I have a newfound appreciation for everything the Witch-king had to put up with before the Quest even properly began. Sent on a wild goose chase across the length and breadth of Middle-earth, treacherous wizards, getting chewed out by his boss, multiple grumpy old hobbits, dealing with Aragorn, Gandalf, and Glorfindel, and finally getting drowned by Elrond.
Don’t forget everything he did before the War of the Ring. Takes down all of Arnor and helping drive a wedge between the alliance of Men and Elves, all while his boss is essentially out of sick leave.
Man, the tension between Sauron's and Saruman's spy network, and Aragorn with the Dunenain really goes unnoticed while we puff smoke-rings at Bag End... 13:05 "none other than Glorfindel, legendary Noldo and Balrog-slayer. Elrond unleashes him from Rivendell on the 9th, he drives 5 of the Nazgûl from the Last Bridge on the 11th, and eventually finds Frodo on the 18th." I almost pissed my pants at "unleashes". There is no one like Darth Gandalf to subtly bring to light dank Tolkien lore-pieces.
Because I didn't mention it in the video for some reason (I wrote and recorded the script several weeks ago), Elrond caused the river to flood, and Gandalf added the horse shapes. Okay, for the main event. Over the years, many people have asked the question - how did the Witch-king not know where the Shire was? And it's a completely valid question, since the Witch-king was the ruler of Angmar, the Shire existed for over 300 years before Angmar fell, and that Angmar actually overran the Shire during the Fall of Arnor. So what's the answer? There isn't a definitive one. Using the term very broadly, this might actually be one of the very few "plot holes" in Tolkien's work (note - plot holes are very different from inconsistencies, Tolkien has a lot of them). Nevertheless, I'll try to answer, and I think it's as simple as - the Witch-king, despite his proximity to the Shire at one stage, was never truly aware of it. This is for two reasons - one is the Witch-king's character, and the other is the character of the Hobbits. The Witch-king is arrogant, confident, prideful, he's Sauron's right-hand man whose always focused on the bigger picture. He's not an idiot, but he isn't exactly cold and calculating either, and he lets his pride get in the way of his decision-making constantly. In his wars against Arnor, Fornost was his prize, and nothing else mattered. Meanwhile, Hobbits are extremely reclusive, so much so that even nearly fifteen hundred years after the Shire's founding, the only people who are really aware of them are traveling groups of Dwarves or Elves, and the Men of Bree. Everyone else is either completely unaware of them or vaguely aware of them through rumours and tales. So what happened? The Witch-king either did not even know of the Shire or he cared so little that it slipped his mind. When he overran Arnor, he probably didn't pay any attention to the Shire, and his forces probably overran it by accident. Once he leaves the north, Eriador falls well outside of his attention, and the little land ruled by little people may as well have never existed at all. And cut him some slack - it's been over a thousand years, and he's an enslaved wraith who probably loathes every day of his own existence. I'd forget a thing or two in his situation as well.
@@warbossgrimskull6095 Ah but you're forgetting. This guy is the slave of The Ring. You'd think it would exert such power over him that he would always be able to sense where it was located (generally if not exactly).
I love how Sauron and his servants basically did the opposite of Gandalfs "pity" speech and were like yeah sure I'll let literally any ol douche go not because I'm merciful but because evil rules. Wild times if you were an evil dude you'd get spared by both sides it seems. Great vid!
It's possible that Nazgul can't actually kill anyone ( of course The WK does wound Frodo but he was wearing The Ring at the time and as such "half in the wraith - world".) I'm not saying this is definitely so since the author is careful not to say (as with The Army of The Dead).
@@alanpennie8013 great point. I just don't know if the nazgul could have had that much impact on fear alone without fear of genuine outcome. Like how would ghr witchking command anyone beneath him without the threat of violence? I mean at least we know that he alone can do magic so there might have been the chance to kill someone through that and they all stab the pillows....so I think they were expecting to kill the Hobbits with that. But it's a fine line, they prefer influence of direct violence for sure. That's my take
@@reecepip4857 I'd forgotten that The Black Rider broke Eowyn's left arm with his mace. So it does appear that Nazgul can inflict physical injury, though only I think in exceptional circumstances.
@@alanpennie8013 "Grr! Those Nazgûl give me the creeps. And they skin the body off you as soon as look at you, and leave you all cold in the dark on the other side." -- Gorbag, _The Two Towers_
I have a theory. The dwarves in the first age and early second age were very active and actively take part in the affairs of middle earth but after the fall of Ost-in-Edhel suddenly they do nothing. They don't join the numenor in defeating sauron in the war of elves and sauron. when Gundabad their holy site is taken by orcs they don't try and reclaim it despite having the power to do so. When the orcs drive away their mannish allies who provide them with their food they do nothing and allow the orcs to drive the humans away and slowly starving the dwarves causing their numbers to dwindle. When the power of the orcs of the misty mountains increases and they begin to take the dwarven strongholds one by one moving southwards closer to Khazad-dum they do nothing and allow it to happen. The odds of a species like the dwarves to allow somebody to disgrace, steal and humilate them is unlikely so why were they so paralyzed throughout most of the second and third age? I believe this is when sauron gave the dwarves their rings of power and while the rings couldn't control the dwarves it could influence their thoughts and actions which was why the dwarven kings did nothing as their realm collapsed around them.
