he were no more) his dryhtne dyrest and maga deorost. (its dearest lord and dearest son)
11:30 - They were beyond in phenomenal shape! In the books, when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli meet Eomer and all the riders of Rohan, the men (who are all life long riders) are completely stunned and bewildered that they could have managed to cover such a great distance (135 miles!) ON FOOT, in three days. They give Aragorn the nickname Wingfoot out of amazement It's not mentioned much in the movies, but Legolas is actually a Prince, the son of king Thranduil from a land called Mirkwood - and one of the most badass elves alive at the time, and is between 300-3000 years old (its never specified but thats the range). He actually doesn't want to rest / sleep at all during the marathon - mainly because elves do not 'sleep' like other races do, but also because even among elves he's an outlier. Gimli is also a specimen, he is the son of a Dwarven legend named Gloin (who is one of the Dwarves from the Hobbit movies / Hobbit book) - and is essentially royalty himself ... and in the books he keeps up pace with the other two without being any more winded. Though he and Aragorn are forced to sleep out of necessity, neither of them are happy about it. And while they didn't cast him this way, in the books Aragorn is a 6'6 - hes essentially the tallest / most badass woodsman / hunter in all of middle earth - which is the only reason he was able to manage such a distance - AND keep up with an elf and a dwarf (both races are considered more hardy and have much greater endurance than men). He's also not the only ranger in the books, theres an entire group of them that survive, and actually guard the northern realm (including the Shire! Though the hobbits dont really realize or appreciate it) And even among his own people, he's considered the best of the best. This encounter, and their superhuman feat of running, makes Eomer immediately realize that they were something special - and he immediately trusts and befriends them. Their friendship isn't really showcased in the movies, but in the books he and Aragorn became essentially brothers.
@@tommyw9754 Hearing Miranda Otto belt out those lyrics after hours of Howard Shore, Elves, Dwarves and a little Enya was startling, you bet, but they served the scene perfectly. They were authentic, heartbreaking, and human.
In the books Aragorn is fully aware that he has the right to claim lordship over all the places he goes to but doesn't. He choses to submit to those in power in those lands and then earns their loyalty and respect to the point that they're willing to give him claim without him even needing to ask. Seriously, Aragorn is the model of Masculinity. Strong, assertive, courageous, loyal, self-sacrificing, honorable, protects the innocent but is also willing to confide in his friends, show vulnerability, deescalate, humble himself, show respect, and seek the counsel of others. He knows what he is capable of but there is no bravado. He knows he has the right to claim of authority over everyone he comes across but chooses to earn their respect instead. A true leader.
Tough old dudes crying is always a tear jerker for those who understand what it takes emotionally to be a tough man and pillar for others. I usually see men react very emotionally to that stuff, because they can relate.
Fun fact. It took about four months, mostly at night, to shoot Helm’s Deep. Afterwards, Jackson bought everyone who worked on the shoot, cast and crew, T-shirts that said, “I survived Helm’s Deep.”
All 3 movies where filmed at the same time, a big risk if the first movie flopped and then released 1 year apart from each other, yes we had to wait 1 year for the Two Towers. A great idea fliming the Trilogy this way as it really in just one story split into 3 books.
According to Tolkien, Elves could even dream while awake & moving about, "blending living night & deep dream." When Aragorn, Gimli & Legolas are running across the Plains of Rohan pursuing the orcs who captured Merry and Pippin, Legolas never sleeps, even stands watch while his wiped out Dwarf & Human companions are literally tuckered out and even while the other two are asleep. (Elves exist in the unseen realm simultaneously with the third dimension.) That & out of the entire journey Legolas was both Stoic & ethereal but the one whose heart remained the lightest and kept the fellowship afloat in so many ways ❤. So it was weird how the film gave it all to Gimli! 😂❤️ They have a debate after finding the brooch dropped by Pippin..... continue running through the night (& possibly miss other important signs in the dark), or rest overnight (and let the Uruks get further away from them). In the end, they choose to rest. This also applies to what I explained in earlier comments regarding how Legolas was able to walk ontop of the snow! - (Dwarves actually are more robust and actually don’t tire easily at all so it’s weird that this masterpiece of a movie did this).
A few notes to hopefully answer some of your questions and make some things clearer: 1. Frodo's sword, Sting: it's made by elves so it's high quality, but there's nothing special about it except it glows when orcs are near. However, Bilbo had Sting when he acquired the ring from Gollum, so Gollum would have recognized it. Frodo used that fact to intimidate Gollum. 2. The two breeds of orcs: standard orcs are relatively small. The bigger ones are called Uruk-Hai. Saruman's orcs are mostly Uruk-Hai. Aside from their size, the main difference is that normal orcs don't operate well in direct sunlight, but Uruk-Hai can do so just fine. 3. The "leaf thing" is part of the cloaks that the elves gave everyone in Lothlorien. 4. Grima might have forged the order to banish Eomer, but he didn't necessarily need to. The king was so out of it that he wouldn't even know what he was signing. Obviously Grima wrote it, so it came from him even though he said it was from the king. 5. The blade that stabbed Frodo: It was a sort of poison; it's more like an evil that prevents the wound from completely healing. It also has a psychological effect that will become more apparent later. 6. Yes, Gandalf was sent back because they need him. Specifically, he needed to take over the role that Saruman abandoned, the role of leader in the fight against Sauron. That explains his line, "I am Saruman, or rather Saruman as he should have been." It makes you wonder if he would have been sent back if Saruman hadn't been corrupted. 7. A league is 3 miles. 300 leagues is almost a thousand miles. 8. The kingdoms of Middle-Earth: In the south there are Gondor and Rohan. (At least those are the ones important to the story) They have an agreement to come to each other's aid in times of war, so if one of them falls, that inherently weakens the other. In the north (such as Bree) there's not really any kind of central government.
Actually it does have additional properties! When in Mirkwood forest, when Bilbo and the dwarves were ambushed by spiders, Sting was able to cut through the spider webs where the dwarves' weapons could not. Not sure how that would come into play later though...
@@AustinPedigo I always assumed that was just because it was elven, but I'll admit my "high quality" is perhaps a bit of an oversimplification. Anything made by the elves tends to be a little better at its purpose than you would expect. For example, Sam's rope coming undone when it no longer needs to be tied, or Frodo's cloak appearing to be a boulder when the hobbits need to hide. As for what you mean by coming into play later, if it's the scene I'm thinking of (and this will be hilariously confusing if it's not), we're talking about more than your garden variety monster here, so it wouldn't be surprising that any creation of that being would be resilient even to an elf weapon.
Gandalf wouldn’t of had to of been sent back if Saruman wouldn’t have been corrupted. They would have never had to go into Moria. Saruman forced them that way.
@@jonhworth9629 That's true, but I was just talking hypothetically. Everything else being equal (the Fellowship traveling through Moria, Gandalf fighting the balrog, etc), would Gandalf have come back? Who knows.
Epic Lembas history for you - written by elven LoreMaster named Pengolodh. Lembas was made first by the Vala named Yavanna from special corn that grew in Aman, and Oromë gave it to the Elves for the purpose of the Great Journey. For this reason, it was an Elven custom that only women should make lembas; they were called Yavannildi who knew the secret of its recipe from Oromë. Also, the custom mandated that only an Elven Queen should keep and distribute the lembas; for this reason she was called also massánië or besain. - Only on rare occasions was it given to non-Elves, because it was believed that mortals who ate it would become weary of their mortality and would desire to live among the Elves. The corn was an enduring plant that needed but a little sunlight to ripen and could be sown at any season and then sprouted and grew swiftly. Yet it was harmed by north winds, while Morgoth dwelt there. The Eldar grew it in guarded lands and sunlit glades. The ears were harvested without scythe or sickle but each one was gathered by hand, and the white stalks were drawn from the earth and used to weave baskets in which the grain was stored. Melian, as the queen of Doriath, was one who held the recipe from Yavanna. By giving lembas to Beleg for Túrin, Melian showed him great favour because it had never before been given to Men and seldom was again. Later it was passed to Galadriel and other Elves. When ships had been sent forth, at the behest of Turgon, towards the West, its mariners carried a sealed wallet with waybread for their voyage. Voronwë, after surviving the wreck, shared it with Tuor throughout their journey to Gondolin. Dúnedain, inspired by the elves, made a similar kind of waybread (although it was not true lembas), that they carried on long journeys. So each of Isildur's soldiers on their way north from the War of the Last Alliance "carried in a sealed wallet on his belt a small phial of cordial and wafers of a waybread that would sustain life in him for many days". The Galadhrim had a large store of lembas in Lothlórien. Galadriel gave some of it to the Fellowship of the Ring upon their departure. Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee subsisted on it through the majority of their journey from there into Mordor. The tradition of farming the Western Corn and the making of waybread was lost for ever in Middle-earth after the departure of Galadriel and the death of Arwen. One of the only places left where this untouched holy wheat can be grown is the groves within Lothlórien.
One piece of trivia that many often do not realize, including some hardcore film fans, is that the lightning that comes from Gandalf's sword when he slays the Balrog is not merely generated by Gandalf alone, but from the sword itself. The name of Gandalf's Sword is Glamdring, which was the Royal Sword of the ancient King of Gondolin. It is probably the only sword in middle earth that is more powerful than Narsil.
Also, Gondolin was a city besieged and destroyed by orcs and Balrogs. So, after a long time, Gandalf managed to kill the last Balrog with a sword from the city they sacked.
Just wanted to add that "Glamdring" is a Sindarin word/ word combination (Sindarin is one of the two Elvish Languages, that the author of LotR J.R.R. Tolkien created) and can be translated to "Foe-Hammer", which i think is a really cool name for a sword! 🗡️❤
@@renalareveuse2155Foe-Hammer is also an extremely rare achievement in Baldur’s Gate 3. Which has very little to do with anything, other than that I thought it was a very cool reference.
Gollum’s reaction to elvish items and food is like a classic vampire’s reaction to holy symbols. The rooe actually hurts him and the food does make him gag. It’s another way to show how far he’s fallen.
In the lore of lotr Gandalf, Saruman, Sauron, and the Balrog(s) all belong to a caste of what are essentially lower tier angels called Miar. Sauron and the Balrog(s) were the first Dark lord's chief lieutenants of which Sauron was the greatest. Gandalf, Saruman, and three other unmentioned "wizards" are sent to Middle Earth to work against Sauron in the early years of the third age (which begins after the opening battle of the first film). However, the wizards are not supposed to unveil their full power to directly interfere with the affairs of Middle Earth, rather they are primarily there to advise and organize the free peoples against Sauron. This is also why the wizards take the forms of old men despite their spirit's being immortal, they took these appearances as a way to appear wise and trustworthy to the people they were meant to guide, without seeming threatening or overly powerful. In fact, very few individuals are actually aware of the true nature of the Wizards, essentially only the members of the White Council knew (Galadriel, Elrond, Cirdan the Shipwright). Going back to their true power, the battle with the Balrog is one of the few times we see "Gandalf the Grey uncloaked" the wizards would be able to kill almost every being in Middle Earth in single combat with relative ease save for the other Miar, a select few elves still present from the first age, and possibly the unnamed things such as The Watcher in The Water ((squid monster) such little is known about them just wanted to mention it). After Gandalf died his spirit returns back to Valinor (essentially Heaven) and he is granted more power and wisdom as a result of his self-sacrifice and his spirit is sent back into his physical body. Here's a part of a letter Tolkien wrote on this and was published after his death: "The 'wizards' were not exempt, indeed being incarnate were more likely to stray, or err. Gandalf alone fully passes the tests, on a moral plane anyway (he makes mistakes of judgement). For in his condition it was for him a sacrifice to perish on the Bridge in defense of his companions, less perhaps than for a mortal Man or Hobbit, since he had a far greater inner power than they; but also more, since it was a humbling and abnegation of himself in conformity to 'the Rules': for all he could know at that moment he was the only person who could direct the resistance to Sauron successfully, and all his mission was vain. He was handing over to the Authority that ordained the Rules, and giving up personal hope of success." "That I should say is what the Authority wished, as a set-off to Saruman. The 'wizards', as such, had failed; or if you like: the crisis had become too grave and needed an enhancement of power. So Gandalf sacrificed himself, was accepted, and enhanced, and returned. 'Yes, that was the name. I was Gandalf.' Of course he remains similar in personality and idiosyncrasy, but both his wisdom and power are much greater. When he speaks he commands attention; the old Gandalf could not have dealt so with Théoden, ______________. He is still under the obligation of concealing his power and of teaching rather than forcing or dominating wills, but where the physical powers of the Enemy are too great for the good will of the opposers to be effective he can act in emergency as an 'angel' - no more violently than the release of St Peter from prison. He seldom does so, operating rather through others, but in one or two cases " I went ahead and cut out any spoilers
In the extended edition of Fellowship, they show the different items that the elves gave them and what they do. You were right that Sam's rope is magical. The extended version of Fellowship also gives you way more character development, especially for Boromir
That elven magic in the rope is why Gollum claimed the rope burns him. Same reason why he cannot eat the Lambas bread without choking. Elves have too much of the Light within them.
