FIRST TIME WATCHING The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers *Commentary/Reaction* PART 1

[@themadness1925]

Gandalf is not human. He is something like an angel. The order of wizards, from greatest to least, goes white, grey, brown, and blue. Since Sauraman aligned with Sauron, then The Higher Power sent Gandalf back to take his place as the greatest of the order.

[@davidholaday2817]

The higher power is also known as Eru, or Ilúvatar.

[@photomentality]

I was just gonna say, "Gandalf doesn't know magic, he is magic"

[@gmchris3752]

You can also interpret the memory and gaps in this light. Gandalf the Grey and Gandalf the White are 2 different roles worn by this celestial being who legitimately died in between.

[@SebasTian58323]

​@@gmchris3752rather the form he took on middle earth died, while his actual divine form just returned to where he came from and then he was returned to Middle Earth to become the new white wizard.

[@Raven5150]

Radagast is pretty powerful for Brown level, in the hobbit series he's cast more spells than Gandalf in both series

[@evilervcowart6234]

"Until at last I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside" is one of my all-time favorite quotes.

[@quiett6191]

Delivered masterfully by a legendary actor, absolutely perfect👌

[@johnwalters1341]

Tolkien actually wrote, "I threw down my enemy, and he fell from the high place and broke the mountain-side where he smote it in his ruin." You don't "smite somebody's ruin."

[@stefanmi1]

​@@johnwalters1341the "ruin" is the balrog's wrecked corpse. To say you "smote his ruin upon the mountainside" is basically saying you "yeeted his dead body on the ground"

[@gavinhardy75]

“No parent should have to bury their child”, followed by Gandalf spotting Freda and Eothain having made it to Edoras. Makes me cry EVERY time.

[@wilson0213]

"bro this was like 3 days ago" he literally just explained where he had been..essentially like 1500 years passed to him at least

[@benjaminflasher]

Gandalf did die in that fight with the balrog. They are both demigods (literally the same type, but chose to take different physical forms) and can't fully die, but the god Gandalf serves resurrected him as Gandalf the White to finish his mission. I love the deep lore of these books.

[@shadowgiraffe7502]

So fun fact. Bogs are actually a surprisingly amazing way of preserving bodies. Many human and animal corpses that are hundreds or even thousands of years old have been found. There is often little to no decay on the bodies save for some erosion of clothing and some skin

[@G3rain1]

The cloaks are magical and can provide a perfect camouflage. Remember in the first film when the elves ambushed them in the forest, how they seemed to come out of nowhere.

[@Makkaru112]

Those were Rangers Of The North and Gondorians Rangers. Faramir is one of them. He’s also Númenorean like his brother but not the same exact family line as Aragorn/Elessar/Estel!

[@chrishemry7]

21:10 the rock was the cloak

[@mgentles3]

Hama, the door ward of King Theoden, knew what he was doing when he let Gandalf retain his staff. He also stopped his household troop from attacking the guests inside the hall.. His son, Haleth, is the boy Aragorn speaks with in Helm's Deep, telling him there is always hope.

[@VadulTharys]

Haleth became Eomer's most trusted captain, and was fanatically loyal to the king. As he aged he heard stories of how Grima had broken the old king and swore he would be a better man than his father. Yet Hama was a good man, and a loyal devoted servent.

[@davidholaday2817]

Gandalf is an Istari. An angelic being born of Eru (or God, if you will) at the dawn of time, sent to Middle-earth to aid the free peoples in their fight against Sauron.

[@prototypep4]

So many people enjoy the trilogy but dear god if they knew the sheer scope of the world of middle earth tolkien created it'd break their minds. He literally invented the story so he had a reason to keep working on the world he created. Over 7 languages, histories spanning actual millennia, family trees dating back centuries. all the various cultures and sub cultures. It's immense when you start actually studying tolkien.

