The Return of the Kinghas had its accolades sung for decades: the cast, the script, the score, the visual effects, and the direction combined to make one of the grandest and sweeping visions of a fantasy world and story ever brought to the screen. The movie managed a neat balancing act: small, personal moments were allowed to flourish at the same time as grand sweeping movements of vast forces. The slow, difficult progress of Frodo and Sam towards Mount Doom was intercut with the fast-developing drama of the massive battle brewing around the walls of Minas Tirith.Kings, lords, and magical villains threw down on the field of battle while the major drama unfolded in the story of two insignificant hobbits, and each member of the growing and scattered cast of characters hadtheir own distinctive character arcas the Ring of Power came to the end of its road.
One of the most fascinating and impactful decisions in the movie, however, was a somewhat bold decision to cut against the grain and subvert one of the most charming elements of the previous two films in the trilogy: the dynamic duo of Merry and Pippin.
Shakespeare famously added elements of “comic relief” to even his darkest tragedies, and for much ofThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy, Merry and Pippin function as the comic relief of the story as a whole. It is another nice balance that the films achieve successfully: they manage to be compelling and dramatic while also allowing for moments of lighthearted humor, without too many wisecracks that they end up subverting the story.
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The sharp turn thatThe Return of the Kingmakes, however, is that it decides to separate the comedic twins and undo the winning formula of Merry and Pippin that had worked to such great effect in the previous films. Whether it had been with pilfering the crops of a local farmer, dozing off at the long-winded tales of Treebeard, or being hilariously unaware of the direction of the quest, the performances ofDominic MonaghanandBilly Boydwere the beating comedic heart of the trilogy (and led toa long-lasting friendship that keeps them together to this day).
InThe Return of the King, though, this seemingly inseparable pair is forced by their circumstances to finally be separated in service to the greater good of Middle-earth itself: Pippin goes with Gandalf to Gondor, and Merry stays with King Theoden in Rohan. While this plot development is consistent with the storyline of the books, it was still not necessary for the movie to do so; there are somesignificant differences between the books and films, after all. While the film was playing with fire in deciding to mess with an already winning formula, the risky decision ended up paying off extremely well in the context of the story.
For one thing, the separation of Merry and Pippin meant that they no longer were the comedic focus of the movie. This aligned very nicely with the theme of the movie as a whole, as it is clearly the most serious and least comedic of all three of the movies. This is actually precisely as it should have been. While there was certainly room for light-hearted hijinks in the earlier films, by the time ofThe Return of the Kingthe stakes of the story had been raised to such a level that an overly comedic presence in the movie could only have been detrimental to the tone of the film and subverted the intensely-growing implications of the climax of the Ring quest.
Another significant development allowed for by this separation was a period of necessary character development on the part of both hobbits. While their friendship was charming, their separation from each other meant that each of them had to find a way forward on his own; Merry and Pippin no longer had each other to rely upon for comfort and friendship and had to navigate a difficult world far from home and trulyalonefor the first time since leaving The Shire. Merry was surrounded by grim and noble horse-lords, Pippin by the last flower of an ancient and noble people. Each was aching for the friendship of the other but consequently had to forge a new path in the absence of his companion.
The greatest fruit of this separation is seen in the paths these two hobbits take in their respective spheres of isolation. Pippin, inspired by the self-sacrificing heroism of Boromir and grief of Denethor, pledges himself to the Steward of Gondor, and while he is out of place, he eventually finds his courage and navigates the troublesome waters of the intersecting duties of loyalty and responsibility, ultimately saving the life of Faramir by his bravery.
Merry as well, ironically enough, finds his place in the world of the riders of Rohan. While Theoden is far more gracious to Merry than Denethor is to Pippin, he still sees little use for the hobbit, and Merry is accounted of no regard in the marshaling of the great host of cavalry reinforcing Gondor. But there he finds himself a new companion, and a new avenue for heroism. Joining in with the disguised Eowyn as a pair of eager but overlooked warriors, he too plays his part and proves his worth in the showdown between Eowyn and the Witch-King over the fallen body of Theoden, a hobbit and a woman combining to take down a force that “no man can kill.”
The reunion between Merry and Pippin in the extended edition of the film, consequently, is both emotional and reflective of the growth the two of them have made throughout the story. Merry, who was once overlooked as an insignificant burden for a rider to carry, is gravely wounded in an act of bravery beyond anything ever expected of a hobbit: taking arms against the Nazgul king. Pippin, on the other hand, scouring the battlefield in search of his friend, shows his own growth: where he was once the junior partner with Merry serving as his guardian, Pippin is now the one who protects and watches over his injured kinsman.
The separation of merry and Pippin, while risky in its own way, ended up being one of the greatest strengths of the film, and reinforced some of the most significant ideas of the story. Heroism and loyalty were found in unexpected places; the most overlooked of characters proved their true worth; good triumphed over evil — but only because the strength to endure and persevere in dedication to all that was good was found in the sincerity of two lonely hobbits who had the integrity to continue their fight to the end.
