January 20, 2003

Singular Comment
Demian

This hardly constitutes an article, merely a comment to something mentioned in Danny's review. When you mention the tear rolling down Wormtongue's cheek, you say it was based on a realization of what he had done, as though he were feeling remorse. I had a completely different interpretation, that in fact he was overwhelmed by the staggering power of his master's vast army, and the tear was an expression of awe, perhaps a little fear, but not remorse. Tears can come from laughter and joy, as well as sadness or guilt. I believe that Grima is utterly beyond redemption, truly Saruman's running dog.While I am at it, the one thing that bothered me about TTT was Aragorn's "death" and "resurrection"- it seemed contrived for effect, which was a bit wasted as we obviously knew he would come back. It's cool for PJ to add to the story, or make significant changes, as long as they work, but I wonder about this one.