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PagingDrHuman t1_jeemm9y wrote

Reply to comment by SailingBroat in The LOTR The Return of the King is a great film but the confrontation with the Ghost Army has always puzzled me. by verc1ngetor1x

The ghosts swore an oath and betrayed it by fleeing Gondor or however they identified at the time and refusing to come to Gondors Aid. As Isildurs heir Aragon could hold them to that oath. So they sort of always didn't like Gondor, but didn't realize the ramifications.

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dbcanuck t1_jef4xct wrote

two things that are much more apparent in the books:

  • oaths have meaning and permanence; The Silmarillion is all driven by oaths taken in anger and the ruin they lead to as a result
  • Aragorn's ability to envoke the oath signifies his legitimacy as King.

I wasn't a huge fan of how Jackson turned them into a giant glowing pacman army of green.

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verc1ngetor1x OP t1_jeeq874 wrote

They were wallowing in their ghostness for thousands of years,found the one who could lift their ghostness had arrived, rejected him, sent an avalanche of skulls than changed their minds when he happened to survive.

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bajajoaquin t1_jeez88e wrote

Don’t know why you were downvoted but you’re spot on. It’s extra drama introduced into the movies that isn’t in the books. In the original, Aragorn declares his ancestry, and that the curse would be lifted if they go to battle with him. They accept and go.

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Chasa619 t1_jef1yqb wrote

the extended editions don't count

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