THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING | FIRST TIME WATCHING (Pt. 1 of 2)

[@XeonAlpha]

4:40 "Sauramon is like the evil version of resurrected Gandalf." VERY keen observation! There were 5 wizards sent to Middle Earth (by the Valar, arch-angels) to help stand against evil, each with a more or less intent. Sauramon the White was the leader, Gandalf the Grey was meant to guide and inspire men, Radagast the Brown to help nature, and 2 Blues that aren't really defined (and just kind of disappear into the east). They're all Maiair, basically low-ish level angels, and also immortal(ish). When Gandalf is brought back (possibly by the the power of the literal "god" of this universe, Eru Iluvitar) it's as Gandalf the White, which basically makes him the new head of the wizard order. "White Wizard" is actually a designation of authority. Edit: The blues go into the east. My directions are terrible.

[@calebmorrow96]

Saruman*

[@matthewwalker5430]

20:25 we actually used to use that form of signalling in Europe, I believe since the Romans but maybe earlier still. In England we still have what are called "beacons" - they're usually the highest hill in various points across the country where, back in history, they would've lit these fires. Famously, when England came under attack by the Spanish in 1588, we alerted the country by lighting the beacons. When I was very young back in 1988 it was the 300th anniversary of the Spanish Armada and, to celebrate, we once again lit the beacons. I was living in Gloucestershire at the time, at the bottom of Haresfield Beacon and we all climbed to the top where a huge bonfire had been built and we waited up there to look out for the signal - they lit the first beacon down near the South coast in Devon or Cornwall somewhere close to where the Armada would've first been spotted and then lit each successive beacon all the way up to us in Gloucestershire and beyond. It was pretty amazing to see the bonfire light up in the distance, light our own beacon and then look in the other direction to see the next beacon in the chain light up, eventually covering the entire country. Then, unlike 300 years earlier, instead of preparing for war we all went to the pub.

[@Len0Grady]

Minas Tirith didn’t have as much CGI than you’d think- those wide shots of the city were of a massive model they actually built- a bigature. They then dropped in CGI people into it.

[@CodeeXD]

A little detail I don't see a lot of people notice at the beginning with smeagol and deagol the ring is so evil and dangerous when deagol comes out the river as soon as he opens his hand and reveals the one ring you can hear all the birds fly away. It's so evil it's driving the animals away

[@davidemarzoli4815]

Great catch. I’ve watched these movies 100000000 times and never noticed.

[@irisblue2332]

The signal fire scene always chokes me up. There's something so majestic about it. And the..."And Rohan shall answer."

[@TheGillenium]

It’s the “Muster the Rohirrim!!” that gets me. With his little smirk that so perfectly encapsulates the thought of “This is my destiny, and the righteous destiny of Middle Earth. Let’s ride!”

[@Xanadu424]

“And Rohan will answer” makes me throw my fist in the air with a smile and say “yes!” every single time.

[@myfriendisaac]

31:40 “But we will meet them in battle nonetheless!” -A kingly statement 🔥⚔️👑

[@rikk319]

"Do what you can, where you are, with what you have." --Theodore Roosevelt Tolkien patterned the Rohirrim off of the Norse religion, who believed even their gods were going to perish in the final battle of Ragnarok. Their culture was filled with a sense of fatalism. Their belief was to fight the good fight, and go down swinging. Theoden is totally reflecting this belief system in this scene.

[@mikeymike42]

"A sword day, a red day, ere the sun rises"

[@nori9111]

For the reforging of the sword, they hired actual blacksmiths and dressed them up as elves. That would be so cool to do. Also, a couple years ago on New Years Eve, this movie was playing on TV, and we had just gotten to the epic Aragorn line, "What say you? WHAT SAY YOU?" Then the screen cut to a woman in a pink suit, vibrant makeup, and big black sunglasses who said, "We're going undercover." Like, dang, dead king, you clean up nice. It remains as the greatest interruption by a commercial I have ever experienced. That scene in the movie still makes me laugh sometimes remembering it.

[@thatsthat2612]

Sean astin and Elijah woods accents impressed me in this. It's not easy for Americans to do British accents and for Sean astin to pretty much nail a west country accent is pretty impressive

[@martythetickler]

It's not easy for CERTAIN Americans to do British accents. Like, it would be harder if Elijah and Sean were from New Jersey, for example.

