The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Question: I am confused as to an event when the Rangers are in Osgiliath. Why one of the Nazgul (possibly the Witch King himself) would be within a few feet of the One Ring, and allow himself to be driven off by an arrow shot into the Fell Beast. After seeing the One Ring, he flew off....I doubt that Sauron would have understood.

scwilliam

Chosen answer: Well, for one thing, he's most likely having a hard time controlling the arrow-shot Fell Beast. Secondly, there's no evidence that he positively identified the Ring. He saw a hobbit, which he knows are of interest, but, as Sam intercepts Frodo before he puts the Ring on, has no way of knowing that he actually held the Ring itself. Given the level of resistance on the ground, it doesn't make good tactical sense to try and land the annoyed Fell Beast to chase after a hobbit.

Tailkinker

Question: What is the real name of the flower used as Simbelmyne?

Answer: According to Peter Jackson's commentary on the EE, they actually made the Simbelmyna at Weta.

Ioreth

Question: After Gimli finds Merry's knife sheath among the dead orcs, Legolas bows and says a few words in Elvish. What are they and what do they mean?

Answer: "Hiro hyn hîdh ab 'wanath." ("May they find peace in death").

Sierra1

Question: Why are Merry and Pippin not surprised to see Gandalf when the company approaches Isengard? It never says that they spoke to Treebeard about him and they are not drunk enough to completely forget that they thought Gandalf was dead.

Answer: They've already seen him alive, shortly after meeting Treebeard for the first time - Treebeard takes them to see 'the white wizard' and we see the pair being dropped in front of somebody wearing white. We're supposed to assume, at the time, that it's Saruman, but, as is revealed, it's actually Gandalf.

Tailkinker

Question: In the extended version, Aragorn calms Brego down by speaking Elvish to him. What does he say in Elvish, and is there a translation?

Answer: "Man le trasta, Brego? Man cenich?" Which means, "What troubles you, Brego? What did you see?" This is why he says to Eowyn that Brego has seen enough war, and to set Brego free.

Super Grover

Chosen answer: Théoden was intent on killing Grima out of revenge for what he had done. Since Aragorn is a very noble man, he would have felt that Théoden killing Grima for that reason would not have been a noble decision, especially for a king, to make.

Casual Person

Question: When it first shows the orcs carrying Pippin and Merry, Pippin shows evident concern for Merry and asks, "What about your heart?" To which Merry replies, "It was just an act. See? Fooled you too." I'm just curious as to what makes Pippin think that anything is wrong with Merry's heart. It never stated or showed anything about Pippin or Merry until this scene, and the last we see of them in FOTR is of them being carried away by the orcs, completely conscious and unharmed. However, while I have the extended version of TTT and ROTK, I only have the theatrical version of FOTR, so I was wondering if this was ever mentioned in a scene during it.

Zinka17

Chosen answer: You misheard, I'm afraid. Pippin says "You're hurt" not "Your heart".

Tailkinker

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.

Blibbetyblip

Chosen 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.

XIII

Question: Where can I find the scene where Gimli is telling Legolas the point of a drinking game? Also why does wood elves enjoy wine but Legolas doesn't?

Answer: The drinking game scene is in the extended version of the Return of the King. As for Legolas not enjoying wine despite other wood elves doing so, he just doesn't like it; not everyone has the same tastes.

Tailkinker

Question: What are the words to the chant that Eowyn does at Eomund's funeral? Also, can anyone translate this into English for me?

Answer: "Bealocweal hafath freone frecon forth osended. Giedd sculon singa gleomenn sorgiende on Meduselde." "An evil death has set forth the noble warrior. A song sorrowing minstrels shall sing in Meduseld."

Super Grover

Question: What is Sam's line at the end of the movie just before Frodo asks "what are we holding onto?" It was something about "How can the world go back to the way it was . . ." or something. Please list THE ENTIRE LINE. Thanks.

Answer: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened. But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn't. Because they were holding on to something.

Myridon

Question: A friend of mine has just told me that there is a famous actress who has a cameo as an Elf in this movie, but he won't tell me who it is. Apparently, I have to find out for myself. Is he just being deliberately annoying, or does someone out there know if this is true and who he is talking about?

Answer: If this is true, then it's not mentioned anywhere in the commentaries or other additional materials on the Extended DVD. Your friend may just be being annoying.

Tailkinker

Question: When Gandalf said to Aragorn "Sauron fears you, Aragorn. He fears what you have become." Why does he say that? Why is Sauron afraid of Aragorn considering he's a Maia?

DFirst1

Answer: He means Sauron realises that Aragorn has become a powerful leader who puts his peoples' welfare above his own, and whose followers trust in, are loyal to, and will fight for him. Sauron rules through fear and intimidation and cares nothing about those he governs.

raywest

But why is Sauron afraid of Aragorn? That's the point of the question.

DFirst1

Answer: Sauron does not have the ring, and therefore is reliant on other (weaker) forces to fight for him. The forces he is fighting are scattered and weakened by various things, enough so that he is willing to proceed with his war without the ring. Aragorn becoming a leader of men would present a significant challenge to Sauron's plan to conquer Middle Earth. If Aragorn can unit the people of Middle Earth, they could stand against him as they had before (when he was defeated). In the end, his fears are justified, as Aragorn is largely responsible for there being anything left of Middle Earth to defend by the time Frodo finishes his journey.

oldbaldyone

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?

SAZOO1975

Chosen 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.

pross79

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, better to accompany the column to Helm's Deep, rather than abandon them in the face of possible further attacks. Also, King Theoden had given orders to leave the dead, and assuming that Aragon could not have survived such a fall, they were being ordered to leave him.

Tailkinker

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.

Blibbetyblip

Chosen 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.

Tailkinker

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.

Blibbetyblip

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

Tailkinker

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?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen 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.

Tailkinker

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?

Blibbetyblip

Chosen 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.

Tailkinker

Continuity mistake: As Faramir holds the Horn of Gondor, the rope is attached to metal loops on the smaller half of the horn - without the mouthpiece. However, in FotR, when Boromir is hit with the third arrow and the Horn of Gondor is cloven in two, the rope is attached to the metal loops on the half with the long mouthpiece. (There are only two metal loops and they are permanently affixed.) (00:31:50)

Super Grover

More mistakes in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Sam: It's like in the great stories Mr. Frodo, the ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were, and sometimes you didn't want to know the end because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end it's only a passing thing this shadow, even darkness must pass. A new day will come, and when the sun shines it'll shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something even if you were too small to understand why. But I think Mr. Frodo, I do understand, I know now folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for.

More quotes from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Trivia: Many of the Wild Men in the film were portrayed by actual groups of bikers, motorcycling around New Zealand at the time. Commentary, extended DVD.

Super Grover

More trivia for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

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