February 3, 2003

Inconsistency in TTT
Viking

While I deeply loved much of Jackson's Two Towers, I noticed a number of inconsistencies in the details of the story. There were some mistakes that I hope were just a result of editing for length and will be corrected in the extended DVD.

1. Treebeard brings Merry and Pippin to Gandalf in Fangorn Forest. Later, Treebeard is carrying Merry and Pippin to Entmoot and says something like “Gandalf told me to keep you safe, and that is what I’m going to do.” This infers that Treebeard and the hobbits not only saw Gandalf, but spoke to him as well. However, when Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli meet Gandalf later in the movie, Gandalf does not know his own name. Merry and Pippin must have called him by name, so how could Gandalf possibly not know his own name? In the book, Merry and Pippin don’t meet Gandalf in Fangorn. If Jackson had not changed that part of the story, there wouldn’t be this inconsistency.

2. How could Treebeard not know about the devastation of Fangorn Forest near Isengard? It makes him appear somewhat stupid.

3. In Rohan we never see any of the huge herds of horses that are such a fundamental part of their culture, nor any of the farmlands that would have to exist to feed the Rohirrim.

4. The force of Rohirrim that is riding with Eomer when he first meets Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli is much smaller than the force he arrives with at Helm’s Deep.

5. At Helm’s Deep, Theoden is only able to muster about 300 men, many of whom are not even regular soldiers. When Eomer arrives at the Deep, he appears to have some hundreds with him – not a huge force. Added together, the entire force of Rohan appears to be only 1000 or less. Yet Rohan is supposed to be the second most powerful kingdom of men in Middle-Earth. Where are the rest of the soldiers? In the book there were thousands more.

6. At Osgiliath, Frodo showed the ring to a Nazgul. Why didn’t the Nazgul call for more of its kind? Osgiliath should have been swarming with Nazgul within minutes after that incident.

7. How did Frodo, Sam, and Gollum escape from Osgiliath? It appeared that they were on the western side of the Anduin River, and that orcs held the eastern side. To get out of Osgiliath and back to Ithilien, the hobbits had to cross the river without detection.

Anyone else notice these? Please post if you noticed others.