[@martythetickler]

@@Scufflegrit Tell that to Peter Dinklage.

[@beetlebob4675]

@@martythetickler Idk, his grew on me after a while. Lol

[@CodeeXD]

Pippin and hobbits in general are so strong willed he was able to engage sauron himself in a battle of wills and technically won by extracting information from sauron, finding out his next target, and also denied him any information in turn which is why he thinks pippin has the ring and not frodo. Also aragorn touched the ball and passed out while pippin held it for awhile.

[@christopherbauer9991]

Somebody might have already said this but, fun fact - Christopher Lee (Saruman) was in a division of British special forces that hunted down Nazis directly after World War II. During the scene where he gets stabbed, the director was telling him how to act the scene and Lee was like "No, this is actually how it sounds when somebody is stabbed to death." Just found y'all's channel, been enjoying your reactions! :)

[@thetruthseeker3198]

You guys are great reactors. You understand the depth and pay attention, you talk at the right times, you compliment each other & you make me want to watch the movie again. Merry Christmas 🎄

[@frank5891]

Merry Christmas 🎄

[@duskblack3310]

I love watching people react to Lord of the Rings for the first time. None of my friends like it, so I pretend I'm with you guys whilst you watch the movies. Now, I can actually watch with you! Edit: I think an army of lotr fans are gathering behind me lol

[@Big_Tex]

You need different friends

[@duskblack3310]

@@Big_Tex Told my friend we were breaking up. She said her dad liked LotR so I like boomer films ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

[@vn5774]

What are they, 12? L friends fr

[@Shintareth]

Your friends don't like LOTR?! Communism!! 😤

[@duskblack3310]

@@vn5774No way you actually guessed our ages! We are 12 lol

[@wolfkniteX]

Actually, the Hobbiton tour is only of the Hobbiton Set where Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin and Bilbo are from. Interesting thing about it, the original set from Lord of The Ring was actually only suppose to be temporary since the material that was made wasn't meant to last a long time. It was only when they decided to make The Hobbit into a film trilogy that they had to rebuild the whole thing but this time they used material that was built to last and they straight up left it up as a tourist attraction.

[@MrDevintcoleman]

Well, who else is ready to cry? 😂

[@Dan-B]

I just have Lembas crumbs in my eye...😭

[@justintorres502]

Oh... We cryin

[@aaronboone8097]

Not til part 2 comes out

[@nitrokid]

I'm not crying, you are.

[@Mr_-Heisenberg]

Bitches

[@tatianaferreira5998]

Denethor the II (Boromir's father) was not the king of Gondor. He was the rulling Steward at that time. He was the descendant of a long line of Stewards that had to take over, after the death of King Eärnur (one of the kings of Gondor) who had no heirs and the line was presumably broken... until Aragorn. That's why Gandalf says to him "Authority is not given to you to deny the return of the king, Steward." because that's what he is. And apparently he forgot his place.

[@connorgrossman7867]

Thank you I was getting Annoyed when he kept sayin that sh*t😅

[@Vorrutyer]

And he was not a douchebag as portrayed In the movie, he was a great leader of men and from noble ancestry. For many years he battled Sauron thru the palanthir, that lead to his demise and bitterness. He was a tragic character, not evil.

[@tatianaferreira5998]

@@Vorrutyer I don't think the movie portrayed him as evil at all. Just a bit mad and as you said bitter. Which is what we understand in the book The Return of the King too. The weight of responsibility and the loss of his older son drove him there and I believe the use of the Palantir had something to do with it too. In the books, his suicide is also driven by what Sauron showed him there.

[@macariorodriguez630]

Not sure if anyone pointed this out in the comments yet but the kingdom Legolas is from is known for their love of wine. That might help explain why his tolerance is so high. Gimli is lucky he didn't place a bet.

[@Big_Tex]

The flying Nazgûl mounts are not dragons, Tolkien is clear about that. He calls them fell beasts and explains they’re more like dinosaurs … some prehistoric creature kept alive in some corner or brought back Jurassic Park-style by Sauron or his former boss the original dark lord Morgoth. In the era of GoT everyone goes straight to “dragons” but that wasn’t the case even when the movies came out in early 2000s.

