10 Best Moments From The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug Extended Edition

8. Burying The Witch King

When In The Film Is It: When the dwarves prepare to make for Mirkwood. What Happens: During Gandalf and Beorn's discussion about Sauron, a mention of tombs sets off a quick flashback showing the Witch King of Angmar's dead body, covered and chained up, being locked away in a bit to control his evil. It provides a more logical motivation behind Gandalf's quest than having Galadriel simply psychic-call him. Why It's Great: In terms of narrative importance this is a take-it-or-leave-it scene; we'll find out all the information when Gandalf visits the tomb later. But the opportunity to get a Galadriel-narrated flashback about some of Middle Earth's history is too exciting to pass up: it's reminiscent of The Lord Of The Rings, yet remains applicable to The Desolation Of Smaug's story directly. It's also nice to see a reminder that the Nazgûl were ordinary men once.