The Hunt for Gollum

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by Macalaure

I might be mixing up the timeline now, but why not let the other ranger tell Aragorn that Osgiliath had been raided and that ominous riders in black had passed the bridge (and then let Aragorn count one and nine together for the viewers)?

Well the main thing that troubles me - like I said, and it goes even against what is in the movies (and of course the more in the books) - that nobody should know about the Ringwraith until they come to the Shire: Aragorn not before they come to Bree, and Gandalf not before Saruman (in the books via Radagast) tells him. If the Hunt for Gollum was to be considered a "prequel" to the LotR movies, it would make no sense for Gandalf to leave Frodo alone, and to be surprised by Saruman when he tells him about the Riders ("oh, but I know for about half a year by now"... not to mention that in the Books, if Gandalf knew about the Riders by now, it would be some twenty years before Frodo's departure... how lovely. "The Nazgul are back! They have crossed the River... twenty years ago." Even in the movie where the twenty years are reduced to a few days? Weeks? Months? - Gandalf would be pretty dumb to leave Frodo to the Riders).