My girlfriend watches The Return of the King (Extended) for the FIRST time || Part 1 

Thanks so much for checking out the video everyone! Part 2 is currently available on Patreon. All full length reactions to the extended editions are also available on Patreon. You will need your own copy of the movie to watch along through. www.patreon.com/hthardman I hope you all enjoy!

I loved that Jen starts off with "OMG, they are so cute", and in a few minutes it was "he just committed homicide".

"Return of the King" is one of three movies to hold the record for most Academy Awards won in a single year, it's tied with "Ben-Hur" and "Titanic" each winning 11 Oscars

Jen: "I want some good endings!" Well, you're definitely watching the right movie...

I always love that Christopher Lee gets a final stake through the heart in homage to his years of playing Dracula.

Let’s be real, the Oscars for this movie were Oscars for the trilogy as a whole. All three of the movies are instant classics.

The film won 11 Oscars including Best Picture, the first fantasy adventure film to win, and was the last epic film to win as of 2005.

I imagine Holden locking his kids in closet screaming "SHUT UP WERE WATCHING A MOVIE"

I don't know if you'll tell Jen this in the discussion part or not Holden, but here's a fun little fact about a script change. At 4:54 when Grima goes to stab Saruman, originally Peter Jackson told Christopher Lee to scream after being stabbed, and Christopher has been quoted at telling Peter that, "People don't scream when they're stabbed in the back, they gasp for air."

JEN: "I want a pet dragon" Tyrion: "It doesn't even have to a big one, it could be little like me"

That's a Palantir that Saruman had, a seeing-stone which was used to talk to people in distant lands,like a face-time. There was something roughly like 12 (I think ?) around middle earth. They are nigh on indestructible, some were lost to the bottom of seas and other places, but some survived into the 3rd age. One was in Osgiliath, if I remember, and it was huge. Like you would have to wrap your arms around it to get about half way around. Others were the size of tennis balls. This one Saruman aquired some time in the past and used to it, to his doom, to communicate with Sauron. Saruman got tricked and manipulated. What Pippin saw was Sauron in full whack, and he got tortured due to not giving Sauron the information he wanted. Denethor also had one which was why he seemed so grumpy and angry, because, again, he was being manipulated without knowing it.

The fact that Holden was able to get THE John Noble to shoot a message was like commitment right there!

“Authority is not given to you to deny the return of the King, steward!!” Ian McKellen is the GOAT. I feel like when characters in movies say the name of the movie it’s usually cheesy but this time I absolutely love it.

The whole “it has been remade” exchange is specifically about the sword Narsil; now called Andúril. Narsil is the sword Isildur used to cut the One Ring from the hand of Sauron (you see the flashback in Fellowship). The broken blade goes to Rivendell and also in Fellowship, Boromir picks up a piece and remarks that it’s still sharp when he cuts himself. Elrond has his smiths reforge the broken sword and takes it to Aragorn. When they take the Path of the Dead and encounter the ghosts, you see Legolas fire arrows through the ghosts, but Aragorn can use Andúril to block the ghost’s sword due to the curse of their betrayal. They’re aware that Narsil was broken, thus the surprise when Aragorn was able to block him and then grab him by the throat.

I remember when my wife saw rotk for the first time. I was so happy it was with me! She made fun of me for loving these movies for so long and then at the coronation of Aragorn when he says “my friends, you bow to no one” she totally started to cry. I was like, “I feel that”. It was a total moment

I just freakin' love the Gondor calls for aid, scene. Just the look of anticipation/urgency on Viggo's face is absolutely killer and immersive. Followed by the hesitation on Theodan's face before "& Rohan will answer." Haha and it was great that you said "Good for you!" at that scene!! Pretty much did the same, as many others did. Love the dichotomy between you two! Been watching since Marvel's What if vids

7:35 The stone is one of the 8 Palantiri or "seeing stones" which were once placed in key fortresses of the kingdoms of Anor and Gondor. They were used for communication over long distances throughout the twin kingdoms. Sauron had the stone that was housed in Minas Ithil in his possession, hence why he was able to speak to Saruman and eventually Pippin. Its also why a certain character goes batshit insane in the next film, he used the stone and Sauron destroyed his mind (in the films its not shown, but in the books it is what happens) 9:05 Arwen and the elves are heading to the undying lands as their time in Middle Earth is ending. Elves in LOTR are Immortal, but they can die due to injury or depression (they can become so downtrodden they simply give up on life and pass away)

Smeagol turned faster because, in the books, it is hinted that even before he came across the ring, there was already a darkness in Smeagol, that even among hobbits, he was a black sheep with odd behaviours.