Great question. I think there's two options; one is that he has spies in Gondor who have relayed that information back to him. The other is that he might have actually learned it from Saruman. We know that Boromir met Eomer as he passed through Rohan, and might've stayed in Edoras. It's possible he spoke of the riddle, and Grima reported it back to Saruman, who reported it to Sauron. We know Saruman was in contact with Sauron at this time because he reported that he had captured Gandalf.
Speaking of Gollum how on earth did he know that the fellowship had the ring when they entered Moria, it's not like they shouted out they had the ring, so they should have appeared as very strange and stupid travelers to go through Moria to Gollum yet he somehow automatically knew they had the ring. Did possessing it for so long give him the ability to sense it when he is within a certain range like the nazgul?
Gandalf doesn't specify that Gollum will help, only that he has a further part to play, for good or ill. And indeed it is through a very evil act that Gollum inadvertently does good, so in a way Sauron was also right. Tolkien loved the "God moves in mysterious ways" trope.
Sauron did not believe Gollum was a loyal ally to him. Rather he knew the power of the Ring had completely corrupted and ensnared him, and so Gollum would essentially be a homing beacon for it: constantly tracking it while screwing over anyone who got in his way. And since he wasn’t an orc, he could possibly have an easier time sneaking about in the realms of the free people, which he does as he makes his way though Gondor and even Lothlórien. As for Gandalf: he did not think Gollum would be an ally to Frodo. As the comment above pointed out, Gandalf realized Gollum’s fate was tied to the Ring so he had a part to play in its quest, whether for good or for ill. And as in for good, Gandalf even goes on to state that Gollum would not actively do good, but rather his own actions/lust for the Ring may unwittingly aid the Free People. We see this with Gollum essentially guiding Frodo and Sam all the way into Mordor, out of selfishness to capture the Ring via Shelob but nonetheless very useful for the Fellowship. Likewise he bites off Frodo’s finger to steal the Ring for himself, but ultimately falls into the Crack of Mt Doom destroying the Ring. So both times he is very much guided by his own selfish lust for the Ring and causes misfortune for Frodo and Sam, yet equally still does a net good unwittingly
@@DarthGandalfYT But they don't as in the book Gandalf explains that if anyone was to overthrow Sauron using his own arts a new Black Lord would arise due to the sheer evil corrupting power of the One Ring.
Is this hunt for the ring actually written by tolkein? Its not in the books or the silmarillion. Am I missing something or is this just your opinion based on no facts? For example where does it state sauron is angry with the witch king before sending him back out?
Unfortunately, the Hunt for the Ring is split across two separate books. Most of it (including where Sauron gets angry at the Witch-king) is in the Unfinished Tales, but the excerpt that follows the Witch-king's point of view following the encounter at Weathertop is found in A Reader's Companion.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
“Saruman reveals his true colors” is an excellent pun
I have a newfound appreciation for everything the Witch-king had to put up with before the Quest even properly began. Sent on a wild goose chase across the length and breadth of Middle-earth, treacherous wizards, getting chewed out by his boss, multiple grumpy old hobbits, dealing with Aragorn, Gandalf, and Glorfindel, and finally getting drowned by Elrond.
And then a Hobbit and one of the Rohirrim whack him.
Don’t forget everything he did before the War of the Ring. Takes down all of Arnor and helping drive a wedge between the alliance of Men and Elves, all while his boss is essentially out of sick leave.
Man, the tension between Sauron's and Saruman's spy network, and Aragorn with the Dunenain really goes unnoticed while we puff smoke-rings at Bag End...
13:05 "none other than Glorfindel, legendary Noldo and Balrog-slayer. Elrond unleashes him from Rivendell on the 9th, he drives 5 of the Nazgûl from the Last Bridge on the 11th, and eventually finds Frodo on the 18th." I almost pissed my pants at "unleashes". There is no one like Darth Gandalf to subtly bring to light dank Tolkien lore-pieces.
Oh look, it's the best Tolkien RUclipsr
Confirmed
Close call with Red Book
Because I didn't mention it in the video for some reason (I wrote and recorded the script several weeks ago), Elrond caused the river to flood, and Gandalf added the horse shapes.