[@matthoward5429]

Great reaction... A few details. gandalf fell to the lowest point of middle earth, but the balrog, having been hiding for nearly two ages, new the way to the endless stair going up to the peak of the misty mountains. They climb for like days. But the fellowship spends almost a month in lothlorien (with galadriel). The eagle carries Gandalf to lothlorien, arriving just days after the fellowship leaves. He is clothed in white, and heads out from there. At the very beginning of the first movie the narrator says the ring poisoned gollums mind for 500 years. Its why he looks a bit rough. In the marsh, Frodo says he knows Gollum used to be like a hobbit, but 500 years does a number on you. Lastly, merry and pippin use the belief that they have the ring to trick an orc to sneaking them out of the ambush. Pippin says things like 'precious' and coughs like gollum. The orc, trying to steal the ring, sneaks them away from the others just before the ambush begins. Pippin is actually quite clever, and not always an idiot!

[@eudite1762]

I believe Gandalf was protected from the Balrog's fire whip because he is in possession of the ring of Narya. It's a long story that isn't mentioned in the movie due to time constraints, but if you're interested in diving into the lore, you can read about it. LotR is the basis for the vast majority of modern fantasy, so if you enjoy modern fantasy, you'll probably enjoy the deep dive.

[@MarkArandjus]

Théoden is one of my fav characters because though he's a downer.... when it's time to step up, HE STEPS UP. Even more so in the third film. This is a man who is depressed and has more or less lost hope, but still has that fight in him, if he's gonna go out, he's gonna go out swinging. A sword.

[@TheFireMonkey]

The wizards in LotR look human but they are actually Istari, which are kind of Angelic Beings. The ones like Gandalf who were sent to Middle Earth are known as Maiar and they are supposed to be watching other the other races but only acting when they have to. That is why he doesn't often use his magic.

[@johnwalters1341]

Tolkien prefaces his tale with a Preface, "Concerning Hobbits;" we got a glimpse of its beginning at the start of FOTR. In it he explains that originally Hobbits were divided into three somewhat different breeds: Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallowhides. Harfoots were the most numerous; they lived in holes in the ground and had dealings with Dwarves. Stoors were more associated with Men, they lived near rivers. Fallowhides were the least numerous; they were friendlier with Elves and often were more adventurous, often ending up as leaders of clans. By the time of the story, the three breeds had intermarried and had lost a lot of their original character. In our tale, Merry and Pippin were probably Fallowhides, Merry being the son of the head of the Brandybucks and Pippin being the son of The Took or the Thain, the nearest the Hobbits had to a leader. Frodo and Sam were probably Harfoots, though the Bagginses may have had some Fallowhidish blood. Farmer Maggot was a Stoor, living by the River Brandywine. And Golllum? Gandalf tells Frodo, "...very long ago, there lived by the banks of the Great River a clever-handed and quiet-footed little people. I guess they were of hobbit-kind; akin to the fathers of the fathers of the Stoors..." These were Gollum's people.

[@MegaRavenite]

Fun fact the actor who played Aragorn broke (and I mean absolutely shattered)his toe when he kicked that helmet at the corpse pile. That scream was 100%genuine pain

[@prototypep4]

They did so many takes and the one they kept is when he legitimately broke his toe is one of the best parts of Jacksons trilogy. Regardless of his butchering of the original works he definitely gets the best of his actors.

[@RyanRichardsToby]

New Zealand is where all of the beautiful landscapes were shot in the LotR movies.

[@boki1693]

"What race of being is he?" "You will see, oh yes, you will see." There is a recurring theme in these movies you should look for. The good guys sparing the bad guys life. Only for the bad guy that was spared to have a very important role later. It goes back to Gandalf's speech just before he fought the balrog in the mines of Moria. When he said, many deserve death but who are we to decide. One thing you got to remember about these books. Some of the common troupes of today, were not common when the books were written. So Stuff like knowing Gandalf was coming back because you didn't see a body may be obvious now. But it wasn't so obvious in the 50's.

[@hornorsilk2901]

Gandalf has powers, he is not human, and he has connection with the "secret flame"

[@MilleniumLad21]

So, a lot of the questions you have about the lore of why the humans, dwarves, and elves are at each other's throats, as well as the origins of Gollum, the world, etc., are answered in the prequel to the Lord of the Rings called "The Hobbit". The Hobbit novel was written, and takes place in the timeline, before the Lord of the Rings books. However, they made the Lord of the Rings movies first before they decided to make movies out of the prequel so you don't get a lot of the backstory unless you are familiar with the novels beforehand.

