You may have watched The Lord of the Rings a million times but did you know

You may have watched The Lord of the Rings a million times but did you know that at the end of the return of the king, Aragorn picks an idea to ride out and meet Sauron and draw his gaze and buy Frodo more time. But what's not clearly explained is it's not the battle itself that is the diversion, because at this point in the story, Frodo and Sam have made their way down from Kirith Ungol across the mountains of shadow and they are now trying to cross the plains of Gorgoroth towards Mount Doom. But this entire region is full of orcs. And in the films, Aragorn and the free men of the west just show up at the black gate. But in reality, they have to travel over 150 miles to get there. And it's this movement of troops that takes place over the course of seven days that draws Sauron's gaze from Barad-dur and prompts him to move all of his forces from the plains of Gorgoroth north to the black gate to meet Aragorn and the free men of the west. And it's this movement of troops from the plains of Gorgoroth that opens up the path for Frodo and Sam to make their way to Mount Doom. And it's not the final battle itself that buys Frodo and Sam more time, it's the seven-day journey that it takes to get to the black gate in the first place. And that's something you completely miss even when you're watching the extended editions of these films.