August 11, 2003

Army of Dead at Pellenor
Danny

I have not heard anything at all about that. However it wouldn't surprise me that much. The first time I read LOTR I thought that was what happened. It seems strange to me that Aragorn would release such a powerful army that would have been such an incredible help when victory was still in doubt. They had sworn to fight Sauron in the last war and were to be held to that oath. So it seems strange to me that they fought one battle and then were free when the rest of those fighting Sauron in both ages fought many battles. Why would Aragorn release them when they would have made victory certain at Pellenor Fields?

Another thing that has always seemed unclear to me is how many people Aragorn did bring with him when he arrived. It would hardly be a turning point in the battle if just Aragorn and twenty others arrived in boats, and that would hardly have been need of more than one ship. However the book doesn't say much about people rallying to Aragorn's banner or anything. So that part of the story has always been a bit unclear to me even after reading the trilogy seven times.

I wouldn't be too surprised if PJ did that for the battle. I don't know if I would be annoyed by it or not. It would depend on how it was done. I can see how it would be a much more dramatic arrival for Aragorn if he were to arrive with an army of dead to fight Sauron. It would also be easier to do that than explain why the dead were released from their oath while victory was still such a huge question mark.