Shadowfax was said to run faster than anything in middle earth and was capable of understanding human speech. He always refused any attempt to ride him but carried Gandalf out of his own will (but always without a saddle).
The language Eowyn sings at her cousin Théodred's funeral is rohirric. Yep, Tolkien was a linguist and the Hobbit story sort of came because he wanted to create languages and tell a simple child tale. The tale was beloved by adults, who kept inquiring about his universe, its people and the ring's origins, and he expanded that into the Lord of the Rings, his masterpiece, and after it made even more sucess than the Hobbit, into the other books and his "Unfinished Tales" before he died.
21:54 I love seeing how Eomir reacts when Aragorn states his name and parentage. He’s like “oh shit a Dunedain Ranger and the descendant of Isildur” and his entire attitude toward the party changes from hostility to kindness. Karl Urban’s dramatic head turn when Viggo Mortensen says it is so good. “Say whaaaa”
Yep Elves have superior senses, intuition and are more fleet footed than men. Plus Legolas is over 2000 years old at this point and so has had a very long time to hone his skills.
I'm sure someone's gonna say it eventually, and if they haven't already, I'll do it...around the 23:15 mark, when Aragorn kicks the orc helmet, Viggo Mortensen broke some of his toes, so the scream was real. He finished the scene before getting medical attention because he's just that badass of an actor. The more you know...
Gandalf (Olórin) is the same species of being as the Balrogs/Sauron before twisted by Melkor[Morgoth]. Maia spirit!. More exalted angel. They are all Maiar (primordial spirits) created by Eru’s Thought (extensions of Eru Îlluvatar himself whilst they had their own free will & individuality. Maiar & Valar (Maia & Vala be singular forms) are both Ainur. He essentially got the chance to experience and study other parts of himself through this.) among the other Ainur before the Years of the Lamps roughly 9,000+ years before arriving in Middle-earth; In Valinor he was known as Olórin.(Remember though he formally existed before the world existed and his form becoming Gandalf hadn’t happened yet. He was sent to Middle-earth in human form around the year 1000 of the Third Age. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ So his many forms had different ages in length of existing. He’s very cool right! Could he get any cooler!? 😎❤️ Another thing is when he arrived in middle earth he was disguised as an elf & lived among them whilst they were unknowing & he became to be known as Mithrandir to the Quendi/Eldar❤️ He could have very well dwelled with the elves far earlier just do to his curiosity & simple desire to explore and be around the firstborn (TheElves) Gandalf The Grey/White Estimated at 15,000 years old (following his quote "300 lives of men, I have walked this earth"), It says that Gandalf was the wisest of the Maiar besides Melian herself. There were a lot of Maiar that were considered really great and powerful. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ However, there is a much longer answer. Like Sauron(former name is Mairon) & the other Istari (the order sent around the same time & of which he was appointed leader but he being who he is & a student of the Vala by the name Nienna & Lorien(Irmo). Gandalf was one of the Maiar, an angelic spirit created by Eru at the beginning of time and therefor one of the many Ainur who sang the world into being & Eru just helped their creation take shape and basically stated “behold YOUR creation” & basically what happens in that world goes sort of preordained as by that song eons ago so really only the ages after Dagor Dagorath will truly be an age that isn’t full of strife; sadness; and longing. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ Also. These lamps are what were before even the two trees. These were Giant mountains but also like light houses but housing a great power but it may have also been where two special Maia lived that helped in the creation in the sun and moon after Melkor With eldrich terror Ungoliant killed the trees, so yea “Arien” is the Maia who basically exists with the sun and her brother and or lover of sorts is the one who wanders with and guides the moon. Of which that other Maia was “Tillion” Galadriel herself not only witnessed this but as a student of Aulë and the other Valar she obviously had involvement in helping create the hallowed objects that housed the final flower of the silver tree Telperion that was the father of the moon and the mother of the sun was Laurëlin the golden tree and prior to the sun and moon they too used to wax and wane! Let’s explore Gandalf even deeper now. - Tolkien kept the Norse/Finnish/Welsh/Irish mythology alive. Magical rings, Gandalf (Staff elf in old norse and Rohan’s Rohirric Éotheod language.), Gandalfs outfit (Ødin), Gandalfs title 'the grey wanderer' (Ødin), Shadowfaxe (The horses of day and night Rhimfaxe and Skinfaxe), Trolls, elves, dwarves etc. * Ødin had a legendary horse, Sleipnir, who had eight legs and was said to be one of the greatest horses known to the gods. Gandalf had Shadowfax, who had no equal among horses in Middle-earth and could understand the speech of men. * Ødin’s legendary gear-the spear Gungnir and the ring Draupnir-could have influenced Gandalf’s legendary sword Glamdring or, more likely, the magic staff he carries, while the ring possibly influenced Gandalf’s possession of the ring Narya (Sturlson 145). * Gandalf & Ødin both receive new wisdom as a result of sacrifice, as Gandalf is reincarnated after his fight with the Balrog, and Ødin gains power and wisdom after hanging himself on the tree Yggdrasil for nine days (Sigfusson 80-85). * One of the most apparent ways in which Gandalf and Odin are alike is that they both take the shape of an old, grey beggar with a wide-brimmed hat and grey cloak when they wander the mortal world and deal with the inhabitants (Pitts 7). * Gandalf and Ødin are virtually reflections of each other, as can be observed through examining their gear and animal companions, the way they sacrificed themselves and were rewarded with wisdom, and the fact that they walk the earth as old men in tattered clothing. The Renowned Steeds of Gandalf and Ødin: both have renowned horses and staves with magical properties. Ø carries the legendary spear Gungnir, which is said never to miss its mark when thrown (Sturlson 145); however, he also carries it as his staff when he wanders the earth as an old man. In the Poetic Edda, the Valkyrie Sigrdrifa advises Sigurd about the magical application of runes and tells him that there are runes inscribed on the tip of Gungnir (Sigfusson 291). This spear could be a parallel to Glamdring, the sword that was forged for the Goblin wars but is most likely influential to the staff Gandalf carries on his journeys. Strikingly similar to Shadowfax, Odin possesses a legendary horse named Sleipnir, who has eight legs and can run on the ground and through the air at great speeds. This sounds very similar, in some ways, to Tolkien’s description of Shadowfax in The Two Towers, “Shadowfax tossed his head and cried aloud as if a trumpet had summoned him to battle. Then he sprang forward. Fire flew from his feet; night rushed over him” (Tolkien 228). - - The sword Gandalf wielded caused the Balrog’s primordial sword to burst into a rain of molten lava in an almost majestic way. It too belong to high elven king Turgon of the great hidden realm of Gondolin, surrounded by tallest mountains. Named Glamdring; meaning “Foe Hammer”. Gandalf broke the balrog’s unholy weapon. Epic right? His original staff broke when he let some of his true powers show to grant a miracle from his own life force. This is the same thing for how the elves do “magic” Galadriel herself tells Frodo and Sam that things elves do may seem like magic but they don’t really use such a word since they are one with the world, symbiotic with it if the world perished so would they. Just so you know; the balrog and Gandalf fought for 10 days straight. Then eldrich terrors(nameless things) assailed them both and they begrudgingly fought them off together and Gandalf resumed his chase of the balrog up the endless stairs of Dúrin’s Tower where they fought up at the top of ZirakZigil Gandalf was given the ring of fire (Narya) by one of the oldest remaining elves from the first clans to wake beneath the stars before the sun and moon ever existed; at the Cuiviènen river named Círdan. Its best attribute was it raises the spirits of those who wear it. Bolstering internal strength and so forth. He knew it would aid Gandalf in his quest from the Valar and Eru Îlluvatar (the one AllFather) themselves to bolster the spirits of the free peoples of middle earth and to sow seeds of hope within the hearts of Men, Elves and Dwarves alike.
And a lot of Tolkien scholars think the scene was inspired by his time in the trenches. Because when they'd flood with rain water, there would be dead soldiers floating under the water (it'd be weird if he came up with the Dead Marshes without thinking of the unbelievably traumatizing real life 'dead marshes' he saw) Kinda makes you wonder where he got that "hypnotizing pull to join them" idea from. Maybe he had a similar experience, but instead of candles of the dead luring him to join them, it was PTSD and survivors guilt.
@@bloodyneptunehe despised allegory and glorifying war. His books had forwards written by his own hand talking about it and the difference between applicability and allegory. Best video that nails it down for good is recently made by JustSomeGuy ! As well as the Tolkien and Mythlovers article !
The bodies in the Dead Marshes were from the Battle of the Morannon (The Black Gate), which came before the Siege of Barad-Dur (the culmination was at the beginning of Fellowship), back at the end of the second age. After the Battle of the Morannon, and for centuries after, the swamps grew and eventually crept up and swallowed the battlefield, resulting in battlefield graves and corpses (and apparently spirits) becoming corrupted with evil from nearby Mordor.
Fun fact: 45:40 the winds in NewZealand were so intense it tore and was caught on camera in that scene was completely unintentional, just happened naturally. They then worked it into the shot of Aragorn coming into the gate. Such an incredible small detail that displayed a kingdom that’s fallen far from its proud day of glory.
A touch that I found very interesting about this movie is the time they devoted to Theodred, the son of the King. We never got to know him, but we mourned his death because we saw the hole he left in the lives of his people through the grief of his father and cousins. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character do so little, (at least onscreen) yet matter so much. It was touching and a great way to tell us something about the character of Theoden, Eowyn and the people of Rohan.
There are scenes that may not make contextual sense such as the elvish rope, cloaks etc that were given as gifts in the extended edition of the first movie. Also, I strongly recommend you watch the final movie with a set of headphones each. It's sacrilege to watch these with a single ear bud each. This is the greatest cinematic score of all time and deserves relevant respect.
Guys this was such a great reaction, a lot of people tend to miss the part about Gandalf being "Saruman as he should've been" and his purpose as the white wizard. Gandalf is essentially an angel (half-god) who takes the form of a wise old man but his power is the only one that rivals Sauron's directly by the time he takes up the leading mantle of the wizards also known as the "Order of the Istari". He is literally sent back as "The enemy of Sauron" and to lead the free peoples to victory in war. I love that you guys were so on it and took in every line, seeing the nuance and symbolism! The lines given by these characters and by these great actors are so strong and with powerful meaning to them so its incredibly refreshing when people really listen and take each word to heart, making for a really genuine, authentic reaction. Great Stuff and looking forward to more!
