July 19, 2003

Can Faramir Be Redeemed?
Durin's-bane

Like any hardcore Tolkien fan, I too was very disappointed the first time I saw TTT. I could have lived with every other change they made to the movie except changing Faramir's character. However, do any of you think that PJ will have a chance to redeem Faramir in ROTK? I think in ROTK, we will all see the Faramir that we know and love. There is no reason to change his character for the third movie. Because of other posts (including Melkor's), we see why PJ changed Faramir's character in TTT, despite how much we don't like it. Since he didn't have Aragorn challenging Sauron in the palantir, Sauron had to believe that the ring was going to Gondor somehow, and the best way was Frodo going to Osgiliath and the Nazgul seeing the ring in the company of the Gondorians. If you look at it this way, changing Faramir's character was the most natural way for getting the ring to Osgiliath. Don't misunderstand me, I still wish there was another way without messing with Faramir's character. After all, he is probably my favorite character in TTT book. This goes go to show that the smallest change to the story (such as Aragorn not looking in the palantir when he does in the book) might require a more drastic change with it. In the end, I try not to be so upset about the way PJ is hanling LOTR. First of all, being upset about something that is finished is not going to change it; and second, we should be thankful that we even have a visualization of Middle-Earth of this magnitude and quality. If you look at things this way, it might be that much easier to enjoy these movies and accept anything that might come our way in ROTK.

Durins-bane

P.S. Melkor, if you are reading this, I sent a message to "TheOneRing.net" with the exact same opinion about the ring being at Osgiliath would be Sauron's reason for attacking Gondor without delay, and also hoping to give new insight (if it hasn't already been given) about when Aragorn will look in the palantir in ROTK: most likely AFTER the Battle of Pelennor Fields.