June 10, 2003

Faramir, Frodo, and Sam
Beleg Strongbow

Don't dismiss this as just another complaint article. I have something that will excite Faramir fans everywhere.

In the TT Faramir didn't change--and if he did, only by a little. Lets follow the book sequence from Faramir's perspective.

Faramir finds two hobbits camping out and eating stewed rabbit, apparently oblivious to his company and planned attack. The hobbits introduce themselves right away, are extremely courteous, and tell Faramir as much as they can about their mission. Frodo quotes a few lines from Boromir's riddle, letting Faramir know they are who they sat they are. Frodo also tells Faramir that he does know Gollum, and that he is 'a gangel creature' and 'a chance companion,' letting Faramir know that Frodo does not trust Gollum, also giving Faramir a better sense of security. Frodo then wishes them good luck in battle, and Faramir departs with a good sense that they are trustworthy 'halflings are coureous, if nothing else' (paraphrased). During this Frodo and Sam have learned that Boromir is dead, and show sympathy for Faramir. Then, after the ambush, Frodo and Sam are very cooperative and do not put up a fuss when the must be blindfolded, etc. At the caves Frodo then proceeds to tell Faramir as much as he can, and in the process Sam lets it slip about the ring, but since Faramir already trusts them, knows their intentions and where they are going, it is no big deal. Faramir then catches and interrogates Gollum, for the safety of Frodo and his laws. Faramir lets them all go, knowing that if it is a bad decision, he will pay for it with his life. But since he has such confidence in the hobbits, he is sure he is doing the right thing.

Now lets follow the movie from Faramir's perspective (yes, I am going somewhere).

Faramir finds two hobbits apparently spying on his ambush, and since he has to get back to Henneth Annun he doesn't ask who they are. Once back at the caves (and after a little geography) Faramir asks the hobbits who they are. The halflings are very tight lipped, but he discovers that they were in the company with his brother. When they learn that Boromir is dead, Frodo says "Dead? How? When?" which a spy would be likely to say if they didn't know anything about Boromir. Faramir then tells them he is Boromir's brother, and Frodo and Sam shrink back and looked scared. At this point the conversation ends, and Faramir comes away with a feeling of distrust for the hobbits, because they wouldn't tell him anything. (During this time Frodo also says he doesn't know Gollum, something Faramir senses as a falsehood.) When Gollum is found, Faramir summons Frodo, knowing that something is up. When Frodo admits he knows Gollum, the Captain loses trust (the little that he had) for Frodo and Sam, seeing that they lied to him already. Remember that Frodo and Sam have not told Faramir about the Ring (however vaguely) as they did in the book. So Faramir takes Gollum into questioning, trying to learn something about the hobbits. He has to learn from Gollum, of all people, what the hobbit's mission is concerning. Faramir goes and confronts the hobbits, and Frodo goes whacko on him and tries to climb into the walls (notice that in this section, Faramir uses the same lines from the book in the movie. But the paths to getting there have been so different in the two versions that it has a different tone). This is where the book and movie split. In the movie, Faramir has not acquired enough reason to trust the hobbits, and therefore cannot let them go. So he takes them to Osgiliath. There Frodo begs for Faramir to let him go, and Sam finally reveals what happened to Boromir. One could argue that this was not the best way for Faramir to hear about his brother's bane--through cross and desperate words. Just then the Nazgul arrive. Frodo has the whole 'almost put on the ring' schpiel, and Sam saves him, in the process almost getting killed. Faramir kills the Winged Beast (I can only assume this is what happened, seeing as how Faramir shot at it from fifteen feet away with a long bow, and it went into it's chest). Frodo then says 'I can't do this, Sam.' Sam then goes into a monologue, in which he tells about how 'there's some good in this world worth fighting for.' Faramir sees all this, decides that the hobbits are trustworthy, and lets them go. Faramir is going off to Gondor with a death sentence on his head, and Frodo is off to Mordor--a death sentence in itself. Thus 'Now I think we understand eachother'.

It was not Faramir that was drastically changed, but Frodo and Sam. The hobbits are turned into liers, and always seem to be hiding something. The gallent Captain Faramir changed very little (he was made just a little younger and more desperate), he was just put in a different situation. Faramir is not he cause of change: it is the hobbits that metamorphisized.

Beleg Strongbow