Question: Why could Eowyn and Merry defeat the Witch King when it seemed that no-one else could? It seems as though Eowyn can kill him because she is a woman but why does it make any difference?
Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more
These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.
Question: When Rohan arrives at the Pellenor fields, how come they are able to scare the orcs off so easily and force them back to the river (just before the Mumakil arrive)? In the overhead shot of the Rohirrim charging down upon the orcs, the orc army seems to outnumber them at least 5 to 1.
Chosen answer: It's not just about numbers. Sure, the Orcs may outnumber the Rohirrim, but think of it from the point of view of the individual Orc. Bearing down on them, at high speed, are several thousand heavily armed and fired-up warriors, each of whom is riding a warhorse that weighs more than several orcs put together and gives their rider a serious height advantage. Psychologically speaking, the Rohirrim have a phenomenal advantage. Hardly a surprise that the Orcs would break under that sort of pressure.
Question: Is there any word about a new special edition of this movie with some deleted scenes on it? I would quite like to see the fight between Aragorn and Sauron at the Black Gate (which has reportedly been filmed).
Chosen answer: It's highly unlikely that that scene would ever see the light of day, as much of it was cannibalised to use in the fight between Aragorn and the Troll. Plus there would be substantial effects work required to present the scene in any decent way and it would be highly unlikely that the filmmakers would choose to do any more effects work at this point, just for a deleted scene. With three separate DVD releases of the film already in existence (theatrical, extended and the "special limited edition", which contains both the theatrical and extended cuts), it's highly unlikely that a fourth release would be under consideration any time in the near future.
Question: Does Sam's reluctance to give the ring back to Frodo in Cirith Ungol mean that Sam too feels the pull of the ring and wants it for himself, or is he simply reluctant to give it back because he thinks Frodo cannot cope?
Chosen answer: Probably a bit of both. Even with his utter loyalty to Frodo, Sam isn't immune to the lure of the Ring. It still affects him, even if only a little, enough to cause a brief hesitation. However, it's also fair to say that he realises what effect the Ring has on Frodo and hates to see that happen to him, which would also give him pause in returning the Ring to his master.
Question: Denethor, while not a king, sees himself the ruler of Gondor. Why then, is he not sitting on the marble throne of Gondor, but on a small much less elegant chair set upon the stairs leading to the throne?
Chosen answer: The Stewards see themselves as the rulers of Gondor, with some justification, as it has been many generations since a King sat on the throne. However, while they are in charge, they must still answer to tradition, and tradition states that the throne is held in trust for the King of Gondor, with the Stewards ruling from the lesser throne. If Denethor were to decide to sit in the King's chair, he would be effectively promoting himself to that rank, which would not go down well with the Gondorian population.
Question: This applies to all the movies and books. Why is Dumbledore the only one Voldemort ever feared?
Chosen answer: Because Dumbledore is extremely powerful and utterly unintimidated by Voldemort. Voldemort, while extremely powerful himself, relies on fear to weaken any opposition to him - through fear, he gains a measure of control. Dumbledore, who has no fear of his ex-student, stands as a strong opponent who cannot be weakened through psychological tactic - as such, Voldemort fears him.
Answer: In addition, Dumbledore has a reputation of defeating powerful dark wizards, such as his defeat of Grindelwald, who yielded the elder wand.
Question: I recently bought the Extended DVD of this movie and sold the Theatrical version to a friend. While watching the Extended DVD I couldn't help noticing that the jug that Pippin replaces the Palantir with (while Gandalf is sleeping with his eyes open) did not seem like the same jug as the one in the Theatrical version. Are they the same jug?
Chosen answer: There is absolutely no reason to believe it is not the same, the costs to change this would be prohibitive and there is no reasonable need to have done so.
Question: Hagrid was expelled from Hogwart's because he was believed to have opened the Chamber of Secrets. He was stripped of his wand at the same time. Why then, after he is proved innocent of opening the Chamber, is he not given another wand?
Answer: It's not, no. It is, however, the name of Matt Groening's real dad, which is why he named the father of the Simpsons' Homer.
Question: Where does Swagger get his new sniper rifle? He was given the .22 that used to belong to Danny, but that obviously wasn't the gun he used at the Montana ranch or the mountain top scene. Where did this higher caliber rifle come from?
Answer: In the deleted scenes on the DVD it shows Swagger and the FBI agent purchasing the items for their assault on the ranch house, including two rifles.
Question: What Happened to Muriel? Around season two she disappeared.
