The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) - 67 questions

Question: I'm just curious, but at Helm's Deep, when Legolas says to Gimli "Shall I get you a box to stand on?" or words to that effect, was that line improvised by Orlando Bloom or was it in the script?

Answer: There's nothing to indicate that it wasn't in the script. It seems in line with much of the humour displayed throughout the trilogy, so was likely there from the start.

Question: What was the point of bringing the Elves to the Battle of Helm's Deep? I don't mean in terms of the action of the film - I mean, why would the filmmakers add in something that is completely off the book? Legolas and Gimli frequently comment in the books that they wish their kinsmen would come to help them. Legolas then says that war is raging on their lands, and they will not come. Why have them come in the film?

Answer: It's to show that the other races aren't just sitting back and letting the race of Men fight the battles. They could, of course, simply have had Legolas and Gimli saying that their people are fighting elsewhere, much as the books do, but it's more interesting and emphatic to actually show that the elves are participating in the battle against evil, even if it represents a change.

Question: The whole line of events leading to Gollum's capture by Faramir seems a bit out of place. 1. Where was Gollum when the hobbits were captured? 2. Wouldn't he be wondering where they are instead of fishing and singing carelessly? Did he know what had happened to them? 3. When Frodo finally appears, Gollum - suddenly - becomes suspicious. How so?

Answer: 1. Gollum ran off as soon as he heard the Rangers coming. He did not want to get caught, as he figured the Rangers would kill him. 2. Gollum was certainly curious, but he still has to eat. He wouldn't pass up a pool full of fish. He also suspected that the Rangers had taken them. 3. Gollum is suspicious of Frodo showing up randomly. He didn't expect him to be there, and he found it strange that Frodo would want them to leave right at that moment.

Question: When Frodo first calls Gollum "Smeagol", what is it that Gollum says in between Frodo's lines? They sound like riddles, or are they possibly pieces of songs from the books? If so, what songs are they and where are they found within the books?

Answer: "Cold be heart and hand and bone/Cold be travellers far from home/They do not see what lies ahead/When sun has failed and moon is dead." I believe it is based on a spell cast on the four hobbits by the Barrow-Wight, in the book "The Fellowship of the Ring."

Question: Gandalf explains in this movie how he survives fighting that fire creature from the 1st movie. But I am confused here. They show in flashbacks him and the fire creature falling down the crevice and landing in a pool of water. Next scene they are on the top of the mountain fighting in snow. How did they get from the pool of water to the mountain of snow?

Answer: It was a long fight lasting many days, after they fell, the Balrog climbed all the way to the peaks of the mountains, and Gandalf followed it.

Question: After Aragorn goes over the cliff during the warg attack, why don't Gimli and Legolas go down to look for him? Even if they thought it would be impossible for him to have survived, how could they live with not having made sure? Yes, more wargs would be coming soon, but surely these two brave warriors would not allow that to prevent them from possibly saving Aragorn's life.

Answer: They simply don't think he could have survived. Even if he did, they could hardly take the time to search for what could be miles downriver. Aragorn would want to make sure that the people of Rohan reached safety, so that's what they do, accompany the column to Helm's Deep, rather than abandon them in the face of possible further attacks.

Question: When Legolas says "Aragorn, something's out there!" Why does he speak in Elvish? Gimli cannot speak Elvish and there is no reason for Legolas to not want Gimli to hear what he is saying.

Answer: Legolas was speaking in Elvish so that the whoever or whatever was out there would not understand. It is more likely "it" would understand if Legolas were to speak in english and therefore make their surprise counter-attack void.

Question: Who or what is Helm and what is its deep?

Answer: Helm Hammerhand was the ninth King of Rohan who used the caves and their accompanying fortifications (built many centuries earlier by the Gondorians) as refuge during a war against the Dunlendings. The caves, and the valley leading to them, were named Helm's Deep as a tribute.

Question: What is the reason for Aragorn falling off the cliff? Most people who see this movie would at least know that the next installment is called "Return of the King" so they would know that Aragorn cannot die until the third movie. I wondered whether it was just a plot device so that Aragorn could see the army of Uruk-Hai later and report their numbers to Theoden.

Answer: You're quite right in that, no, I doubt anybody seriously would have thought that Aragorn was going to die, but the scene functions as a way of showing the peril that the characters are facing, plus, as you say, it allowed Aragorn to report on the approaching enemy force, putting the main characters in the thick of the action rather than having a nameless scout character make the report. Plus it also allows them to reunite Aragorn with Brego the horse.