One of the things I’ve always loved is that wary look Theoden gives Gandalf as Gandalf puts his hand on the arm of Theoden’s throne. It’s subtle but once you notice it, it’s clear that he’s worried he’s about to be manipulated again after just being released from Grima’s power.
I get a kick out of Gimli. For all his bitching about keeping up with his long-legged friends, he does keep up with them. Fun fact. The actor who plays Gimli is the voice actor for Treebeard. In the book, it isn’t as obvious that Grima is working for Saruman, so it isn’t as braid-dead stupid to turn him loose. LOL: Aragorn’s only bad decision in all three movies.
42:50 Pippin and merry are basically teenagers in terms of how hobbits age and they’re a fair bit younger than Frodo and Sam which is why pippin and merry tend to get into trouble and make stupid or impulsive mistakes
The sword Sting is an elvish blade. The elves were cunning metalsmiths, able to imbue rings and swords and such with power. Such swords could sever the spells that bind spirits together. Frodo is not the only hobbit with an elvish blade. In Return of the King Merry also uses an elvish blade, which is important to know in the right moment. Also, Saruman uses a Palantir - a seeing stone - by which he is corrupted to Sauron's service. There is also a Palantir in Gondor. The steward of Gondor, Denethor, has used that Palantir as well and even though Sauron could not corrupt Denethor to his service he poisons his mind with visions of doom. Important to know in order to understand Denethor's actions. One more note: Gandalf is an "angelic" being, one of the Maiar. He was sent to Middle Earth in the form of a man to counter Sauron, with Saruman the White and three others. Saruman was corrupted, but Gandalf stayed true. When Gandalf's mortal form was killed fighting the balrog his spirit returned to the undying lands, but he was sent back as Gandalf the White to finish his task.
Quick correction: the sword Merry used was made by the Men of the North (i.e., Aragorn's ancestors), rather than the Elves, but was similarly imbued with power.
@@noobdernoobder6707 Denethor = done dirty: He was way more noble & mighty in the books. contended wills with Sauron for decades nonstop & even now was never broken nor could Sauron alter what Denethor would see in the palantir even then he couldn’t control what Denethor had control of which was how he CHOSE to INTERPRET the visions given to him. Using it all to Gondor’s advantage! ❤ he also lit the beacons and got the women & children far away from the city longer ahead of time. So the movie butchered him as well as faramir but they didn’t butcher Faramir as badly thankfully. He could have been shown to give Pippen his newest order to light the beacons so then it wouldn’t change the scene much at all as presented! The story here is Faramir’s birth ended up killing his mother Finduilas(named after an elvish princess from the era of Children Of Hùrin was set in);she was a Numenorean woman of the Faithful which her ancestors survived the Cataclysm of Númenor by the way! He was hurt deeply by her death and ontop of that Faramir had the likeness both in temperament as well as his appearance/bearing so he was reminded of his wife over & over again by Faramir who was just like her, and all it took was a simple look or what-have-you to drive the knife in deeper into his heart about his wife. But also Aragorn when he went by the name gifted to him as Thorongil Denethor’s father basically overshadowing him from his own father so he is as psychology goes: treated Boromir the same way his father treated Aragorn/Thorongil. Note that Boromir and Faramir are half Númenorean which is a big thing as far as the legendarium goes! And it’s something to note that he treated Boromir like his father treated the clandestine Aragorn as Thorongil. Denethor actually did many things the movie shows him not doing or neglecting. He was VERY competent and mighty in many craft and (even a lore-master to a degree). He had quite alot of mental and “magical” might which is why he could contend with Sauron too without being harmed in there process in any way!
Fun fact gandalf is a Maiar which is like a god with a little g the other gods are called valar theyre the ones who sent Maiar to middle earth as old men because along time ago the gods fought against the first dark lord morgoth and an entire continent got sunk into the ocean. So thats why the wizards are in middle earth and why theyre power kinda varies from time to time.
@ He knows and for sure Legolas and Gimli do too that’s why they bowed and apologized so quick in the forest when they realized who it was. Also that Balrog from the first movie was also a Maiar their use to be like ten of them like the War of Wrath was more insane than any battle even in lord of the rings
@ The war of wrath was so insane picture orcs ,goblins , Balrogs and dragons all attacking at once like one of the dragons was so big that when it died it changed the landscape of the land from the fall lmao
Awesome reaction, guys. I really enjoy following you on your LotR journey. You come across as sympathetic and authentic and you're actually paying attention and you're good at connecting the dots in this story, eventhough you're new to the world of LotR. Subbed. :)
FYI - The author of the books, J R R Tolkien was a Professor of Ancient Languages at The University of Oxford, specialising in Anglo-Saxon. He was noted for his translation of the Epic Saxon poem, Beowulf. He greatly lamented the loss of Old English mythology after the Norman invasion of Saxon England by William the Conqueror, in 1066. After a conversation with his friend & fellow Oxford Professor, C S Lewis, they wrote their own replacement mythologies. Lewis wrote, "The Chronicles of Narnia," of which "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" is probably the most famous, while Tolkien wrote his Middle Earth material. He actually invented all of the languages first, complete with alphabets, grammar & syntax, etc., then created the races to fit them. Because of his love of the Anglo-Saxons, he modelled the Rohirrim on them (though the Saxons were never known as great cavalrymen) & gave them the Old English language, originally a Germanic language. That is the language you hear Eowyn singing in at Theodred's funeral. Incidentally, Orc & Goblin are actually two different names, in two different languages for the same creature. Orc is the Old English name whereas Goblin comes from the Norman. As Tolkien favoured all things Anglo-Saxon he ascribed to them that term in his books.
At 25:00 when Treebeard says he'd never heard of a hobbit before, you had this puzzle look on your face. Hobbits by nature are secretive and keep to themselves. Seldom stray from the confines of The Shire. Because of that, a LOT of people/creatures in Middle Earth don't know what a hobbit is. When Aragorn & Co. are asking Eomer if they had seen two Hobbits. "They would seem like children in your eyes". Eomer probably had never even heard of hobbits before. TreeBeard is older than dirt, and he doesn't know what a hobbit is. It's not rare to have a character go like " a WHAT?"
Aragorn spared Grima for pragmatic, political & moral reasons. Morally: Killing someone is bad. Even when perceived as justified Tolkien didn't feel that taking a life was ever the honourable thing to do. Pragmatically: Grima might have knowledge about Saruman's plans. Maybe even some of Sauron's plans. Information that they could have extracted from him if he'd accepted the king's 'mercy'. Politically: You've not seen your king in months. Rumour has it he's gone mad and that Grima is the one running the kingdom now. Next time you see your king he's flinging Grima down the stairs unarmed, about to swing a sword through his head. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Grima was even begging for mercy. That's not a good look for Theoden's first act as the King again after being silent for so long. (Tolkien stated there is no wholly evil, only supreme goodness but thinking in terms of only black and white tend to always lean eventually towards some form of evil)). His words on it were beyond perfect. I was paraphrasing based on my current memory.
Éowyn’s FULL SONG in Rohirric Eotheod language + English translation below/ at Thèodred’s “funeral”•’Now dear Théodred lies in darkness, most loyal of fighters. The sound of the harp shall not wake the warrior; nor shall the man hold a golden wine-cup, nor good hawk swing through the hall, nor the swift horse stamp in the courtyard. An evil death has set forth the noble warrior A song shall sing the sorrowing minstrels of Meduseld That noble cousin, who always held me dear Now is held in darkness, enclosed.’ (Now in in the language of the Èitheod)❤ Nú on théostrum licgeth Théodred se léofa hæ´letha holdost. ne sceal hearpan sweg wigend weccean; ne winfæ´t gylden guma sceal healdan, ne god hafoc geond sæ´l swingan, ne se swifta mearh burhstede beatan. Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forth onsended giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende on Meduselde thæt he ma no wære his dryhtne dyrest and maga deorost. She sings this part in the movie: Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forth onsended giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende on Meduselde thæt he ma no wære his dryhtne dyrest and maga deorost. Éowyn is only heard singing the last four lines of the song, ending with the word Bealo, which in Old English meant "evil" or "harm". The first of those lines ("Bealocwealm hafað...") originates from the epic poem Beowulf, line 2265.) Dirge sung by Éowyn of Rohan about her uncles son who passed away. Hargander instruments play whilst her voice remains clear and true and resolute but full of longing and mourning, a flute plays in the mix as well but it’s normally chipper melody turns sorrowful as to show how Théodred was bright when he was alive, but now he passes away into the heavens Éowyn’s Lament Of Théodred
44:38 Very true. It's one of the many reasons why these movies are like fantasy on steroids. The dialogue and use of words like they're poetry just evokes fantasy. As much as I loved Game of Thrones, when I first got into it, it was hard for me to acknowledge it as a fantasy due to the use of modern vocabulary like the F word.
Tolkien got thru thousands of pages (if you count the histories) without swearing, and Jackson made an 11-12 hour movie without swearing. It is possible.
Aragorn’s ring is called the Ring of Barahir. Barahir was one of Aragorn’s ancestors in the First Age. In the first age, Barahir saved one of the elven kings from being killed or captured. The king gave the ring to Barahir along with a promise to come to his aid or the aide of his descendants. The ring passed down from Barahir to Aragorn. It’s probably about 8000 years old.
Both of your emotional IQs are in sync with what Peter Jackson was intending with a lot of these scenes/the message he was trying to get across. At least that is my mind. Great reaction!
Gandalf is a maiar, not from the race of men.. he was part of the beginning of the world ❤ a bit like the archangels. Funny enough, the Rohan banner flying away was not planned
At the funeral of King Theoden's son, Eowyn sings in actual Old English, the language of the Anglo-Saxons. Tolkien was an Old English scholar, and while he created languages for the Elves, for the people of Rohan he just had them speak Old English.
Just to add to the lore...if memory serves me...the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog lasted for eight days, but it has been a while since I read it. Tolkien mentions it in one of his letters or histories.
Theoden's son Theodred's death is because of Grimma .. Grimma sent to them to the North for nothing (he knew there are so many Orc hutment /quarters on the North) and Orcs ambushed and killed the young prince and his forces (troop).. Of course that was Saruman's order for Grimma..Theoden blamed himself because the order came from him.. But Saruman make him give that order..
Frodo's sword Sting is an ancient Elvish blade, originally crafted in Gondolin (one of the hidden Elven cities of the First Age). Merry and Pippin's swords are called the Daggers of Westernesse, the movie doesn't go into it, but they're also ancient weapons with a history of fighting against the Witch-king of Angmar.