[@johnwalters1341]

Tolkien's description of the fell beasts is a bit different from the way they are portrayed in the movie. He makes them out more like giant vultures than dragons. "...it was a winged creature: if bird, then greater than all other birds, and it was naked, and neither quill nor feather did it bear, and its vast pinions were as webs of hide between horned fingers, and it stank...And the Dark Lord took it , and nursed it with fell meats, until it grew beyond the measure of all things that fly, and he gave it to his servant to be his steed."

[@XeonAlpha]

Yeah there are dragons in Tolkien’s world but they are _vastly_ more powerful creatures. Smaug, who lays waste to an entire town, is basically a hamster to the lions of the drakes of old. Ancalagon the Black is so massive he falls out of the sky when killed and flattens an entire mountain range.

[@PavlozKapeliz]

19:32 The "Beacons of Minas Tirith" followed by the "And Rohan will answer" and "Master the Rohirrim" lines is one of the most epic scenes in all time cinematography...only the "Ride of the Rohririm" gives me more chills than this...and Howard Shore has a LOT to do with this (apart from his guest appearance in the drinking contest scene...)

[@kenj0418]

"I was wondering what happened to that blade. I was thinking Aragorn already had it." Meanwhile, thousands of book-readers cry out "He did in the books!"

[@lillian8067]

I remember reading the books for the first time (after seeing the movies - I was a kid when they came out) and being SHOCKED that Aragorn just... casually has Anduril the whole time. Reforged right away! Good to go! Haha :)

[@Shifty51991]

You are 100% right about Saurmon being the evil version of Gandalf the White. If you go back to when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimil meet him again in Two Towers he says "I am Sarumon as he was meant to be." Also fun fact Peter Jackson was trying to tell Sir Christopher Lee how to sound when being stabbed Sir Lee just responded with "I know what a man sounds like when you stab him." He was the legit inspiration for James Bond thanks to his days in the military. He is also related to Ian Fleming some how just don't recall how. Oh yeah he also is a descendant of Emperor Charlemagne and damn near married into Swedish Royalty. So yeah....James Bond in the flesh pretty much lol

[@BogeyTheBear]

19:10 The reason Faramir and the other Rangers let half the orcs pass by before attacking was so they could divide the attackers in half: Let the other soldiers deeper in the city handle all the orcs he let go while he fights the other half that are still getting off the boats.

[@johnwalters1341]

Good thing you've got each other to hold on to! The geography of Middle-earth can be confusing the first time around. Frodo and Sam are climbing the Ephel Duath, the mountains on the western boundary of Mordor, so that tunnel is different from the tunnel under the Dimholt where Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are. They are in the Ered Nimrais, the White Mountains between Rohan and Gondor. The movie compresses the geography considerably, but the two parties are at least a couple hundred miles apart.

[@PhilBagels]

Yes. One major advantage of reading the books is that there are maps included, so you get a better sense of where everything is.

[@joshjames582]

@@PhilBagels The maps help me a lot but to be honest the appendix of names and obscure terminology helps me the most. Moreso in the Silmarillion than in LOTR since there's like 100 characters with nearly identical names there.

[@TheWindcrow]

I'm glad you guys read the comments and don't it too seriously. People are very serious about their lore and you guys have done a good job taking these movies all in and enjoyed them.

[@herminiohernandezjr.9316]

The White Tree is descendant of the trees from Tol Eressea the island in Valinor. The elves in the Undyling Lands gave a seedling to the people of Numenor and was planted in the King's Court. At the Fall of Numenor, Islildur took a sapling of that Tree to Middle Earth.

[@InevitableMe]

The White Tree in Tol Eressea is descended from Teleperion, Father of Trees, one of the Two Trees of Valinor.

[@paulieluppino1856]

24:32 ....Considering how high they are, it's reasonable to think that they've been climbing for a few hours now, and yet, orcs are still marching out of the fortress.... Just to give you an idea of how massive Sauron's army is

[@Big_Tex]

Thinking of a little thing I liked from the book, and the movie can’t get into these kind of subtleties. But in book when Gandalf and Pippin are riding to Minis Tirith, Pippin becomes reflective and starts thinking … what exactly IS Gandalf? How old is he? I liked that because the story mostly glosses over these things but if you were an insignificant mortal in a land of Wizards and Elves, these are the kind of things you’d wonder about too.

