February 17, 2003

To Demian & Prettylil
Razors

To Demian:

I had yet another interpretation of Wormtongue's tear. I don't think it was remorse OR awe. I think it was fear - beause that was the moment he realised he wasn't in control of the situation.

Think about it - Wormtongue's a royal advisor and gifted spin-doctor, the worst kind of politician. The people of Rohan, from King Theoden down to the lowest peasant, are just so many pawns that he uses in his game. HE'S ALWAYS IN CONTROL.

He's decided to go to work for Saruman to achieve the power he could never get by playing by the rules, and to finally have a chance of scoring Eowyn. He probably doesn't seriously think that Saruman can conquer Rohan - in fact, he doesn't think there's an army in the world that can, and he says so. He probably thinks he can play Saruman just like he's been playing everyone else.

Then he sees Saruman's army - an army built to destroy the world of men - and he suddenly realises that Saruman CAN conquer Rohan, and that he, Wormtongue, is expendable. The world of men is doomed, and he'll never get the power he craves or the woman he s after. This is someone else's game, and he's the pawn.

And a single tear rolls down his cheek...

(Phew - that went on a bit longer than I intended it to, but you get the idea...)

And Prettylil - there WAS another Aragorn before Viggo. His name was Stuart Townsend (I think) and he actually flew down here to NZ for filming. I'm not sure what happened, but for some reason he didn't go through with the role and they rushed Viggo in as a replacement. Lucky break for all of us, because most people think he would have made a pretty crap Aragorn. I've only seen pictures, but I think they're right. :)