lionhead

7th Dec 2008

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: Extended Edition: What is the point of the avalanche of skulls that the Army of the Dead throw down upon Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli? Surely the AOTD would want to keep Aragorn alive; he was the only way that they could break their curse. Or was the avalanche of skulls something that the AOTD were not responsible for? PS: I don't want any answers like "Peter Jackson put it there because it looked cool", I want answers that fit within the context of the film.

Blibbetyblip

Chosen answer: With the last of the line of Isildur dead, there would be no one left to hold them to their oath and they'd be free to 'pass on.'

Phixius ★

The king would have no reason to believe that killing Aragorn would free him. He thought the line was broken. He was surprised that there was an heir left alive. Therefore, he would have believed that they were never going to pass on because there was nobody to free them. Immediately attempting to kill the last person that could free them seems like an odd conclusion to come to within minutes of meeting Aragorn. A possible reason is that the army was leaving, so the magic holding the skulls stopped.

The avalanche of skulls came after Aragorn revealed himself as the heir of Isildur. It was their way of saying no to his request.

lionhead

21st Oct 2021

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: Why did Gandalf beat Denethor with his staff after Denethor told the troops to flee for their lives?

Answer: Because Denethor had lost his mind and the defenders of the city needed to prepare for battle, not be convinced by the steward to leave their posts.

lionhead

30th Oct 2017

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: Why doesn't Gandalf want Pippin to touch the crystal ball, whatever it's called? Does it give Sauron the ability to read minds?

Answer: In a word, yes. The palantír (as it is called) forms a mental link between itself and others like it, and a strong mind (such as Sauron) can manipulate weaker ones (as he did with Saruman and Denethor).

Was Gandalf afraid that if pippin touched the palantir, Sauron would use it to corrupt him?

He was mostly afraid Pippin would accidentally reveal Frodo is carrying the ring and is on his way to Mount Doom.

lionhead

8th Apr 2020

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: Can Sauron sense when the ring is near him?

Answer: Frodo entered Mordor and came close to the tower whilst carrying the ring and Sauron didn't notice it, so this ability is either not there or highly limited. He can only sense it when someone puts it on. It's possible he can sense it when it's inside his tower though.

lionhead

8th Apr 2020

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: When Déagol finds the ring, Sméagol asks to have it. When Déagol asks why, Sméagol says because it's his birthday and that he wanted it. Was it really Sméagol's birthday or was he already so quickly drawn by the ring's power that he only claimed it was in hopes that Déagol would hand it over?

Answer: In the book, it absolutely was his birthday.

Brian Katcher

What chapter in the book where smeagol kills deagol?

DFirst1

The Fellowship of the Ring, chapter two 'The Shadow of the Past.'.

Brian Katcher

Answer: It probably wasn't his birthday on that exact day, that would be too much of a coincidence. But close is definitely possible, or at least closer than Deagol's. Both were immediately drawn by the ring, heavily enough that they fought over it and Smeagol becoming the ultimate winner. Both did everything to keep it.

lionhead

29th Dec 2018

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: Why was Merry's hand burned when he stabbed the back of the witch king's leg?

Answer: It's what is known as the Black Breath.

Phaneron ★

That's caused by his breath and I don't think he breathes from his leg.

lionhead

It could be wrong, but the reference page I read specified that despite its name, the Black Breath is not actual breath, but an aura that the Nazgul project.

Phaneron ★

How was Merry even able to stab the witch king's leg anyway? It's been said that no man can kill the witch king.

Merry doesn't kill the witch king, but he hurts him. His power has grown, giving him more of a presence in the real world, a presence that can be hurt.

lionhead

Going back to the books for more explanation: First: it wasn't a protection. It was a prophecy/prediction by Glorfindel a millennium earlier. Second: the weapon Merry had in the books was a barrow-blade recovered by Tom Bombadil while saving the Hobbits from the barrow wights and had been enchanted directly against the Witch King. Since the scene (and Tom) were not in the film, they went with a more specific interpretation. The Witch King was not killed by a man, but by a Hobbit and a woman.

LorgSkyegon

Answer: Because of what the Witch King is made of, his blood (or whatever) burns the skin of a mortal. Maybe even being too close will cause burns.

lionhead

7th Sep 2017

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Chosen answer: By this point the witch king is indeed stronger than Saruman. However Saruman's power had been declining ever since he chose to follow Sauron.

lionhead

22nd May 2017

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Question: When the armies of Gondor and Rohan approached the black gate, why didn't the orcs who are in charge of opening the gate and watching it not fire at them?

Answer: They were probably ordered not to as it was a last suicidal attempt to challenge them and Sauron was amused by this. Therefore he sent the mouth of Sauron rather than attack them.

lionhead