[@johnwalters1341]

That's a great point, and it's one reason why you should watch Peter Jackson & Co.'s great movies AND read J.R.R. Tolkien's wonderful book.

[@lich109]

@@johnwalters1341 They briefly touch on that in the extended version of Two Towers (I believe it's that version) when Gandalf says he's walked on the world for 300 lifetimes and yet now he has no time. It would be nice to see other characters reflect on it though.

[@deanbartolo6199]

@12:48 a petition/patreon was made many years ago by a group of Architects and Engineers to actually build the City of Minas Tirith to be a livable city for thousands of people and be a tourist attraction at the same time (I think it might of been located in the UK somewhere). From memory they needed a GoFundMe of 1Bil dollars lol. Naturally and unfortunately, they got nowhere near this figure and the project was abandoned. There may be old news articles floating around the web for more info. It is very possible to construct something like this with todays advancements however, the cost, time and resources would be its ultimate challenge.

[@space1999]

The lights/beacons used for signalling long distances actually existed and the remains still do in the UK... I live near to one in the middle of England called beacon Hill... they were used to warn of invasion from overseas by the vikings etc..

[@Aurich88]

Here's a fun thought: Sailors are extremely superstitious. Those corsairs would have known and been worried about sailing past the city of the dead. Seeing that undead army burst from the mountain was probably their worst nightmare.

[@lich109]

The people inside have not left in thousands of years, and since everyone who enters that mountain dies, there'd be nobody who knew of the second exit leading to the coast. The corsairs would likely have no clue it was even an entrance to the city of the dead, and likely wouldn't even know the city of the dead existed in the first place.

[@Aurich88]

@@lich109 I don't remember the books too well, but in the movie it seems like the haunted nature of the mountain is common knowledge.

[@lich109]

@@Aurich88 Common to the people of Rohan. The corsairs live far to the south in a completely different nation, and since they've already been conquered by Sauron, would have little to no trade/communication with the countries in the west. This is the equivalent of asking why sailors living in the Middle Ages, and who primarily sailed the Atlantic, would be unaware of specific Japanese myths. Furthermore, it doesn't seem like the haunted nature of that mountain is common knowledge to the Corsairs, because they do not seem fearful of it, and make no comment about how unusual it is to see people standing on the shore right by it.

[@archiesinclair6252]

The young lady and Gentleman's reactions to these movies are the best. Thank you.

[@wel2do705]

OMG I’ve been waiting for the two o youse to watch the final installment of the best trilogy of all times!! My wife and I love how genuinely organic and sincere your reactions are.❤

[@piotrklimaszewski1782]

Those things, that Nazgul rides, are called fellbeasts, and they are not dragons. Last great dragon was killed during Bilbo advanture.

[@Makkaru112]

They are lesser drakes. Some Cold Drakes still live

[@BlyatBlaster]

