March 12, 2003

Frodo and the Nazgul
Viking

When I first saw the Two Towers I was, like many, stunned by some of the changes to the story. But nothing - not even Faramir the Fallible - irked me more than the scene in Osgiliath when Frodo nearly gives the ring to a Nazgul. It was completely unprecedented

But then I remembered a scene from the book. When Frodo, Sam, and Gollum are approaching Minas Morgul, Frodo has an episode that bears some resemblance to the aforementioned scene in the movie. He appears to be possessed, and runs up the road towards Minas Morgul, his head lolling as if he is unconscious. Sam has to physically stop him and snap him back to reality. Remember that the Witch King himself is present in Minas Morgul at the time of this incident.

It seems that Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens took this scene, moved it to Osgiliath, and stepped up the intensity quite a few notches by having Frodo be face to face with a ringwraith rather than a mile away as in the book.

This seems to be a pattern in Jackson & Co.'s method of adapting Tolkien. They take the original text and amp it up for dramatic effect. Thus, Gandalf's imprisonment by Saruman becomes a bloody battle, Galadriel's tempation by the Ring becomes a psychotic episode, Theoden's healing becomes an exorcism, and so forth.

I believe that this approach worked well in many cases, but that Frodo's "possession" was taken too far. After an incident like that, Osgiliath would be swarming with Nazgul in minutes and in all likelihood Frodo, Sam, and Faramir would be killed, the Ring taken, and the war over.

My fear is that this sequence will replace Aragorn's revealing of himself to Sauron in the Palantir as the reason for the premature attack on Minas Tirith. Aragorn's confident use of the Palantir was an integral part of truly becoming the King Elessar, certainly as important as the wielding of Narsil/Anduril.

I suppose we will find out in December.