THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS PART 1/2 (EXTENDED) - REACTION 

a little background story: Theese films were shot in New Zealand. And the producers were in desperate need to find a lot of skilled riders, to play the Rohirrim. You know, those bearded, brought shouldered, winking like horse men of Rohan. It was quite a challenge to find this much toughlooking riders in New Zealand, skilled enough for the job. Well, the art of horse riding turned out to be a much of a female sport, theese days. So, most of those tough, battle hardend, bearded men at arms on horses - that we watch galloping around in the movies - are actually women... and a lot of fake beards.

Be prepared for a lot of differences in the books. Peter Jackson and the other writers did the best they could to adapt the books with respect but some things, by necessity, were cut or changed. It's a huge undertaking to at least get the heart and feel of such a legendary book right and still appeal to a movie audience.

I'll go ahead and be that guy, at 11:11 Viggo actually broke his toes kicking that helmet, so that scream was of genuine agony, but staying in character he finished that scene in tremendous pain.

your reaction to the reveal of Gandalf The White was so sweet.

For reference, one of Treebeard's other, older names is Fangorn. Which is also the name of the forest he lives in. So an ancient forest is named after him. That's how old he is.

The Nazgul's flying mounts technically aren't dragons but something Tolkien called "fell beasts". There are actual dragons in Middle Earth, intelligent scaled fire-breathing creatures that would dwarf the Nazgul flying mounts. You'll meet one in the Hobbit.

21:27 hands down my favorite digital effects shot in the entire movie. It’s an amazingly subtle blend between four different makeups augmented with a beautiful CG morph… every time I see it, I look for the seams and every time it completely fools me. The perfect magic trick.

The Elven rope that falls down when Frodo pulled on it wasn't due a bad knot but enchantments woven into it by the Elves. It stayed tied until it was needed again then it untied itself. It's also why it burns Gollum. After centuries of the meanest existence the rope's virtues were too much for him, it felt like burning to his upside down senses.

11:10 Fun fact: When Viggo Mortensen kicks the helmet in that shot, he actually ended the Cold War in Europe, broke his entire leg off, nullified the predictions of the Mayan Calendar, and his genuine scream they left in the film went back in time on its own and and launched the birth of The Beatles.

6:37 As a lover of trees, the fact that you said “there were so many trees there!” really warmed my heart. Most people miss that while watching these movies. Shows that you are in fact a hobbit! :)

before the famous helmet kick, the Rohirrim giving two horses was an apology gift that, by all accounts, is not to be taken lightly. but the seriousness was warranted. gandalf the grey did, in fact, die. but he was resurrected with a different title, much like a new job title, since Saruman failed. beyond that, you have to hand it to Theoden's actor for the "no parent should have to bury their child" line. still makes my eyes rain

"he took a little tumble off the cliff" Talk about stopping part one on a cliffhanger 😆 ❤ 👍 Really enjoying your reaction video. 🏆 🎥

Orc: what about their legs? they don't need those. addie: debatable.. very diplomatic xD

It's so much fun to watch someone who doesn't know the story react to Gandalf's return :)

How deep did they fall? To give you an idea, Gandalf and the Balrog took about 10 days to climb the Endless Stair and reach the peak. The depth of Tolkien’s world is insane, literally. And even the gods didn’t know entirely what dwelt and came from the very lowest and darkness points of creation. The Watcher (kraken monster in Fellowship) is just one of these creatures that originated in the “underworld” so to speak.

Fun fact: John Rhys-Davies (Gimli) also is the voice of Treebeard

I absolutely love watching reactions to LOTR. It's always so fun to rewatch them with someone who is new to these masterpieces.

I've known Gandalf the white for so long that it becomes easy to forget how magical it is when he returns, your reaction reminded me, gave me shivers.

"He can hear that?!" Aragorn is an excellent tracker. One of the best in the race of men. Legolas, however... is an elf 😅 You'll notice Aragorn quickly follows up with "What do your elf eyes see?!" 🤣🤣🤣 When you read the books, you'll understand why. The movies mostly just have him joking with Gimli, but Legolas is really funny in the books, in his very dry way.