[@martinbynion1589]

Filmed on location in New Zealand, Mr Boyd, the length and breadth of the country. And remember that all the shots of Gollum (plus his voice(s) ) were based on the superb Motion Capture work of Andy Serkis, who got no awards for his work.

[@joshcowsert6286]

Essentially, the whole "The White" thing is a power hierarchy. Saruman was sent to Middle Earth as its protector from evil, as well as the other wizards. When he turned evil it left a void and the Gods promoted Gandalf to top dog.

[@RitsusDarlingGirl]

I've heard another reactor describe it as him dying and getting to level up.

[@sarahcc5]

Havnt seen many reactors as engaged and insightful as you are, VERY entertaining! Looking forward to the rest

[@cjd2889]

Mr Boyd: What sort of thing is Gollum? Me: 🎶You will seeeeeeee🎶 oh YOU will see...

[@Makkaru112]

(About the Dead Marshes & Elvish History) includes Legolas’s Father; Thranduil, & Thranduil’s father Oropher, were to join the Last Alliance in from a different angle to achieve a certain war tactic but Oropher and others got waylayed by orcs & many corrupted men which lead to eventually Oropher dying there, this loss effected Legolas’s father so very deeply forevermore. The bond between he and his son is the same bond Thranduil has with Legolas. And the braid he wears is to honour his grandfather. I believe after his death braids became less common. A sort of respect thing I believe. Both his father and Grandfather lived in Doriath(Elu Thingol’s domain[Elwë], which was heartbea of middle earth; Aside from Gondolin which held this mantle until it’s secret location was given up by a tortured elf who was the son of a very important mother who was the sister of the high king Turgon). All on a landmass called Beleriand that sunk under the sea after a set of disastrous events that lead to many greater outcomes much later on in the legendarium. This here is a whole set of stories of which also includes a quite a bit of Galadriel too but moreso other characters during this era. Of Beren And Lùthien comes to mind and Children Of Hurin!! You’ll fall in love even more after the third movie. Then you can enter into the lore videos like Moviejoob and OmarioRPG have done reaction videos too. Amazing stuff. One thing to add though is this scene resembles a lot from the other battle Tolkien was involved in called The Battle Of Somme. Look into it and tell me your thoughts. I’ll add something here though: that clan of elves really didn’t like being under the command of anyone else so they went ahead without the order and let’s just say it didn’t end well. That and they weren’t fond of the Ñoldor… huge history there as to why that is. That and the Sindar subgroup of these clans were a tiny bit more isolationist. But there are many amazing Sindar in the legendarium too Elrond and his two sons and daughter are connected to all of the main clans of men and elves through the union of his half elf father and full elf(quarter goddess) mother. Who essentially played a huge role in saving the world from the original dark lord Morgoth. Gained the Favour Of Valinor. Which subsequently lead to Numenor being a gift from the sea to the men who helped. Becoming blessed. Their land existing within the light of Valinor as it was situated closely to The Undying Lands. (The same ancestry Aragorn has that Èowyn spoke of while they were travelling to Helm’s Deep! (Elrond’s Twin Brother became the first king of Númenor. His name becoming Tar-Minyatur, and those faithful to Eru, the elves and the natural world all of this line carried Tar before their name! Ar for Aragorn is the word meaning Noble in his tongue called Adúnaic. That too is a fleshed out language Tolkien created too. Elvish languages also were placed into the official list of world languages too!

[@Makkaru112]