Fun Facts; 23:19 When Aragorn kicks the helmet his scream of frustration is actually a scream of pain because after a few reshoots he kicked it harder than intended & actually hurt his foot. 45:35 The flag breaking free was intended but happened naturally so they didn't have to CGI it
The flag ripping free was intended; the crew just thought they'd have to CGI in the flight path, but it wound up being so perfect they left it as is. At least, that's how Jackson explained it in the director's commentary 👍
51:24 Remember the conversation between Gandalf and Frodo in Moria. A main part of Tolkien's message is mercy (he says pity). Gandalf says not even the wise know the end of all paths. In the end, Grima is a key part in getting rid of Saruman
Title: "Funeral of Theodred," also called "Lament for Theodred" Music by Plan 9 Words by Philippa Boyens Translated into Old English by David Salo Sung by choir and Miranda Otto. The Lyrics are found in The Annotated Score of the Two Towers. Old English (Rohirric) Nú on théostrum licgeth Théodred se léofa hæ´letha holdost. ne sceal hearpan sweg wigend weccean; ne winfæ´t gylden guma sceal healdan, ne god hafoc geond sæ´l swingan, ne se swifta mearh burhstede beatan. Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forth onsended giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende on Meduselde thæt he ma no wære his dryhtne dyrest and maga deorost. The text in green indicates the portion of the lyrics used in the film. She concludes the singing with an extra "bealo" (evil death). In modern English. Now dear Théodred lies in darkness, most loyal of fighters. The sound of the harp shall not wake the warrior; nor shall the man hold a golden wine-cup, nor good hawk swing through the hall, nor the swift horse stamp in the courtyard. An evil death has set forth the noble warrior A song shall sing sorrowing minstrels in Meduseld that he is no more, to his lord dearest and kinsmen most beloved. The inspiration is said to be line 2265 of Beowulf: Bealocwelm hafað fela feorhcynna forð onsended... 'Baleful death has many of my living kin sent forth...' However, the "good hawk" and "swift horse" lines are also in the same section of Beowulf, "The Lay of the Last Survivor." Here are lines 2262 ff. No harp delights with glad music, no good hawk now soars through the hall, nor swift horses clatter in courtyards. Cruel destruction has killed what little was left of my kin.
6:15 Sting was made by the Noldor elves in Gondolin, their greatest kingdom on Middle Earth. It was made for the war against the first dark lord Morgoth, and was enchanted to glow blue when orcs are near.
The thing is that Frodo wanted to show compassion and kindness to gollum because he understood that his actions were dictated by his lust for the ring that also possessed him. He knew that his aggression stemmed from the ring.
Fun facts about the Wizards. There are 5 of them. They are called the Istari in elvish. Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast and two blue wizards which are kind of lost and are somewhere in the far east (Alatar, and Pallando)... The wizards are greater spirits, kind of like Angels in Abrahamic religions. They are called the Maiar. Sauron and the Balrog are actually also Maiar, just corrupted by Morgoth. Gandalf actually dies, he then passes on and is sent back by the gods, with ... an upgrade of sorts. Due to the treachery of Sauron. The wizards also have many names ...
Thank You and congratulation on going with the extended Editions! Its worth the watch despite some things that might not be fully understood by both!... Dont think to much about it and just accept it and have fun!... IF after the movie the curiosity is still there then look for the lore in the internet, there's lots of Tolkien Fans giving deep details!... Or if any or both feel that "the void" stills need to be filled :) by understanding the world of "Eru Ilúvatar", then please try the books, its worthwhile although not for everyone who isnt used to read or even read fantasy!... Its a massive lore, massive undertake by Peter Jackson to adapt the better he could!... Understand that the fantasy literature of Tolkien, also called "Tolkien's legendarium" is "Master Dagree and Doctorate material" for many in the world, its discussed in classes by many scholars considering also that Tolkien even created the strange languages you ear in the movie, including Elf... Its not jargon gibberish you ear invented for the movie!.. Overall we mere "mortal men of the west" :) who live in the material universe of "Eä" and did not listen to the song of The "Ainur" (Gandald did because even lesser angels like him can) can only classify the effort of Peter Jackson and say... 3 Movies that stand the test of time, no doubt 3 Masterpieces!
The instrument you may be loving a lot isn’t a violin! A Nordic fiddle called the Hardanger! (hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than four as on a standard violin) and thinner wood. The F-holes of the Hardanger fiddle are distinctive, oftentimes with a more “sunken” appearance, and generally straighter edges (unlike the frilly, swirly F-holes of a violin). Four of the strings are strung and played like a violin, while the rest, named understrings or sympathetic strings, resonate under the influence of the other four. These extra strings are tuned and secured with extra pegs at the top of the scroll, effectively doubling the length of a Hardingfele scroll when compared to a violin. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ The sympathetic strings, once fastened to their pegs, are funneled through a “hollow” constructed fingerboard, which is built differently than a violin’s, being slightly higher and thicker to allow for these extra strings. The resonant strings lay on the center of the special bridge, attached to extra hooks (or fine-tuners) on the tailpiece. Carved out within the center of the bridge is a smaller secondary “bridge”, or opening, designed specifically for these resonant strings to pass through. This is where the resonance is picked up & reverberated; as notes are played, the vibrations are sent through the bridge, where the sympathetics echo those notes. • The Hardingfele’s bridge is unique compared to other bowed instruments. It is somewhat taller and wider, resulting in the strings being slightly lower and farther apart; this allows for the easy execution of double-stops (playing of two strings at once). A similar technique is seen in some American old-time and bluegrass fiddlers, who intentionally move their bridge back a few millimetres closer to the tailpiece, for better double-stops. ❤️❤️❤️❤️ The hardingfele is used mainly in the southwest part of Norway, whereas the ordinary violin (called flatfele, 'flat fiddle', or vanlig fele, 'common fiddle') is found elsewhere. The hardingfele is used for dancing, accompanied by rhythmic loud foot stomping. It was also traditional for the fiddler to lead the bridal procession to the church. The instrument is often highly decorated, with a carved animal (usually a dragon or the Lion of Norway) or a carved woman's head as part of the scroll at the top of the pegbox, extensive mother of pearl inlay on the tailpiece and fingerboard, and black ink decorations called 'rosing' on the body of the instrument. Sometimes pieces of bone are used to decorate the pegs and the edges of the instrument. The earliest known example of the hardingfele is from 1651, made by Ole Jonsen Jaastad in Hardanger, Norway. Originally, the instrument had a rounder, narrower body. Around the year 1850, the modern layout with a body much like the violin became the norm. considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than four as on a standard violin) and thinner wood. Proud Norwegian here. This makes me so happy to have such an ancient and magical instrument immortalized in these movies. ❤ many covers of songs are done in with these such instruments too which is also pretty awesome.
The Lord of the rings trilogy won 17 academy awards is a total of 409 awards, it also grows 3 billion worldwide make it one of the highest grossing movies of all time
thing you gotta realise is that characters like Sauron, Gandalf, and Saruman, they are not human. They are basically celestial beings that were either sent to, or went to the mortal world to protect it or to control/dominate it.
The language Eowyn sings at her cousins funeral is Rohrric the language of Rohan which is basically Old English. In modern English the translation is Now dear Théodred lies in darkness, most loyal of fighters. The sound of the harp shall not wake the warrior; nor shall the man hold a golden wine-cup, nor good hawk swing through the hall, nor the swift horse stamp in the courtyard. An evil death has set forth the noble warrior A song shall sing the sorrowing minstrels of Meduseld That noble cousin, who always held me dear Now is held in darkness, enclosed.
Just found your channel and enjoying the reactions so far. You might want to consider creating playlists for the different types of movies to be more easily viewed in the correct order (LotR, Marvel, John Wick,...)
So the dead marshes may be based on Tolkien's experiences at the Battle of the Somme in WW1, which lasted nearly, 6 months with over a million casualties combined.
Underrated moment is the look from Theoden when Gandalf puts his hand on his chair. He has a flashback of wormtongue and sees Gandalf as someone else who might use him as a puppet, possibly explaining why he is so eager to assert his independence.
Great eye on that!! After coming out of the spell he was put under you cant really blame the guy.
Yes - but it also has a deeper layer too for the fans of the books and lore - Gandalf is wielding the Ring of Narya in secret, one of the Three Elven Rings - his one in particular that has the power to inspire, unite, motivate and 'Kindle' the heart of Men.
The hand on the chair is him waking up the inner warrior of Theoden. We see him since Gandalf leaves shortly after grow into the King he always aspired to be.
Oh yay! First channel that understood the elvish rope!
Glad we could carve out our own little piece!!
You both seem so attentive and involved in this rather special film. It is refreshing to see. I was in NZ during filming, gave lifts to a few extras hitching across the North Island. The whole country got behind the films, you can see it in the wonderful detail of the props and the gorgeous costumes and the hordes of talented and patient extras (many Kiwi horsewomen are in this film).
thank you!! and that makes so much sense the detail in these movies is incredible!
As someone else said, Eowyn is singing the lament for Theodred in Rohirric, but it's actually Old English. Old English was the version of English spoken between around 450 to 1100 AD. Because Tolkien used English to represent the common speech in his writing, he used Old English to represent Rohirric, which was an ancestor of the common speech. The song goes like this:
Nú on þéostrum licgeþ Þéodred se léofa hæleþa holdost. (Now in darkness lieth Theodred the dear hero most loyal)
ne sceal hearpan sweg wigend weccean; (Not shall the harps' sound wake the warrior)
ne winfæt gylden guma sceal healdan, (Nor wine-cup golden shall the man hold)
ne god hafoc geond sæl swingan, (Nor good hawk flap through the hall)
ne se swifta mearh burhstede beatan. (Nor the swift steed tramp the city-square)
Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forþ onsended (A violent death hath the sent the noble warrior forth)
giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende (A song shall sing the sorrowing minstrels)
on Meduselde thæt he ma no wære (In Meduseld that he were no more)
his dryhtne dyrest and maga deorost. (its dearest lord and dearest son)
11:30 - They were beyond in phenomenal shape! In the books, when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli meet Eomer and all the riders of Rohan, the men (who are all life long riders) are completely stunned and bewildered that they could have managed to cover such a great distance (135 miles!) ON FOOT, in three days. They give Aragorn the nickname Wingfoot out of amazement
It's not mentioned much in the movies, but Legolas is actually a Prince, the son of king Thranduil from a land called Mirkwood - and one of the most badass elves alive at the time, and is between 300-3000 years old (its never specified but thats the range). He actually doesn't want to rest / sleep at all during the marathon - mainly because elves do not 'sleep' like other races do, but also because even among elves he's an outlier.
Gimli is also a specimen, he is the son of a Dwarven legend named Gloin (who is one of the Dwarves from the Hobbit movies / Hobbit book) - and is essentially royalty himself ... and in the books he keeps up pace with the other two without being any more winded. Though he and Aragorn are forced to sleep out of necessity, neither of them are happy about it.
And while they didn't cast him this way, in the books Aragorn is a 6'6 - hes essentially the tallest / most badass woodsman / hunter in all of middle earth - which is the only reason he was able to manage such a distance - AND keep up with an elf and a dwarf (both races are considered more hardy and have much greater endurance than men). He's also not the only ranger in the books, theres an entire group of them that survive, and actually guard the northern realm (including the Shire! Though the hobbits dont really realize or appreciate it) And even among his own people, he's considered the best of the best.
This encounter, and their superhuman feat of running, makes Eomer immediately realize that they were something special - and he immediately trusts and befriends them. Their friendship isn't really showcased in the movies, but in the books he and Aragorn became essentially brothers.
If I remember correctly the line “let this be the hour we draw swords together” was Eomer to Aragorn
Aragorn is also significantly stronger than most humans.
WOW. Thank you so much for that extra detail. 135 miles is an incredible feat for a man even in his shape.
@@BreakingCinemaplease read my epic comments made just for you!
Gimili calls Legolas "an Elfish Princling"
I hear so many people not like Eowyn singing at her cousin's funeral. But like you two I always get chills when she sings 😢
@@tommyw9754 Hearing Miranda Otto belt out those lyrics after hours of Howard Shore, Elves, Dwarves and a little Enya was startling, you bet, but they served the scene perfectly. They were authentic, heartbreaking, and human.
