LotR2-TTT-Seq08

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Lathriel

Going back to the cloak issue,Of course the Rohirrim could see the Three hunters because the cloaks are supposed to shield them from unfriendly eyes. Are the Rohirrim enemies? No, so that answers the question. This is also the reason why Sam and Frodo are hidden because at that time they are in the presence of enemies.

Are you saying that one knows if he/she is in the presence of enemies by the 'camouflague-icity' of one's cloak? Now, we know that PJ didn't really give the whole deal a lot of thought , but the cloaks, as seen in the books, provide concealment from all eyes, not just the malignant kind. The Galadhrim marchwardens like Haldir may have used the garments to provide extra stealth, giving them an edge in protecting their borders.

I would note that your interpretation is more consistent, as it's stated as you say that the cloaks can hide one from the enemy, and as the Rohirrim weren't exactly bad guys (though they did threaten Gimli).

Maybe PJ wanted the cloaks to function similarly to Sting, where the 'magic' only works in the proximity of a specific kind of creature. "This cloak only provides concealment from southern soldiers wearing red and black on the third Tuesday of the month." We do have precident in Thráin II's key. Or maybe he just didn't see the inconsistency, not wanting to highlight it as it caused the storyline to devolve into dwarven drinking scenes...

Thanks for posting.