I hate how these movies so lightly gloss over Arwen’s choice. Because like it’s actually so significant. Soapbox time. So Arwen, and her father Elrond, come from this like merging of all of the great families of the First and Second Age. Elrond is called “half elven” because his mother Elwing was an elf, and his father Earendil was a Man. Well, kinda. Earendil was also kind of half elven, since his mother was Idril princess of the elven Capitol of Gondolin in the Second Age (lord of the rings takes place in the Third Age). And Earendil’s father was Tuor, a Man and the heir of the House of Hador, the only House of Men who stood with the Elves against Morgoth (Sauron’s boss). Tuor and Idril are the second of only three (or four) unions of Elves and Men, Aragorn and Arwen being the third (or fourth). Elwing, Elrond’s mother, was the daughter of Dior and Nimloth, this might be the odd fourth Elf/Man but Tolkien never specified if Dior was counted among Men or Elves, since his parents were Beren and Luthien. The song that Aragorn sings during the Fellowship of the Ring is the story of Beren and Luthien. Which is like the greatest heroic ballad in elven culture. When Beren and Luthien fell in love, on their journey for Beren to earn Luthien’s hand from her father, Beren was killed. Luthien was so stricken with grief that she, an immortal elf, withered and died. When her spirit came to the Halls of the Dead, Mandos the god of the dead asked her why she was there. She explained that she had loved Beren and would rather die than be parted from him. Mandos was so moved by this that he gave Luthien a choice, he would return her to life and return Beren to life, but she would have to forsake the immortal life of the Eldar (the elves) and they would live one mortal lifetime together. She agreed, and Mandos returned both of them to life. Also Elrond has a twin brother named Elros. So from there, beginning with Earendil, who is Beren and Luthien’s grandson and Tuor and Idril’s son in law, the gods gave a choice to all “half elven” born in Middle Earth. Which they called the “Choice of Luthien.” They could choose to be numbered as one of the immortal Eldar, or to live as mortal Men. Except for Earendil who was kinda forced to choose the immortal life even though he didn’t really want to. But there’s a whole lot that goes into why and this is already super long. So this choice is offered to Elrond and his twin brother Elros. Elrond loved the knowledge and lore and wisdom of his mothers people, and chose to be numbered with the elves. Elros loved the passion and friendship that Men possess, the vigor for life and the camaraderie of righteous battle to protect life, as fleeting as life is for mortals. So he chose to be numbered with Men. The gods blessed Elros with extended life, he lived almost 500 years, but he was still mortal. The gods also created an island kingdom for Elros and his people called Numenor. This island would be between Middle Earth and Valinor (Valinor is like the elves heaven kind of, and no Mortals can set foot there). But it would be just out of sight of the shores of Valinor. For the next few thousand years, Numenor would become incredibly powerful. But they would eventually fall away from the faith and religion of the Valar (the gods) and after being corrupted by Sauron, they would begin worshipping Morgoth (basically the devil). Because of this, the gods destroyed Numenor. But a few of the faithful families were able to escape. Chief among these families was the House of Elendil. Elendil is the King we see at the beginning who is killed by Sauron. The one with the broken sword. Elendil and his sons Isildur (the one who took the Ring) and Anarion would found kingdoms in Middle Earth. Elendil would rule over Arnor in the north, and Isildur and Anarion would jointly rule Gondor in the south. And Elendil would rule as High King over both kingdoms. The kingdom of Arnor is eventually destroyed and the Dunedain of Arnor are scattered. This is the line that Aragorn comes from. He’s descended from both Isildur and Anarion and so has rightful claim to both kingdoms, Arnor and Gondor. And I’m realizing now that this was supposed to be about Arwen’s choice to be mortal and I’ve gotten very sidetracked. When Arwen says “I choose a mortal life,” she is literally making that choice. She is in the unique position to be able to choose between the immortal elven live and mortal Man life. And the movies just kinda blow past that.

[@TheDoctor2500T]

Fun fact: due to Christopher lee being in the British special forces during ww2 he told peter Jackson what happens when you stab someone in the back and they used that take for it also when legolas kills one of the members of the ship crew that's the director he killed

[@martythetickler]

Just a bit of info: those things the Nazgûl are riding are not dragons, they're simply called Fell Beasts. Dragons used to exist in Middle Earth, but they were all killed off.

[@PhilBagels]

Yes. Dragons in Middle Earth are much bigger and much worse. And they're intelligent, and would have too much pride to serve as mounts.

[@joshuawiedenbeck6944]

Legolas is an Elf prince. That combined with the fact that most things made by the elves are stronger/more potent than things made by men means that Legolas probably thought he was drinking some form of water. The elf ragers must be crazy, lol.

[@Nichols_Santa]

...and the Elves of the Woodland Realme ("Myrkwood") were notorious winos who drank prodigious amounts of wine sent upriver from LakeTown. To Legolas that beer must have been like drinking soda. and yeah, Tolkein describes them as pretty much wasted whenever they could get the chance.

[@frankethomas1248]

All that is gold does not glitter; Not all those who wander are lost. The old that is strong does not wither; Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes, a fire shall be woken; A light from the shadows shall spring. Renewed shall be blade that was broken; The crownless again shall be king.

[@OneArmedRetroGamer]

Just binge watch your whole react series of this trilogy. Not only are y'all the cutest couple but you pick up little details so well. New sub

[@Dene181]

The best trilogy ever made. Love the reactions! 👌Can't wait for the next part! 😊 -Christopher Lee (Saruman) did a thing, you know...-

[@offworld_coop]

I've seen this movie 1000 times. Still watch it whenever it's on like I've never seen it before.

