Every Major Lord Of The Rings Character’s Best Quote From The Movies

The Lord of the Rings has quotable moments by the bucketload, and some will be remembered for generations. Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies adapted J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous novels of the same names and will go down in history as some of the best fantasy movies in the world. While not all the movies’ most quotable moments were lifted directly off the pages of Tolkien’s masterpieces, Jackson’s scripts had their own flair in spades. The movies provided each Lord of the Rings character with their own incredible quotes.

Jackson wrote some of the scripts himself and left the rest to Philippa Boyens, Fran Walsh, and Stephen Sinclair. This strong team still stands behind The Lord of the Rings franchise, with The War of the Rohirrim movie presenting some memorable quotes of its own. Out in December 2024, the animated Third Age Rohan movie is the first Warner Bros. LotR movie since The Return of the King. With the Warner Bros. screenwriters going strong, it is a great time to look back on their best work in the form of each LotR character’s best quote.

11 Pippin Took

“What About Second Breakfast?”

Merry and Pippin provided much of the humor in The Lord of the Rings, and Pippin’s “What about second breakfast?” line will remain one of the funniest parts of the trilogy. In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie, the fellowship was on the move, and Pippin raised his concerns. The lack of creature comforts, such as a second breakfast, was making itself apparent.

Merry and Pippin hadn’t necessarily had the greatest comprehension of the mission they were about to undertake. This was demonstrable through their promise to join the Fellowship in Rivendell, which was closely followed by Pippin asking “Where are we going?” Pippin’s hilarious unsuitability for the task at hand was a running joke in the movie but was delightfully subverted by the heroism that appeared to keep growing within him.

10 Merry Brandybuck

“All That Was Once Great And Good In This World Will Be Gone. There Won’t Be A Shire, Pippin.”

Merry provided the world with an excellent quote while ruminating on a future ruled by Lord of the Rings villain Sauron. While Merry and Pippin were the LotR trilogy’s comic relief, they did also occasionally come out with some moments of astounding depth. Merry proved himself to have a penetrating insight into the threat that Sauron truly presented, which was surprising.

After all, he was a humble Hobbit from the sheltered Shire. Nonetheless, Merry understood the importance of the actions taken by himself and Pippin when he wisely speculated that there would be no Shire to return to if they did not stop Sauron. Merry stated that “All that was once great and good in this world” would be gone if they did not fight the rising tide of tyranny that Sauron presented, and his wisdom seemed all too relevant to the real world.

9 Arwen Undómiel

“I Would Rather Share One Lifetime With You Than Face All The Ages Of This World Alone.”

Arwen’s role was amplified for the movies, and she shone in the Warner Bros.’ scripts. Arwen and Aragorn’s relationship was brought center stage in Peter Jackson’s movies, which made Aragorn feel more important as the movie’s knight in shining armor. In this sense, Arwen was key, and her most quotable moments all led viewers to feel attached to her and fate with Aragorn.

“I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone” was Arwen’s expression of her choice of the fate of Men over the fate of Elves. While Lord of the Rings’ Elves were a kind of immortal, Men were not. Arwen opted to stay with Aragorn instead of pursuing safety overseas in the Undying Lands of Valinor, where she could refresh her light and remain immortal but alone. This quote perfectly expresses the nature of unconditional love.

8 Aragorn Elessar

“My Friends, You Bow To No One.”

Aragorn was Lord of the Rings’ traditional hero, but his most heroic moment was recognizing the merits of others. During his coronation, so well-deserved and epically achieved, he was bowed to by the masses. However, when Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, and Pippin Took made to bow, Aragorn stopped them, confirming that they would bow to no one.

Aragorn was right to recognize that royalty is meaningless next to kindness, loyalty, and strength. In proclaiming his respect and subordinance to the Hobbits, Aragorn proved that he truly was worthy of Kingship of Gondor and Arnor. After all, a true king serves his people. This was the culmination of a long arc of self-realization, whereby Lord of the Rings’ Aragorn gradually found confidence in his claim to the throne.

7 Legolas Greenleaf

“What About Side By Side With A Friend?”

Legolas must be one of the greatest heroes of the Third Age, not least because he reforged trust between the Elves and the Dwarves. The Fellowship was, in many ways, an international diplomatic mission formed of emissaries from Middle-earth’s diverse parts. It could have worsened the historical feud between Elves and Dwarves, and indeed, there did appear to be tension between Legolas and Gimli at first.

Gimli commented that he never thought he would die fighting next to an Elf. Legolas confirmed that he had put any initial mistrust in Gimli behind him when he asked Gimli if he would like to fight beside him as a friend instead. This moving moment summarized the friendship that had been building between the two unlikely companions and clarified their importance to the wider world of Middle-earth. They would go on to improve relations between Elves and Dwarves for generations to come.

6 Gimli, Son Of Glóin

“That Still Only Counts As One.”

Gimli and Legolas’ friendly rivalry was a major highlight of The Lord of the Rings movies, and Gimli’s “That still only counts as one” line sums it up perfectly. Legolas and Gimli were at loggerheads at first, with Elves and Dwarves typically enduring fraught dealings with each other over the years. Embodying the attitudes of the respective nations they represented, Legolas and Gimli’s argumentative relationship soon became an affectionate one.

The banter between the two was intriguingly portrayed by their Orc-killing competition at Helm’s Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The Battle of the Hornburg offered up countless Orcs for both warriors to combat, and they responded by seeing who could kill the most. It was a close call, but Gimli made sure it was known that Legolas wouldn’t be winning by any significant margin.