In the books Aragorn is fully aware that he has the right to claim lordship over all the places he goes to but doesn't. He choses to submit to those in power in those lands and then earns their loyalty and respect to the point that they're willing to give him claim without him even needing to ask.
Seriously, Aragorn is the model of Masculinity. Strong, assertive, courageous, loyal, self-sacrificing, honorable, protects the innocent but is also willing to confide in his friends, show vulnerability, deescalate, humble himself, show respect, and seek the counsel of others. He knows what he is capable of but there is no bravado. He knows he has the right to claim of authority over everyone he comes across but chooses to earn their respect instead. A true leader.
The lightning is from Eru Aluvitar not the sword the balrog is the same type of being as gandalf except evil a sword will not kill it.
R.I.P. Bernard Hill, (Théoden, King of Rohan) Such a Great actor.
Gizza job
May his spirit find its way to the halls of his father's.
HAIL the Victorious Dead !!!
"No parent should have to bury their child." This line makes me tear up every time...that and seeing Theoden break down. Raw emotion.
Tough old dudes crying is always a tear jerker for those who understand what it takes emotionally to be a tough man and pillar for others. I usually see men react very emotionally to that stuff, because they can relate.
Brad Dourif (Grima) can express more emotion and character with his eyes than most actors can with their whole bodies, on their best day.
Gandalf the Grey: Happy, Chill Old Man, yet powerful when needed.
Gandalf the White: Serious, Warrior Wizard that's there to finishing the job.
He came back with so much presence, not messing around this time!!
Fun fact. It took about four months, mostly at night, to shoot Helm’s Deep. Afterwards, Jackson bought everyone who worked on the shoot, cast and crew, T-shirts that said, “I survived Helm’s Deep.”
All 3 movies where filmed at the same time, a big risk if the first movie flopped and then released 1 year apart from each other, yes we had to wait 1 year for the Two Towers. A great idea fliming the Trilogy this way as it really in just one story split into 3 books.
According to Tolkien, Elves could even dream while awake & moving about, "blending living night & deep dream." When Aragorn, Gimli & Legolas are running across the Plains of Rohan pursuing the orcs who captured Merry and Pippin, Legolas never sleeps, even stands watch while his wiped out Dwarf & Human companions are literally tuckered out and even while the other two are asleep. (Elves exist in the unseen realm simultaneously with the third dimension.)
That & out of the entire journey Legolas was both Stoic & ethereal but the one whose heart remained the lightest and kept the fellowship afloat in so many ways ❤. So it was weird how the film gave it all to Gimli! 😂❤️
They have a debate after finding the brooch dropped by Pippin..... continue running through the night (& possibly miss other important signs in the dark), or rest overnight (and let the Uruks get further away from them). In the end, they choose to rest.
This also applies to what I explained in earlier comments regarding how Legolas was able to walk ontop of the snow!
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(Dwarves actually are more robust and actually don’t tire easily at all so it’s weird that this masterpiece of a movie did this).
A few notes to hopefully answer some of your questions and make some things clearer:
1. Frodo's sword, Sting: it's made by elves so it's high quality, but there's nothing special about it except it glows when orcs are near. However, Bilbo had Sting when he acquired the ring from Gollum, so Gollum would have recognized it. Frodo used that fact to intimidate Gollum.
2. The two breeds of orcs: standard orcs are relatively small. The bigger ones are called Uruk-Hai. Saruman's orcs are mostly Uruk-Hai. Aside from their size, the main difference is that normal orcs don't operate well in direct sunlight, but Uruk-Hai can do so just fine.
3. The "leaf thing" is part of the cloaks that the elves gave everyone in Lothlorien.
4. Grima might have forged the order to banish Eomer, but he didn't necessarily need to. The king was so out of it that he wouldn't even know what he was signing. Obviously Grima wrote it, so it came from him even though he said it was from the king.
5. The blade that stabbed Frodo: It was a sort of poison; it's more like an evil that prevents the wound from completely healing. It also has a psychological effect that will become more apparent later.
6. Yes, Gandalf was sent back because they need him. Specifically, he needed to take over the role that Saruman abandoned, the role of leader in the fight against Sauron. That explains his line, "I am Saruman, or rather Saruman as he should have been." It makes you wonder if he would have been sent back if Saruman hadn't been corrupted.
7. A league is 3 miles. 300 leagues is almost a thousand miles.
8. The kingdoms of Middle-Earth: In the south there are Gondor and Rohan. (At least those are the ones important to the story) They have an agreement to come to each other's aid in times of war, so if one of them falls, that inherently weakens the other. In the north (such as Bree) there's not really any kind of central government.
Actually it does have additional properties! When in Mirkwood forest, when Bilbo and the dwarves were ambushed by spiders, Sting was able to cut through the spider webs where the dwarves' weapons could not. Not sure how that would come into play later though...
@@AustinPedigo I always assumed that was just because it was elven, but I'll admit my "high quality" is perhaps a bit of an oversimplification. Anything made by the elves tends to be a little better at its purpose than you would expect. For example, Sam's rope coming undone when it no longer needs to be tied, or Frodo's cloak appearing to be a boulder when the hobbits need to hide.
As for what you mean by coming into play later, if it's the scene I'm thinking of (and this will be hilariously confusing if it's not), we're talking about more than your garden variety monster here, so it wouldn't be surprising that any creation of that being would be resilient even to an elf weapon.
Gandalf wouldn’t of had to of been sent back if Saruman wouldn’t have been corrupted. They would have never had to go into Moria. Saruman forced them that way.
@@jonhworth9629 That's true, but I was just talking hypothetically. Everything else being equal (the Fellowship traveling through Moria, Gandalf fighting the balrog, etc), would Gandalf have come back? Who knows.
Epic Lembas history for you - written by elven LoreMaster named Pengolodh. Lembas was made first by the Vala named Yavanna from special corn that grew in Aman, and Oromë gave it to the Elves for the purpose of the Great Journey. For this reason, it was an Elven custom that only women should make lembas; they were called Yavannildi who knew the secret of its recipe from Oromë.
Also, the custom mandated that only an Elven Queen should keep and distribute the lembas; for this reason she was called also massánië or besain.
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Only on rare occasions was it given to non-Elves, because it was believed that mortals who ate it would become weary of their mortality and would desire to live among the Elves.
The corn was an enduring plant that needed but a little sunlight to ripen and could be sown at any season and then sprouted and grew swiftly. Yet it was harmed by north winds, while Morgoth dwelt there.
The Eldar grew it in guarded lands and sunlit glades. The ears were harvested without scythe or sickle but each one was gathered by hand, and the white stalks were drawn from the earth and used to weave baskets in which the grain was stored.
Melian, as the queen of Doriath, was one who held the recipe from Yavanna. By giving lembas to Beleg for Túrin, Melian showed him great favour because it had never before been given to Men and seldom was again. Later it was passed to Galadriel and other Elves.
When ships had been sent forth, at the behest of Turgon, towards the West, its mariners carried a sealed wallet with waybread for their voyage. Voronwë, after surviving the wreck, shared it with Tuor throughout their journey to Gondolin.
Dúnedain, inspired by the elves, made a similar kind of waybread (although it was not true lembas), that they carried on long journeys. So each of Isildur's soldiers on their way north from the War of the Last Alliance "carried in a sealed wallet on his belt a small phial of cordial and wafers of a waybread that would sustain life in him for many days".
The Galadhrim had a large store of lembas in Lothlórien. Galadriel gave some of it to the Fellowship of the Ring upon their departure. Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee subsisted on it through the majority of their journey from there into Mordor.
The tradition of farming the Western Corn and the making of waybread was lost for ever in Middle-earth after the departure of Galadriel and the death of Arwen.
One of the only places left where this untouched holy wheat can be grown is the groves within Lothlórien.
Where this lore come from??
One piece of trivia that many often do not realize, including some hardcore film fans, is that the lightning that comes from Gandalf's sword when he slays the Balrog is not merely generated by Gandalf alone, but from the sword itself. The name of Gandalf's Sword is Glamdring, which was the Royal Sword of the ancient King of Gondolin. It is probably the only sword in middle earth that is more powerful than Narsil.
Thats incredible!!
Also, Gondolin was a city besieged and destroyed by orcs and Balrogs. So, after a long time, Gandalf managed to kill the last Balrog with a sword from the city they sacked.
Just wanted to add that "Glamdring" is a Sindarin word/ word combination (Sindarin is one of the two Elvish Languages, that the author of LotR J.R.R. Tolkien created) and can be translated to "Foe-Hammer", which i think is a really cool name for a sword! 🗡️❤
@@renalareveuse2155Foe-Hammer is also an extremely rare achievement in Baldur’s Gate 3. Which has very little to do with anything, other than that I thought it was a very cool reference.
@@markpayne8004The people who made that game are hard-core fantasy nerds 😂
Gollum’s reaction to elvish items and food is like a classic vampire’s reaction to holy symbols. The rooe actually hurts him and the food does make him gag. It’s another way to show how far he’s fallen.
Frodo commanded Sméagol, "You will take us to The Black Gate."
He didn't ask Gollum if there were another way.
In the lore of lotr Gandalf, Saruman, Sauron, and the Balrog(s) all belong to a caste of what are essentially lower tier angels called Miar. Sauron and the Balrog(s) were the first Dark lord's chief lieutenants of which Sauron was the greatest. Gandalf, Saruman, and three other unmentioned "wizards" are sent to Middle Earth to work against Sauron in the early years of the third age (which begins after the opening battle of the first film). However, the wizards are not supposed to unveil their full power to directly interfere with the affairs of Middle Earth, rather they are primarily there to advise and organize the free peoples against Sauron.
This is also why the wizards take the forms of old men despite their spirit's being immortal, they took these appearances as a way to appear wise and trustworthy to the people they were meant to guide, without seeming threatening or overly powerful. In fact, very few individuals are actually aware of the true nature of the Wizards, essentially only the members of the White Council knew (Galadriel, Elrond, Cirdan the Shipwright).
Going back to their true power, the battle with the Balrog is one of the few times we see "Gandalf the Grey uncloaked" the wizards would be able to kill almost every being in Middle Earth in single combat with relative ease save for the other Miar, a select few elves still present from the first age, and possibly the unnamed things such as The Watcher in The Water ((squid monster) such little is known about them just wanted to mention it).
After Gandalf died his spirit returns back to Valinor (essentially Heaven) and he is granted more power and wisdom as a result of his self-sacrifice and his spirit is sent back into his physical body.
Here's a part of a letter Tolkien wrote on this and was published after his death:
"The 'wizards' were not exempt, indeed being incarnate were more likely to stray, or err. Gandalf alone fully passes the tests, on a moral plane anyway (he makes mistakes of judgement). For in his condition it was for him a sacrifice to perish on the Bridge in defense of his companions, less perhaps than for a mortal Man or Hobbit, since he had a far greater inner power than they; but also more, since it was a humbling and abnegation of himself in conformity to 'the Rules': for all he could know at that moment he was the only person who could direct the resistance to Sauron successfully, and all his mission was vain. He was handing over to the Authority that ordained the Rules, and giving up personal hope of success."
"That I should say is what the Authority wished, as a set-off to Saruman. The 'wizards', as such, had failed; or if you like: the crisis had become too grave and needed an enhancement of power. So Gandalf sacrificed himself, was accepted, and enhanced, and returned. 'Yes, that was the name. I was Gandalf.' Of course he remains similar in personality and idiosyncrasy, but both his wisdom and power are much greater. When he speaks he commands attention; the old Gandalf could not have dealt so with Théoden, ______________. He is still under the obligation of concealing his power and of teaching rather than forcing or dominating wills, but where the physical powers of the Enemy are too great for the good will of the opposers to be effective he can act in emergency as an 'angel' - no more violently than the release of St Peter from prison. He seldom does so, operating rather through others, but in one or two cases "
I went ahead and cut out any spoilers
Don't forget Rhadagast the Brown. The only unnamed wizards were the two Blue.
