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[ayrdaomei]

::Sniff:: Practically all done with LOTR (I've left about 100 pages of appendices for a rainy day). This has been sitting on my comp for quite a while. I got a little carried away with the quotage. Ah well, it's the last time. I don't really foresee being inspired to do this with the Potter books. And before you say anything about how long this is, you should know that this is the heavily edited version. You laugh, but I'm serious ;)

They passed down the long ranks of waiting men with stern and unmoved faces. But when they had come almost to the end of the line one looked up, glancing keenly at the hobbit. A young man, Merry thought as he returned the glance, less in height and girth than most. He caught the glint of clear grey eyes; and then he shivered, for it came to him suddenly that it was the face of one without hope who goes in search of death.
...
Unnoticed a Rider came up and spoke to softly in the hobbit's ear. 'Where will wants not, a way opens, so we say,' he whispered; 'and so I have found myself.' Merry looked up and saw that it was the young Rider whom he had noticed in the morning.
'You wish to go whither the Lord of the Mark goes: I see it in your face.'
'I do,' said Merry.
'Then you shall go with me,' said the Rider 'I will bear you before me, under my cloak, until we are far afield....'
'Thank you, thank you indeed!' said Merry. 'Thank you, sir, though I do not know your name.'
'Do you not?' said the Rider softly. 'Then call me Dernhelm.'

834-6
Okay, confession time: I don't think I would have picked up on the fact that this was Éowyn in disguise if I hadn't know it going in. JRRT intros so many character that weave in and out,I wouldn't have given a second thought to Dernhelm. Neat bit of misdirection by JRRT, having Pippin befriend Beregrond in Minas Tirith around the same time.

It's too bad Miranda could never nail that look as Tolkien describes it. She seems to do determined and afraid, alternately, but you never got the sense that she was without faith that this would all end well. It's a shame the movie doesn't highlight this difference between the female leads; it's pretty key. Arwen never without hope and Éowyn despaired from the start. There's a passage where Éowyn keeps after Aragorn to give up his plan to find the Path of the Dead. She has absolutely no faith that he will survive it (and really, she could have had a little self-respect here. Stop carrying on and making a scene. He's taking the Path. He is. Stop begging.) But there is a neat pre-begging exchange where Éowyn gets smart with Aragorn 'cause she wants to come with and die a glorious death as well (everyone else is doing it):

'Your duty is with your people.'
'Too often have I heard of duty,' she cried. 'But am I not of the House of Eorl, a shieldmaiden and not a dry-nurse? I have waited on faltering feet long enough. Since they falter no longer, it seems, may I not now spend my life as I will? .... Shall I always be chosen?' she said bitterly. 'Shall I always be left behind when the Riders depart, to mind the house while they win renown, and find food and beds when they return?
'A time may come soon,' said he, 'when none will return. Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defence of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.'
And she answered : 'All your words are but to say: you are a woman, and your part is in the house. But when the men have died in battle and honor, you have leave to be burned in the house, for the men will need it no more.' 815-6

I love angry, snarky Éowyn. We needed more of her in the films. She actually walks away from him at this end of this exchange and I felt like I should applaud. After all, all he did in the films was turn his back on her.


Pippin - how much do I love his being christened 'The Prince of the Halflings' by the people of Minas Tirith? Also, THANK GOD, as he runs off to find Gandalf to stop Denethor, he asks a few people to delay the proceedings as much as possible, which makes a ton more sense than how it goes down in the movie ('Your master is not himself. Go slow! Bring no fire to this place while Faramir lives! Do nothing until Gandalf comes! 858). The lack of time continuity in that sequence made me crazy every time I saw the movie.
Also, Pippin kicked ass in The Scouring of the Shire. 'I am a messenger of the King' indeed.


Merry - Awwwww. Too cute for words. He sneaks off to fight, despite being denied repeatedly. He worries terribly about Pippin. I heart Merry. Though I gotta say, not buying the whole 'Théoden was as a father to him' business.


Faramir - ::swoon:: I love him. You're totally supposed to. Does he have a single failing? And how can you help it when you see the adoration his men have for him. And because I'm a fool for first-time POVs of characters, I give you Pippin's first look at Faramir (this comes just after Gandalf has saved Faramir and some of his company from the Nazgûl):

[W]hen he saw the pale face of Faramir he caught his breath. It was the face of one who had been assailed by a great fear or anguish, but has mastered it and now is quiet. Proud and grave he stood for a moment as he spoke to the guard, and Pippin gazing at him saw how closely he resembled his brother Boromir -- whom Pippin had liked from the first, admiring the great man's lordly but kindly manner. Yet suddenly for Faramir his heart was strangely moved with a feeling that he had not known before. 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 Elder 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.841-2

Would have been nice to see some of this Faramir in the films, eh? I think he's another character who suffered in characterization that Aragorn might come off looking better. One thing I did prefer of Film!Faramir was that he was a little more emotional around his Father. The most we get with Book!Faramir is suggestion. He's much more together and emotionally detached from his situation. I think I like my Faramir a little more wounded. I want my Faramirs to meet halfway! Okay, not halfway. Film!Faramir would have to meet Book!Faramir three quarters of the way cause Book!Faramir kicks ass.

