Came across this video. Bit of a click-bait title as I was like “what, ‘technicality’? No way. If you think that you’ve missed the plot”.
But actually it was pretty good, even highlighted a few things I hadn’t really twigged to.
Just interesting how in great story telling like this plot lines travel well through the story before they converge … and in fact in Tolkien’s case travel outside the story really and thousands of years into the story’s past.
My thoughts:
The witch king deploys wraiths thousands of years back, one of which ends up in the barrows, guarding amongst other things, weapons designed for wraith and witch king type destruction.
Coming forth to the story, the wraith captures the hobbits when they fail to follow Tom’s advice and stumble into the trap, and have to be rescued by Tom. In which they end up getting equipped with these ancient blades wrought long ago to defeat said wraiths and their masters etc.
Then, not covered in this video, but something I think is also of note, Sauron and Saruman, set in motion (unintentionally) the incident of Pippin and the palantÃri (read the book/see the movie), which results in Gandalf riding off with Pippin, to Gondor. That results in Merry being left alone with the Rohan, and that results in him getting a ride with Eowyn, to the battle.
So if that bit (Pippin, the palantÃri, etc.) had not occurred this would not have happened also.
And then that led to Merry stabbing the witch king and breaking the spell that bound his spirit to his form, which left the witch king vulnerable to Eowyns’ blade (“I am no man!“).
Phew, what a plot.
See the video:
Also:
I also note one of the comments states that it was not a ‘prophecy’ but a ‘doom’ that no man would kill the witch king. It no ways says the witch king is immortal or will never fall, in fact it basically states that he will, just doesn’t say it outright … but if he will fall to no man then QED he must fall to something else. His doom is sealed. Just a matter of time (in this case thousands of years, but still …).