Yeah, this one taught me to cry in public again. I must have been around the age of 18/19, straight out of puberty, couldn´t cry anymore when other people were around. But when that famous line "You bow to no one" dropped, so did the waterfalls.... lol

Jenn: "Is that a pig" Me: Well, you're not wrong. Apparently that orc was designed with Harvey Weisntein as inspiration at Peter Jackson's request. And at certain angles you can absolutely see the resemblance.

Seeing clips of these films with the music cut is a real testament to Howard Shore’s score. They’re all brilliantly made, but the score just brings a whole new level of immersive weight to the narrative

Denethor is another very tragic character that if one doesn't know the whole story, just makes him seem like an asshole for no reason :P He was wed to Finduilas, a beautiful lady from the seaside land of Dol Amroth, and she bore him two sons, Boromir and Faramir. However, after Faramir's birth, she became despondent, as Denethor was hesitant to leave the city, and she pined for the ocean breezes and the sounds of waves crashing from home. Faramir's birth also weakened her physically, and a few years later, she died. Denethor blamed Faramir for her death, as it wasn't until he was born that she started to wither and weaken. This, combined with his prolonged usage of the Palantir to survey his kingdom and seeing the darkness creep upon it more and more, made him a very cynical and irritable man. He also inadvertently aligned his Palantir with the one in Barad-dur, the one that Sauron held, and then it was that he beheld the full extent of Sauron's forces and his plans for the world of Men. It is here where he loses all hope for the future of his kingdom, and begins his descent into a paranoid and fearful madness. Knowing all of this, one can see WHY he acts the way he does. Obviously it doesn't excuse his actions, but they are understandable.

In addition to a large body double (Tall Paul), there were two little people who doubled for hobbits (Merry and Pippin in particular) in some scenes. The one where Denethor walks to the parapet while Faramir lays under the White Tree and Pippin runs over to Faramir is one very obvious one. Another is where Boromir is teaching Merry and Pip the rudiments of sword fighting.

I literally laughed out loud when she said “I’m hoping to see some good endingS” I’m thinking…..”yeah Jen, take your pick of the handful that are to come 😂😂”

See I didn’t see it as the Palantiri having some attractive quality or power to make Pippin go after it, I always saw it as Pippins flaw, he is immature and curious to a fault. He makes all the same mistakes as a child would (eg the group keep a low profile but Pippin after a few drinks blurts out Frodo’s name, Moria like a child had to touch something that didn’t need to be touched and sets off the events that lead to Gandalf’s death) and in this instance he sees something mysterious and just HAS to touch it much like a child would. He is Tolkien’s version of “curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back”, in the beginning of the journey his curious nature is a detriment to him and the fellowship however by the end of the story his same nature (now having grown up a little) actually saves lives

The age of "is that a fish" is over, let the age of "is that a pig?" begin 14:18

Jen: "It's a fish! It's actually a fish!" lol!

When filming Saruman’s death Peter Jackson told Christopher Lee to scream when he was stabbed, but since Christopher was in the Royal Air Force he told Peter Jackson that the person being stabbed would gasp for air instead

So the Palantír is one of the seven seeing stones of Numenor. Sauron has one of them, and he was tempting Pippin, at least that's what's implied.

The beginning of the end! It's good for everyone to at least try to watch this amazing trilogy once in their lives, just to say they've seen such a cultural landmark.

Yes, I'm going to be that guy... The Fellbeasts are actually not dragons but are wyverns like Smaug.

