I dislike the use of ‘political’ in such a context; it seems to me false. It seems clear to me that Frodo’s duty was 'humane’ not political. He naturally thought first of the Shire, since his roots were there, but the quest had as its object not the preserving of this or that polity, such as the half republic half aristocracy of the Shire, but the liberation from an evil tyranny of all the 'humane’*–including those, such as 'easterlings’ and Haradrim, that were still servants of the tyranny.
Denethorwas tainted with mere politics: hence his failure, and his mistrust of Faramir. It had become for him a prime motive to preserve the polity of Gondor, as it was, against another potentate, who had made himself stronger and was to be feared and opposed for that reason rather than because he was ruthless and wicked. Denethor despised lesser men, and one may be sure did not distinguish between orcs and the allies of Mordor. If he had survived as victor, even without use of the Ring, he would have taken a long stride towards becoming himself a tyrant, and the terms and treatment he accorded to the deluded peoples of east and south would have been cruel and vengeful. He had become a 'political’ leader: sc. Gondor against the rest.
But that was not the policy or duty set out by the Council of Elrond. Only after hearing the debate and realizing the nature of the quest did Frodo accept the burden of his mission. Indeed the Elves destroyed their own polity in pursuit of a 'humane’ duty. This did not happen merely as an unfortunate damage of War; it was known by them to be an inevitable result of victory, which could in no way be advantageous to Elves. Elrond cannot be said to have a political duty or purpose.
* humane: this (being in a fairy-story) includes of course Elves, and indeed all 'speaking creatures’.
–J.R.R Tolkien, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, #183
‘Unless the king should come again?’ said Gandalf. 'Well, my lord Steward, it is your task to keep some kingdom still against that event, which few now look to see. In that task you shall have all the aid that you are pleased to ask for. But I will say this: the rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?’ And with that he turned and strode from the hall with Pippin running at his side.
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, “Minas Tirith” (Art by Alan Lee)
“We shot a beautiful scene for The Two Towers. It was Sean Bean, myself and David Wenham – I loved that scene. Apart from the fact that I just love working like that with Sean Bean.”
Whenever I watch Return of the King during the scene where he is marching with his living son talking about how his house is ruined I always have that thought of:
Wow Denethor son of Ecthelion, you’re such a drama queen get over yourself.
[ID: a photo of a digitally painted tarot card depicting Denethor standing on top of a pyre, holding a torch to light it. Eight swords hang on the wall behind him and one hangs at his side. The card border is made of vines, rings, and elvish writing, and is labeled: “IX of Swords” /ID]
Lord of the Rings Tarot: IX of Swords: Denethor’s pride and despair drive him to madness
As someone who grew up with the og Saturday cartoon I will say I’m not the biggest fan of the Netflix Winx show.
Bloom is not a likeable character in fact I’d hazard at comparing her to Denethor but that’s just me. Whatever. There’s some other stuff that could be potentially problematic, but I binged all of season one so it’s safe to say I like it - as a separate piece of work.
I WILL FUCKING SAY THOUGH. The best fucking scene is watching Farah, Saul, and Ben commiserating over some agave juice and war stories and acknowledging that these fucking teens think they’re so sneaky when these beautiful old fucks were in fact the ones that broke those rules first.
The thing that makes this worth it is the profs.
Please, Netflix, if you’re gonna give us anything more - give us more of that
“He will not come save to triumph over me when all is won. He uses others as his weapons. So do all great lords, if they are wise, Master Peregrin. Or why should I sit in my tower and think, and watch, and wait, spending even my sons? For I can still wield a brand.”
We’re watching the Return of the King right now, and got to the part where Denethor is introduced. My husband asks me for the context of why Denethor is Like That, since I just finished reading the book. So I explained how Denethor has been using a Palantir for years to get information, and how Sauron has been manipulating him by only letting him see events that give him a worst possible impression of reality.
So my husband replies “Oh! So Denethor is basically just like your grandpa after he starts getting all his news from Fox.” And honestly, yeah pretty much.
Warn people before you make statements like that. I was not ready.
I don’t think any movie will make me feel the same ethereal sense of otherworldly sorrow and disembodied awe as that scene in Lord of the Rings where the loyal son is sent off into a doomed battle to please his vindictive father while Pippin sings a mourning song of his people
I was like 12 and high off this shit
These movies CHANGED ME
This is one of my favourite parts of the whole trilogy. It’s haunting.
And that Pippin takes actually a happy walking song of his people, because Hobbit songs are generally happy and about food and drink and gifts and things, and *transforms* it into a mourning song.
The song is from Fellowship, before all the heavy plot hits and they’re still in the Shire. It’s about walking, and how eventually all the bad things that scare or sadden you will fade away and you’ll be home warm by the fire.
And Pippin takes it, changes the lines, the key, and sings a song that is truly fit for Denethor’s great hall.
Knowing Billy Boyd gave his own melody to it and everyone had chills after hearing him sing it. This is how you get actors involved with the story and character, this is how amazingly well these films were cast. Fans have been singing that haunting tune in echoing halls and caves and towers for 20 years now and it never loses its beauty.
