Accompanying text in bold, movie quotes in italics:<BR><BR><b>Frodo Baggins is troubled by nightmares.</b><BR><BR><i>"What is it Mr Frodo?"<BR>"Nothing. A dream"<BR><BR>"Morder... the one place in Middle-earth we don't want to see any closer; and it's the one place we're trying to get to."<BR><BR>"I think we may have made a mistake leaving the Shire, Pippin."<BR><BR>"They have something... some elvish weapon... the Master wants it for the war."<BR><BR>"They think we have the Ring!"<BR>"Shhhh - as soon as they find out we don't, we're dead!"</i><BR><BR><b>The Uruks' camp is attacked by Eomer's riders, and in the confusion Merry and Pippin escape. Fleeing into Fangorn Forest, the two hobbits are chased by the angry Grishnakh.</b><BR><BR><i>"Filthy little squeakers! I'm gonna cut maggot holes in your belly!"</i><BR><BR><b>An unexpected ally comes to their rescue.</b><BR><BR><i>"What are you?"<BR>"I am an Ent. Treebeard, some call me."</i><BR><BR><b>Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli follow the hobbits' trail into the eerie Fangorn Forest. Suddenly, they glimpse an old man watching them through the trees.</b><BR><BR><i>Gimli: "Saruman!"<BR>Legolas: "The White Wizard..."<BR>Aragorn: "No! It cannot be... Gandalf!"<BR><BR>"Far beneath the living earth... I fought him - the Balrog of Morgoth. Darkness took me... But it was not the end. The task was not done - I was sent back."<BR><BR>"He is the lord of all horses and has been a friend to me through many dangers."<BR><BR>"You know the way to Mordor. You've been there before. Take us to the Black Gate."<BR><BR>Sam: "It's a bog... he's led us into a swamp!"</i><BR><BR><b>As they continue their journey across the Marshes, Gollum tells them how his cousin, Deagol, found the Ring many years ago while they were out fishing. Gollum, or Smeagol as he was known then, wanted the Ring so much that he killed his cousin and stole it.</b><BR><BR><i>"Murderer they called us... and sent us away."</i><BR><BR><b>After commiting this terrible crime, Gollum fled from his home and went to live in a cave under the Misty Mountains with only the Ring for company. There he grew wretched and miserable and full of self pity.</b><BR><BR><i>"I cannot let you before the king so armed, Gandalf Greyhame, by order of Grima Wormtongue."<BR><BR>"Would you part an old man from his walking stick?"</i><BR><BR><b>The king's niece, Eowyn, is mourning the death of her cousin, Theodred, who was fatally injured in battle against Saruman's Orcs. Now she grows worried for the safety of her brother, Eomer.<BR>Eowyn is pestered by the king's counsellor, the loathsome Grima Wormtongue, who is captivated by her even though she despises him.</b><BR><BR><i>"Leave me alone, snake... Your words are poison."<BR>"I understand. His passing is hard to accept - especially now that your brother has deserted you."<BR><BR>"Ever have you been the herald of woe. Why should I welcome you, Gandalf Stormcrow?"<BR><BR>"Too long have you sat in the shadows. Harken to me! I release you from this spell!"<BR><BR>"His staff! I told you to take the wizards staff!"</i><BR><BR><b>Released from Saruman's power, Theoden comes to his senses, regaining his old strength. Wormtongue is revealed to be a traitor, and the king throws him out of the palace.</b><BR><BR><i>"Ever his whispering was in your ears... poisoning your thoughts."<BR><BR>"Banishment is too good for you."</i><BR><BR><b>Saruman is furious that Gandalf has released King Theoden from his spell. Now more drastic actions are required to conquere the kingdom of Rohan.<BR>Arming a rabble of five hundred Dunlendings and Wild Men, savages who live in the hills around Rohan, Saruman sends them on a rampage of chaos and destruction.</b><BR><BR><i>"Take back the lands they stole from you. Burn every village!"<BR><BR>"This is but a taste of the terror that Saruman will unleash..."</i><BR><BR><b>Gandalf counsels King Theoden to send his troops to fight Sarumans army and draw them away from the women and children. The king decides to evacuate the city and take all his people to the safety of the mighty fortress of Helms Deep.<BR><BR>Aragorn helps to oversee the departure of the last of the horses. Brego, the battle-worn steed of the dead prince, Theodred, is too distressed to carry another rider.</b><BR><BR><i>"Turn this fellow free. He has seen enough of war."<BR><BR>"Master says bring usss to the Gatesss, so good Smeagol does."</i><BR><BR><b>A long column of fearsome-looking Easterlings march past Sam and Frodo and through the great iron gates into Mordor.</b><BR><BR><i>"Well that's it, then. We can't get in there."</i><BR><BR><b>Grima Wormtongue returns to his true master. He tells Saruman that King Theodens instinct will be to make for Helms Deep. Saruman decides to send his Orcs to attack the refugees.