Undoubtedly, both die-hard and casual fans of the Lord of the Rings franchise agree that the movie trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, is among the best movie series of all time. It won numerous prestigious awards, including 17 Oscars, some of which were Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
But, Peter Jackson's LOTR left fans with more than a sense of satisfaction and awe. It also left them with a goldmine of scenes ripe for meme-ing. But, while the most casual moviegoer can understand some memes, there are others that are specially tailored for die-hard Tolkien fans.
Updated June 27, 2022, by Daniel Dilena: The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the gift that keeps giving, from TV series to video games. And that's because Tolkien created a complex and intricate universe that few other authors have been able to build from the ground up. The LOTR universe is so complex that hardcore fans are still waiting to find the answers to certain questions, which they hope Amazon's Ring of Power answers.
Fortunately, with a universe so large, fans have a near-endless amount of LOTR memes to conjure. And while some Lord of the Rings memes are easy to understand, there are still others that only a true LOTR fan will understand. That's why we've decided to include a couple more funny LOTR memes that only a some will understand.
15 Legolas And Gimli Aren't The Stars Of The Show
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
As hardcore LOTR fans know, despite being masterpieces, the movies aren't entirely faithful to the books. In fact, if Peter Jackson had followed the books, fans would have had more than three movies since the books cover much more than what the movies portray.
That's why fans created this LOTR meme, taken from the iconic scene where Master Windu tells Anakin Skywalker that he can be part of the Jedi Council, but they don't grant him the Jedi Master rank. Unfortunately, Legolas and Gimli were given minor roles in the movies, so minor that they aren't relevant to the plot. So fans that want to see them shine should read the books as they portray them more heroically.
14 Rules Don't Always Apply To Elves
It's a known fact that Tolkien would often retcon (change a previously established plot) certain plots or rules to allow "dead" characters to return from the dead. One such character that Tolkien retconned was Glorfindel, an elf lord who ruled over the House of the Golden Flower.
The first instance that Tolkien retconned rules in favor of Glorfindel was when he removed his title as a Blue Wizard. And the other instance was when Glorfindel died while fighting a Balrog but shortly afterward was resurrected without any explanation. Hardcore fans theorize that those who defeat a Balrog earn a chance to return to Middle Earth, but there's no reference to this in any of Tolkien's books.
13 Why Walk Straight Into Mordor?
One of the most prevailing arguments in the LOTR fanbase is the different options the Fellowship of the Ring had to reach Mordor. Of course, using the Eagles wasn't an option, as fans know by looking at the Eagles LOTR meme in this article. In reality, the Fellowship had four possible ways to get to Mordor:
- Morannon or Isenmouthe
- Morgul Pass (Cirith Morgul)
- Nargil Pass
- Khand or Rhûn
And, of course, the meme for this entry gives the Fellowship the chance to reach Mordor using the famous Magic School Bus. But, unless Ms. Valerie Frizzle is a powerful Maiar, then it seems that the Fellowship of the Ring will have to stick to walking to Mordor the old fashion way.
12 Are You Ready To Parley?
Undoubtedly, the Battle of Helm's Deep (Battle of the Hornburg for the hardcore fans) was one of the most epic battles in the LOTR trilogy. Tolkien fans saw how the Rohan and Fangorn Forest elves fought against the evil forces of Isengard and Dunland in an epic nighttime battle. But, the truth is that this battle wasn't as impressive in the books as in the movies.
Aragorn spoke so much that the Orcs pointed out that he had abused the custom to stall. Moreover, Aragorn monologues about the beauty of the dawn and even asks the Orcs, "What of the Dawn?". Of course, after that long sermon session, there was an intense battle, but it will never live up to the battle fans saw in the movies, thus this funny LOTR meme.
11 Theoden Spoke Too Much
Theoden was heavily manipulated by Gríma (Wormtongue) throughout the movies, but once Gandalf the White freed him from the snare, Theoden recovered his title as King of Rohan. While the Rohirrim played a vital role in the battle for Helm's Deep, Theoden's words did make the battle a little more complicated.
And that's because Theoden exclaimed, "Is that all you have to offer?!" to Sarauman's forces since the Rohirrim seemingly won the battle. But, at that moment, the full might of Saruman's army came into play, which forced them to flee. That's why this is one of the funniest Lord of the Rings memes since it portrays that Helm's Deep would be at peace if Theoden had kept his mouth shut.
10 A Father's Favorite Son
Even after Faramir proved himself as a worthy son, Denethor II continued to belittle his efforts, especially after learning that Boromir had perished. And because of that, fans quickly created a meme only real Tolkien fans would understand.
