5 Best (& 5 Worst) Lord Of The Rings Extended Edition Scenes
6. WORST: Extended Army Of The Dead
Most agree that the Army of the Dead plot is largely the worst part of The Return of the King. Even Peter Jackson himself admits it takes all the drama out of any battle with this invincible ghost army - albeit they are dismissed for the final confrontation - but he included it to avoid disappointing fans of the books.
In the extended edition of The Return of the King, the sequence where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli seek the said army has an increased run time which makes the scene drag even longer. The added material provides no suspense to the proceedings and just includes Gimli blowing away ghost hands which reach out to him before treading with exaggerated carefulness as he walks through skulls in an unnecessary extra attempt at comedy.
This extended scene also includes the trio being engulfed by skulls as they attempt to leave the cave, a fairly dramatic but unnecessary set piece which feels like its inclusion is more because it is visually pleasing rather than a logical addition to the scene. Ultimately Jackson made the right decision to snip this scene down to the bare essentials but arguably could have left the whole subplot out all together.