2:03 - that was the money shot at the start of this film: the context, the change of key in the music, everything. You could hear the gasps in the cinema.

Aragorn is a decendant of Numenor. The Numenorians were humans that were gifted long life and an island kingdom of their own after helping the Elves and the Valar (the gods) in the War of Wrath many thousands of years ago. Before the Downfall of Numenor (long story) a select group of them came to middle earth and founded The kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. Aragorn is a direct decendant of these men. Which is why he ages slower than normal people.

"That orc used to have a head" LOL Your commentary is phenomenal!! Looking at Lord of the Rings merch already? YESSS! We've got another fan!

Keep in mind that the books are not for the faint of heart - they contain *a lot* of additional material not present in the movies. Don't expect a quick read... :'D

Re: Aragorn's age at 28:46 - remember, he's a Numenorean, and a direct descendent of Elros, Elrond's twin brother. He's the human side of half-elven, basically, so yeah, lives far longer than normal men...

You had the most amazing reaction I've ever seen to Gandalf's return. And that includes mine when I first read the book!

At comic con in 2012 I got to meet Sir Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and he hung out with us for an hour or so. Lovely lovely man. Got my picture with him. The next year I got to meet Andy Serkis (Gollum). Very awesome man. Got his autograph and a picture as well

It always makes me smile when reactors see Treebeard's eyes open for the first time 😀

Once again loving the attention to detail at times like 13:55 (indeed, those are the corpses of mostly Elves from the Battle of Dagorlad c.3000 years ago, the same battle where Sauron was defeated) and 19:04.

I'm so glad to hear you're going to read the books, they really are wonderful. There WILL be some differences, both in terms of story elements and the way some characters are portrayed. For the most part I think Peter Jackson made smart decisions about changing things to better suit the movie format, though I don't feel that way about ALL of his changes. But if you're enjoying the movies, you'll almost certainly love the books :)

Hey Addie, When J.R.R. Tolkein wrote LOTR he had come back from WW1 in 1919 to find that his countryside hometown had started to modernize. Society didn't feel as it does now. The leaders in the town wanted to do away with as much nature as possible in favor of stone and man-made structures. This deeply disturbed Tolkein and as a result, he wrote his naturalist ideas into his books. Giving nature the ability to fight back against man-made destruction.

Hey Addie, The depiction of the Ents in the movie is one of the most flawless execution of visual and practial effects ever done. The cominabtion of creature design, animatronics, and visual tracking overlays makes their depicition to be one of the highlights of the movie.

I am also a “Gimli” when it comes to running, lol

Gandalf played that really slick, sent the rest of the party ahead so he can kill the boss and gain all the EXP.

God seing someone realise that the trees are alive are amazing, reminds me every time when I saw it for the first time in the cinema! Pure magic

