third book in the lord of the rings trilogy

Added In: Arwen’s Mortality, Faramir’s Temptation And the biggest criticism of the film version of The Return of the King was that it had too many endings, so adding another climactic sequence after the destruction of the Ring would hardly have been a good idea – though it is a shame that Saruman’s alternative death scene ended up tucked away in the Extended Edition. Tom Bombadil is so insignificant to the overall plot that has hasn’t made it into any adaptation yet, though since the character is ageless, both he and Glorfindel could turn up in The Rings of Power, which should make their fans happy. Two major incidents from the books were left out all together the hobbits’ adventures with Tom Bombadil early on, and the ‘Scouring of the Shire’, a chapter right at the end in which the hobbits get home to discover Saruman has taken over and industrialised the Shire.Īgain, both of these were sensible changes. Nice as Háma is, the audience aren’t too desperately attached to him so Haldir’s death helps to bring some more gravitas to that battle. Glorfindel never appears again, whereas Arwen is Aragorn’s love interest, and without Haldir’s death, the only named character lost at Helm’s Deep would be Théoden’s door guard Háma. In another distinct departure, a group of Elves led by Haldir turn up to fight alongside the Rohirrim at the Battle of Helm’s Deep, and Haldir is then killed off.īoth of these are sensible and effective changes. For example, instead of an Elf called Glorfindel, it is Arwen who rescues Frodo from the Black Riders on the way to Rivendell. There are some obvious major changes from the books that Tolkien fans have been talking about since the movies came out over 20 years ago.

Left Out: Glorfindel, Tom Bombadil, the Scouring of the Shire

Third book in the lord of the rings trilogy