Answer: Keep in mind, Muriel wasn't very popular. So the writers/directors must have thought it'd be a good idea to let go of the character. No one seems to be complaining.
Question: When Don is doing the interview at the beginning of the film, why does Cosmo make a face when Don says that he lives by the motto "Dignity, always dignity"?
Answer: As you can see in the flashback during the interview, Don hasn't always managed to live by his alleged motto - to put it mildly!
Question: What happens to Arwen in the end? Does she die like a human, remain in Middle Earth forever (as Elrond predicted she would) or travel to the Undying Lands after the other elves?
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?
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.
Question: How did Gollum know Bilbo's name and where he lived ("Shire! Baggins!") when Bilbo just picked up the ring in Gollum's cave? In "The Hobbit" Bilbo meets Gollum, they talk (Bilbo reveals his name and where he lives), and then Bilbo takes the ring after playing a game of riddles with him. Are we to presume that the game of riddles has taken place when Bilbo finds the ring in this movie?
Chosen answer: Bilbo finding the Ring in "The Fellowship" movie is a flashback to happenings from "The Hobbit." Bilbo actually found the Ring and had the riddle game with Gollum about 50 years prior to the happenings in "The Fellowship". Therefore, Bilbo didn't actually find the Ring in "The Fellowship of the Ring" story.
Question: This applies to most prison movies, but is most prevalent in Shawshank. How, roughly, would a prison contraband system like what Red has set up work? It's made clear that Red can get pretty much anything, for the right price, and it's shown that the contraband he "orders" comes in with laundry and the like - so he obviously has somebody on the outside that finds out what Red needs, buys it, and then has it smuggled in. But how does Red get his "order" out? And what's in it for the outside contacts? They're paying for the posters, whiskey, playing cards, etc with their money and taking a risk by sneaking it into the prison. what is Red doing to make it worth their while? I know prisoners make money for their work but it's a very small amount and there's no way he could earn enough to make a profit. Red has a life sentence, so he can't promise his buddies on the outside (smuggling in the goods) that he'll pay them back when he gets out. Also, on the inside (of every prison movie ever) prisoners always do their bartering with packs of cigarettes as currency. Where do all these smokes come from? Do prisons issue rations of cigarettes? They can't all be contraband.
Answer: Since very little is mentioned about Red's life outside of prison, any number of possibilities could exist. Perhaps Red comes from a wealthy family with connections. Perhaps Red became very good friends with a former guard who still makes sure his little system works. It would appear that all of the guards and even the warden know about the system but do nothing about it figuring that it keeps morale from getting low.
Answer: Taking into account a few dollars to someone in prison is valuable...It seems as if Red has a contact on the outside who simply provides him with requested items. Red probably sends money to the source in reverse of how the items are sent in. Each person who touches it (the loading dock guy, the source, etc.) probably gets a piece of Red's take.
It seems that they all get paid in cigarettes. Two packs seems to be the going rate for virtually every transaction point. The most obvious contact point for Red is also in the movie, the guy running the laundry truck operation who himself bribes the guards.
Question: In one of the episodes with clip shows, Troy McClure said that there would be a little green alien that only Homer could see and hear. I know this was a joke, but has the alien ever appeared in any other episodes?
Answer: No, this refers to "The Flintstones," in which Fred occasionally saw such an alien.
Question: In "I'm With Stupid", can someone explain to me who those people were who thought they were Patrick's parents, and how they knew to show up, and knew everything about Patrick?
Answer: I had originally posted this as a mistake before being corrected. My own opinion aside, there is no real evidence to how they knew about Patrick. Its all I think meant to add to the stupidity of starfish in the show. Not only do the fake parents not even have kids but Patrick didn't even realise they were not his parents until they mentioned their names.
Question: In "Wormy", what was the name of the friendship song in the scene with Spongebob Patrick and Wormy?
Answer: It's called "That's what friends do" on the Spongebob Yellow album, track 19.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Chosen answer: It was prophesied centuries earlier that no man could slay the Witch King. Since then, the Nazgul's power and martial ability have ensured that to be the case, however, it's also built up his arrogance and sense of invulnerability. As such, he fails to pay enough attention to his surroundings in battle, bragging to Eowyn about his supposed inability to be killed. This leaves him wide open for Merry, who he either simply didn't notice or never considered to be a threat, to take him down, then Eowyn to slay him. It's not so much that a man could not have slain him, more that a far-seeing elf looked into the Witch King's future and saw that it would not be a man who finally did.
Tailkinker ★