Life of Lydia

Dear readers, our family recently finished The Return of The King! Read on to see what we thought.

THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!

Book

Who is your favorite character and why?

Luke: Imrahil. No explanation needed.

Father: Legolas because he does cool tricks with oliphants.

Lydia: Faramir. He is the definition of noble humility. He did what was right, and it brought him no personal gain and no one in all of Middle Earth knew about it or gave him credit. He was the second favorite child, and he knew that if he could have brought his dad the ring, he could have won his favor. But when he literally had Frodo captured, HE DIDN’T TAKE THE RING!! Then he had to go back home, fight a really stressful battle with the Nazgûl, only to be publicly reprimanded by his dad for not being as cool as Boromir. Then Denethor commands him to go fight a battle with orcs that will probably cost his life. And he obeys, expertly handling the delicate situation of respecting and obeying a father who has gone mad. “I will not oppose your will, sire. Since you are robbed of Boromir, I will go and do what I can in his stead – if you command it.” Faramir is mortally wounded in the battle, and when Denethor saw him he decided to burn both himself and his son. Denethor was burned alive although fortunately Faramir was saved, making him the new steward of the city. He used his authority to prepare for Aragorn, who is the rightful king. THIS DUDE IS AWESOME!!! And I haven’t even touched on his relationship with Éowyn…. But I think my message is clear. Faramir is THE BEST!!

Mother: Samwise Gamgee, because of his faithful devotion to his friend Frodo, and also because he is a gardener, and also because he has a young daughter named Elanor who was placed on his lap.

Which character is most like you? Why?

Father: Gandalf because he spends a lot of time driving around in his wagon or chauffeuring people or hobbits around.

Luke: Frodo. Whenever I take my daily OIT dose, it feels weird because I know I’m allergic to it and I know it might make me feel bad but I kinda have to do it. Same thing with Frodo and his quest to destroy the ring. He doesn’t enjoy it but he has to do it.

Lydia: Probably Pippin. He’s a big fan of Faramir, just like me. Honestly though, I relate to all of the Hobbits.

Mother: Possibly Frodo, because he had to stop and rest frequently.

What was your favorite scene?

Father: Legolas taking down the oliphant and Gimli saying that still only counts as one.

Luke: The part where they were at mount doom, Frodo put on the ring, Sauron was like “ohhhh crap” so all the nazgul started flying back to the mountain in a last-ditch effort, then Gollum took the ring, fell in, mount doom started erupting, they thought they were dead, but Gwaihir clutched up.

Lydia: When Faramir talks Éowyn into giving up her desire for valor.

Mother: I enjoyed the scene where they were looking frantically for the herb kingsfoil. “Then in the name of the king, go and find some old man of less lore and more wisdom who keeps some in his house!” cried Gandalf.

What was your favorite quote? 

Father: “I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.”

Luke: “Men of Rohan! Are there no leeches among you!” – Imrahil

Lydia: “I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.” -Frodo

Also, “The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dur he was, and his name is remembered in no tale; for he himself had forgotton it.”

Mother: Another from Gandalf: “I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are evil.”

What scenes (if any) made you cry? 

Father: Basically the entire second half of disc 2. Especially when Sam and Frodo were sitting on the big rock next to the lava talking about home.

Luke: The part where Gollum died 😢

Lydia: Everything from when Frodo and Sam start climbing Mount Doom to when Aragorn is crowned king. I read this part by myself, ahead of my family, so fortunately no one saw me cry.

Mother: When Gandalf said the above quote. Also when Sam went back home to Rosie and little Elanor.

Did you like book 5 or book 6 better? Why?

Father: Hmmm, maybe book 5 because there’s not so many tearful goodbyes.

Luke: Book 5. Even though book 6 had my favorite part, nothing else exciting really happened. And no, the scouring of the shire is not exciting.

Lydia: Book 5. It’s just jam packed with goodness. Faramir being awesome, Denethor killing himself, the houses of healing, Éowyn and Merry killing the Witch King… the list goes on.

Mother: I guess book six, because everything got wrapped up.

What surprised you the most?  

Father: Gollum coming back and attacking Frodo in Mt. Doom.

Luke: I thought the book ended when the ring was destroyed. I was very wrong.😅

Lydia: That Frodo couldn’t actually throw the ring in the fire. It didn’t go as I expected, but the whole scene at Mount Doom is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!

Mother: How early in the book the ring was destroyed

Were you pleased with the ending? Why or why not?

Father: Sure. I can see how Frodo couldn’t go back home.

Luke: Sure. Gotta love a happy ending!

Lydia YES! Frodo can’t go back to the Shire, the weight of the burden he carried is just too strong. It’s tragically beautiful.

Mother: Yes. Frodo was forever changed and had to move on. Sam became a family man and a community leader.

Who are your top three favorite characters in the WHOLE TRILOGY? Why?

Father: Legolas because he does cool tricks. Sam because down to earth and a good friend. I think the third might be Treebeard because he’s never hasty.