Okay, for the main event. Over the years, many people have asked the question - how did the Witch-king not know where the Shire was? And it's a completely valid question, since the Witch-king was the ruler of Angmar, the Shire existed for over 300 years before Angmar fell, and that Angmar actually overran the Shire during the Fall of Arnor. So what's the answer? There isn't a definitive one. Using the term very broadly, this might actually be one of the very few "plot holes" in Tolkien's work (note - plot holes are very different from inconsistencies, Tolkien has a lot of them).
Nevertheless, I'll try to answer, and I think it's as simple as - the Witch-king, despite his proximity to the Shire at one stage, was never truly aware of it. This is for two reasons - one is the Witch-king's character, and the other is the character of the Hobbits. The Witch-king is arrogant, confident, prideful, he's Sauron's right-hand man whose always focused on the bigger picture. He's not an idiot, but he isn't exactly cold and calculating either, and he lets his pride get in the way of his decision-making constantly. In his wars against Arnor, Fornost was his prize, and nothing else mattered. Meanwhile, Hobbits are extremely reclusive, so much so that even nearly fifteen hundred years after the Shire's founding, the only people who are really aware of them are traveling groups of Dwarves or Elves, and the Men of Bree. Everyone else is either completely unaware of them or vaguely aware of them through rumours and tales.
So what happened? The Witch-king either did not even know of the Shire or he cared so little that it slipped his mind. When he overran Arnor, he probably didn't pay any attention to the Shire, and his forces probably overran it by accident. Once he leaves the north, Eriador falls well outside of his attention, and the little land ruled by little people may as well have never existed at all. And cut him some slack - it's been over a thousand years, and he's an enslaved wraith who probably loathes every day of his own existence. I'd forget a thing or two in his situation as well.
The ring is in Tannu Tuva
Tannu what?
@@easytiger6570 Only western spies speak of Tannu Tuva
I think its more along the lines of, he hasn't been to the realm of Eriador in a thousand years and just forget where things were over time.
@@warbossgrimskull6095
Ah but you're forgetting.
This guy is the slave of The Ring.
You'd think it would exert such power over him that he would always be able to sense where it was located (generally if not exactly).
Good thoughts
"Saruman shows his true colors". Well played! 😂
I love how Sauron and his servants basically did the opposite of Gandalfs "pity" speech and were like yeah sure I'll let literally any ol douche go not because I'm merciful but because evil rules. Wild times if you were an evil dude you'd get spared by both sides it seems. Great vid!
It's possible that Nazgul can't actually kill anyone ( of course The WK does wound Frodo but he was wearing The Ring at the time and as such "half in the wraith - world".)
I'm not saying this is definitely so since the author is careful not to say (as with The Army of The Dead).
@@alanpennie8013 great point. I just don't know if the nazgul could have had that much impact on fear alone without fear of genuine outcome. Like how would ghr witchking command anyone beneath him without the threat of violence? I mean at least we know that he alone can do magic so there might have been the chance to kill someone through that and they all stab the pillows....so I think they were expecting to kill the Hobbits with that. But it's a fine line, they prefer influence of direct violence for sure. That's my take
@@reecepip4857
I'd forgotten that The Black Rider broke Eowyn's left arm with his mace.
So it does appear that Nazgul can inflict physical injury, though only I think in exceptional circumstances.
@@alanpennie8013
"Grr! Those Nazgûl give me the creeps. And they skin the body off you as soon as look at you, and leave you all cold in the dark on the other side." -- Gorbag, _The Two Towers_
I lost it at Khamul kindly being told to kindly piss off part. I love the free style narration you use to tell about these events.
This is my favorite LOTR commentary account. Especially with the “advice” at the end😂
I have a theory. The dwarves in the first age and early second age were very active and actively take part in the affairs of middle earth but after the fall of Ost-in-Edhel suddenly they do nothing. They don't join the numenor in defeating sauron in the war of elves and sauron. when Gundabad their holy site is taken by orcs they don't try and reclaim it despite having the power to do so. When the orcs drive away their mannish allies who provide them with their food they do nothing and allow the orcs to drive the humans away and slowly starving the dwarves causing their numbers to dwindle. When the power of the orcs of the misty mountains increases and they begin to take the dwarven strongholds one by one moving southwards closer to Khazad-dum they do nothing and allow it to happen. The odds of a species like the dwarves to allow somebody to disgrace, steal and humilate them is unlikely so why were they so paralyzed throughout most of the second and third age? I believe this is when sauron gave the dwarves their rings of power and while the rings couldn't control the dwarves it could influence their thoughts and actions which was why the dwarven kings did nothing as their realm collapsed around them.
Now I'm wondering what finances Gandalf agreed to when he rod his horse-farrari
Let's just say that the Balrog may have been a debt collector...