I also liked knowing that the men were not oblivious to the nature of Faramir's difficult relationship with his father:

And now Faramir was gone again. 'They give him no rest,' some murmured. 'The Lord drives his son too hard, and now he must do the duty of two, for himself and the one that will not return.' 847

Okay and now it's time for the mad quotage to begin (yes, just now. That was nothing before )

THINGS THAT WERE HANDLED WELL IN THE FILM:

• The whole to-do involving Denethor having Pippin sing for him. It's beautifully done in the film and carries more significance. I especially like where it was placed, coming after Faramir's departure instead of before.
  
• In the book, Gandalf is there when Denethor and Faramir have their exchange about him dying in Boromir's place, after which Gandalf and Denethor get into it over what should have been done with the ring. While I enjoy the two going at each other, both brilliant minds unyielding, it ends up being a rehash of the Aragorn/Boromir debate earlier at the Council. I prefer the way it's done in the film, making the father/son relationship the focus of that scene.
  
• Éowyn taking out the Nazgûl's beast. It reads just like PJ shot it:

  Suddenly the great beast beat its hideous wings. Again it leaped into the air, and then swiftly fell down upon Éowyn, striking with beak and claw.
  Still she did not blench: maiden of the Rohirrim, child of kings, slender but as a steel-blade, fair but terrible. A swift stroke she dealt, skilled and deadly. The outstretched neck she clove asunder, and the hewn head fell like a stone. 875

  I wish PJ and co had kept 'Fair but terrible' more in mind when casting and shaping their Éowyn. Film!Éowyn desperately needed to be colder/harder. She comes around in the end, but it seems almost too late cause she's spent all TTT being so weak.
  
• Having Théoden know it was Éowyn who'd stood between him and the Nazgûl, and having that final conversation be with her. In the book, he never sees Dernhelm unmasked and his last words are to Éomer and Merry. He ends up dying not knowing she's just a few feet away - IT SUCKS. Much prefer PJ's version. Bringing back 'I know your face' was lovely.
  
• Leaving out that Sam uses the Ring. As with Tom Bombadil, I don't get why people are pissed this was cut. I like that it was left out because Frodo's choice and sacrifice to carry the Ring just wouldn't pack the same punch if you've got every hobbit and his mother handling the Ring and not going nutters.
  
• Frodo's speech on Mt Doom about losing himself under the influence of the Ring. Elijah's finest moment. The wording was tweaked a bit from the book's language, and it's an improvement.
• The moment Frodo claims the Ring and Sauron knows its location immediately. So well done. And I really like how PJ used silent reaction shots of the cast, as opposed to the Leggie-like remarks Gandy makes in the book.
  
• The wording change from "I'm glad you're here with me, Sam. As the end of all things" to "I'm glad to be with you Samwise Gamgee". The addition of Sam's comments about Rosie and his hopes for the Shire. Sean was really good in that scene and it's a better moment for the addition of Sam's voice.
  
• Aragorn's "you bow to no one" - a couple shots that communicate so much about what's been accomplished and the debt that is owed to the four.
  
• Okay, now I know I bitched about it, but in retrospect, I applaud the decision to axe the Saruman storyline from ROTK. Because I hate it. His part in the Scouring was kinda eh after everything that came before it.
  
• The axing of the Scouring of the Shire. I prefer the version that has the Shire untouched and the four who return greatly changed men. It's not a huge deal, as I think the story works just as well both ways; I don't begrudge PJ cutting it for time.
  
• The final parting of the Hobbits at the Grey Havens. I didn't like the idea that Frodo might try and leave without saying goodbye to Merry and Pippin; they'd done too much and they are essentially his only remaining kin. PJ's way is sad and beautiful and better.

THINGS THAT MAKE ME DROOL AT THE THOUGHT OF THE EE:

• The chance that we might see more of Pippin's interaction with the people of Minas Tirith. It would be neat to see Pippin holding his own, as we see Frodo and Sam doing over the course of the books.
  
