Re: TTT EE is a fantastic improvement

"Mister Sharkey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> "Aris Katsaris" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> > How about Galadriel seemingly seeking Elrond's permission to send
> > troops from Lothlorien at Helm's Deep?
>
> I think the whole point of this segment was not to portray Galadriel
> as deferring to Elrond; it was to show a warming in Elrond's stance
> towards Men. Remember how pessimistic and bitter he was in the Council
> scenes in FotR? In order to end the films with Elrond consenting (even
> grudgingly) to Arwen's wedding, Jackson has to move him from that
> bitterness to a more positive attitude, and this is a way to show that
> change. And since Haldir and crew have already appeared earlier in the
> film, it's easier for Jackson to introduce a troop of archers from
> Lothlorien rather than Rivendell.

The scene still doesn't make much sense in-story, regardless of the
external reasons.

> > How about Gandalf and Aragorn encouraging Theoden to meet
> > Saruman's much more numerous forces in open field rather than
> > in a fortress, an obviously lunatic move?
>
> Isn't this bit in the original Tolkien?

No, they go to Helm's Deep and there's never a hint by either Gandalf
or Aragorn or anyone else that this is a wrong decision -- and in fact in
the end it's Theoden King that is not content to just lay in Helm's Deep
and wishes to rally forth, while Aragorn had said "Here at least you are
guarded in the strongest fastness of the Mark"

> > How about Treebeard not knowing about the devastation Saruman
> > caused in the forests, and Gandalf not bothering to tell him even though
> > he told him to keep the hobbits safe?
>
> The point of making Treebeard be so ignorant of events on his own
> borders was to give Merry and Pippin more of a role in the film.

Yes. But it's still a plot-hole, especially when in the movie version
Gandalf speaks with Treebeard and gives him advice concerning
Merry and Pippin.

> > How about Gondor's people in Ithilien knowing that Saruman is
> > attacking Rohan's forces in Helm's Deep, something that not even
> > Theoden himself could know until Aragorn told him?
>
> Hmm. Maybe Denethor saw this via palantir, and passed the intelligence
> on to his troops?

Why would his troops at Ithilien need to know about what happens in
Helm's Deep?

Aris Katsaris