Sauron got trolled... The name he got was Bilbo T. Baggins
Back to the shadow...
Bilbo's mother was a Took so Bilbo T. Baggins is basically canon.
"Please, please torment me no more...I will tell all. The Precious...the Precious is in the hands of a Hobbit....called Dee...
...
DEEZ NUTS"
I want the version of LOTR where Fatty Bolger just goes full Jason Bourne and takes out all of the Nazghul single-handed.
Incredible and detailed approach, thank you!!
I wonder, how would Sauron learn about Boromir's dream? Could it be that he learned from gondorian prisoners of Minas Morgul?
Great question. I think there's two options; one is that he has spies in Gondor who have relayed that information back to him. The other is that he might have actually learned it from Saruman. We know that Boromir met Eomer as he passed through Rohan, and might've stayed in Edoras. It's possible he spoke of the riddle, and Grima reported it back to Saruman, who reported it to Sauron. We know Saruman was in contact with Sauron at this time because he reported that he had captured Gandalf.
@@DarthGandalfYT that makes a lot of sense, thank you
Great video! I enjoyed it!
And, Glorfindel is a badass!
Speaking of Gollum how on earth did he know that the fellowship had the ring when they entered Moria, it's not like they shouted out they had the ring, so they should have appeared as very strange and stupid travelers to go through Moria to Gollum yet he somehow automatically knew they had the ring. Did possessing it for so long give him the ability to sense it when he is within a certain range like the nazgul?
Probably he can fell the precence of the ring
I think it's a safe assumption that any part with a Wizard, elf and hobbits coming from the direction of the Shire likely had the Ring.
It is possible that all evil creatures can sense The Ring (it's hinted that The Watcher in The Water did).
Amazing video like always, keep making more.
Brilliant video can’t wait for rest of them carry on making awesome content
Really good video, thank you !
I can't get over Grima Wyrmtongue saying
'and yea, verily...'
1:30 - So Sauron and Gandalf both believed that Gollum would help their cause in the end? Interesting
Gandalf doesn't specify that Gollum will help, only that he has a further part to play, for good or ill. And indeed it is through a very evil act that Gollum inadvertently does good, so in a way Sauron was also right. Tolkien loved the "God moves in mysterious ways" trope.
Sauron did not believe Gollum was a loyal ally to him. Rather he knew the power of the Ring had completely corrupted and ensnared him, and so Gollum would essentially be a homing beacon for it: constantly tracking it while screwing over anyone who got in his way. And since he wasn’t an orc, he could possibly have an easier time sneaking about in the realms of the free people, which he does as he makes his way though Gondor and even Lothlórien.
As for Gandalf: he did not think Gollum would be an ally to Frodo. As the comment above pointed out, Gandalf realized Gollum’s fate was tied to the Ring so he had a part to play in its quest, whether for good or for ill. And as in for good, Gandalf even goes on to state that Gollum would not actively do good, but rather his own actions/lust for the Ring may unwittingly aid the Free People. We see this with Gollum essentially guiding Frodo and Sam all the way into Mordor, out of selfishness to capture the Ring via Shelob but nonetheless very useful for the Fellowship. Likewise he bites off Frodo’s finger to steal the Ring for himself, but ultimately falls into the Crack of Mt Doom destroying the Ring. So both times he is very much guided by his own selfish lust for the Ring and causes misfortune for Frodo and Sam, yet equally still does a net good unwittingly
Didn't the Witch-king also make a.quick stop at the Barrow Downs, to stir up the Barrow Wights?
He did.
Why are you super underrated?!
It's very good to know that people still lived in minhiriath
Just a question who were the several people who can use the one ring
In Rivendell - Elrond, Gandalf, Glorfindel. Outside Rivendell - Galadriel, Saruman, probably Radagast, maybe Celeborn and Cirdan.
@@DarthGandalfYT thanks
@@DarthGandalfYT But they don't as in the book Gandalf explains that if anyone was to overthrow Sauron using his own arts a new Black Lord would arise due to the sheer evil corrupting power of the One Ring.
@@DarthGandalfYT Why not Thranduil? I would put him on the maybe list.
@@thomasr.8658
As elves go he was kind of stupid (as was Legolas).
Love the video
Is this hunt for the ring actually written by tolkein? Its not in the books or the silmarillion. Am I missing something or is this just your opinion based on no facts? For example where does it state sauron is angry with the witch king before sending him back out?
Unfortunately, the Hunt for the Ring is split across two separate books. Most of it (including where Sauron gets angry at the Witch-king) is in the Unfinished Tales, but the excerpt that follows the Witch-king's point of view following the encounter at Weathertop is found in A Reader's Companion.
Cheers
You left out the Barrow Downs and the hobbits getting the Cardilan blades. That was key leading to the death of the Witch King.