@@Thom1212 I should have clarified, but I meant unmentioned in the films, the LOTR ones anyways
Great comment! The only thing I can add is some spelling clarifications for this thread:
Maiar
Radagast
In the extended edition of Fellowship, they show the different items that the elves gave them and what they do. You were right that Sam's rope is magical. The extended version of Fellowship also gives you way more character development, especially for Boromir
That elven magic in the rope is why Gollum claimed the rope burns him. Same reason why he cannot eat the Lambas bread without choking. Elves have too much of the Light within them.
That and even gives Galadriel a lot more redeeming scenes which show the real character who’s way on the 1000% GOOD side.
Shadowfax was said to run faster than anything in middle earth and was capable of understanding human speech. He always refused any attempt to ride him but carried Gandalf out of his own will (but always without a saddle).
Also, he is a very good boy.
The language Eowyn sings at her cousin Théodred's funeral is rohirric. Yep, Tolkien was a linguist and the Hobbit story sort of came because he wanted to create languages and tell a simple child tale. The tale was beloved by adults, who kept inquiring about his universe, its people and the ring's origins, and he expanded that into the Lord of the Rings, his masterpiece, and after it made even more sucess than the Hobbit, into the other books and his "Unfinished Tales" before he died.
remarkable
The name of the language in Middle Earth is Rohirric, but it's not a language he invented like Elvish, it's literally just Old English.
Lotr hell yea. It’s crazy how these movies are so old yet feel like their quality is timeless
21:54 I love seeing how Eomir reacts when Aragorn states his name and parentage.
He’s like “oh shit a Dunedain Ranger and the descendant of Isildur” and his entire attitude toward the party changes from hostility to kindness. Karl Urban’s dramatic head turn when Viggo Mortensen says it is so good.
“Say whaaaa”
Yep Elves have superior senses, intuition and are more fleet footed than men. Plus Legolas is over 2000 years old at this point and so has had a very long time to hone his skills.
I'm sure someone's gonna say it eventually, and if they haven't already, I'll do it...around the 23:15 mark, when Aragorn kicks the orc helmet, Viggo Mortensen broke some of his toes, so the scream was real. He finished the scene before getting medical attention because he's just that badass of an actor. The more you know...
I should downvote you just for beating me to this! lol
Thank you for keeping the tradition alive
#FellowshipOfTheBrokenToe
He forgot the steel toes at work i guess haha
@@BreakingCinema It happened after many takes where he kicked the helmet towards wrong places. When he finally got it, his toe broke.
This is "The comment" and im here for it!
I saw the kick and came here looking for the comment. I knew someone would be on it.
Gandalf (Olórin) is the same species of being as the Balrogs/Sauron before twisted by Melkor[Morgoth]. Maia spirit!. More exalted angel. They are all Maiar (primordial spirits) created by Eru’s Thought (extensions of Eru Îlluvatar himself whilst they had their own free will & individuality. Maiar & Valar (Maia & Vala be singular forms) are both Ainur.
He essentially got the chance to experience and study other parts of himself through this.) among the other Ainur before the Years of the Lamps roughly 9,000+ years before arriving in Middle-earth; In Valinor he was known as Olórin.(Remember though he formally existed before the world existed and his form becoming Gandalf hadn’t happened yet. He was sent to Middle-earth in human form around the year 1000 of the Third Age.
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So his many forms had different ages in length of existing. He’s very cool right! Could he get any cooler!? 😎❤️ Another thing is when he arrived in middle earth he was disguised as an elf & lived among them whilst they were unknowing & he became to be known as Mithrandir to the Quendi/Eldar❤️ He could have very well dwelled with the elves far earlier just do to his curiosity & simple desire to explore and be around the firstborn (TheElves)
Gandalf The Grey/White
Estimated at 15,000 years old (following his quote "300 lives of men, I have walked this earth"), It says that Gandalf was the wisest of the Maiar besides Melian herself. There were a lot of Maiar that were considered really great and powerful.
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However, there is a much longer answer. Like Sauron(former name is Mairon) & the other Istari (the order sent around the same time & of which he was appointed leader but he being who he is & a student of the Vala by the name Nienna & Lorien(Irmo).
Gandalf was one of the Maiar, an angelic spirit created by Eru at the beginning of time and therefor one of the many Ainur who sang the world into being & Eru just helped their creation take shape and basically stated “behold YOUR creation” & basically what happens in that world goes sort of preordained as by that song eons ago so really only the ages after Dagor Dagorath will truly be an age that isn’t full of strife; sadness; and longing.
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Also. These lamps are what were before even the two trees. These were Giant mountains but also like light houses but housing a great power but it may have also been where two special Maia lived that helped in the creation in the sun and moon after Melkor With eldrich terror Ungoliant killed the trees, so yea “Arien” is the Maia who basically exists with the sun and her brother and or lover of sorts is the one who wanders with and guides the moon. Of which that other Maia was “Tillion”
Galadriel herself not only witnessed this but as a student of Aulë and the other Valar she obviously had involvement in helping create the hallowed objects that housed the final flower of the silver tree Telperion that was the father of the moon and the mother of the sun was Laurëlin the golden tree and prior to the sun and moon they too used to wax and wane!
Let’s explore Gandalf even deeper now. - Tolkien kept the Norse/Finnish/Welsh/Irish mythology alive. Magical rings, Gandalf (Staff elf in old norse and Rohan’s Rohirric Éotheod language.), Gandalfs outfit (Ødin), Gandalfs title 'the grey wanderer' (Ødin), Shadowfaxe (The horses of day and night Rhimfaxe and Skinfaxe), Trolls, elves, dwarves etc.
* Ødin had a legendary horse, Sleipnir, who had eight legs and was said to be one of the greatest horses known to the gods. Gandalf had Shadowfax, who had no equal among horses in Middle-earth and could understand the speech of men.
* Ødin’s legendary gear-the spear Gungnir and the ring Draupnir-could have influenced Gandalf’s legendary sword Glamdring or, more likely, the magic staff he carries, while the ring possibly influenced Gandalf’s possession of the ring Narya (Sturlson 145).
* Gandalf & Ødin both receive new wisdom as a result of sacrifice, as Gandalf is reincarnated after his fight with the Balrog, and Ødin gains power and wisdom after hanging himself on the tree Yggdrasil for nine days (Sigfusson 80-85).
* One of the most apparent ways in which Gandalf and Odin are alike is that they both take the shape of an old, grey beggar with a wide-brimmed hat and grey cloak when they wander the mortal world and deal with the inhabitants (Pitts 7).
* Gandalf and Ødin are virtually reflections of each other, as can be observed through examining their gear and animal companions, the way they sacrificed themselves and were rewarded with wisdom, and the fact that they walk the earth as old men in tattered clothing.
The Renowned Steeds of Gandalf and Ødin: both have renowned horses and staves with magical properties. Ø carries the legendary spear Gungnir, which is said never to miss its mark when thrown (Sturlson 145); however, he also carries it as his staff when he wanders the earth as an old man.
In the Poetic Edda, the Valkyrie Sigrdrifa advises Sigurd about the magical application of runes and tells him that there are runes inscribed on the tip of Gungnir (Sigfusson 291). This spear could be a parallel to Glamdring, the sword that was forged for the Goblin wars but is most likely influential to the staff Gandalf carries on his journeys.
Strikingly similar to Shadowfax, Odin possesses a legendary horse named Sleipnir, who has eight legs and can run on the ground and through the air at great speeds. This sounds very similar, in some ways, to Tolkien’s description of Shadowfax in The Two Towers, “Shadowfax tossed his head and cried aloud as if a trumpet had summoned him to battle. Then he sprang forward. Fire flew from his feet; night rushed over him” (Tolkien 228).
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The sword Gandalf wielded caused the Balrog’s primordial sword to burst into a rain of molten lava in an almost majestic way. It too belong to high elven king Turgon of the great hidden realm of Gondolin, surrounded by tallest mountains. Named Glamdring; meaning “Foe Hammer”. Gandalf broke the balrog’s unholy weapon. Epic right?
His original staff broke when he let some of his true powers show to grant a miracle from his own life force. This is the same thing for how the elves do “magic” Galadriel herself tells Frodo and Sam that things elves do may seem like magic but they don’t really use such a word since they are one with the world, symbiotic with it if the world perished so would they.
Just so you know; the balrog and Gandalf fought for 10 days straight. Then eldrich terrors(nameless things) assailed them both and they begrudgingly fought them off together and Gandalf resumed his chase of the balrog up the endless stairs of Dúrin’s Tower where they fought up at the top of ZirakZigil
Gandalf was given the ring of fire (Narya) by one of the oldest remaining elves from the first clans to wake beneath the stars before the sun and moon ever existed; at the Cuiviènen river named Círdan. Its best attribute was it raises the spirits of those who wear it. Bolstering internal strength and so forth. He knew it would aid Gandalf in his quest from the Valar and Eru Îlluvatar (the one AllFather) themselves to bolster the spirits of the free peoples of middle earth and to sow seeds of hope within the hearts of Men, Elves and Dwarves alike.
Thanks for watching everyone dont forget to subscribe if you like the reaction!! 🎉💙🍿
Thanks, and subbed
Subbed too, but shew ! hope ya got speakers playing, not just a single earbud -a huge part of these movies is the audio experience
The bodies in the Dead Marshes are the bodies from the battle at the beginning of Fellowship, when Sauron was defeated.
And a lot of Tolkien scholars think the scene was inspired by his time in the trenches. Because when they'd flood with rain water, there would be dead soldiers floating under the water (it'd be weird if he came up with the Dead Marshes without thinking of the unbelievably traumatizing real life 'dead marshes' he saw)
Kinda makes you wonder where he got that "hypnotizing pull to join them" idea from. Maybe he had a similar experience, but instead of candles of the dead luring him to join them, it was PTSD and survivors guilt.
@@bloodyneptunehe despised allegory and glorifying war. His books had forwards written by his own hand talking about it and the difference between applicability and allegory. Best video that nails it down for good is recently made by JustSomeGuy ! As well as the Tolkien and Mythlovers article !
The bodies in the Dead Marshes were from the Battle of the Morannon (The Black Gate), which came before the Siege of Barad-Dur (the culmination was at the beginning of Fellowship), back at the end of the second age. After the Battle of the Morannon, and for centuries after, the swamps grew and eventually crept up and swallowed the battlefield, resulting in battlefield graves and corpses (and apparently spirits) becoming corrupted with evil from nearby Mordor.
Fun fact: 45:40 the winds in NewZealand were so intense it tore and was caught on camera in that scene was completely unintentional, just happened naturally. They then worked it into the shot of Aragorn coming into the gate. Such an incredible small detail that displayed a kingdom that’s fallen far from its proud day of glory.
Yeah yeah yeah, he broke his toe, let's all envy the sonofabitch for having a real adventure etc. etc.
I'm so happy you guys are watching the extended edition aaaaa
Had to give the people what they need!!
Two Towers is my personal favorite movie of all time.
We can see why! Helms deep battle scene is the greatest weve ever seen ❤
A touch that I found very interesting about this movie is the time they devoted to Theodred, the son of the King. We never got to know him, but we mourned his death because we saw the hole he left in the lives of his people through the grief of his father and cousins. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character do so little, (at least onscreen) yet matter so much. It was touching and a great way to tell us something about the character of Theoden, Eowyn and the people of Rohan.