I don't know if they were really ever a thing in the US but certainly here in the UK message beacons were an important part of national defence for a long time. Anywhere where it was higher ground with long sight-lines would have a beacon on it and in a defensive emergency the first would be lit and a lookout at others would spot it and light theirs until it went down the line. One of the most famous uses was when the Spanish sent the Armada to attack England as it allowed the warning of the approaching fleet to be spread around the county. Many hills and mountains in the UK include beacon in their name and many still have the beacon at the top of them although they are no longer actively used outside of the occasional ceremonial use (think 2012 was the last time we had one off those)

4:56 the Chucky laugh killed me.

I love the video being 2 parts and having them release on consecutive days. More content

We need a compilation of all the dialogue Jen and Holden give to Boston and Falcon 🤣🤣

9:43 Funny you say that. The city of Lima (Peru) was founded as the “City of Kings” in 1532.

The Crystal Balls (Palantirs) were given to the Numenoreans (Aragorns ancestors from the 2nd age, kind of like Atlantis) to help them communicate over the vast distances of their lands. When Sauron captured the green city (Minas Morgul), he obtained one of the Palantirs and used to to control Saruman and Denethor (they dont' show this in the movie, but Denethor was using the Palantir at Minas Tirith to try to see what Sauron was up to, it's why he's as crazy as he is, Sauron is driving him mad via the Palantir). There were seven of them in total.

19:47 "A woman and a hobbit. I love it." There should be a movie with this plot somewhere on the Internet.

Small trivial fact. The horse didn't really bring Faramir back because of any kindness. Horses left to their own devices will always go directly home. I lived in an area with many horse and buggy people (old order Mennonites) and a few of the more rebellious ones would drink at the tavern. At the end of the night they would get in the buggy, pass out and wake up in front of the barn door. Of course horses do not observe stop signs or other rules of the road so there have also been many accidents.

I didn't realize JUST how important the music is in these movies. Like I knew how iconic it was, but I've never had the chance to really see stretches of the movies without the soundtrack until now, and its so much worse. I feel like I haven't noticed it as much in the other girlfriend reacts videos, but this one is very jarring. amazing what music can do, and how much LotR leaned into that

15:10 something not shown in the films was that faramirs father had been dealing with the strains of ruling whilst fending of CONSISTENT attacks from Mordor, and if memory serves (it’s been a while since I actually read the books)…he also had seen one of the palantir stones, as such, had effectively been driven mad through keeping saurons influence from his mind…all we see is the crazed manifestation of that influence and strain without as much of the context

Saruman' death is a reason alone to watch the extended editions. I can't believe it's not in the theatrical version

Peregrine is from the Took family which are infamous for being overly curious. It was his family trait that drove him to investigate the the seeing stone. The seeing stone works by linking the minds of the two users. They can exchange thoughts, so in effect peregrine linked minds with a Demi god that nearly drove him insane. The thing that the movie doesn’t cover is that lord Denethor is in possession of one of the stones and he’s been trying to spy into Mordor but unfortunately was driven to despair by Sauron. That is why he acts the way he does. The movie doesn’t do him justice

Aragorn is actually a very distant descendant of Elrond’s Brother. It was Aragon’s ancestral bloodline that founded the utopia of Numenor. That kingdom was destroyed by a great flood and the surviving royal family founded the kingdom of Gondor. (Yes this is how thorough Tolkien was in creating Middle Earth)

3:27 No Jen, he just committed hobbitcide.

OMG Thank you for this high honor of being Comment of the Day. Also real fish for the win😁

The orb, Palantir, is basically just wizard skype.

In the books Saruman wasn't killed at Orthanc but escaped to the Shire where he had interest in a smokeleaf business. He industrialized the Shire, enslaving its population. After the Ring was destroyed, Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Frodo returned to overthrow Saruman. The actual deaths of Saruman and Wormtongue are mostly as they are in the book, with Wormtongue cutting Saruman's throat after being kicked and then being shot with arrows loosed by hobbit archers.

Oh my gosh that's so cool! You had a chat with John Noble!

Who has two thumbs and will be crying during Part 2? This guy. (I did hold my thumbs up briefly.)

Holden.... did you just put a Chucky javascript onto Gimore Wyrmtongue's stabbing of Sarumon 😂🤣. That was so epic I had to hear it twice bro.