</b><BR><BR><i>"Theoden made two mistakes. First he trusted you, then he let you live."</i><BR><BR><b>At the City of the Trees, Elrond calls a council of the Elves. He believes that they should help in the struggle against Sauron, but not everyone agrees.</b><BR><BR><i>"The Rings of the Elf Lords were not made as weapons of war or conquest. They cannot come to the aid of Men."<BR><BR>"The alliance between Men and Elves is over."</i><BR><BR><b>Later, Elrond confronts his daughter Arwen about her decision to stay behind with Aragorn. By pledging her love to a mortal man, she must accept that she will grow old and die with him while her people remain young forever. Elrond thinks she has made the wrong choice.</b><BR><BR><i>"There is nothing here for you, only death."<BR><BR>(Legolas I assume): "Wargs!!!"</i><BR><BR><b>As the refugees and soldiers pass through the mountains, they are ambushed by Orcs riding giant wolf-beasts. They break ranks to engage the legion of snarling Wargs which attack them, and Aragorn becomes locked in a deadly battle with Sharku.<BR><BR>Reaching the woods of Ithilien, Frodo and Sam run into a party of Gondorian Rangers, who mistake them for Orc spies. They are blindfolded and taken to their hideaway, Henneth Annun.<BR>The Rangers discover the nature of Frodo's mission. Hearing that Boromir was one of the Fellowship, the Rangers' leader, Faramir, has shocking news...</b><BR><BR><i>"You were a friend of Boromir? It would grieve you then, to learn that he is dead?"</i><BR><BR><b>Faramir reveals that he is Boromir's brother and the son of Lord Denethor, the Steward of Gondor. Learning of the One Ring, he vows to take the Ring to Gondor, and complete Boromir's mission.<BR><BR>Treebeard carries Merry and Pippin deep into the forest. They reach the Entmoot, a gathering of many different tree-people, and wait patiently while the spirits of the forest discuss their fate.</b><BR><BR><i>"It's been going on for hours."<BR>"They must have decided something by now."<BR>"Decided? We've only just finished saying Good Morning!"</i><BR><BR><b>Merry and Pippin's appeal to the Ents to help in the fight against the evil of Isengard stirs them up, and they agree to march to Saruman's lair.</b><BR><BR><i>"It is likely, my friends, that we go to our doom: the last march of the Ents..."</i><BR><BR><b>The refugees and Rohan soldiers finally reach the ancient fortress of Helms Deep. They gather in the Hornburg courtyard.<BR>As Legolas and Gimli gallop through the gates, King Theoden tells Eowyn how they were ambushed and that many of their number were killed.</b><BR><BR><i>Eowyn: "Lord Aragorn - where is he?"<BR>Gimli: "He fell defending the retreat."</i><BR><BR><b>Having fallen in battle with Sharku, Aragorn is barely alive. As he struggles to get up, an unexpected champion comes to his aid.</b><BR><BR><i>"Brego...?"</i><BR><BR><b>Brought safely to Helms Deep by Brego, Aragorn has urgent news for King Theoden. He has seen thousands of Uruk-hai marching towards the fortress.</b><BR><BR><i>"All Isengard has emptied... Ten thousand strong at least. It is an army bred for a single purpose - to destroy the world of Men."</i><BR><BR><b>Legolas is worried: the defenders are frightened, and he fears three hundred of them cannot hold out against an army of ten thousand Uruk-hai. He feels betrayed by his own people and believes that the Elves should not have left the men to stand alone.<BR><BR>The Rangers reach Osgiliath, once one of the greatest cities in all of Gondor, but now in ruins after years of war. Faramir intends to take Frodo with him to the city of Minas Tirith and use the Ring in their struggle against Sauron. Sam pleads with him:</b><BR><BR><i>"The Ring will not save Gondor." (Surely they mean Frodo pleads)</i><BR><BR><b>Faramir finally sees the evil in the Ring and realises that it is impossible to use it for good. He is persuaded to let Frodo, Sam and Gollum continue their journey to Mordor, and leads them to the old sewers where they can pass underneath the patrolling Orcs.</b><BR><BR><i>"Go, Frodo, go with the good will of all Men."</i><BR><BR><b>Merry and Pippin arrive at Isengard with the marching Ents. From his tower, Saruman watches as the massive tree-people break down the walls around his stronghold.</b><BR><BR><i>"There is a wizard to manage here... locked in his tower!"</i><BR><BR><b>Meanwhile, weary from the battle of Helms Deep, Gandalf the White warns his friends that they have not seen the last of the Orcs and their kind.</b><BR><BR><i>"Saurons wrath will be terrible and his retribution swift. The battle for Helms Deep is over. The battle for Middle-earth is about to begin."<BR><BR>"All our hopes now lie with two little hobbits... somewhere in the wilderness."</i>