[@JimFinley11]

Smeagol breaks my heart (so does Boromir.) I worked as an addiction therapist, and am a recovering addict myself, and the Ring is the most perfect portrayal of addiction, and Smeagol of the addict, I've ever seen. It destroyed him. It destroyed what was good in him and reduced him to serving it, and it ate him alive as it turned him into Gollum. Always makes me cry.

[@noobie5324]

Elves can get drunk actually, just not from the regular swill mortals and dwarves drink. Mirkwood elves (Legolas' people) trade in a particularly potent wine if I remember my Tolkien knowledge correctly.

[@Makkaru112]

Miruvor makes you better than drunk. It’s nothing intoxicating.

[@Makkaru112]

Greenwood The Great😊

[@noobie5324]

@@Makkaru112 🤣

[@oninaru]

Elves actually can get drunk, in hobbit(book) elf guards have their own secret party and they drink a bit too much.

[@camdenbaucke5477]

If you grew up with the extended version DVD set, you know you have you change the discs when Grond gets pulled up

[@mikennem9077]

Guys if you've never seen pics of the Middle Eastern city of Petra look them up. talk about integrating architecture with the mountains and IT IS REAL!!

[@lillian8067]

A lovely Christmas gift! I'm so pleased you two enjoyed these movies; it's been a delight to come back to Middle Earth with you both. May you enjoy your holidays!

[@rbohYSL]

Fun fact, Arwen (the elven girl) is played by Liv Tyler. Daughter of Steve Tyler, lead singer of the legendary American rock band Areosmith!

[@angel-astanfield7939]

There is a correlation between Sméagol and Deagol and Merri and Pipin. Both sets of cousin/ best friends, were born into a family that was well off, and leaders in their communities. They were all spoiled, loved the good life, were silly and loved playing jokes and getting into mischief. When the Ring came out of the river, it had 3000 years to power up and was able take Sméagol and Deagol immediately. Because the two sets of friends were so similar, Tolkien wanted the reader to wonder, and Peter Jackson was able to show in the movie too, what would have happened if Merri or Pipin had got the Ring rather than Frodo. Another great reaction. 💕

[@FozzaCovers]

Muster the Rohirrim always give me chills, no matter how many times I've seen it!

[@Matty_th]

31:05 “Put aside the ranger. Become who you were born to be.” Gets me every time

[@richmckinney7231]

when pippin picked up the seeing stone he was touching it. remember when gandalf almost touched it, he (of power) saw the eye. pippin has no power, he just felt something.

[@alexoniscenko1233]

In case you are curious.... "Orthanc" if i recall correctly, the tower in which Saruman resides is indestructible due to its ancient construction of a far superior race (Numenoreans). That is why though the Ents destroyed everything in Isengard, they were not able to breach the Tower itself.

[@donpietruk1517]

In the book lore Saruman had also reinforced it with spells. So it was beyond the ability of the Ents.

[@JBWinter]

It's remarked that it's completely seamless, carved from a single giant stone, so there's nothing to grab onto to even begin tearing it down

[@toyota420xp]

What the movie dosnt show is that dwarves faced an orc army double the size as the one shown in the movie. They had help from some men living by the river but the dwarves had a mountain fort that the orcs couldn't get in

[@utubefuku7132]

Oh I love Shelob, such a beautiful creature

[@samanthatomcat]

I have so enjoyed watching you guys go through these. I just found this channel recently and I love how genuine it feels. Feels like I'm just hanging out with friends watching great shows!

[@MZ-bl6wg]

LOVE that you’ve gone full screen with the movies instead of the little oval!!! Thankyou for making the movie full screen !

[@jakkrit6910]

15:00 the town that they go next is called minas morgul it's once a frontier city againt modor but it fell to modor force from ancient war i think. and when human try to take this city back it turn out the soul of all people that die in this city haunt it and can't be recover. at least this is what i remember from reading the lore.

[@jmercer28]

Found the channel through these lotr vids. Love you two! Cannot wait for your reaction to the ending.

[@nistaffsubs6787]

Hey guys , Gandalf is like an Ángel he CAME from the Sky like a meteorite baby... Same sauron like an failed ángel...