There are scenes that may not make contextual sense such as the elvish rope, cloaks etc that were given as gifts in the extended edition of the first movie. Also, I strongly recommend you watch the final movie with a set of headphones each. It's sacrilege to watch these with a single ear bud each. This is the greatest cinematic score of all time and deserves relevant respect.
Guys this was such a great reaction, a lot of people tend to miss the part about Gandalf being "Saruman as he should've been" and his purpose as the white wizard. Gandalf is essentially an angel (half-god) who takes the form of a wise old man but his power is the only one that rivals Sauron's directly by the time he takes up the leading mantle of the wizards also known as the "Order of the Istari". He is literally sent back as "The enemy of Sauron" and to lead the free peoples to victory in war. I love that you guys were so on it and took in every line, seeing the nuance and symbolism! The lines given by these characters and by these great actors are so strong and with powerful meaning to them so its incredibly refreshing when people really listen and take each word to heart, making for a really genuine, authentic reaction. Great Stuff and looking forward to more!
30:18 "They're flyiing now" scene done right.
I was thinking the same thing!
Gandalf solo'd the Balrog to get all the loot and experience.
Wow, I’ve never read that comment before. You’re so creative for coming up with that all by yourself
She could cosplay Eowyn like nobody's business
One of the things I’ve always loved is that wary look Theoden gives Gandalf as Gandalf puts his hand on the arm of Theoden’s throne. It’s subtle but once you notice it, it’s clear that he’s worried he’s about to be manipulated again after just being released from Grima’s power.
I get a kick out of Gimli. For all his bitching about keeping up with his long-legged friends, he does keep up with them.
Fun fact. The actor who plays Gimli is the voice actor for Treebeard.
In the book, it isn’t as obvious that Grima is working for Saruman, so it isn’t as braid-dead stupid to turn him loose. LOL: Aragorn’s only bad decision in all three movies.
42:50 Pippin and merry are basically teenagers in terms of how hobbits age and they’re a fair bit younger than Frodo and Sam which is why pippin and merry tend to get into trouble and make stupid or impulsive mistakes
The sword Sting is an elvish blade. The elves were cunning metalsmiths, able to imbue rings and swords and such with power. Such swords could sever the spells that bind spirits together. Frodo is not the only hobbit with an elvish blade. In Return of the King Merry also uses an elvish blade, which is important to know in the right moment. Also, Saruman uses a Palantir - a seeing stone - by which he is corrupted to Sauron's service. There is also a Palantir in Gondor. The steward of Gondor, Denethor, has used that Palantir as well and even though Sauron could not corrupt Denethor to his service he poisons his mind with visions of doom. Important to know in order to understand Denethor's actions. One more note: Gandalf is an "angelic" being, one of the Maiar. He was sent to Middle Earth in the form of a man to counter Sauron, with Saruman the White and three others. Saruman was corrupted, but Gandalf stayed true. When Gandalf's mortal form was killed fighting the balrog his spirit returned to the undying lands, but he was sent back as Gandalf the White to finish his task.
Gandalf killed the Balrog with Glamdring, the magical Elvish-made sword from the Troll horde in The Hobbit.
Quick correction: the sword Merry used was made by the Men of the North (i.e., Aragorn's ancestors), rather than the Elves, but was similarly imbued with power.
@@evenmoor You are correct but the Dunedain learned the skill from the elves.
Yeah, but Denthor was an asshole to his sons even before that time. The palantir explains a lot but not everything.
@@noobdernoobder6707 Denethor = done dirty: He was way more noble & mighty in the books. contended wills with Sauron for decades nonstop & even now was never broken nor could Sauron alter what Denethor would see in the palantir even then he couldn’t control what Denethor had control of which was how he CHOSE to INTERPRET the visions given to him. Using it all to Gondor’s advantage! ❤ he also lit the beacons and got the women & children far away from the city longer ahead of time.
So the movie butchered him as well as faramir but they didn’t butcher Faramir as badly thankfully. He could have been shown to give Pippen his newest order to light the beacons so then it wouldn’t change the scene much at all as presented! The story here is Faramir’s birth ended up killing his mother Finduilas(named after an elvish princess from the era of Children Of Hùrin was set in);she was a Numenorean woman of the Faithful which her ancestors survived the Cataclysm of Númenor by the way!
He was hurt deeply by her death and ontop of that Faramir had the likeness both in temperament as well as his appearance/bearing so he was reminded of his wife over & over again by Faramir who was just like her, and all it took was a simple look or what-have-you to drive the knife in deeper into his heart about his wife.
But also Aragorn when he went by the name gifted to him as Thorongil Denethor’s father basically overshadowing him from his own father so he is as psychology goes: treated Boromir the same way his father treated Aragorn/Thorongil. Note that Boromir and Faramir are half Númenorean which is a big thing as far as the legendarium goes! And it’s something to note that he treated Boromir like his father treated the clandestine Aragorn as Thorongil.
Denethor actually did many things the movie shows him not doing or neglecting. He was VERY competent and mighty in many craft and (even a lore-master to a degree). He had quite alot of mental and “magical” might which is why he could contend with Sauron too without being harmed in there process in any way!
Legolas can see further, since the world is flat to elves, but round for men.
Lore from the universe.
52:15 she is singing in Anglo Saxon.
Gandalf is actually an Angel that was sent to middle earth
all the wizards are, they are not allowed to show off their power and abuse it.
Great reaction you two are doing a great job
I can't wait till you get to the end. Thanks for watching the extended versions. You won't regret it
Fun fact gandalf is a Maiar which is like a god with a little g the other gods are called valar theyre the ones who sent Maiar to middle earth as old men because along time ago the gods fought against the first dark lord morgoth and an entire continent got sunk into the ocean. So thats why the wizards are in middle earth and why theyre power kinda varies from time to time.
Does Gandalf remember hes an angel is the first movie?
@ He knows and for sure Legolas and Gimli do too that’s why they bowed and apologized so quick in the forest when they realized who it was. Also that Balrog from the first movie was also a Maiar their use to be like ten of them like the War of Wrath was more insane than any battle even in lord of the rings
@ The war of wrath was so insane picture orcs ,goblins , Balrogs and dragons all attacking at once like one of the dragons was so big that when it died it changed the landscape of the land from the fall lmao
@@tag1312thats insane. Need to read the books!
@ the silmarillion and The Legendarium Of Middle earth are your best bets there’s some seriously bad ass story’s in there but loved y’all’s reaction
Great to see you again. I really enjoy your reactions.
Awesome reaction, guys. I really enjoy following you on your LotR journey. You come across as sympathetic and authentic and you're actually paying attention and you're good at connecting the dots in this story, eventhough you're new to the world of LotR. Subbed. :)
thank you so much!!
I really enjoyed both of your reactions!
The lament Éowyn does is in Old English, spelled Ænglisc. It’s how our language sounded around the Middle Ages
It’s probably from the 800s. That’s about how old the Beowulf manuscript is.
You guys are awesome. Two parts of extended edition and both 1 hour long? Hell yeah. New subscriber here!!
On land, the league is most commonly defined as three miles (4.83 km)
This guys eye for detail is impeccable, he’s seeing things I missed and I’ve memorized the books and movies
Love your channel, guys! You really get into your films. More trivia: Grima is the voice of Chucky from the Child’s Play movies.
FYI - The author of the books, J R R Tolkien was a Professor of Ancient Languages at The University of Oxford, specialising in Anglo-Saxon. He was noted for his translation of the Epic Saxon poem, Beowulf. He greatly lamented the loss of Old English mythology after the Norman invasion of Saxon England by William the Conqueror, in 1066.
After a conversation with his friend & fellow Oxford Professor, C S Lewis, they wrote their own replacement mythologies. Lewis wrote, "The Chronicles of Narnia," of which "The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe" is probably the most famous, while Tolkien wrote his Middle Earth material. He actually invented all of the languages first, complete with alphabets, grammar & syntax, etc., then created the races to fit them.
Because of his love of the Anglo-Saxons, he modelled the Rohirrim on them (though the Saxons were never known as great cavalrymen) & gave them the Old English language, originally a Germanic language. That is the language you hear Eowyn singing in at Theodred's funeral.
Incidentally, Orc & Goblin are actually two different names, in two different languages for the same creature. Orc is the Old English name whereas Goblin comes from the Norman. As Tolkien favoured all things Anglo-Saxon he ascribed to them that term in his books.
At 25:00 when Treebeard says he'd never heard of a hobbit before, you had this puzzle look on your face.
Hobbits by nature are secretive and keep to themselves. Seldom stray from the confines of The Shire. Because of that, a LOT of people/creatures in Middle Earth don't know what a hobbit is. When Aragorn & Co. are asking Eomer if they had seen two Hobbits. "They would seem like children in your eyes". Eomer probably had never even heard of hobbits before. TreeBeard is older than dirt, and he doesn't know what a hobbit is. It's not rare to have a character go like " a WHAT?"
The language that Eowyn was singing was Anglo-Saxon. English used to sound like that.
Aragorn spared Grima for pragmatic, political & moral reasons. Morally: Killing someone is bad. Even when perceived as justified Tolkien didn't feel that taking a life was ever the honourable thing to do.
Pragmatically: Grima might have knowledge about Saruman's plans.
Maybe even some of Sauron's plans.
Information that they could have extracted from him if he'd accepted the king's 'mercy'.
Politically: You've not seen your king in months. Rumour has it he's gone mad and that Grima is the one running the kingdom now. Next time you see your king he's flinging Grima down the stairs unarmed, about to swing a sword through his head.
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Grima was even begging for mercy. That's not a good look for Theoden's first act as the King again after being silent for so long.
(Tolkien stated there is no wholly evil, only supreme goodness but thinking in terms of only black and white tend to always lean eventually towards some form of evil)). His words on it were beyond perfect. I was paraphrasing based on my current memory.
It makes so much more sense in the books when they aren’t certain Grima is working fir Saruman. At the very least, they should have i prisoned him.
Éowyn’s FULL SONG in Rohirric Eotheod language + English translation below/ at Thèodred’s “funeral”•’Now dear Théodred lies in darkness, most loyal of fighters. The sound of the harp shall not wake the warrior; nor shall the man hold a golden wine-cup, nor good hawk swing through the hall, nor the swift horse stamp in the courtyard. An evil death has set forth the noble warrior
A song shall sing the sorrowing minstrels of Meduseld
That noble cousin, who always held me dear
Now is held in darkness, enclosed.’
(Now in in the language of the Èitheod)❤
Nú on théostrum licgeth Théodred se léofa
hæ´letha holdost.
ne sceal hearpan sweg wigend weccean;
ne winfæ´t gylden guma sceal healdan,
ne god hafoc geond sæ´l swingan,
ne se swifta mearh burhstede beatan.
Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forth onsended
giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende
on Meduselde thæt he ma no wære
his dryhtne dyrest and maga deorost.
She sings this part in the movie: Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forth onsended
giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende
on Meduselde thæt he ma no wære
his dryhtne dyrest and maga deorost.
Éowyn is only heard singing the last four lines of the song, ending with the word Bealo, which in Old English meant "evil" or "harm". The first of those lines ("Bealocwealm hafað...") originates from the epic poem Beowulf, line 2265.)
Dirge sung by Éowyn of Rohan about her uncles son who passed away. Hargander instruments play whilst her voice remains clear and true and resolute but full of longing and mourning, a flute plays in the mix as well but it’s normally chipper melody turns sorrowful as to show how Théodred was bright when he was alive, but now he passes away into the heavens
Éowyn’s Lament Of Théodred
Fav reaction channel atm!
wow that means so much thank you!! lets us know we are on the right track
44:38 Very true. It's one of the many reasons why these movies are like fantasy on steroids. The dialogue and use of words like they're poetry just evokes fantasy. As much as I loved Game of Thrones, when I first got into it, it was hard for me to acknowledge it as a fantasy due to the use of modern vocabulary like the F word.