5 Boromir

“I Would Have Followed You, My Brother, My Captain, My King.”

Boromir had many memorable scenes in The Lord of the Rings movies, but his last words may be his best. Boromir’s immortal “One does not simply walk into Mordor” line is his best-known quote from the movies, without a shadow of a doubt. However, Sean Bean’s remarkable depth was on display as Boromir died of multiple arrow wounds and declared his allegiance to Aragorn.

Boromir’s loyalty was hard-won, as Boromir had initially questioned Aragorn’s claim to the throne in Lord of the Rings. Boromir’s father had been ruling Gondor as a Steward of Gondor for many years, so Aragorn’s heritage was not necessarily welcome news to Boromir. But with his last breath, Boromir proved that he was not just a martyr for the safety of the Hobbits, but a cooperative man who would honor the oaths of his family, which were to serve the true king.

4 Frodo Baggins

“I Will Take The Ring, Though I Do Not Know The Way.”

Frodo had a unique brand of heroism all his own in The Lord of the Rings, although he was probably more of a hero in the book. Elijah Wood made sure to lace his portrayal of Frodo with quiet strength, which came through when he offered to take up the mission of destroying the One Ring. Frodo said “I will take the ring, though I do not know the way.” The Fellowship seemed to know, from the start, that this was the right path.

There was something symbolic about Frodo not knowing the path. It related back to Frodo’s first inklings of adventure, as seen through the eyes of Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo always said “There’s no knowing where you’ll be swept off to” after leaving the house. Frodo’s sense of adventure always mirrored Bilbo’s, and in this quote, he stepped into his own, becoming his own adventurer. Frodo had Bilbo’s spirit, and it was what saved Middle-earth.

3 Éowyn

“I Am No Man.”

Éowyn is one of the best characters of The Lord of the Rings and her dialogue as she cut down the Witch-king of Angmar is a large part of that. The Witch-king of Angmar couldn’t be killed by ordinary blades, but Merry had an enchanted blade. Between the two of them, Éowyn and Merry brought down Sauron’s most loyal servant. This was a surprise to the Witch-king, due to a certain gender-related prophecy.

It was prophesied that the Witch-king would not be killed by any man. The Witch-king did not account for his end coming at the hands of a woman. This feminist victory was displayed by Éowyn yelling “I am no man” before she plunged a blade into his ghostly face. Éowyn was a symbol of female empowerment at Tolkien’s time of writing and Jackson’s movies brought this out well.

2 Samwise Gamgee

“There is Some Good In This World, Mr. Frodo, And It’s Worth Fighting For.”

Samwise Gamgee had one of the trilogy’s best lines of all. During his epic struggle with Frodo to Mount Doom, Sam had to motivate Frodo as much as he had to physically assist him. In many ways, Sam’s hope, humor, and companionship were the main things inspiring Frodo to keep moving when he had the huge burden of the One Ring around his neck. Sam supported his companion particularly well in one important line.

Showing his faith in his fellow Hobbits, Men, Elves, and Dwarves, Sam reminded Frodo that there was good left in the world and that it was worth fighting for. In this iconic quote, Sam was brave, determined, and wise. Caught up in the daily challenges of a near-impossible task, it was easy for the two Hobbits to give up. However, Sam had no such intention.

1 Gandalf

“All We Have To Decide Is What To Do With The Time That Is Given Us.”

Gandalf may have been the most important member of the Fellowship, proving his eternal wisdom when he said that “all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” This profound Tolkien wisdom is one of the most widely-shared literary or cinematic quotes ever. Gandalf was right to simplify the difficulties of everyday life to this one choice.

Gandalf was sent to Middle-earth by Lord of the Rings’ 15 Valar to oppose Sauron, and had something of a behind-the-scenes view of the wills of the divine powers that ruled the land. Gandalf’s suggestion implied that each individual on Middle-earth had responsibility, despite whatever course divine powers had planned. He also implied that morality was a matter of each daily choice, suggesting that anyone could be a hero in The Lord of the Rings.

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The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

Cast

Norman Bird , Anthony Daniels , Elijah Wood , Ian McKellen , Liv Tyler , Viggo Mortensen , Sean Astin , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Orlando Bloom , Christopher Lee , Hugo Weaving , Sean Bean , Ian Holm , Andy Serkis , Brad Dourif , Karl Urban , Martin Freeman , Richard Armitage , James Nesbitt , Ken Stott , Benedict Cumberbatch , Evangeline Lilly , Lee Pace , Luke Evans , Morfydd Clark , Mike Wood , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Markella Kavenagh , Megan Richards , Sara Zwangobani , Daniel Weyman , Cynthia Addai-Robinson , Lenny Henry , Brian Cox , Shaun Dooley , Miranda Otto , Bilal Hasna , Benjamin Wainwright , Luke Pasqualino , Christopher Guard , William Squire , Michael Scholes , John Hurt

Character(s)

Frodo Baggins , Gandalf , Legolas , Boromir , Sauron , Gollum , Samwise Gamgee , Pippin Took , Celeborn , Aragorn , Galadriel , Bilbo Baggins , Saruman , Aldor , Wormtongue , Thorin Oakenshield , Balin Dwalin , Bifur , Bofur , Bombur , Fili , Kili , Oin , Gloin , Nori , Dori , Ori , Tauriel , King Thranduil , Smaug , Radagast , Arondir , Nori Brandyfoot , Poppy Proudfellow , Marigold Brandyfoot , Queen Regent Míriel , Sadoc Burrows

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