SOME NOTES ABOUT GANDALF: At this point, Gandalf is approximately 307,000 years old. Gandalf is one of the Wizards - the Istari order. Wizards in the Lord Of The Rings ARE NOT men. The Istari (Wizards) are Maiar (singular Maia) Maiar are effectively angels/demigods/lesser gods. The Maiar are the children/servants of the major gods. Gandalf's "parents" are Manwe, the God Of The Air and Wisdom, (the king of the major gods), and Varda, the Goddess/Queen Of The Stars. The Istari Order were sent to Middle-Earth with the mission to wage war against Sauron. - Saruman The White - whose job was to lead the war against Sauron. - Gandalf The Grey - whose job was to guide and inspire the people of Middle-Earth. - Radagast The Brown - whose job it is to watch of nature and the creatures of Middle-Earth. - Alatar and Pallando The Blue - whose jobs it is to teach magic to the people of Middle-Earth. (their colors denote their roles) It's important to understand that Sauron isn't the first Dark Lord. The original Dark Lord, Morgoth, was the most powerful of the major gods. The God Of Evil. Morgoth was the brother of Manwe (Gandalf's "father"). Morgoth corrupted Maiar into his service, including Sauron himself and the Balrogs. So, Gandalf is quite literally the same race as both Sauron and the Balrogs. THAT'S why Gandalf feared Moria. He knew he faced his dark equal. A battle fairly literally between angel and demon. It's also important to understand that Gandalf absolutely 100% DID die. The Battle with the Balrog killed him. Gandalf was resurrected by Eru Ilúvatar, the supreme creator god, who created the universe and all the other gods.Eru Ilúvatar didn't straight resurrect Gandalf either.It's more like he was semi-reincarnated into a different life.The Gandalf who died was Gandalf The Grey - the Grey denoting his role as inspiration and guide to the people of Middle-Earth. The Gandalf who return is Gandalf The White - quite literally resurrected into the role of Saruman, as the leader of the war against Sauron. Saruman, in joining with Sauron, had quite literally betrayed his divine purpose and entire reason for existing. So he was fired, and when Gandalf died Saruman was replaced. Gandalf literally had his purpose in life rewritten by the supreme god. Like a massive software update to his core programming. That's why Gandalf seems confused at first when they call him Gandalf, and why he agrees that that was Gandalf The Grey, but he is Gandalf The White. He has trouble grasping his former identity, because it's not who he is. At first it's just traces of a distant memory that he initially has to be reminded of before it starts coming back to him naturally. The Gandalf we originally met was a warm, mischievous, grandfatherly guide. He's kinda gone. The Gandalf who returned is far more commanding, fierce, warlike, a tactician. His role in the universe is now to lead a war against a dark god. Gandalf is literally OLDER THAN THE UNIVERSE. The Valar (the major gods) and the Maiar (the lesser gods) are collectively known as the Ainur (gods, I guess). The Ainur are literally Eru Ilúvatar's very first creations.Each of them is the living embodiment of Ilúvatar's different thoughts/concepts. The universe was created through the song of creation, Ilúvatar created the universe, and the chorus of his Ainur shaped it with their music to reflect their different aspects. It is called the Music Of The Ainur. The most powerful of the Ainur, the Valar named Melkor, instead sung a discordant song of destruction to destroy Ilúvatar's work, and Melkor's song began to gain some followers from among the Maiar. Eventually Melkor would become the first Dark Lord Morgoth, and the Maiar who followed him would become his disciple Sauron, and the Balrogs. So, Gandalf in not JUST literally older than the universe, but he took part in the song that created it. To the best of my knowledge, the Music Of The Ainur took place approximately 307,000 years before The Lord Of The Rings.

Merry is my favorite character in the books. Sam Would have followed Frodo anywhere, Pippen is essentially a teen/child and didn't understand how dangerous the quest would be, Merry was almost an adult and was very mature for his age. He arranged Frodo's escape from Crickhollow, He was brave in The Old Forest, He followed The Black Riders in Bree, He scouted with Aragorn, AND stabbed The Witch King!

A bit of information for context on Gandalf beating the Balrog: There is a group angel or demigod-like beings called Ainur, with 14 very powerfull ones named "Valar" being the leaders, and many lesser ones being the Maiar. The Balrogs is a group of Maiar, as are the Istari (wizards) like Gandalf and Saruman. The Balrogs were mostly defeated when their Boss Melkor was beaten, and the Wizards were sent to Middle earth to keep an eye on the growing threat of Sauron. So technically the Balrog and Gandalf are on a similar Powerlevel, even if they look very different. Sauron is one of the Maiar as well, but a very powerfull one.

Lord of the Rings is one of those treasures where, thanks to the immensely beautiful work done by Peter Jackson and crew, it’s actually very easy and almost better to watch the movies first and then take a deep dive into the books. Once you read the books, you’ll really understand, for 1, how much was left out and, for 2, why they chose to cut and change what they did and how this is an INCREDIBLY rare instance of how both the books and the theatrically changed film versions are perfect in their own right. Enjoy!

The books are amazing, they will fill in all the gaps in the movies plus give you more content around everything. There’s just so much in the books that aren’t in the movies. Some of the best books I’ve read regarding fantasy, they won’t disappoint. And I just wanted to add, the beasts that the Nazgûl ride aren’t dragons, real dragons in this universe are much bigger and intelligent than those. I believe those are beasts left over from the previous war, most were killed, if I’m not mistaken. It’s been a while since I’ve read the books.