Question: Why does the Eye of Sauron look so different in this movie? In 'Fellowship', it's a round eye with a thin slit but in this movie it is more oval shaped and has a considerably wider slit.

Answer: The Eye gradually changes throughout the films, getting noticeably larger and more dynamic - a sign of Sauron's growing power.

Question: Is Sam's line "By rights we shouldn't even be here," a reference to the fact that Frodo and Sam never go to Osgiliath in the books?

Answer: No. Despite various attempts to read that as some tacit admission of wrong-doing on the part of the scriptwriters, it doesn't mean anything of the sort. What Sam means is that, if things were going right in the world, he and Frodo would be living a peaceful life in the Shire, not dodging Nazguls and arrows in the ruins of Osgiliath.

Question: I am confused about the battle of Osgiliath. Are there orcs attacking the city, or just the Nazgul? Also, how many Nazgul are there (just the one we see or more)? When Faramir shows Frodo the way out through the sewers (Extended DVD) have the Gondorians won the battle or is it still going? And last of all, is the battle of Osgiliath in the third movie (where the orcs are coming in on rafts) a continuation of this battle, or are the orcs seen in the third movie reinforcements?

Answer: Osgiliath is under attack from an army consisting mainly of Orcs, but with at least one member (probably more) of the nine Nazgul operating from time to time in the air. In the final film, Osgiliath is still under siege, but the newcomers on the rafts represent major reinforcements, more than enough to take the city before continuing on to Minas Tirith. At this point, Sauron has committed to a major offensive, so all nine Nazgul are in the fray along with his huge army of Orcs, Trolls, Mumakil and so on.

Question: What is the name of the music heard when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are following Merry and Pippin in the wide open plains at the beginning?

Answer: On the soundtrack, the song is called "The Uruk-hai". Track 5 on the soundtrack.

Question: How did Frodo know that Gollum's hobbit name was Smeagol?

Answer: Gandalf told him - a scene seen in the Extended Edition of the Fellowship of the Ring.

Question: This is an odd question, but have any historians commented on the battle scenes? Aside from the heroes' fights (such as Legolas, Gimili and Aragorn defeating hundreds of orcs by themselves), how true to life are the battles compared to real medieval sieges / battles?

Answer: This all took place in Middle Earth in the Third Age. It won't work to compare this to the techniques or strategies of "our" medieval period. The circumstances are too different to allow anyone to say how true-to-life something might be.

Question: I never understood why the Elf contingent arriving at Helm's Deep was led by Haldir, the marchwarden for Galadiel and Lothlorien. But he brought greetings from Elrond of Rivendell, who wasn't really the equal of Galadriel. Did Rivendell have troops that Lothlorien didn't? And yet, there were plenty of armed Elves as the Fellowsip arrived in Lothlorien in FotR.

Answer: Haldir brings the message from Elrond, who is very much Galadriel's equal, that they fight in honour of the earlier alliance - Elrond fought in that alliance, while Galadriel didn't, so it makes sense that the message would be from him. The elven forces have been sent from Lorien for the simple reason that it's much closer to Rohan - they also don't have to cross the Misty Mountains, which would be a serious problem for any group sent from Rivendell.

Question: What is the significance of Saruman talking at the same time as Gandalf, in the scene where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli find Gandalf in Fangorn Forest?

Answer: This was just a little deceit by Peter Jackson to make the audience believe the "White Wizard" was Saruman for a few more seconds.

Question: In an earlier question someone asked about Brego and said it was Eomund's horse. Eowyn says that it was her cousin's horse. I thought Theodred was her cousin not Eomund. Is that true?

Answer: You're correct - Theodred, who rode Brego before his death, is Eowyn's cousin. Eomund is her late father, who married Theodwyn, King Theoden's sister.

Question: I think that it was excluded from the UK Extended DVD, but does anyone know where I can find 'Gollum's Acceptance Speech' on the web? It was the awards ceremony for the MTV Movie awards.

Answer: http://www.pinwire.com/downloads-file-9.html. Failing that, a Google search ought to turn it up.

Question: I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find the Gollum's song video clip, NOT the one with Two Towers clips in it, there's another proper video clip with a guy and a girl running away from a man with a knife which I found once by chance and can't find it anymore. Does anyone have a link to it?