When it comes to extended editions of the other two films, I treasure just about every extra scene and shot that was added, but I tend to feel the exact opposite for much of what was added to The Return of the King.
Perhaps the best example of this is the confrontation between the Witch King of Angmar and Gandalf during the Siege of Minas Tirith.
In the extended edition of The Return of the King, just before the epic Ride of the Rohirrim, Gandalf and Pippin are trying to reach the mad Denethor when the Witch King lands in front of them. The Nazgul unsheathes a fiery sword which unleashes a power that, all on its own, smashes Gandalf’s staff to pieces.
Not only does this not happen in the source material, but in the book after Gandalf learns that Eowyn is dying after her battle with the Witch King, he regrets that he wasn’t the one to face the Nazgul, believing he may have been meant to do so.
And before you quote the “no man can kill him” rule, that’s true. But in Tolkien’s mythos, wizards aren’t like they are in Harry Potter—humans who learn magic. Wizards are angelic beings and so aren’t “men” in the sense that they aren’t human. In that sense Gandalf is just as much “no man” as Eowyn is, and likely could’ve defeated the Witch King.
It would be one thing to have Gandalf and the Witch King have an epic clash in the extended edition of The Return of the King that Gandalf ultimately might lose (while surviving). But to have his staff destroyed just by the other dude pulling out his sword? No—give them a real fight or just skip it altogether.
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