Aragorn is a descendant of Elros, Elrond’s twin brother. Elros chose a mortal life. He lived to 400 years of age. That is why his line is gifted with long life.

Although it's not specifically mentioned in the movies or the books (at least not in the Lord of the Rings books)... it is mention by Tolkien that Gandalf did in fact die fighting the Balrog. But he was sent back to Middle Earth to finish his duty of countering Sauron! Like I mentioned in your last reaction to The Fellowship... Gandalf is not human, he is a Maiar (kind of like an angel type being) who took his human wizard form

I keep sseing bumper stickers or tee shirts emblazoned with the phrase "Not all who wander are lost" and I cannot help but wonder how many realize that it comes from this story.

Allow me to (almost) be the first to let you know that when Aragorn kicks the helmet after thinking that Merry and Pippin are dead, his cry of anguish is real. The actor had been practicing the emotion and helmet kicking and after 4 takes or so his toe actually broke from kicking the helmet on that last take, which is the one we see in the movie.

"I am no tree!" "Uh....I think you're a tree" Cracks me up

Lord of the Rings has always been an escape to another reality for many. So we all hope you can fall down the hole with us and see all there is to this universe. Lord of the Rings tells 5% of the total story. There are 10s of thousands of years of history behind these characters and deeds that came before that are inlaid in this story. Hope you enjoy yourself

When Vigo Mortensen kicks the helmet and let’s out that scream, he actually broke his toe.

The Dead Marshes were most likely Tolkien's experience from WW1, where he saw craters made from mortars full of bodies and water from constant rain in No Man's land from his time in the service.

Your reactions to all the jump scares are hilarious 😄

No, those winged creatures are not dragons, they do not breath fire. They are fell beasts. Dragons at one time did exist on Middle Earth, they have large and thick scales and are much larger in size than fell beasts.

Aww poor Gimli running, in the books it was the other way around though, Aragorn was the one having a hard time keeping up with Gimli and Legolas The dwarves in middle earth were blessed by superior endurance compared to all of the other races,, but they missed that in the movies because they needed someone to be the comic relief :) Gandalf was dead for about way longer than the 20 days he was dead since he was in "the timeless halls" outside of the physical world so it is impossible to say exactly how long he was gone, I don't think the books ever stated it, but I think in the movie he said something like "every day was as long as a human life", which would make it about 1300-1500 years in real time However long it was, it was long enough for him to not remember at once that he used to be called Gandalf

I love how the warning about the crebain in _Fellowship_ has evolved into Addie distrusting all birds, everywhere.

A lot of people are surprised when Legolas does crazy tricks like jumping onto the horse or riding a shield, but you must remember that Elves are very VERY light. If you look back at the first movie, Legolas is the only one who isn't sinking in to the snow.

"Why do you lay these troubles on an already troubled mind" is a quote I need to remember to say more often

I *LOVE* how Addie has taken the Brids spying completely to heart!

The Lord of the Rings books were the first books I read as a kid outside of school because my parents said I was too young to watch them.

The wizards in LOTR aren't humans but more akin to Angels sent down for a specific purpose. So he really died but was sent back because he still had a purpose to fullfill.

Sam: “There’s only one way to eat a brace of coney’s” Me: “With chili and extra onions?”

I like how the riders only lower their spears when Eomer takes off his helmet :)

Thanks for remembering Frodo's conversation with Gandalf in Moria. One reason the Ring has less effect on Bilbo and Frodo is because of their pity/mercy toward Gollum.

I subscribed to you just from your Part 1 to Fellowship Of The Ring. Love your reactions they seem very genuine. Much love to you!

Frodo sees a continuum of Ring-affected hobbits, from himself to Bilbo to Sméagol to Gollum. If he can keep the Sméagol personality dominant, he hopes that he can pull him more towards Bilbo-ish-ness, and thus learn to keep himself from turning too quickly.

This is the best one. Because the Rohan theme is so superb.