(About Gandalf) He is the same species of being as the Balrogs/Sauron before twisted by Melkor[Morgoth]. They are all Maiar (primordial spirits). Gandalf named Olórin created by Eru’s Thought (extensions of Eru Îlluvatar himself whilst they had their own free will & individuality. He essentially got the chance to experience and study other parts of himself through this.) among the other Ainur before the Years of the Lamps roughly 9,000+ years before arriving in Middle-earth; In Valinor he was known as Olórin.(Remember though he formally existed before the world existed and his form becoming Gandalf hadn’t happened yet. He was sent to Middle-earth in human form around the year 1000 of the Third Age. So his many forms had different ages in length of existing. He’s very cool right! Could he get any cooler!? 😎❤️ Another thing is when he arrived in middle earth he was disguised as an elf & lived among them whilst they were unknowing & he became to be known as Mithrandir to the Quendi/Eldar❤️ He could have very well dwelled with the elves far earlier just do to his curiosity & simple desire to explore and be around the firstborn (TheElves) Gandalf The Grey/White Estimated at 15,000 years old (following his quote "300 lives of men, I have walked this earth"), It says that Gandalf was the wisest of the Maiar besides Melian herself. There were a lot of Maiar that were considered really great and powerful. However, there is a much longer answer. Like Sauron(former name is Mairon) & the other Istari (the order sent around the same time & of which he was appointed leader but he being who he is & a student of the Vala by the name Nienna & Lorien(Irmo). Gandalf was a Maiar, an angelic spirit created by Eru at the beginning of time and therefor one of the many Ainur who sang the world into being & Eru just helped their creation take shape and basically stated “behold YOUR creation” & basically what happens in that world goes sort of preordained as by that song eons ago so really only the ages after Dagor Dagorath will truly be an age that isn’t full of strife; sadness; and longing. Also. These lamps are what were before even the two trees. These were Giant mountains but also like light houses but housing a great power but it may have also been where two special Maia lived that helped in the creation in the sun and moon after Melkor With eldrich terror Ungoliant killed the trees, so yea “Arien” is the Maia who basically exists with the sun and her brother and or lover of sorts is the one who wanders with and guides the moon. Of which that other Maia was “Tillion” Galadriel herself not only witnessed this but as a student of Aulë and the other Valar she obviously had involvement in helping create the hallowed objects that housed the final flower of the silver tree Telperion that was the father of the moon and the mother of the sun was Laurëlin the golden tree and prior to the sun and moon they too used to wax and wane!

[@richardhansen3703]

Did you forget the cloak that he used to make them look like a rock was the magical cloak the elves gave him?

[@blainekessler2220]

Concerning Gandalf, people who never read the book do not know because the movies do not explain. The wizards, Gandalf, Saruman, they are not human. They are beings called Maiar, which you can think of as "angels". Some Maiar came to earth to help the Valar make the world and help the people and beings in it, such as the elves. They took on the forms of the Wizards and were here more or less as forces of good. There were other Maiar that were corrupted and were evil and became Balrogs, which is what Gandalf fought in Moria. Basically, the Balrog and Gandalf are just 2 versions of the same type of being. One good (Gandalf) and one evil (The Balrog). As for the fight between Gandalf and the Balrog, yes, Gandalf won that fight, but he did not survive it. After killing the Balrog, he also died. After his death, he was sent back, and because of Saruman's corruption, he was elevated in his station. Where Saruman was the senior of the order of wizards, Saruman WAS the White, and Gandalf was the grey, Gandalf was sent back as The White, and Saruman no longer had a color. Though in the book, Saruman claims that the white light may be broken and he had become Saruman of many colors. In reality, Saruman had been stripped of his color and Gandalf was sent back as The White, in order to finish his work in Middle Earth, and be the head of the order that Saruman SHOULD have been. So yes, Gandalf did in fact die in that fight. But as he is not human, death is not the end for him.

[@Catherine.Dorian.]

If you watch the hobbit then the elves in that swamp are Legolas’ people (his father is king Thranduil whom you meet in the hobbit)

[@anthonywilliams5475]

youll get a gollum backstory just keep watching

[@2tallGamingMedia]

Can’t wait for the 12 hour book reading reactions bro

[@MaRodney07]

12?! Each book on Audible has Andy Serkis reading it and the time for each book is 21-23 hrs 😅😅 so even if you react to that exact thing and cut out what you're reacting to, I'd say its ATLEAST 18 hrs + for each reaction 😂

[@ShadGMoore]

@@MaRodney07 That is a good point. Can't wait for the 18-hour book reading reactions, bro.

[@sntxrrr]

One of the many great things and achievements of this movie series was the first believable CGI character with an important acting part. It made Andy Serkis career.

