 | |
| Scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | |
| Cross-roads of the Fallen King | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Scene | 13 (extended) |
| Events | Frodo and Sam see a statue of a former King of Gondor |
| Characters | Frodo, Sam, Gollum |
| Previous | The Decline of Gondor |
| Next | "The Deep Breath Before the Plunge" |
Cross-roads of the Fallen King is the thirteenth scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (extended edition). This scene was not featured in the theatrical release of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Synopsis
Gollum continues to lead Frodo and Sam towards Mordor. Frodo voices his concerns to Sam that he may not come back from this journey, which Sam dismisses as "morbid thinking", saying that they are going there and back again, just like Bilbo did.
The three come across the statue of a king, defiled and decapitated, its head replaced by a large boulder. As they walk past the stone head on the ground, the sun briefly comes out, illuminating the king's head, crowned with flowers lit up in the sunlight.
Mr Frodo, look! The King has got a crown again.
The moment passes as clouds cover the sun again, and Gollum urges them to continue.
Differences
The second half of this scene is very closely aligned with the book. The statue of the king resembles that which Frodo and Sam encounter in the chapter Journey to the Cross-Roads. In the glow of the Sun, Frodo sees "a huge sitting figure, still and solemn as the great stone kings of Argonath... Its head was gone, and in its place was set in mockery a round rough-hewn stone". A minor difference is that, in the source material, it is Frodo who notices the king's head and says "Look! The king has got a crown again!" to Sam.[1]
Notes
In the book, the king's crown is described as being "a coronal of silver and gold".[1] This is the name of the piece of music from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - The Complete Recordings which plays over this scene.