The orb has a couple of powers, one which links the minds of anyone holding one wherever they are in the world. Unfortunately, Sauron has one of them and can overwhelm anyone else who tries to use one. The other power is to see almost anything, anywhere, but this too can be corrupted by Sauron, which drives Denethor insane.

Yay can’t wait for part II

Can’t wait to see Jens reaction when *That* horn sound

When you talked about forged in fire I just imagined Aragorn going "this weapon will kill" when Elrond hands it to him and he pulls the sword out of the sheet, with a huge smile on his face. Lol

Jen's "it's a fish..., its an actual fish" and Holden face is classic. Lmao😅😂😂😂👌

A lot of people ask, "so there are like people up on top of those mountains all the time? Come On!" they fail to realise it isn't the same people all the time. The Beacons are probably tended by families from the nearest village for generations, and is a great Honour to be the "Tenders of the Beacons", they work in shifts

I can’t wait to see Jen’s reaction to the Riders of Rohan charge it’s such an epic movie moment

I think the line the ghost king give is “that blade was broken” he just delivers it weird

LOL, when i first showed my little sister LotR she also called Legolas, "Legoland " all the time. How funny. Needless to say He and the Elves were her favs. Can't wait for Jen to see the finale.

"We Have Flags" haha Holden and Jen should do a Fun with Flags Video like Sheldon on TBBT :)

quick upload part 2 holden show us the meaning of haste lol that shadowfax line is underrated I feel like jen is starting to fall in love with characters as most do with lotr. we'll see at the end if she's become a fan

That Chucky laugh when Wormtong was stabbing Suroman LMFAO

The "Wolf's Head" ram at the end of Part 1, that the orcs are chanting GROND at, is named for the legendary weapon wielded by their original creator, Morgoth: Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld, the very same weapon used to lay low the High King of the Noldorin elves, Fingolfin.

Sadly, this is one of those movies that seeing it first time on the big screen is how one should see it. The big screen, surround sound system, etc, just adds to the greatness of this film. Especially the part with the rise of the witch tower scene, and the rider through Minis Tirith.

Yes! Can't wait!

I wonder how many people are gonna try and correct them calling the fellbeasts "dragons" lmao

I can't help but anticipate the YTP of Denethor's lines. "This is how you would defend your shitty city" "Boromir would have brought me a kinky gift"

I can't believe you didn't protest when Jen kept calling the Fellbeasts dragons

“Is that a pig?” is going to be 2022’s version of “Is that a fish?”

The Elves are going to the Undying Lands, which is a land which used to be part of Earth but was moved beyond the reach of mortals at the end of the Second Age. Sometimes it's referred to as 'heaven' but that's not quite right, since it's still a physical place and the Elves there are still alive. The elves do literally leave the sphere of Arda, though, when they go there. It's quite a sad story - the elves first awoke in Middle Earth, but the Valar sent emissaries and asked them to come to Valinor (which is a part of the Undying Lands). Some elves stayed In Middle Earth (known as the Dark Elves, because they never saw the light of the Trees of Valinor). Others went, but returned to Middle Earth later, for various complicated reasons. The elves who returned love Middle Earth, but they know that one day they must return to Valinor - the destruction of the ring basically marks the point where they must return, because the power of the Three helps the elves to preserve their realms (which is why Lothlorien and Rivendell feel so otherworldly). Without the One, the Three no longer function. One way or another, the Elves have reached the point where their time in Middle Earth is over. If the ring is destroyed, so is the power of the Elves. If it isn't, then Sauron will reign, and the Elves don't want to stick around for that.

Lmao the Chucky laugh when Grima stabbed Saruman XD

“I want a pet dragon”… To quote Ron Weasley (the book)“you live in a wooden house”

Elrond was talking about death surrounding Arwen in general. That Aragorn would eventually die and the world would be different and she would be alone as an elf. But he didn’t tell her that amongst all of that death, she could also have life, a son, a family that carries on.

the music in these movies is amazing. i wish i could hear you guys comment on it and i wish i could hear some of the musical ques myself as you watch, but i understand why you needed to edit most of the music out.

Real Mr Beast energy with the "BUT IM NOT DONE!" explosion and next comment of the day, love it.

