A rather dramatic Aragorn scene was originally shot for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kingbut I am so relieved that it was cut in the end. Peter Jackson’s film trilogy is highly regarded among book adaptations because he went to great lengths to ensure that his Lord of the rings Films were respectful of Tolkien’s works. Of course, that doesn’t mean the director didn’t make any changes. Several canonical moments were dramatized for the screen, the most outrageous of which was fortunately removed from the theatrical version of The Lord of the Rings.

The extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King contains a scene in which Gandalf, Aragorn and a host of others approach the Black Gate to speak with the Dark Lord’s emissary. This messenger, known in Tolkien’s works as the Mouth of Sauron, was as nasty as could be and had a lot of horrible things to say to Aragorn before the Battle of the Morannon. Jackson’s version of events led the rightful King of Gondor to dramatically behead the Mouth of Sauron– a war crime that is completely beneath the The Lord of the Rings“Aragorn.

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Aragorn killing Sauron’s mouth made no sense

Killing an emissary during a meeting is a pretty big deal

I was initially excited to see the Mouth of Sauron in Lord of the Rings extended edition, but I was completely surprised and a little outraged by the ending of this scene. While the Mouth of Sauron in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the Kinghe left the interaction with his head intact. As an emissary, that was exactly how it should have been. Sure, the Mouth of Sauron told some terrible lies and tried to mislead his enemy by making him believe Frodo was dead. But It would be a great crime to kill a messenger, no matter how evil.

Aragorn, desperate to prove he was not like his flawed ancestors, would never have committed such a war crime. The only benefit of including this in an otherwise canonical scene would be drama. Aragorn had missed most of the Battle of Pelennor. Friends in Return of the Kingso maybe Jackson was trying to give Viggo Mortensen a moment of fame to make up for it. However, I have a feeling that Aragorn essentially the murder of an envoy during a conversation was not the right way to approach this.

Aragorn’s character was already changed significantly for Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings”

Aragorn did not need any major change from the canon

I’m grateful that Jackson ultimately cut the scene with Sauron’s mouth, especially since Aragorn had already undergone many changes for the adaptation. Lord of the rings In the films, Mortensen’s character was insecure and feared that he would repeat the mistakes of his ancestors and lead Gondor to ruin. It was only by fighting the evil that had corrupted Isildur that he finally accepted his destiny as king. In Tolkien’s books, however, Aragorn knew from the beginning that he was destined to be king and felt that he only had to help in the fight against Sauron to earn his place.

Aragorn is the reluctant hero in Jackson’s Lord of the rings was a pretty significant change, although it was widely accepted. This version of the character allowed for a more dramatic story arc and made Aragorn a lovable underdog. This makes Jackson’s decision to reinterpret Gondor’s king beheading an emissary all the more odd. It doesn’t fit either version of the character, but is completely inconsistent with the somewhat insecure hero Jackson built into his films.

I am disappointed that Sauron’s mouth was completely cut out in The Return of the King

I wish the theatrical version of The Return of the King had a book-accurate scene with Sauron’s mouth

Although I am glad that Jackson cut out the scene where Aragorn decapitates Sauron’s mouth, I am disappointed that the villain from Return of the King quite. Sure, the Mouth of Sauron was not a major character in Tolkien’s works, but In a way, he was the one who came closest to the readers, the Dark Lord. This dark emissary spoke through Sauron’s mouth, bringing his black words and evil will to life. During this scene in the book, we got a glimpse into Sauron’s true plan for Middle Earth and gained a better understanding of the deceptive lengths he would go to in order to create what he believed to be a better world.

For the most part, the scene with the Mouth of Sauron in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was true to Tolkien’s version. The villain brought Frodo’s mithril shirt to weaken Gandalf and Aragorn’s minds, and offered the terms of Gondor’s surrender with lies about mercy and a better world. Unfortunately, it had to end with the proud King of Men committing murder, which spoiled the whole thing. Ultimately, Jackson’s film trilogy was better off without it, but a less dramatized version of the scene on screen would have been nice.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several films and a television series published by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on JRR Tolkien’s book series, which began with The Fellowship of the Ring in 1954. The Lord of the Rings gained mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s trilogies The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

Pour

Norman Bird, Anthony Daniels, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Morfydd Clark, Mike Wood, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Sara Zwangobani, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lenny Henry, Brian Cox, Shaun Dooley, Miranda Otto, Bilal Hasna, Benjamin Wainwright, Luke Pasqualino, Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt

Character(s)

Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir, Sauron, Gollum, Samwise Gamgee, Pippin Took, Celeborn, Aragorn, Galadriel, Bilbo Baggins, Saruman, Aldor, Wormtongue, Thorin Oakenshield, Balin Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Tauriel, King Thranduil, Smaug, Radagast, Arondir, Nori Brandyfoot, Poppy Proudfellow, Marigold Brandyfoot, Queen Regent Míriel, Sadoc Burrows

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