The Mouth of Sauron (scene)

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The Mouth of Sauron
Scene from
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
The Lord of the Rings - The Motion Picture Trilogy - Mouth of Sauron.jpg
Scene number64
Event Encounter between the Host of the West and the Mouth of Sauron at the Black Gate
Characters Mouth of Sauron, Gandalf, Aragorn, Pippin, Merry, Legolas, Gimli
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The Black Gate Opens

The Mouth of Sauron is the sixty-fourth 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[edit | edit source]

Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, and Pippin ride to the foot of the Black Gate and call upon the lord of the Black Land to come forth. The Black Gate opens to issue a messenger: the Mouth of Sauron. Gandalf's message for Sauron is that he is to leave his lands and never return. The Mouth antagonises Gandalf and the rest of the company by presenting to them Frodo's mithril vest. Pippin and Merry are clearly distressed, and the Mouth recognises that the vest-wearing halfling was dear to the company. He goes on to say that Frodo suffered greatly at the hand of Sauron. Tears appear in the eyes of Gandalf, and Legolas, Gimli, Merry, and Pippin appear anguished. Aragorn brings his horse close to the Mouth — who begins to goad Aragorn — and beheads him, saying he does not believe the story he has just heard regarding Frodo.

Differences[edit | edit source]

The confrontation between the Captains of the West and the Mouth of Sauron in this scene is closely aligned with that in the book chapter The Black Gate Opens, with the exception of the beheading towards the end of the scene, and the absence of Imrahil, Elladan, and Elrohir.

In the books, as in this scene, Gandalf takes the lead in confronting the Mouth of Sauron. However, instead of solely showing the mithril coat, the Mouth shows the Captains the short sword that Sam had carried, and a grey cloak with an elven-brooch as well. Instead of killing the Mouth towards the end of the negotiations, Gandalf takes the three tokens from him and tells him to begone. He flees in fear of the Captains back to Cirith Gorgor.[1]

References