Of the many deaths in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, one that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense is the death of the Witch-king of Angmar. While there’s no mistake that fans of the movie series were happy to see this Nazgûl meet his ending, especially at the hands of Merry and Éowyn, others have issues with the way he was killed.
There’s no denying that Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films were one of the best book-to-screen adaptations seen for high fantasy. However, like most movies, that doesn’t mean they are without flaws. And one of those flaws is present during the scene where the Witch-king of Angmar is killed.
What is so controversial about the way a follower of Sauron was killed? Surely fans of The Lord of the Rings were happy to see him go, no matter how it happened. But what makes his death so controversial is the fact that it differentiates from the books. This ultimately turns his death into a plothole that just doesn’t make sense in the movies.
How Does The Witch-King Of Angmar Die?
It’s no secret that the Witch-king of Angmar met his death at the hands of Éowyn with the help of Merry during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. It’s during this time that Éowyn delivers arguably one of her most famous lines in The Return of the King when the Witch-king calls her a fool, saying no man can kill him. Éowyn quickly retorts right before she kills him.
I am no man.
But how was Éowyn able to kill the Witch-king of Angmar when he was supposedly immune to most weapons wielded by mortal men?
As one of the nine Nazgûl, the Witch-king is believed to have some type of magical enchantment that protects him from being killed by a man, hence the reason he tells Éowyn that men cannot kill him. But during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, one would think that what the Witch-king says is true. He’s completely wreaking havoc and even wounded King Theoden of Rohan to the point that it would lead to Theoden’s death. The Witch-king of Angmar appeared unstoppable. That is until he comes face to face with Éowyn.
But Éowyn isn’t able to easily kill him. In fact, the Witch-king actually had a hold on Éowyn after she killed his fellbeast. Things weren’t looking so great for her, but luckily for Éowyn, Merry came to her rescue. Although a small hobbit in comparison to the Witch-king, Merry mustered enough strength and courage to stab this great foe from behind with a special balde that injured the Witch-king. This took the Witch-king by surprise, allowing Éowyn to be free from his clutches and giving her the opportunity to kill him after he so arrogantly says he can’t be killed.
At first glance, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the way the Witch-king of Angmar dies. It seems pretty straightforward. But the issues that arise come from the details, specifically the details around the sword Merry used to stab the Witch-king.
How Is The Witch-King’s Death A Plothole?
In the film The Return of the King, Merry stabs the Witch-king with his sword, which is assumed to be the same blade that Galadriel had gifted to him in The Fellowship of the Ring during the fellowship’s visit to Lothlórien.
The first issue with this is that it’s extremely unlikely after everything Merry had gone through that he would still be in possession of this dagger gifted by Galadriel. This is especially problematic when taking into account the time when Merry and Pippin were hostages of the Uruk-hai orcs. This would have most likely been when the two lost their daggers. Yet somehow, Merry is still carrying his blade in The Return of the King.
Even if viewers were to look past this inconsistency, there’s still a much bigger problem with the Witch-king’s death and it relates back to The Lord of the Rings books.
In the novels, the four hobbits receive daggers from a character named Tom Bombadil, (who is set to make an appearance in The Rings of Power season 2). These daggers are known as Barrow-blades, which are extremely powerful blades crafted by the Dúnedain that are enchanted with magical abilities. However, in the films, the hobbits instead receive their daggers from Galadriel and never meet Tom Bombadil. Since the daggers were gifted by the Elves in the film, they are instead Noldorin daggers, not Barrow-blades. This is where the plothole comes in.
By replacing the daggers given to the hobbits, the blades are no longer magical, or at least they no longer have the same magical enchantment that the Barrow-blades in the novels have. And it was that magical ability from the Barrow-blades that allowed Merry to stab and wound the Witch-king of Angmar. No other blade would have been powerful enough to do so since the Witch-king himself was under a protective enchantment, including Noldorin daggers.
The Barrow-blades were essentially the only swords in The Lord of the Rings capable of damaging the Witch-king. And without them, it just doesn’t make sense how Merry was able to harm the Witch-king, allowing Éowyn her chance to kill him. This creates a major plothole, because unless Galadriel somehow had access to the Barrow-blades to give to the hobbits, there is no way Merry would have been able to harm the Witch-king with a Noldorin dagger or any other regular blade.
- Created by
- J. R. R. Tolkien
- Current Series
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
- Where to watch
- HBO Max
- Movie(s)
- The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- Video Game(s)
- The Lord of the Rings Online (dupe), LEGO Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, Middle-Earth: Shadow of War, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth
The Lord of the Rings is one of the most iconic names in entertainment. The franchise started with novels from J. R. R. Tolkien before being adapted onto the big screen by Peter Jackson in one of the most critically-acclaimed film trilogies of all time. There have also been numerous The Lord of the Rings video games of varying quality.
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