LotR3-RotK-Seq12

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I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them. - Isaiah 42:16


Gollum eagerly guides Frodo down the dark path through Torech Ungol. Note that these stairs, or path, has really fallen on hard times, as it appears very rough and ill-conceived. Frodo, seeing the tunnel, finally starts showing some sense. Gollum continues to goad his prey. As Frodo waivers, Gollum hits him with an uppercut. “Go in…or go back.” So, really, there is no choice.

The pathway goes up and down as well as twisting and turning. PJ does this deliberately, and I like it as too often the ‘floor’ is always level – like on the Pelennor Fields. It doesn’t take long for Gollum to leave his Master to that which awaits this sweet morsel. It’s then that Frodo notices that the décor isn’t exactly elvish. The sticky webs yield yet another clue. Gollum is taking off his mask, and will not much longer even play at being Sméagol. Anyone else see ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ here? I also hear an echo of Master Yoda when he says, “You will be…” when Gollum says, “You will see.” Finally, when his new guide utterly abandons him, Frodo realizes that he’s been played the fool, and that Sam was right all along. Now, I know that it’s easier to get Frodo stuck if Sam’s not around, and easier to set Sam up as the savior of the day/hero later, but if you think about it, Frodo, in the last few minutes (screen time) or, at most, day, has both rejected and reaccepted his faithful servant.

Fickle Frodo is.

The dead – bird? – and other assorted hanging objects further hint at what is to come. A sound – not Gollum – signals its approach. Frodo, now panicked, picks up the pace.

Sam struggles down the mountainside. It’s a hard go with all of those tears. He slides, takes a tumble and lands, thankfully, on some solid ground. Coincidentally, he lands right next to the lembas that Gollum had pitched over the edge earlier. Aha! He realizes that (1) his place is by his Master’s side, regardless of Gollum or, (2) Frodo has all of the food! What’s a fat hobbit to do?

Frodo tries to get free of the tunnel, yet continually becomes entangles in webs and whatnot. Starting to despair, the words of Galadriel come back to the hobbit. He draws forth the Phial of Galadriel, and with some elvish words, calls forth light.

Behind him, in what looked like part of the wall is…Shelob! PJ got that moment so right, and I can’t say enough. The huge spider approaches the hobbit, then is held at bay by the light in Frodo’s hand. We are shown that it’s the light that drives the spawn of Ungoliant back, as the creature moves forward and back depending on the intensity of the light.

Frodo also draws Sting, and that’s a help, and I’m yelling for him to say, “Attercop!” Frodo runs, and Shelob pursues with zeal. PJ and WETA give us close up views of the arachnid. Frodo finally gets caught in a net, and one of the Appendices shows how Elijah Wood is suspended.

It’s Cirith Ungol nursery rhymes, read to you by Gollum. The traitor begins to mock Frodo. This spurs Frodo on, and now he’s even more determined to get unstuck. He cuts through the webs as Shelob approaches, and rolls out of the tunnel, and, I guess, to freedom. Note that Sting and the Phial were left behind.

Before he can wipe the cobwebs from his body, Gollum jumps out and attacks his former master. Initially caught unawares, Frodo attacks Gollum and pins him to the ground. Gollum immediately starts confusing the issue, and Frodo buys the Ring as scapegoat. “The devil…ring…made me do it.” Frodo then tips off the scheming, but obviously clueless, Gollum about THE PLAN. When the information finally makes it to Gollum’s withered brain, he explodes and the two wrestle yet again.

Gollum accidentally is thrown over the edge of some cliff, and I guess that it’s goodbye for good. Unless, that it, there’s a Golllum-equivalent for Brego waiting nearby.

Frodo, apologizing to Sam, hits rock-bottom. Luckily, 'rock bottom' is in Lothlorien, as that’s where Frodo awakens. The ever-beautiful Lady of the Golden Wood offers her unstained hand to help the hobbit back to his feet. When he reaches his feet, he’s back before the Tower of Cirith Ungol. Nice scene, nicely done.

As we jump to the next scene, what is striking is the difference in color. Mordor, or its fences, are black and dark purple whereas in the west, somewhere in Anórien (near the Drúadan Forest, perhaps?) are brown. PJ makes it easy - somewhat - for one to know where the scene takes place.

Back on the way to Mundburg, Éomer reports that Minas Tirith is surrounded. The city is aflame, and things look bad. It’s even rumored that Denethor has stopped eating tomatoes! <shudders> Théoden prepares his troops while Dernhelm, not wearing a helm, calls to Merry, also not wearing a helm or stilts. Doesn’t anyone see them? Oh, that’s right, this is PJ’s Middle Earth and if you think that you’re being stealthy, then you’re practically invisible.

Merry, first making a remark, right out of the text, about Eowyn’s despair, makes a speech about what he wants to do. Excellent scene and monologue. He says, “I just want to save my friends.” That’s what this all comes down to, not saving the world, but simply saving those that we love. He counts off his friends. Frodo, Sam, Pippin…lest we forget.

The Rohirrim prepare to ride.

The battle continues at Minas Tirith. Flaming shot are hurled over the walls while trolls (mountain-type) ready Grond for its assault on the Gate. Note that the battering ram has a hook at the back, and though (I guess) that it looks cool, I’m not sure what purpose it serves. Crash! The chains (?) on the Gate’s inside rattle as the ram strikes. Gandalf marshals the Gondorian soldiers, preparing a greeting party for the inevitable. Note to Gandalf: barricade the Gate now, and set soldiers to each side to flank whatever comes through the doors. You might also want to dig out that ‘flashlight’ trick that you used earlier on the Pelennor Fields to drive away the Nazgûl.

Or not.