@Addie, I really love your reactions they are so honest and true. I can feel your emotions just watching you. Thank you for letting me be apart of your channel darlin 😊

For real though, how amazing is the music in these movies? It gives so much epic gravitas to every scene.

Aragon actually broke his toe kicking the helm. The scream is actual pain, but being a boss he stayed in character.

The Gandalf reveal, every time without fail.

I feel like no one mentions how AMAZING golem and the orcs look (both in terms of effects for golem, and makeup for the orcs) because they don't look at all out of place in 2022. People forget too quickly that this was made TWENTY YEARS AGO, and it has held up so well!

I read the book (the LotR is one book printed in 3 parts due to cost) as well as The Hobbit around 1980 and a few times since. And while people like to claim otherwise, it is quite A LOT different narratively and aesthetically from the movie. The movies are fine of course.

You are awesome, I love watching your reactions, especially to my favourite films. Also there was an advert at just the right moment, so I got to see your reaction to the dead elf eyes opening twice, perfect 😄

Fun fact: when Aragorn kicks the helmet, he yelled so hard it brought Gandalf back to life

I've watched a lot of LOTR reactions. This may have been the best reaction I've seen to Gandalf's return.

You say he should have killed Grimma Wormtounge, but "some that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? You should not be so quick to deal out death and judgement. Even the very wise cannot see all ends, and Wormtounge may yet have a part to play." Also see: "True Courage comes not knowing when to take a life, but to spare one."

I swear dead marshes are the definition of a nightmare. If disneyland is stuff dreams are made of, then the dead marshes are stuff nightmares are made of

In 1967 I had a poster on my wall that said "Frodo Lives!" because of the books I first read in the Ace Paperback editions.

I grew up on the books & loved these movies. I'm really enjoying reliving it all through you & your reactions. Just a bit of info from a real Tolkien nerd that explains how Gandalf was, "sent back until my task is done" : Gandalf & Saruman are actually Maia, angelic beings, sent by the Valar, the creator gods, to advise & guide the peoples of Middle Earth in their struggle against Sauron. They have taken the guise of wise old men or wizards. In some of Tolkien's unfinished writings, he says there were actually 5 of these wizards. The 2 blue wizards disappeared into the far east. Radaghast the Brown plays a small but important part in the LOTR book, in "Fellowship." Though commonly known as Gandalf to he Hobbits & most people, the elves & the higher races of men call him Mithrandir. His true Maia name is Olorin. Sauron, the dark lord is a Maia too, albeit a kind of fallen angel.

Aragorn said about Arwen, "She stays because she still has hope." One of Aragorn's names was Estel, which means "Hope"

17:40 Freakin' great little "Mmm!" noise. Love it! What better reaction to seeing such a magnificent horse.

Your joy at the return of Gandalf was palpable. You'll find your investment in the characters intensifies as we go on. Keep killin' it, girl. Fyi, the voice of Treebeard the Ent is John Rhys-Davies (Gimli). You may recognise King Theoden (Bernard Hill) as Captain Smith in 'Titanic'. A very young Brad Dourif (Grima Wormtongue) may be seen as the ill-fated Billy in Milos Forman's 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest', an early Jack Nicholson triumph.

I see so many people emphatically talk about how they should have killed Grima, forgetting that prison is a concept that exists. Not to mention that killing Grima would definitely have unpredictable consequences on subsequent events.

As a retired dude with too much time on my hands, I have seen @ a dzn LotR's reactors... IMO, you are the best of what is a really great group, so thanx so much for your efforts! btw, the books are full of social, political, and cultural details, (such as myriad songs/poems that are all but ignored in the movies), so reading the books will greatly enrich your knowledge of elves, dwarfs, hobbits, and humans. You'll be even more amazed than you already are in viewing the films.

" It's the ring " then the look on your face. lol Priceless.

It still amazes me when Legolas flies on the horse how his arrows didn't fall out. He was like upside down. 😂😂

The funeral scene always gets me. I may not know the language, but you can hear the pain and sorrow in Eowyn's song. But when Theoden breaks down, I usually have to pause the movie for a bit. This unrefined construction worker and hardened combat veteran, loses all bearing at that scene.