[@TheFireMonkey]

I have to say that age is not the thing to base it on, but rather competency - there are people who are losing it by the time they hit 50 and others who reach 100 and are still sharp as a tack. Even the question of life expectancy is tricky, there are people who die suddenly of a heart attack or stroke, etc, in their 50s or 60s and others who are still able to walk a marathon in their 90s. So I do understand your point, but I think what is needed are some basic tests to check on health and cognitive abilities.

[@nickmorgan1690]

It took a bit more than three days from when Gandalf fell to reuniting with the three best friends that's anybody could have.

[@isaiahtowers1865]

There’s a lot of subtle magic that goes on, like frodos cape turning into a rock like texture. It’s a cape hobbits use because it would be very convenient for a small person to hide from danger

[@serenitytoepper]

Gollum was a Stoor Hobbit of the River-folk who lived near the Gladden Fields. In The Lord of the Rings it is stated that he was originally known as Sméagol, corrupted by the One Ring, and later named Gollum after his habit of making "a horrible swallowing noise in his throat".

[@React2This]

Grimma Wormtongue: change your name to anything else. Gary Tung. Anything.

[@aaronburdon221]

Wormtongue is a nickname given to him by Theoden

[@Waterford1992]

Using the video game cover for the thumbnail now that is epic!

[@twkizme]

Less than 5 mins in, and you have referenced Elden Ring. This is gonna be a good one.❤❤

[@ElectrikNYCfunK]

lol my boy's vocab is hilarious

[@Jason_Lallathin]

Shadowfax= King of the horses basically, fastest, strongest, bravest etc

[@serenitytoepper]

During his centuries under the Ring's influence, he developed a sort of dissociative identity disorder: Sméagol, his "good" personality, still vaguely remembered things like friendship and love, while Gollum, his "bad" and prevailing personality, was a slave to the Ring and would kill anyone who tried to take it.

[@BensSoZen]

I don't know how he forgot his nickname, but: Gandalf IS just a nickname, like Stormcrow, etc. I think his real name was Mithrandir.

[@iron-thorne]

Or his angel name Olorin

[@aaronburdon221]

Mithrandir is what elves call him. Olorin is his Maia name, Stormcrow is what the people of rohan call him.

[@RogerWolfe-bn6rp]

Fun fact when he kicked the helmet, he actually broke his foot.

[@Zankaroo]

In a sense Smegol is the main character of the ring's story as he has been there in some sense for almost all of it. There few years that Bilbo had the ring is the only time in centuries that Smegol hasn't been near the ring. Smegol is integral to the story of the ring in this age.

[@React2This]

Gollum’s hair is a bit like Viscerys’ hair in his final episode of House of the Dragon. 😂

[@andrewmize823]

The amount of power the One Ring has over its owner is directly proportional to how long it's in their possession and how often they use it. Bilbo had it for around fifty years, give or take, and rarely used it, so when it was taken away, the longevity effect abated fairly quickly. Gollum was in possession of the Ring for centuries and used its power on a regular basis, so taking it away didn't have any immediate effect on his longevity.

[@prototypep4]

It's corruption is also tied to the relative power of the person in possession. Hobbits are naturally very weak in terms of power so are harder to corrupt. An istari in possession of the ring... They'd be corrupt very very quickly. It's why Galadriel knew she could not take it.

[@nik271290]

About the blood licking, different texture of the cloak and the people in that swamp water not rotting etc.. It is still a fantasy movie.

[@ttlpwn34]

It's not really detailed in the movies, but Gandalf and the other wizards aren't human. They're basically angels charged with the task of fighting Sauron. Since Saruman turned against his task, when Gandalf died he was essentially promoted to replace Saruman as "The White", which was Saruman's title. Gandalf's being and purpose are fundamentally different now, he's doing what Saruman SHOULD have been doing, hence his more active role in the story.

[@Raven5150]

The actor that played gimli is also the voice of treebeard

[@SneakyDecoy72]

The beautiful thing about LOTR is that Tolkien has answered literally every question you could ask in his writing.

