Gunn: The final score can't be rigged. I don't care how many players you grease, that last shot always comes up a question mark. But here's the thing. You never know when you're taking it. It could be when you're duking it out with the Legion of Doom, or just crossing the street deciding where to have brunch. So you just treat it like it was up to you—the world in balance—'cause you never know when it is.

'Underneath'


LotR - The Return of the King: "We named the *dog* 'Strider'".  

Frodo: Please, what does it always mean, this... this "Aragorn"? Elrond: That's his name. Aragorn, son of Arathorn. Aragorn: I like "Strider." Elrond: We named the *dog* "Strider".

A discussion of Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King. If you're a pervy hobbit fancier, this is the place for you.


§ ita § - Dec 17, 2003 3:03:55 pm PST #125 of 3902
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

Golradir. That's who I'd thought was Figwit.

The real Figwit's much hotter. I get it now.


Kate P. - Dec 17, 2003 3:08:41 pm PST #126 of 3902
That's the pain / That cuts a straight line down through the heart / We call it love

I loved the dragon/boar/rhino battering ram too. It was on fire! Cool!

Theo, that would be great if they showed Legolas seeing the sea for the first time in the extended edition. I might argue that it wouldn't make much sense in the movie, because we haven't seen the bit where Gandalf tells Legolas to beware the sea, but then again, the EEs are really for the book-lovers anyway, so they might put it in for us.


Kathy A - Dec 17, 2003 3:14:53 pm PST #127 of 3902
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil

My big cry point was, yes, a Frodo/Sam scene:

Sam talking about the Shire, and then we get Frodo's "Wheel of Fire" speech, which I was really hoping would be included in some form, and I think that EW just nailed it. I'm convinced of that because that's when I lost it and started sobbing during both my viewings.

I completely agree that Sam was planting one on Rosie offscreen, and thought that the other hobbits' reactions were great--we finally got a great smile from Frodo!

Oh, and a great little thing that I noticed today-- Narya! Yes, Gandalf's wearing the ring at the Grey Havens !


Sean K - Dec 17, 2003 3:18:35 pm PST #128 of 3902
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty

Oh, and a great little thing that I noticed today--

Which means it's pretty much a certainty that there's extended scene about that to come later, where they actually discuss it.


Kathy A - Dec 17, 2003 3:24:55 pm PST #129 of 3902
We're very stretchy. - Connie Neil

One question about Frodo's expression when all of Gondor is bowing down to him and his friends--did anyone else get the impression that he wasn't all that thrilled about the attention? I really thought that he was thinking, "But I failed--I didn't destroy the Ring myself!" This, of course, is one of the great LotR discussion points--in the end, did Frodo succeed or fail? My take is that he succeeded, since he only agreed to take the Ring to Mordor, and it was through his mercy that the Ring was destroyed.

Again, Elijah Wood deserves a lot more credit for acting ability than he's getting in reviews.


Kate P. - Dec 17, 2003 3:29:10 pm PST #130 of 3902
That's the pain / That cuts a straight line down through the heart / We call it love

He definitely looked the least thrilled of all of them (Pippin was just the cutest!). I don't know whether Frodo thinks he succeeded or failed, but I do think it's notable that when he and Sam crawl out of Mount Doom, they say "it's finally over" rather than "we did it".


Beverly - Dec 17, 2003 3:31:28 pm PST #131 of 3902
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.

But--but--"flaming rhino ram" is so much fun to say!

Oh, EW just destroyed. me. Unfortunately, I think he's going to be a victim of Roddy McDowall syndrome, and never going to find adult roles to challenge him. Well, with the possible exception of Ratso Rizzo-type roles.


Sean K - Dec 17, 2003 3:31:35 pm PST #132 of 3902
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty

Kathy--

I've always felt that Frodo failed, but BAM!!! You just rearranged my thinking. You're right. His mercy is what keeps Gollum alive, and if it weren't for that, Gollum would never have been able to take the ring from him at the end, and fall to his death with the Ring in his grasp. So he does succeed.

But not directly (essentially he both succeeds and fails). And in Frodo's mind, he'll never ever see that, what you just pointed out to me. He'll always think he failed. And I saw that in the film, too. The doubt on Frodo's face. Yet another part of the character that Elijah nailed.


Katie M - Dec 17, 2003 3:34:08 pm PST #133 of 3902
I was charmed (albeit somewhat perplexed) by the fannish sensibility of many of the music choices -- it's like the director was trying to vid Canada. --loligo on the Olympic Opening Ceremonies

RE Frodo:

His strength failed at the end, but his mission was a success. I'm not religious, but Mount Doom is one of my very favorite examples in literature of God's grace - go as far as you can, and grace will bring you the rest of the way.

I'm sure Frodo thought of himself as a failure, though, until he'd had time in Valinor to heal.


Aims - Dec 17, 2003 3:34:15 pm PST #134 of 3902
Shit's all sorts of different now.

t asks self why I continually come in here to read broken sentences about things and people (Like Figwit??WTF??) I have no idea about. grump.