You know something invisible about LotR? You always knew what people were trying to accomplish and why.
Broadly: What was the overarching goal? Throw the ring into Mt Doom.
Specifically: What was Boromir trying to do? Save the Minas Tirith and Gondor.
Niche: What were the three hunters trying to do in Rohan? Save the hobbits, followed by save Rohan, followed by save Gondor.
What was Treebeard trying to do? Nothing when he wasn’t that important a character, and defeat Saruman when he was an important character.
What was Shelob trying to do? Eat people.
And so on and so on. It’s so simple it’s invisible, but you always knew what the characters were trying to do if they mattered.
What was Gimli trying to do? Show up the elf.
And it’s invisible. That’s mastery.