[@Raven5150]

Gandolf got all that xp for fighting the balrog by himself and leveled up

[@MaRodney07]

Sir, just from your react to Fellowship I KNOW you would love to do a deep dive in to Middle Earth lore...there is SO much that you could get lost in it and its all absolutely fascinating that 1 person built all of it (his son has expanded on it but its still mainly J. R. R. Tolkien)

[@ShadGMoore]

Not youtubely profitable though, sadly.

[@jbryan8864]

You are correct most of the scenes/shots are practical. Very little CGI was used in these movies. Can't say the same for The Hobbit trilogy tho! haha

[@toodlescae]

So basically, Gandalf the Grey died but because he was the only Istari (angel/demigod called wizard by people of Middle Earth) to stay trie to his mission in Middle Earth he was given a power upgrade to Gandalf the White then sent back to complete the mission that he and Saruman were sent on originally. They were sent to guide and help the peoples of Middle Earth. Saruman allowed himself to become corrupted so now Gandalf is top dog instead. Once you finish the movies I think you would greatly enjoy the books. The deeper lore and explanations that they didn't have time for in the movies is there. Just rember that Tolkien wrote this as a mythology for England since he believed that they had none of their own that wasn't influenced by other cultures over the centuries. It's considered high fantasy so everything isn't always logical compared to reality. Although things were rearranged, changed, left out or added Peter Jackson and his writing team tried to stay true to the feeling of what Tolkien wrote. Everyone said that Lord Of The Rings could never be adapted to a movie because of how in depth it was written but Jackson did an incredible job of conveying the essence of what Tolkien had spent years creating.

[@TheBlueDragon86]

You’ll find out about Gollum’s origins, good sir

[@Nunuemm666]

Aragorn be rolling twenties 🎲

[@BlueeyedRabbit]

New Zealand is beautyfull !

[@AKDA101]

He made a saving throw versus fire damage

[@popularopinion1]

So... For each day that gandalf's body was dead, his spirit was in the afterlife, and "each day was as long as a life-age of the Earth" where he went by his true name before being sent back with a larger mission and the requisite power to accomplish it. So.. he was being powered up for effectively thousands of years and forgot the nickname the mortals gave him

[@ShadGMoore]

Lol, the "logical" part can lead one astray. Wait for the movie (well made moves at least) to tell you when it's time. :)

[@ShadGMoore]

Analyzing Orc "wine" is probably not the main focus of the story.

[@The5Ronin]

Gollum became a thing. He once was someone else. Just keep watching. Then read because you'll be hooked. Man the part of the watch where you were harping on the kings age drove me insane... I almost fast forwarded. just keep watching lol. The bog was inspired by the peat bogs of Ireland and parts of Scotland. Places that Tolkien knew well. The wetlands of those bogs are high alkaline environments. remains essentially are frozen in time because decomposition chemically cannot happen.

[@SneakyDecoy72]

Is the “full reaction” the full movies with mrlboyd reacting the whole time? Or is it still cut up just not as much as the yt vid?

[@Frnkwlf]

Honestly, after the LotR series, perhaps check out the movie Tolkien, wonderfully shows how he developed the elvish language and Middle Earth from his upbringing

[@markkringle9144]

Nine rings for the kings of men; they are now the Nazgul, corrupted men. We don't really see the rings of the dwarvish lords (Dwarves may be resistant to magic). The three Elvish rings are possessed by Elrond, Galadriel, and the third Elf Lord gave his ring to Gandalf.

[@brettcloud8550]

If I remember correctly Sauron was in possession of the Dwarven rings.

[@Makapaa]

@@brettcloud8550 The most correct answer would be: "We do not know, for sure". 4 of the dwarven rings were recorded as lost to the Dragons. Fate of other 2 (and their previous owners) are unknown but Sauron had managed to reclaim them. Last/First ring, The Ring of Thror (of House of Durin) was taken by Sauron from Thrain II (Thorin Oakenshields father) before the time of "The Hobbit" when he was captured and held in Dol Guldur for ages. Gandalf confirmed the loss the ring during his mission to Dol Guldur. Withering and dimished Thrain made apparent that the ring was taken but he still held the map and the Key to the Lonely Mountain -- which both would play big part later on when Thorin, son of Thrain, started his journey to reclaim Erebor. Before start of the War of the Ring, Envoy was sent to the Dwarves, enticing them to give up any information of "The Ring (just a minor tricket of Boss Sauron, no cap!)", "Bilbo Baggins" and swearing an oath to the Sauron in return of the last 3 remaining Dwarven rings. Dwarves refused this offer. Following campaign in the North devastated most of the holdings of Dale, culminating in another Siege of Erebor that ended when news of Saurons Defeat reached the North and Dwarven/Dalian forces sallied out and routed the Easterlings.

