Lord Of The Rings: 10 Things Only TRUE Fans Understand

When Saruman reveals to Gandalf that he is in possession of a palantir, the grey wizard panics, stating they cannot gaze at the seeing stone for too long for they do not know who else is watching.

In the films, it is not made very clear what the palantir does exactly. Casual viewers assume the orb works like a crystal ball, allowing the wielder to see anything they wish in Middle-Earth. Saruman also demonstrates that he can use the palantir to contact anyone who is in possession of one. If that sounds like a medieval version of a mobile phone, it's a bit more complicated than that.

First off, these artefacts are very unreliable. Gandalf dismisses palantirs since they show a version of the truth that the viewer will misinterpret. In the extended cut, Sauron uses his palantir to show Aragorn that Arwen has died. Since this isn't true, you'd assume Sauron showed him a false image.

However, the palantir cannot lie. The image of Arwen's corpse is thousands of years in the future but Aragorn misinterprets it, assuming she has perished recently. According to the director, every person who looks into a palantir throughout the story misinterprets what it shows.