[@chantellecline6945]

I have had the pleasure of going to New Zealand and on the North Island is where Hobbiton is and you can do a tour there. On the south island is where a lot of this is filmed. I didn't do a tour per say but on a few excursions, they would mention places where stuff was filmed like where Gondor is I saw that area and it looks so different without the set. I saw the river we see in the first movie where the female elf uses the water to defeat the riders. New Zealand is very beautiful, I didn't do much on the North Island but see Aukland, the south island is where a lot of the mountains are and is definitely my favorite part.

[@kylebeckley194]

The actor who played smeagol is Andy Serkis and turned into a really good movie director.

[@Mike-ol7gt]

You made it a two part..... yes.....that’s the way to do these, big props 👏👏

[@dankestleadr]

the reason why The sword blade is long is because the original owner was 7’11.

[@remiptr5483]

already said but you guys are the best reaction i've ever seen much much love from france 🤝 merry Xmas y’all

[@lich109]

"Saruman is like the evil version of the resurrected Gandalf." You're not wrong, though you have it slightly backwards. In the extended version of the Two Towers, when they meet the resurrected Gandalf, Legolas asks for his forgiveness, and says he mistook him for Saruman. Gandalf replies with: "I am Saruman. Rather, Saruman as he should have been." He identifies himself as Saruman before Aragorn tells Gandalf his own name, and initially Gandalf does not even recognise his own name. When Gandalf was resurrected, he did not return as he was, he came back different, as seen by how he distances himself from everyone whereas Gandalf the Grey was much more personable. Gandalf the Grey was a close friend, whereas Gandalf the White is your boss. When he came back, his personality was intentionally changed to be more like an uncorrupted Saruman.

[@blacktronlego]

Yes, he is, he was Saruman the White when Gandalf was 'the Grey' but he abandoned that title and Gandalf became 'the White'. Stabbed, fell from a tower, was impaled and drowned Saruman is very dead! 9:30 I have fallen asleep with my eyes open once. It is rare, but it does happen. 22:54 Technically those are not dragons. Tolkien's dragons are intelligent and some of them do breathe fire, but these are 'fell beasts' without fire.

[@aaronwolf3587]

Those things don’t breathe fire cause they are not dragons. Just beasts left over from an older world. That’s how they were described in the book. And their riders are the same 9 riders from the first movie.

[@alanmacification]

I've must have watched😮 this movie dozens of times on DVD and Blu-ray, and also watched many, many reactors and it just dawned on me that at 15:25 Gandalf coughs while smoking pipeweed because he has a new body. And also it's Pippin's weed he is smoking.

[@speedygonzales7147]

When Gandalf came to rescue at Helms Klamm he came from east with the first light of the sun to get the enemy blind to his attack. They could not see where to aim with their speers and arrows. I agree it looks beautiful but the intension was to gain this advantage.

[@RandomSubjects]

Been loving your reactions to this series. Also you guys look so cosy!

[@williambryan3346]

*Cozy 😁

[@peterramsay4674]

I guess you could say that this was the Middle Earths version of Federal Express. It is very clever though. Very ingenious.

[@bradleymcavoy3432]

Anduril Flame of the West! With it Aragorn leads the Army of Dead! 😎

[@PrimeChosenOne]

Keep it up with the amazing work!!!

[@isuususu]

2003, I still have no words what they did with CGI

[@gregcowen930]

So, on Minas Tirith, they tried to fund building a mock up of it; figured it would cost about $ billion, tried to raise it on kickstarter, only got to around 2 million or so

[@philj212]

please be aware that the hobbit was in production hell and was churned out very fast at the end to get some much needed cash for the production company. it is in no way as carefully and lovingly crafted as these films

[@beetlebob4675]

Yeah and the tone was way more of an adventure-story kind of thing, while the OG trilogy tone was more historical-drama. Hard to splice the two feelings in a way that fits.

[@Neo_Starlite]

30:50 That's what she said.

[@bunit1144]

Dragons are actually different than the creatures in these films within this universe.

[@bluebeeper9811]

Honest my favorite moment in all these movies is the orc captain that tells everyone not to move and dodges that stone and spits on it I remember seeing it as a kid laughing and rewatching it all day Edit; good ol gimp arm I remember he be

[@elegrin5170]

Guys you must know that.. These are not dragons.. These are some kind of cursed birds actually.. As the big lore; Evil god (MELKOR) Sauron's master, created That birds and also dragons from Eagles.. He created Trolls from Ents and created Orcs from elves (elfs)

[@Makkaru112]

They are lesser drakes.