Tolkien got thru thousands of pages (if you count the histories) without swearing, and Jackson made an 11-12 hour movie without swearing. It is possible.
Its Xmas eve and all I wanna do is watch these two react to return of the king 😂
Gandalf’s comment to Theoden translates as “Be thou well.” It s wish for health and healing.
Aragorn’s ring is called the Ring of Barahir. Barahir was one of Aragorn’s ancestors in the First Age. In the first age, Barahir saved one of the elven kings from being killed or captured. The king gave the ring to Barahir along with a promise to come to his aid or the aide of his descendants. The ring passed down from Barahir to Aragorn. It’s probably about 8000 years old.
You have a beautiful cat!😻😻😻
thank you
Both of your emotional IQs are in sync with what Peter Jackson was intending with a lot of these scenes/the message he was trying to get across.
At least that is my mind. Great reaction!
Gandalf is a maiar, not from the race of men.. he was part of the beginning of the world ❤ a bit like the archangels. Funny enough, the Rohan banner flying away was not planned
At the funeral of King Theoden's son, Eowyn sings in actual Old English, the language of the Anglo-Saxons. Tolkien was an Old English scholar, and while he created languages for the Elves, for the people of Rohan he just had them speak Old English.
Just to add to the lore...if memory serves me...the battle between Gandalf and the Balrog lasted for eight days, but it has been a while since I read it. Tolkien mentions it in one of his letters or histories.
Theoden's son Theodred's death is because of Grimma .. Grimma sent to them to the North for nothing (he knew there are so many Orc hutment /quarters on the North) and Orcs ambushed and killed the young prince and his forces (troop).. Of course that was Saruman's order for Grimma..Theoden blamed himself because the order came from him.. But Saruman make him give that order..
been waiting on this one, you guys rock
Gotta give the people what they need!
Frodo's sword Sting is an ancient Elvish blade, originally crafted in Gondolin (one of the hidden Elven cities of the First Age). Merry and Pippin's swords are called the Daggers of Westernesse, the movie doesn't go into it, but they're also ancient weapons with a history of fighting against the Witch-king of Angmar.
You catched the burning village. It makes you extremely rare and hawk-eyed.
Its insane because the de aging of Theoden was completely practical
Fun Facts;
23:19 When Aragorn kicks the helmet his scream of frustration is actually a scream of pain because after a few reshoots he kicked it harder than intended & actually hurt his foot.
45:35 The flag breaking free was intended but happened naturally so they didn't have to CGI it
Was gonna try to be the one to mention haha
@@43110clyde Gotta be quick lol
gotcha for the next reaction mate
The flag ripping free was intended; the crew just thought they'd have to CGI in the flight path, but it wound up being so perfect they left it as is. At least, that's how Jackson explained it in the director's commentary 👍
@@theMMAdhatter OK thanks for the correction, the comment I read must have been incomplete
51:24 Remember the conversation between Gandalf and Frodo in Moria. A main part of Tolkien's message is mercy (he says pity).
Gandalf says not even the wise know the end of all paths. In the end, Grima is a key part in getting rid of Saruman
Title: "Funeral of Theodred," also called "Lament for Theodred"
Music by Plan 9
Words by Philippa Boyens
Translated into Old English by David Salo
Sung by choir and Miranda Otto.
The Lyrics are found in The Annotated Score of the Two Towers.
Old English (Rohirric)
Nú on théostrum licgeth Théodred se léofa
hæ´letha holdost.
ne sceal hearpan sweg wigend weccean;
ne winfæ´t gylden guma sceal healdan,
ne god hafoc geond sæ´l swingan,
ne se swifta mearh burhstede beatan.
Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forth onsended
giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende
on Meduselde thæt he ma no wære
his dryhtne dyrest and maga deorost.
The text in green indicates the portion of the lyrics used in the film. She concludes the singing with an extra "bealo" (evil death).
In modern English.
Now dear Théodred lies in darkness,
most loyal of fighters.
The sound of the harp shall not wake the warrior;
nor shall the man hold a golden wine-cup,
nor good hawk swing through the hall,
nor the swift horse stamp in the courtyard.
An evil death has set forth the noble warrior
A song shall sing sorrowing minstrels
in Meduseld that he is no more,
to his lord dearest and kinsmen most beloved.
The inspiration is said to be line 2265 of Beowulf:
Bealocwelm hafað fela feorhcynna forð onsended...
'Baleful death has many of my living kin sent forth...'
However, the "good hawk" and "swift horse" lines are also in the same section of Beowulf, "The Lay of the Last Survivor." Here are lines 2262 ff.
No harp delights
with glad music, no good hawk now
soars through the hall, nor swift horses
clatter in courtyards. Cruel destruction
has killed what little was left of my kin.
33:31 Now when someone gets in ya grill, "Leave me; or I shall throw you down and smite your ruin upon the mountainside!!!" :D
27:55 The dead corpses are from one of the first great battles of the war in which Sauron was defeated. The marshes grew over in later times.
6:15 Sting was made by the Noldor elves in Gondolin, their greatest kingdom on Middle Earth. It was made for the war against the first dark lord Morgoth, and was enchanted to glow blue when orcs are near.
The thing is that Frodo wanted to show compassion and kindness to gollum because he understood that his actions were dictated by his lust for the ring that also possessed him. He knew that his aggression stemmed from the ring.
Fun facts about the Wizards.
There are 5 of them. They are called the Istari in elvish.
Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast and two blue wizards which are kind of lost and are somewhere in the far east (Alatar, and Pallando)...
The wizards are greater spirits, kind of like Angels in Abrahamic religions. They are called the Maiar. Sauron and the Balrog are actually also Maiar, just corrupted by Morgoth.
Gandalf actually dies, he then passes on and is sent back by the gods, with ... an upgrade of sorts. Due to the treachery of Sauron.
The wizards also have many names ...
Thank You and congratulation on going with the extended Editions! Its worth the watch despite some things that might not be fully understood by both!... Dont think to much about it and just accept it and have fun!... IF after the movie the curiosity is still there then look for the lore in the internet, there's lots of Tolkien Fans giving deep details!... Or if any or both feel that "the void" stills need to be filled :) by understanding the world of "Eru Ilúvatar", then please try the books, its worthwhile although not for everyone who isnt used to read or even read fantasy!...
Its a massive lore, massive undertake by Peter Jackson to adapt the better he could!... Understand that the fantasy literature of Tolkien, also called "Tolkien's legendarium" is "Master Dagree and Doctorate material" for many in the world, its discussed in classes by many scholars considering also that Tolkien even created the strange languages you ear in the movie, including Elf... Its not jargon gibberish you ear invented for the movie!..
Overall we mere "mortal men of the west" :) who live in the material universe of "Eä" and did not listen to the song of The "Ainur" (Gandald did because even lesser angels like him can) can only classify the effort of Peter Jackson and say... 3 Movies that stand the test of time, no doubt 3 Masterpieces!
The instrument you may be loving a lot isn’t a violin! A Nordic fiddle called the Hardanger! (hardingfele) is a traditional stringed instrument considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than four as on a standard violin) and thinner wood.
The F-holes of the Hardanger fiddle are distinctive, oftentimes with a more “sunken” appearance, and generally straighter edges (unlike the frilly, swirly F-holes of a violin). Four of the strings are strung and played like a violin, while the rest, named understrings or sympathetic strings, resonate under the influence of the other four. These extra strings are tuned and secured with extra pegs at the top of the scroll, effectively doubling the length of a Hardingfele scroll when compared to a violin.
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The sympathetic strings, once fastened to their pegs, are funneled through a “hollow” constructed fingerboard, which is built differently than a violin’s, being slightly higher and thicker to allow for these extra strings.
The resonant strings lay on the center of the special bridge, attached to extra hooks (or fine-tuners) on the tailpiece. Carved out within the center of the bridge is a smaller secondary “bridge”, or opening, designed specifically for these resonant strings to pass through. This is where the resonance is picked up & reverberated; as notes are played, the vibrations are sent through the bridge, where the sympathetics echo those notes.
• The Hardingfele’s bridge is unique compared to other bowed instruments. It is somewhat taller and wider, resulting in the strings being slightly lower and farther apart; this allows for the easy execution of double-stops (playing of two strings at once). A similar technique is seen in some American old-time and bluegrass fiddlers, who intentionally move their bridge back a few millimetres closer to the tailpiece, for better double-stops.
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The hardingfele is used mainly in the southwest part of Norway, whereas the ordinary violin (called flatfele, 'flat fiddle', or vanlig fele, 'common fiddle') is found elsewhere. The hardingfele is used for dancing, accompanied by rhythmic loud foot stomping. It was also traditional for the fiddler to lead the bridal procession to the church.
The instrument is often highly decorated, with a carved animal (usually a dragon or the Lion of Norway) or a carved woman's head as part of the scroll at the top of the pegbox, extensive mother of pearl inlay on the tailpiece and fingerboard, and black ink decorations called 'rosing' on the body of the instrument. Sometimes pieces of bone are used to decorate the pegs and the edges of the instrument.
The earliest known example of the hardingfele is from 1651, made by Ole Jonsen Jaastad in Hardanger, Norway. Originally, the instrument had a rounder, narrower body. Around the year 1850, the modern layout with a body much like the violin became the norm.
considered to be the national instrument of Norway. In modern designs, this type of fiddle is very similar to the violin, though with eight or nine strings (rather than four as on a standard violin) and thinner wood.
Proud Norwegian here. This makes me so happy to have such an ancient and magical instrument immortalized in these movies. ❤ many covers of songs are done in with these such instruments too which is also pretty awesome.
The Lord of the rings trilogy won 17 academy awards is a total of 409 awards, it also grows 3 billion worldwide make it one of the highest grossing movies of all time
Absolutely insane!!
thing you gotta realise is that characters like Sauron, Gandalf, and Saruman, they are not human. They are basically celestial beings that were either sent to, or went to the mortal world to protect it or to control/dominate it.
The language Eowyn sings at her cousins funeral is Rohrric the language of Rohan which is basically Old English. In modern English the translation is
Now dear Théodred lies in darkness,
most loyal of fighters.
The sound of the harp shall not wake the warrior;
nor shall the man hold a golden wine-cup,
nor good hawk swing through the hall,
nor the swift horse stamp in the courtyard.
An evil death has set forth the noble warrior
A song shall sing the sorrowing minstrels of Meduseld
That noble cousin, who always held me dear
Now is held in darkness, enclosed.
Lord of the Rings The Two Towers is a great movie💯🔥
Beautiful shirt my friend!
Where was it when Rohan fell?
hahaha NOWHERE TO BE FOUND.
thank you for viewing the extended cut
Awww y'all's kitty is so cute! 🐈⬛
The Rohirrim language and culture is based on Anglo-Saxon culture. Eowyn is singing in Old English. Tolkien was a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford.
I think the battle that took place in the dead marshes is the battle we see in the intro of the first movie.
34:12 you have no idea how lore accurate you are with that statement lol
Just found your channel and enjoying the reactions so far. You might want to consider creating playlists for the different types of movies to be more easily viewed in the correct order (LotR, Marvel, John Wick,...)
So the dead marshes may be based on Tolkien's experiences at the Battle of the Somme in WW1, which lasted nearly, 6 months with over a million casualties combined.
You guys got patreon or anything?