[@koutastone1994]

Road Towards 10 Million Subscribers.

[@VinzClorthokeymasterofGozer]

Grima Wormtongue was replaced by Grimey Wormtongue. In the books, he's much more sly and conniving.

[@evacombs9720]

You'll get Golum/Smeagol exposition at the beginning of Return of the King. In the books, which I recommend, there isn't as much direct exposition. We find out bits of information about things in pieces and have to do the work of putting it together as readers, but for the movies, it's a different balance of not being filled in about the "why" of something that is answered in the book and direct exposition as happens at the beginning of each of the movies.

[@bethmarie3112]

My favourite LOTR movie!

[@ShadGMoore]

I'm not sure Saruman's greatest contribution is oxygen depletion. More like corruption of goodness/life.

[@SneakyDecoy72]

I’d love to see a “Second time watching” reaction series. To see if your reaction after knowing the story and being able to focus more on details.

[@timhawryluk2436]

Not nearly enough comments mentioning Viggo's broken toe.

[@DavidTateVA]

I have to laugh every time you say that something reminds you of some derivative game that would never have existed without TLoTR. It's like saying that The Three Musketeers reminds you of the Puss In Boots movies...

[@Raven5150]

Elvish cloaks camoflage the same way octopus do

[@khalillahgreen8776]

Great reaction sir! I would ask that you try and view the movie with a very open mind, and not try to adhere modern thinking/scientific thoughts to it. Remember, this is a fantasy world filled with many different species of men (ie, they look like human men but are in fact a completely different race/breed of men) and various creatures that in our current world wouldn't exist, so it is somewhat pointless to think they or their body/mind would react or think like we as humans in the 21st century would. Also, as others have said, the time frame is greatly shortened in the movies due to time constraints; in the books, literal decades are passing, ie from when Gandalf first left to see Sauruman in the first movie, so don't always think it's only been a couple of days since certain events took place. Also, the cloak is one of the gifts given by Galadriel; as such, it is enchanted and contains magic to help Frodo stay safe. I'm looking forward to seeing your thoughts in part 2, and am thoroughly excited to see what you think about the final film 🎥

[@paytongibson9488]

I would love to a reaction to the boys on this channel always think of Carl Urban as butcher when I see him things 😂

[@billyg3230]

gandalf can lit his pipe with his finger elements have no effect so that fire whip is a nope

[@brettcloud8550]

Yesss dude

[@williamcarbajal383]

I got like # 420😂😂😂

[@KrazyKat007]

The most important question is when did Gollum’s hair loss start? And is there magic in this universe to fix it?

[@Nastyn1nja808]

Part 1 darn

[@Catherine.Dorian.]

If I recall right gandalfs real name is Mithrandir. There are multiples names for each language so in common he’s Gandalf the grey

[@mgentles3]

His REAL real name is Olorin.

[@Catherine.Dorian.]

@@mgentles3 Thank you! So which name is Mithrandir, is it in elvish?

[@mgentles3]

@@Catherine.Dorian. Yes, the Elves called him Mithrandir, to the Dwarves he was Tharkun, in the West, Gandalf, and in Aman (before coming to Middle Earth) Olorin.

[@aaronburdon221]

@@mgentles3 Thank you I couldn't remember what the hell the dwarves called him.

[@ShadGMoore]

I hate that in the second movie they basically spoiled Gandalf's return.

[@naimmahboubi89]

One bite of the bread would fill the belly of a grown man... not a hobbit. Hobbits have black holes for stomachs. They can eat a ridiculous amount. Thats why they were confused there was no second breakfast last movie.

