Lord of the Rings : The Return of the Read - Book 5, Chapter 9

This chapter can largely be viewed as two sections; the first part consisting of reunions and filling in backstory, the second part looking forward at hard decisions and action.  The reunion of the fellowship stands as a focal point to pull us in at this juncture, some joy taking part in this brief calm.

The real action of the chapter however is decision.  Denethor has good reason for his despair, the seeing stones do not lie... and the fight they all face against the shadow will not be won by strength of arms alone.  In terms of the narrative of the page, their hopes rely mostly on the shoulders of two hobbits.  In a more layered take, the battle they face isn't just that of weapons and physical force, but of psychological maneuvering and propaganda.  Sauron has relied on feeding misinformation and doubt to those who stand against him, now the opposition seeks to do the same to him.


By and large, the updating details supplied by the fellowship members to each other in this chapter is already known to viewers due to events shown on screen as the narrative progresses.  That leaves limited material for screen time, and honestly, I like the succinct take that Jackson gives us.  We get the direness of the situation in brief, clean dialog, with just a touch of humor (thank you, Gimli), then move on.

Once more, into the breech!