[@Makkaru112]

Eagles are embodied Maiar

[@Makkaru112]

Trolls are their own thing separate from melkor. Just converted to his cause. Same with some goblins. But essentially goblin and orc are the same thing.

[@elegrin5170]

@@Makkaru112 Not Eagles which we see films.. Not Maiar king eagle...

[@TheWindcrow]

"Run Shadowfax.......show us the meaning of haste" The worry in Gandalf's voice gets to me, idk why.

[@brilicusgaming6922]

The wolf's head battering ram Grond is named after Morgoth (Saurons Master) Mace.

[@supratrd900]

Almost 20 years since this movie came out and yet no movie today has come close to this or has beat this movie in terms of Oscar wins not even Avenger end game. LOTR was almost never made cause no one believe this trilogy was going to be a hit. So many big studio didn't believe Peter Jackson could've pull it off cause he came from low budget New Zealand films. Harvey Weinstein wanted the movie to be all 3 in a two hour movie. They decline and New Line Cinema pick up the Lord of the Rings. All 3 movies was film in a 18 month period. All 3 became box office hit. I'm happy to have seen these as a kid in theater and now seeing people enjoy it for the first time. According to Elijah Wood (Frodo) the orc that looks like Sloth from the Goonies is actually supposed to be Harvey.

[@ItachiUchiha-hk6mt]

Minas Morgul was once a city of Gondor and was called Minas Ithil.

[@mikaelgelsingcarlsen9994]

Beautiful movie:) No fantasy movies will ever top this trilogy!

[@richmckinney7231]

the books call the dragons "fell beasts" worms of great power. in the later generations they had wings. in D&D, they are more like a wyvern. the front legs are actually the wings. and no, they do not have fire breath.

[@mestupkid211986]

The biggest complaint I have about the movie is how they did Aragorn. That man had the sword the whole time, and everyone knew he was the king, it wasn't a big secret, he had the rings, the sword, and his ability to heal with herbs that no one else could. EDIT: The severed heads in the catapault was a real thing, an early form of psychological warfare, it also spread plague

[@SilverJackLeg]

It's interesting though how his real age caught up with Bilbo pretty quick after he got separated from the Ring. But it didn't happen to Gollum.

[@acdc777]

please please please release part 2 on or before christmassss. I love your reactions!

[@doncacique2769]

Gondor had some amazing masonry going on

[@marianotorresgomez7298]

Gandalf The Gray was 1 o 5 Istaris (wizards) sent to middle earth to watch over Sauron. Saruman was The Withe and more powerful. When Galdalf died and was resurrected he became Gandalf The Withe (not the gray like before). So basically he was upgraded and took Sarumans "job", so yes, they where at the same power (color) rank. But Gandalf believed that good deeds of good people can save middle earth, and Saruman not, he believed that Sauron was the only way to survive and stay in power.

[@Ld.801]

4:50 so your really close. When Gandalf the grey died he’s reborn as who Saruman should be if he didn’t turn evil. Saruman is already turned evil so god of this universe sends Gandalf the grey back as Gandalf the white as Saruman should be.

[@s1lm4r1l6]

Gandalf: We got good news and we got bad news. Bad news, Pippin told Sauron everything he knows. Good news is Pippin doesn't know anything.

[@BlackfireStudios_Lost]

Crazy how Pippin is the true hero of this story.

[@Hexcaliblur83]

And thats why Lord Elrond said it is "an army more deadly than any that walk this earth".. 🤷

[@michaelhoilman6897]

Great reaction. PS: I reported that capshocky dude. I want him to know it was me.

[@HenryStein-u9e]

No one gives feiemeir's (Most likely spelled wrong) horse enough respect. I mean, the hoarse escaped like 500 orcs unscathed, while dragging around feiemeir.

[@HenryStein-u9e]

If someone is going to complain about my probable misspelling of feiemeir, just know, I don't care and go touch some grass.

[@anthonyryder7100]

Literally cutest couple and new favorite react channel ❤

[@kakonoteouji4876]

The guy playing Sarumon refused to scream out when he was being $+@bbed. Respected the character to much to have him make a noise while dy!NG.

[@candicelitrenta8890]

This film garnished 14 Academy Awards