Aragorn and Faramir in the LOTR Movies
Okay, this whole post is, like, 200% opinion. So if anybody disagrees with me, that is completely fine, feel free to add any dissenting opinions as comments when you reblog. :)
It’s relevant, I think, to start off with this quote from Return of the King, which discusses the canonical differences between Aragorn and Faramir. It’s Pippin talking about Faramir, and he says:
Here was one with an air of high nobility such as Aragorn at times revealed, less high perhaps, yet also less incalculable and remote: one of the Kings of Men born into a later time, but touched with the wisdom and sadness of the Eldar Race. He knew now why Beregond spoke his name with love. He was a captain that men would follow, that he would follow, even under the shadow of the black wings.
At least speaking for myself, this right here is why I generally prefer Faramir to Aragorn as a character. While I acknowledge that Aragorn is greater, I see Faramir as much more relatable and human, really. And that’s how their characters play out in the book.
Keeping that in mind, I think that the changes Peter Jackson and Co. made to Aragorn’s character really “fix” this “problem” with Aragorn. His confidence issues (for lack of a better description) make him far more human and relatable. And, since this is what I (and, I’m thinking, at least some other fans) liked so much about Faramir when compared to Aragorn, this change is generally well-liked and approved of, even by fans who really love the books.
Faramir’s changes, however, take a very different turn. The main changes to his character came as consequences of the changes Peter Jackson and Co. made to his relationship with his father, Denethor (see this post for more details.) I think, as they made Denethor more and more of a villain, Faramir became more and more of a victim, which was never really a large part of his character. Also, as something of a side note, Faramir is greatly admired by many fans because, in the book, he is not tempted by the One Ring at all. When he meets Sam and Frodo, he never attempts to take them to Minas Tirith, and only offers them help in their quest. So to see in the Two Towers movie that this aspect of his character was pretty drastically changed angered a lot of fans.
These are my thoughts, at least. Again, if anyone has thoughts to add (in agreement or disagreement) please add them as comments, or send them to me and I’ll post them with a link added to this post.
SOURCES: LOTR
I think there is a further point to be made - precisely because Faramir was *so good* in the book, it made difficult for the ‘more human’ Aragorn in the movie to compete with him, therefore Faramir had to be brought down too.
Look at it from just the movie’s standpoint: in the first film, we had established Aragorn as someone who was born king, but afraid to fulfill his destiny because of his human weakness. Near the end of the film (on Amon Hen), he was tempted, if even for a moment, to take the One Ring. Ultimately, he conquers that temptation, but he had just proved himself to be just human.
Then in the second film, we introduce Faramir - not king, but nonetheless son of the ruling steward. If he keeps his book personality, he is wise, brave, a great leader who rules with great kindness. He is everything the people of Gondor would want from a king, except that he is not born one. And more than that, he rejects the One Ring completely. He isn’t tempted to take it from Frodo at all, and instead offers his help freely to aid in Frodo and Sam’s journey to Mordor. Faramir comes in and outshines Aragorn completely, because here is someone who has overcome the human weakness and who can stand up to the temptation of power and the One Ring.
That, I think, is the true reason why Faramir’s character had to suffer in the movie. Because in trying to portray “Once-and-Future King” Aragorn as “only human”, they had to make “human perfection” Faramir less than perfect.