The meme shows Boromir as the LOTR trilogy, Faramir as The Hobbit trilogy, and Denethor II as the fanbase. And without a doubt, the fanbase favors the LOTR movies because they stayed truer to Tolkien's books, while The Hobbit movies removed important characters and replaced them with new ones not part of the original story.
9 Cut The Middle Man And Use The Great Eagles
New fans of the LOTR series have asked countless times...why didn't Gandalf use the Great Eagles to take Frodo and The Ring to Mordor? Of course, this is a common question since Gandalf did summon them multiple times, including sending three Great Eagles to rescue Frodo, Sam, and (maybe?) Gollum.
But, as fans who have read the books know, the Great Eagles only interfere when they want to, as was the case during the events of The Hobbit (book version) when Wargs and Goblins surrounded the dwarves, Bilbo, and Gandalf (even though The Hobbit movie showed that Gandalf summoned them).
8 What Happened To Aragorn's Toes?
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Even though this Lord of the Rings meme is quite well known, it still is a mystery for some, especially newer LOTR fans. The reference of this meme comes from the scene where Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn) kicks the Uruk-Hai helmet and screams in frustration in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie.
And while fans thought he was simply acting the scene, he broke two of his toes while kicking the helmet in reality. And because of Viggo's painful accident, fans were treated with a scene that felt real.
7 Stick To The Book
Even though this meme is quite self-explanatory, only those die-hard LOTR fans who have read the book can understand the true depths of the meme. And the truth is that Peter Jackson took great liberty in the story of The Hobbit portrayed in the trilogy.
That's perhaps the main reason why The Hobbit has three separate movies, while the book only has 310 pages (19 chapters). In fact, several moments in the movies were added as fillers and deviated greatly from the source material (Thorin's death is a good example of that).
6 Ready To Sit For 11 Hours Straight?
It's common knowledge that the Lord of the Rings trilogy is long, but the average LOTR fan isn't aware that the Extended Edition adds lots of extra scenes that weren't released in the theatrical version of the movies. For example, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring's theatrical release was 2h 58m, while the extended version is 3h 48m!
Fans who know about the Extended Edition can understand this meme since it's referencing the fact that watching the theatrical release is like only watching half of the movies! Fans can only imagine the movie's runtime if Peter Jackson had expanded on some scenes like the Army of Dead.
5 Samwise Gamgee Was The True Hero
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Even though the book version of Samwise Gamgee was slightly different, the Lord of the Rings trilogy did portray this Hobbit's bravery and cunning (perhaps some of the many skills Hobbits share). Peter Jackson drove that idea further throughout the LOTR trilogy since fans saw the numerous times he helped Frodo continue the quest to destroy the ring.
Ultimately, thanks to Sam, Frodo completed the quest and returned home safely. That's the reason why this meme shows Sam as being 99% of the Fellowship's strength.
4 The Eye Sees All
Gandalf warns Frodo not to use The Ring throughout the LOTR trilogy because Sauron's Eye can sense it and stop them on their quest to destroy it. But, despite Gandalf's warning, Frodo puts on The Ring several times, often causing problems for the Fellowship.
Interestingly enough, Sauron only realizes that Frodo has the ring after Gollum tells him. That's when Sauron sent the Nazguls, which were infamous for riding the Fellbeasts (creatures bred by Sauron to challenge the Great Eagles).
3 For Frodo!
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=750&dpr=1.5)
There are many different versions of this meme, all of which show Aragorn running into battle alone. The main take of this meme is that Aragorn suddenly (and heroically!) runs towards the Army of Sauron without telling the others the detail of his battle plan.
But, of course, in the books and movie adaptation, Aragorn is aided by his companions, and the powerful Army of the West made up of men from Gondor and Rohan (the latter being an ancient and mighty race of Men).
2 Hobbits Need Their Second Breakfast
-1.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
Die-hard LOTR fans couldn't help but laugh when Pippin was stunned that Aragorn would not stop for a second breakfast. And that's when Merry tells him that Aragorn perhaps isn't aware that Hobbits eat six meals a day (breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, and dinner.)
Interestingly, in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of The Ring, Merry mentions seven meals since he adds supper, but supper and dinner are technical the same meal. Nevertheless, meals are extremely important for the Hobbits, especially Merry and Pippin, who most likely continued to eat their second breakfast even after the War of The Ring.
1 Mordor Isn't Open To Visitors
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
This meme shows the scene where Boromir tells the Council of Elrond that "one does not simply walk into Mordor" since orcs and other forces of darkness guard it, including Sauron. In this meme variant, he's saying that one cannot simply watch one of the LOTR movies, which is true since any true fan of the Lord of the Rings will watch the entire trilogy.
And the truth is that Boromir was right since the only way Sam and Frodo were able to enter was by sneaking past the forces of Sauron. Even then, they had to fight Shelob and other orc guards.