Summary
- Many great characters and moments from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books were overlooked in Peter Jackson's film adaptation.
- Important characters like Fatty Bolger, Farmer Maggot, Tom Bombadil, and Glorfindel were left out of the movies.
- Key moments, such as Aragorn's reforging of Narsil and Faramir's immediate refusal of the One Ring, were also excluded from the films.
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy is regarded as a true and respectful adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's books, but several key moments from the text were still missed. Of course, including every plot point in the films would have been impossible. The Lord of the Rings book series is notoriously long and packed full of minute details, and Jackson did an acceptable job at organizing them in a way that worked on the screen. Still, without some of these small but impactful moments, certain aspects of the films fall just a little flatter.
Many of Peter Jackson's changes to The Lord of the Rings were necessary and even enhanced some of the plot and characters. Arwen was given a much more prominent role, giving her romance with Aragorn the spotlight it deserved. The timeline of Frodo's departure from the Shire was shortened, which created a sense of urgency that worked great for the films. Still, when going back to read the Lord of the Rings books, it's a little sad to these impactful moments that were overlooked in the movies.
10 Fatty Bolger & Farmer Maggot Help The Hobbits Escape
The Lord of the Rings movies reduced the number of Hobbit characters, which is a shame since there were some truly great ones in the books. An example is Fatty Bolger, a good friend of Frodo who conspired with Sam, Merry, and Pippin to help the Ring-bearer escape the Shire without raising suspicion. Additionally, there was Farmer Maggot. Though the Lord of the Rings movies mentioned this character (Merry and Pippin stole vegetables from his crops), they left out that he treated Frodo and the rest with kindness and contributed to their escape from the Ringwraiths.
9 Tom Bombadil Gives Merry The Sword That Helps Defeat The Witch-king
Another character left out of the Lord of the Rings movies is Tom Bombadil, a mysterious being who lived in the Old Forest. Close by his home were the Barrow-downs, full of tombs belonging to the old Dúnedain of Arnor. Frodo and the other Hobbits became lost within these tombs but were rescued in the books by Tom Bombadil, who recovered four Barrow-blades—created by the Dúnedain for the purpose of fighting the foes of Angmar—and gifted them to the Hobbits. Merry's Barrow-blade was rather significant since he would use it to stab the Witch-king of Angmar in the back of the leg, allowing Eowyn to deal the finishing blow.
8 Tom Bombadil Tries On The One Ring (With No Consequences)
During the Hobbits' visit with Tom Bombadil in the Lord of the Rings books, they realized he was no ordinary being. At one point, the jolly man slipped the One Ring on his finger, and Frodo was shocked to see that it had no effect. Bombadil didn't disappear, and there was no sign of the covetous greed that often overtook people when they interacted with the Ring. Though it's never clear in Tolkien canon precisely what Bombadil is, Gandalf reveals that he is older than Arda (the world of Lord of the Rings). Thus, even Sauron's great Ring was far beneath him.
7 Bilbo Offers To Take The One Ring To Mordor At The Council Of Elrond
Bilbo is lovable in The Lord of the Rings, but he is often regarded as a somewhat silly character. When Frodo saw him again in Rivendell, the Hobbit had grown old (thanks to the absence of the Ring), and he seemed to have little understanding of what was happening. Moreover, none of the Elves or of the Fellowship of the Ring were ever seen to interact with him. This wasn't the case in the books, where Bilbo had developed a respected reputation in Rivendell between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Because of this, the Hobbit was included in the Council of Elrond, where he offered himself to take the One Ring to Mordor—an offer that Elrond respectfully declined.
6 Aragorn Reveals He Had Narsil Reforged
In the Lord of the Rings movies, Narsil, the sword Isildur had used to cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, wasn't reforged until Return of the King, when Elrond used this as a show of acceptance of Aragorn. In the books, however, Aragorn had the sword reforged himself after he and the Hobbits arrived at Rivendell in The Fellowship of the Ring. Up to this point, he had been carrying the broken blade with him since it was a symbol of his royal destiny. With the One Ring on its way to destruction, Aragorn determined that it was time he reclaimed his ancestor's sword as a symbol of his journey back to the throne.
5 Aragorn Tells The Story Of Beren & Luthien At Weathertop
The Lord of the Rings books are full of poems and songs that help fill in the lore of Middle-earth. Especially in The Fellowship of the Ring, it seems that every character Frodo met had a story to tell. Of course, there wasn't time for this in Peter Jackson's trilogy, and this meant the loss of a lot of great information. An example is the story of Beren and Luthien—Tolkien's greatest love story—which Aragorn recounted at Weathertop. It tells of an Elven woman and a Human man who fell in love and had to take on an impossible adventure to be together. These two happen to be ancestors to both Aragorn and Arwen, and their tragic story parallels that of Gondor's future king and queen.
4 Glorfindel Vs. The Ringwraiths
In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies, Arwen saved Frodo from the Ringwraiths and delivered him to Rivendell. However, an entirely different character carried out this task in Tolkien's books. Glorfindel was an essential figure throughout Middle-earth history, having also played an important role during the First Age. He was a mighty warrior and a great friend to characters like Aragorn and Elrond. Though replacing his deeds in The Lord of the Rings with Arwen was good in that it provided her with a stronger role, it was a shame to see Glorfindel go.
3 Faramir's Immediate Refusal To Take The One Ring
Faramir was seen to be a lot like his brother Boromir in Jackson's version of The Lord of the Rings, but he was the complete opposite in the source material. Though the movies saw him tempted by the Ring, determined for a time to bring it back to his father just as Boromir had hoped, the books saw a far cleverer character. Faramir was described to be quite a bit like Gandalf—wise, academic, and kind. When he met Frodo and saw the One Ring, he immediately understood that the Ring had likely been his brother's downfall. So, with very little ado, he befriended the Hobbits and helped them on their journey.
2 Merry's Touching Presence During King Theoden's Death
An unlikely friendship in Tolkien's books was that of Merry and King Theoden, who quickly hit it off after they met in The Two Towers. The Lord of the Rings books revealed that Theoen began to see Merry as a son and became very protective of the Hobbit. This was part of why he had ordered Merry to stay behind as Rohan's army marched for Gondor—he didn't want to lose another child. Of course, Merry snuck his way to Pelennor Fields, and it's a good thing he did since it was thanks to him and Eowyn that the Witch-king fell. However, unlike Jackson's movie, where Eowyn was by Theorden's side as he died, Merry was the one to provide this final comfort.
1 Saruman's Death In The Shire
In the official cut of Jackson's Lord of the Rings, Saruman was locked away in Orthanc and essentially forgotten. In the extended version of The Two Towers, the White wizard was murdered by Grima Wormtongue as the pair stood atop Orthanc talking to Gandalf and the hosts of Rohan. Still, this isn't how it went down in the books. The villain Saruman was locked in Orthanc, but Treebeard set him free once the war had concluded. From there, the wizard traveled to the Shire, knowing he could still exercise power over the people there. It was then, at the end of the Return of the King book, that Grima made his betrayal and murdered Saruman.
