Pippin gets gipped!

[MatthewM]

Pippin gets beat out of many things he was given in the books, especially at the Battle of the Black Gate. Before I go further, keep in mind these are only my opinions and you could say a ton of things in relation to "it's better for a movie to..."

Let's take a quick look-

1) Merry's there.
Many will argue that Merry being at the Black Gate didn't bother them at all, but for some people like myself his (however little he may be) presence bothers me. Firstly, he just helped in killing the Witch-King. What's the glory in not showing some war scars after helping put down one of the Dark Lord's greatest soldiers? Merry being at the Black Gate demoted Pippin's growth that he experienced in the books. Pippin going alone was him coming full circle, and it was this confidence that enables him to slay the troll. Some argue that for cinematic purposes, Merry had to be there to show the dedication the Hobbits had for Frodo and Sam. I can't see, however, how he was essentially needed at the battle.

2) No troll.
This is my favorite moment for Pippin, as he slays a gigantic troll and almost kills himself in the process. Think about how big the troll must have been to Pippin, being the size it was to Men. I was hoping to see this, but of course they had to give it to Aragorn, as if he hadn't had enough amazing battles. It would have been good to see Pippin kill it...even though Aragorn doesn't even kill it, it runs away. So, Pippin's milestone is again dampered with the absence of this scene.


I love this whole scene, but I believe Pippin did get gipped in relation to his book counterpart. He did find some credit, though, in saying "the Eagles are coming!" as in the books (although in his head in the books, you can't really pull that off on the big screen in such a scene ). Not to mention, he still does slay a bunch of orcs there! Not bad for a hobbit who had little to no sword training!