Return of the King
Saturday, December 27th, 2003The current reviews of the latest Peter Jackson episode frequently linger on the portions of the story that are missing, i.e.; the Faramir/Eowyn romance, the Scouring of the Shire, etc.
I’ve found one item that Peter Jackson included, that Tolkien apparently dropped the ball on.
In the movie, Aragorn takes the Paths of the Dead to enlist the help of ancient oathbreakers, now dead these many years. He brings them to the battle in front of Minas Tirith, where they play a pivotal part.
In the book, Aragorn takes the same path, where he also enlists the dead. However, when he arrives at the quays of Harlond and disembarks, his force consists of men from “Lebennin and Lamedon and the fiefs of the South.” No mention is made of the legions of the Dead. This was a rare slip up for Tolkien and I think that Jackson got it right. ‘Course, you can rationalize the differences in a lot of ways and I’m sure that all those comparisons will be made down the line. I think, though, that using the Dead in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields was very effective and well done.