Christopher Lee is a total bad ass. Worked as a soldier, spy and a Nazi hunter. When Peter Jackson told him to scream during the scene when he gets stabbed....he told him that's not how people who get stabbed react.

The line of Gondor is, complicated. It is explained in the book that the last king of Gondor rode to war, he took his sons with him. And they were all killed. But, his brother(who fought by his side and died) had a son who was hidden. That son grew up, and had a son. And on until the second Arathorn had a son he and his wife Gilren had their son Aragorn. When his father went off to battle, his mother brought him to Rivendell

LOL the CHUCKY laugh !!! epic

So happy bout this rn

And here we go

9:28 FORGED IN FIRE!!! I was waiting for it to drop!! Although I think the guys on that show would have some serious concerns to how that sword was reforged 😂⚔️

So juciy. Can’t wait for part 2.

14:13 me too but that's a Wyvern though. Dragons have all for limbs plus wings, a Wyvern only has 2 legs and 2 wings.

12:25 Jen ask if the armies leave Minas Morgul just because or is because Frodo is there... fun fact, it'r because Pippin looked at the Palantir and Sauron rushes the army to war ahead of time..

The Wrestling AND Seinfeld reference (WWF Beatdown + Hand Double) just made my night!!💙

My second favorite movie of all time. AMAZING!!!

Based on an article online, pippin was attracted to the palantir (the orb he took back from Gandalf) because it had some power of sauron and pippin was attracted to it after holding it a bit @ the flooded isengard before giving it to Gandalf

3:19 In my head cannon, the Ring forced Smeagol and Deagol to fight to the death so that it could take the stronger of the two for a host.

I would have to assume that Smeagol and his friend had been fishing in that lake/river for some time prior, and as such I think they could have been influenced by the ring without them knowing up until that part where they fall in the water. Having been buttered up so much prior, they were already willing to kill over it.

I love watching the two of you enjoy something

Catapulting the heads of slain soldiers was an actual military tactic used in sieges; not only for the obvious blow to morale but also because the rotting flesh could spread disease through the enemy city.

The lock-in youth group/church comment had me a bit confused, because in the UK a lock-in typically involves getting extremely drunk haha. To quote Wikipedia: A "lock-in" is when a pub owner allows patrons to continue drinking in the pub after the legal closing time, on the theory that once the doors are locked, it becomes a private party rather than a pub. Patrons may put money behind the bar before official closing time, and redeem their drinks during the lock-in so no drinks are technically sold after closing time. 😁👍

“Andúril reforged! It is sharp, it is beautiful, but most importantly it will keel.”

What they mean by the line is Broken is since Isildur died his family line of kings was broken and the Stewards took over. Aragorn rising up and claiming the sword is remaking the line of Kings. For movie purposes the Stewards are only rulers until someone comes that can claim the sword and be worthy of the throne

Gondor was one of two Kingdoms founded by the house of Elendil. Elendil himself founded the kingdom of Arnor in the north, where the Hobbits come from, near Rivendell. The place where the Nazgul caught up with the group and attacked their campsite, and wounded Frodo, was a great fortress of Arnor. Elendil's sons, Isildur & Anarion founded Gondor in the south. When Elendil died in the battle shown at the very beginning of the series, and his sword was shattered, Anarion had already been killed in the same war, so Isildur was the king of both Arnor and Gondor, having inherited the former from his father. He was traveling north to take up the High Kingship in Arnor, when he was ambushed and killed and the One Ring fell into the river where Smeagol would eventually find it. Isildur's son was waiting for him in Rivendell and he became the King of Arnor, while Anarion's son Menedil, had been made king of Gondor. It was the line of Anarion that died out, but Isildur's line continued through his son, Valandil. Because Anarion was Isildur's brother, Aragorn, the direct descendant of Isildur and Valandil, is the rightful heir to Gondor. The books are not super clear why the royal family has been messing around in the woods of the north for generations since Arnor was destroyed, instead of going south to take up the throne of Gondor.

Tall Paul was the double for Gandalf. There are a few scenes where Pippin or Merry are just on their knees.

14:17 "Is that a pig?" Oh boy, here we go.

nice edit, with the music cuts

"I really love the dragons" - Looking forward to your 'The Hobbit" reaction👀