LotR3-RotK-Seq17

[alatar]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

I believe that, in the book, the Dead were bound by their oath only to fight one battle and so Aragron was bound to discharge them after that battle, so the film followed the book in this regard save that the Dead's battle was at Pelennor rather than Pelargir.

Don't remember that, but that's not saying much. Did Aragorn dispel them because he needed them only to gain a human army and to defeat the Pirates of Pelargir, and saw no use for them afterwards - as the idea of riding out to Mordor wasn't yet in his head?

And what difference does it make whether the battle is won by men led by Aragorn or the Dead Army brought by Aragorn by virtue of his line? Either way, it is Aragorn's arrival which saves the day. there is enough elsewhere in the film to show him as a leader of men.

Sorry, but I cannot be so blasé about a change that could tear apart the very fabric of space-time itself. Concurrent with the release of RotK, in which the green slime save the day, I noted these two events. Coincidence? Methinks not.

• Solar activity reaches new high

• Beagle 2 lost

Surely 'who wins the battle' is a personal preference. I would note that the elves help at Helm's Deep but do not win the battle for Men. They play their part, Eloi to the Uruks' Morlocks, but it's Aragorn and Theoden and that other guy who we see for about 5 minutes that turn the battle. Even Treebeard's trees only provide recycling services.

The Dead in the movie make the battle too clean and convenient. I still wonder why Aragorn even bothers; in the books he has to fight just like everyone else.

Quibble.