Luke: Gollum. He’s weird, cute, and creepy. He also reminds me of my cat because he’s always kind of around but a lot of the time you don’t know exactly where he is. He also deserves more respect because without him taking the ring and falling into the lava Frodo would not have been able to destroy it. Imrahil. He doesn’t really do anything, he’s just kind of there. For some reason everytime he talks I get excited, plus he’s my favorite prince of Dol Amroth. In conclusion, I have no idea why I like him. Gwaihir. First of all he’s a giant talking eagle, which is cool. He also lowkey clutched up because without him rescuing Frodo and Sam they would have died. Most underrated character.

Lydia: #1- Faramir. See above. #2- Tom Bombadil. He is outside of the ring’s power. When Frodo puts on the ring he calls him back. It totally made me cry. #3- Tie between Frodo and Éowyn. Frodo because he took the weight of the ring upon himself, saved Middle Earth, but had to leave. Éowyn because she longed for valor but gave it up.

Mother: Samwise Gamgee: see above Tom Bombadil: I am fascinated by his lack of being affected by the ring Eowyn: Shoutout to the only fleshed-out female character created by Tolkein.

What were your top three favorite scenes in the WHOLE TRILOGY? Why?

Father: Legolas taking down the oliphant because it’s cool. Maybe when they first get sight of Rivendell because it’s so pretty. I think also when Arwen says the spell and the river turns into horses and washes away the Nazgul because that was pretty epic.

Luke: The mount doom scene that I mentioned earlier, the part with Grond, and the part with Shelob.

Lydia: #1- The Éowyn/Faramir romance. No, not because it’s so mushy, but because it is the perfect culmination of the two characters. They both give up their own interests to make way for Aragorn, and in doing so they find peace and satisfaction. #2 – Battle of the Pelennor Fields. The Witch King dies and Théoden dies. Both lovely, but for different reasons. #3- “Fly you fools”

Mother: 1. The scene where Aragorn struggles with security before seeing King Theoden. (See previous survey.) 2. The scene where the Fellowship members are blindfolded as they go through Lothlórien. I feel like the blindfolds are symbolic somehow, but I don’t know. 3. The final scene with Sam, Rosie, and Elanor.

Movie

Which character do you think had the best fashion?

Luke: he witch king was lowkey drippy 🧊💧

Father: Elrond was always very stylish.

Mother: Legolas. At least he had the neatest hair.

Lydia: Legolas. Gotta love those fishtail braids.

Which character do you think had the worst fashion?

Luke: Gollum. Bro has no drip 🤣

Father: The smaller orc soldiers.

Mother: Gollum

Lydia: I would say Gollum, except he dosen’t really have enough clothes to be concided fashion, so I’ll go with the orcs.

Which character do you think was portrayed most like they were in the book? Why?

Luke: Frodo. Bro was just tired 🥱

Father: I think they did a good job of portraying Sam’s loyalty.

Mother: Legolas. He was light of foot, etc. Although, he was more of a ninja in the movie.

Lydia: Sam. He’s loyal, and sticks to Frodo.

What is something you think the film makers got all wrong? 

Luke: Not officially having Imrahil 😠

Father: Not highlighting Imrahil.

Mother: Frodo hanging off the edge of the cliff and grabbing onto Sam with his bloody hand. Whatever. Also, Faramir (the Steward’s son, not Faramir Took) was too gruff in the second movie. But by the third movie he was more true to book.

Lydia: Faramir. I could go on and on. He’s too gruff, and we don’t get the full picture of how noble he truly is. They got Éowyn right up till the very end. BUT SHE NEVER GAVE UP HER LONGING FOR VALOR! She has a crush on Aragorn, realizes she can’t have him, seeks death in battle, dosen’t die, and then… just holds hands with Faramir and everything’s okay? I feel like the film makers just kinda left us hanging on that one.

What was your favorite scene that was NOT in the book?

Luke: The part where Legolas killed the oliphaunt

Father: Hmmm, I’m not sure.

Mother: When Aragorn kisses Arwen at the coronation (just kidding). Probably when everyone bows to the hobbits at the coronation.

Lydia: Okay, I’ll admit it, Legolas fighting the Oliphaunt.

Which scene do you think was most faithful to the book? 

Luke: The battle at the black gate

Father: Sam and Frodo escaping the lava and sitting on the rock talking.

Mother: Not really a scene, but the spirit of Denethor’s descent into madness was portrayed correctly.

Lydia: The battle at the gate of Mordor.

Did you cry? 

Luke: No. I show no emotion. 🗿

Father: Yes of course.

Mother: Yes

Lydia: Not really.

Is there anything else you would like to say about The Return of the King book or movie?

Luke: Yeah: “Viggo Mortensen”

Father: I think that’s all. Thank you for the survey!

Mother: No

Lydia: I am actually going to read the trilogy again with my friend. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of it, it’s just so good!