Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy features a massive cast, with many characters delivering at least one incredibly poetic line across the films. Honestly, is there any line more heartbreaking than Boromir’s anguished “I would have followed you, my brother, my captain, my king”? However, it's Gandalf (played phenomenally by the formidable Ian McKellen) who best uses his words throughout the films to demonstrate his tremendous wisdom and depth.
With so many banger one-liners in his arsenal, narrowing down Gandalf’s best quote is a tough task. Thankfully, we're confident we’ve done just that. Better yet, we’d argue this famous line perfectly captures what makes Tolkien’s story about Frodo and the Fellowship a timeless classic more than two decades after the film's original release.
Gandalf’s quotes range from incredibly snarky — “Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity!” — to full of authenticity and wisdom — “Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life” — and are bound to resonate with anyone.
But while these are all plenty memorable, neither resonates as being his best. However, one line does, and, interestingly enough, it comes from a scene in 2003’s The Return of the King featuring the same character with whom Gandalf had a contentious relationship at the very start of the Fellowship. We’re talking about Pippin Took, who, over the course of the three films, has evolved from an annoying halfling into someone Gandalf is fond of.
During the Siege of Minas Tirith, Pippin, convinced that he and the combatants of Gondor are doomed to die at the hands of Mordor’s armies, sadly remarks that he never imagined that the Fellowship’s adventure would "end like this." Gandalf turns to the hobbit and with a shake of his head, delivers this beautiful quote: "End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take.
The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it: white shores, and beyond, a far green country, under a swift sunrise.” While this may look like an average quote about the meaning of death, Gandalf’s words to Pippin here show just how far everyone in the Fellowship has come since the beginning of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Throughout Jackson’s trilogy, we watched major and minor characters alike give their lives to help Frodo carry the One Ring from the Shire to Mordor and destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom. Boromir and even Gandalf lay down their lives to give Middle-earth a chance at a peaceful future.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