[@Makkaru112]

Sad because of how it’s power is diminished in the film, it’s origins as right to Yavannah. ❤

[@Nastyn1nja808]

Seriously 2mins ago??? Hell yah

[@izuela7677]

The map of middle earth look a bit like Europe, if Doggerland didn't get swallowed by sea.

[@MrYahboo]

I don't understand your take on the decision to go towards Merry and Pippin rather than turn North with the Riders of Rohan. To do so would be to abandon them to the wild. Did I miss something in your analysis?

[@christopherwichman7968]

Part 2 on Patreon tonight?

[@Scrub_Jake]

The Ents were created by the Gods to protect the forests from other creations like men and dwarves 👍 The Gods agreed that men and dwarves should be able to cut down trees if they need them, but they have to be careful to also respect the forest and only take what they need basically or else feel the wrath of the Ents 👌

[@lynnieiapichino1121]

☮️💙💙💙🔥

[@UltimateGamerCC]

Gollum/Smeagol is Halfling, not much different from Hobbits like Frodo states.

[@izuela7677]

A book conspiracy theory. In the books Gandalf never uses magic, in real time. It's always just a story that he tells others later about how things went down. No witnesses. Like the Balrog battle. So there's an obscure fan conspiracy theory, that he's actually no good at magic. Just BS story teller. He's an immortal who gets out of peril using cleverness and luck.

[@hazzytastic]

We do see him use magic in The Hobbit. When the party was camped outside the Misty Mountains cave, Bilbo woke up to find goblins creeping in and yelled and woke Gandalf up. And "...when goblins came to grab him, there was a terrific flash like lightning in the cave, a smell like gunpowder, and several of them fell dead." So we do see some magic. Chapter IV if you're curious

[@hazzytastic]

Side note, how would anyone in that universe know the smell of gunpowder? At least by that name

[@Makapaa]

@@hazzytastic Same way they know that whistling kettles and snoring Dwarves sound like Steam Engines! Easy! (Serious answer is "translation". Yeah, that's it. It's the narrator translating the story.)

[@izuela7677]

@@hazzytastic Flashing lights that smell like gunpowder? What the firecrackers could that be?!

[@jamesweible5357]

It really annoys me that compassionate characters have for a long time been portrayed as against execution. A truly compassionate person would welcome execution in certain cases, if for nothing else than to remove a threat for peaceful people. Worm-tongue was clearly a threat to people, and just letting him go only sent that threat out into the world. Compassion for criminals and ambivalence for future victims is a recipe for disaster.

[@Makkaru112]

Tolkien never believed in killing. At all. And to not glorify war. Aragorn spared Grima for pragmatic, political & moral reasons. Morally: Killing someone is bad. Even when perceived as justified Tolkien didn't feel that taking a life was ever the honourable thing to do. Pragmatically: Grima might have knowledge about Saruman's plans. Maybe even some of Sauron's plans. Information that they could have extracted from him if he'd accepted the king's 'mercy'. Politically: You've not seen your king in months. Rumour has it he's gone mad and that Grima is the one running the kingdom now. Next time you see your king he's flinging Grima down the stairs unarmed, about to swing a sword through his head. Grima was even begging for mercy. That's not a good look for Theoden's first act as the King again after being silent for so long.

[@Raven5150]

Dwarfs are all that r word against elfs, and elfs are that r word against orcs, tolkien started this trend and has gotten way better just like the course of human r word evolution fantasy rasism is based off real rasism, marvels mutants is the best excample of hateing whats different than yourself

[@mgentles3]

Is there some way in which this does NOT hold up a mirror to our times?

[@rosab8026]

Eomer está condenado al exilio. El y sus hombres deben dejar el país en un plazo de tiempo. No puede quedarse con ellos, solo darles caballos y desearles suerte...

[@IonWrestler]

Joe Biden! The King of Rohan!

[@Makkaru112]

Nah. That mofo is in a league of his own messeduppedness!

[@joshuatolodxi179]

9:10 are you talking about Joe Biden?

[@fookinaye8277]

Oh Snap!

[@gurulimbo]

Gollum/Sméagol = Both sides of Hi Ren @RenMakesMusic

[@Aurelius556]

You're jabbering too much during these reactions. You're not that important.

[@Makkaru112]

It’s funny when people think they’re the bomb lol