Wow i am enjoying these so much! And it makes me so happy you want to read the books! I tried reading them too young and then watched the movies as they came out. After that when i read the whole book it blew my mind, it expands everything SO MUCH. But you have to expect a lot of differences in the plot of the books, it's interesting because you sense the changes they had to do was for the movies to work as movies. Hope you read them and get the same experience! :D

"I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory."

Your reaction when Gandalf returned, with such genuine surprise and delight and just whispering "whiiiiite..." may be the best moment I've seen on any reaction channel to anything. 😆

Addie, I expected your reaction to Gandalf's reveal to be one of my absolute favorite reactions....and you did not let me down! 😊 The utter shock and joy on your face and in your voice was heartwarming. I can't wait to get to part two, and then to Return of the King!

It doesn't matter how many times I watch these movies, or check out reactions to them. ALWAYS without fail, I get full body goosebumps everytime the Rohan motiv makes an appearence in the soundtrack. even just the little snippets at 24:53 are enough

The scene in the Dead Marshes was based on what Tolkien saw during World War One. From what I remember on one battlefield he saw lot of dead soldiers, their lifeless bodies lying underwater after many rainy days, much like what they saw in the Marshes in the movie. The thought of having seen something like that horrifies me more than a hundred years after the end of the "Great War".

Your reaction when they met Gandalf again was so incredibly touching and genuine.

Sam's speech at the end was beautiful

11:11 His scream was real as Viggo actually broke his toe.

so to answer your question... shorly after this movie first came out story goes that an engineer did the math when gandalf and the balrog are falling. he calculated based on the speed, and the time it took them to fall to the pool... and he figured it that gandalf and the balrog fell more or less 8000 feet also when you are able i would highly encourage you to react to dune 2021.. since Dune is the king of sci fi just like lord of the rings is the king of high fantasy

The part where Aragorn kicks the helm where the bodies were burned. The actor actually hurts his foot. That is why he reacted like that. 😂

I'm loving your reactions! So wonderful and you're so invested!! I'll be here Friday for part two!

It's so relaxing watching these reactions (especially when I'm supposed to be working). And your reaction to Gandalf's reappearance was brilliant!😊😊

Ent. When spring unfolds the beechen-leaf and sap is in the bough, When light is on the wild-wood stream, and wind is on the brow, When stride is long, and breath is deep, and keen the mountain air, Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is fair! Entwife. When Spring is come to garth and field, and corn is in the blade, When blossom like a shining snow is on the orchard laid, When sun and shower upon the earth with fragrance fill the air, I'll linger here, and will not come, because my land is fair. Ent. When Summer lies upon the world, and in a noon of gold Beneath the roof of sleeping leaves the dreams of trees unfold, When woodland halls are green and cool, and wind is in the West, Come back to me! Come back to me, and say my land is best! Entwife. When Summer warms the hanging fruit and burns the berry brown; When straw is gold, and ear is white, and harvest comes to town; When honey spills, and apple swells, though wind be in the West, I'll linger here beneath the Sun, because my land is best! Ent. When Winter comes, the winter wild that hill and wood shall slay; When trees shall fall and starless night devour the sunless day; When wind is in the deadly East, then in the bitter rain I'll look for thee, and call to thee; I'll come to thee again! Entwife. When Winter comes, and singing ends; when darkness falls at last; When broken is the barren bough, and light and labour past; I'll look for thee, and wait for thee, until we meet again: Together we will take the road beneath the bitter rain! Both. Together we will take the road that leads into the West, And far away will find a land where both our hearts may rest.

These films are so good. Thanks for sharing your reaction with us. I enjoy them a lot.

Loved hearing you say you were going to read the books. Sometimes I feel alone in the world when it comes to reading. Movies can be great, but nothing beats just relaxing to a good book, especially by a camp fire.

hi " the silmarillion" (book) by tolkien ,encompasses the entire history of the world and elves and men, last 4 pages are of this period . its fantastic, there are lineages in the appendix - including aragorn , elrond and galadriel