• The despair growing among the people of Minas Tirith as the city is beseiged. From the time Gandalf rides into Minas Tirith there's this desperate anticipation....

  And ever the men looked northward, asking: 'Where are the Riders of Rohan?' 847

  Then Osigiliath falls. Faramir is gravely wounded. The city is surrounded. Denethor has forsaken his people...and they finally let loose any faith they had.

  'There is no hope of the Rohirrim. Rohan will not come now. Or if they come, it will not avail us. The new host that we had tidings of has come first, from over the River by way of Andros, it is said. They are strong: battallions of Orcs of the Eye and countless companies of Men of a new sort that we have not met before. Not tall, but broad and grim, bearded like dwarves, wielding great axes. Out of the savage land in the wide East they come, we deem. They hold the northward road; and many passed on into Anorien. The Rohirrim cannot come.' 853

  
  There's a great passage that describes how Gandalf rides through the city's defenses and for the few moments he is with them, the men are enheartened - but as Gandalf rides away they lose all hope again. I actually think PJ and co did pretty well with capturing the influence Gandalf has over some of the men, but I would have liked to have seen more intimate interaction. Anyway, I'm crossing my finger that some version of the above quote survives in the EE.
  
• The face-off between Gandalf and the Witch King. Good times.

  In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl. A great black shape against the fires beyond he loomed up, grown to a vast menace of despair. In rode the Lord of the Nazgûl, under the archway that no enemy ever yet had passed, and all fled before his face.
  All save one. There waiting, silent and still in the space before the Gate, sat Gandalf upon Shadowfax: Shadowfax who alone among the free horses of the earth endured the terror, unmoving, steadfast as a graven image in Rath Dínin.

  Okay, I cannot express the love I have for the last line of that first paragraph. It gives me chills.
  What follows is Gandy trying a slight variation on his oldie but goodie with 'You cannot enter here' (Gandy needs to diversify his 'fuck-off!' vocabulary).
  

  "Old fool!' [The Witch King] said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!" And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade.
  
  Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn.
  
  And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin's sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.860-1

  Okay, if you can get over the cheesiness of the 'horns, horns, horns' line, you have to admit this is pretty kickass. I'm such a geek that, although I've seen the films and know how it all works out, I was still moved to applause by the appearance of the Rohirrim. Yes, I set the book in my lap and actually applauded at that last line.
  
• Éowyn defies the Lord of the Nazgûl. I hope against hope that this ends up a longer sequence in the movie. It's just too brilliant an exchange and it really got cut down; It's her shining moment, she deserved better.

  'Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the houses of lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured, and thy shrivelled mind be left naked to the Lidless Eye.'
  
  A sword rang as it was drawn. 'Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may.'
  
  'Hinder me? Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!'
  
  Then Merry heard of all sounds in that hour the strangest. It seemed that Dernhelm laughed, and the clear voice was like the ring of steel. 'But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless. For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.' 874

  I love what this exchange says about Éowyn, her strength of character and her love of Théoden. The men of Gondor fled before him and yet she faces off with him, defiant all the way. Gandalf's the only other character to do this. His sword stroke alone is enough to shatter her arm and almost kill her, but she still fells him. She's too cool for school.
  
• Éomer's reaction to finding Théoden and Éowyn's bodies and thinking his entire House lost (He looked at the slain, recalling their names. Then suddenly he beheld his sister Eowyn as she lay, and he knew her.877) Éomer really got shafted in general and he'd better be in some of the EE stuff. If I don't get either this scene or the meeting in the fields with Aragorn, I'm gonna be very put out. That reunion, btw, is a great great warm fuzzies moment. Aragorn's all "How about this shit? 'Sup?" And Éomer's all "Dude! You're here!" and Aragorn's like "I told I would be, didn't I?" and there is much glad handclasping and other hetero-male gestures of affection. That whole relationship is endearing - the two future kings bonding in great battle - and I hope we see more of it in the EE.
  
• Speaking of the reunion at Pelennor - Éomer's reaction to the Black Ships. Again, see above. This is a fantastic moment. His king and sister dead, his men overrun, Gondor falling before him, Éomer looks up and sees the sails of the Cosair ships:

  Now he looked to the River, and hope died in his heart, and the wind that he had blessed he now called accursed. But the hosts of Mordor were enheartened and filled with a new lust and fury they came yelling to the onset.
  [H]e laughed, for once more lust of battle was on him; and he was still unscathed, and he was young, and he was king: the lord of a fell people. And lo! even as he laughed at despair he looked out again on the black ships, and he lifted up his sword to defy them. 880-1

  Passages like this I'll be reading over and over for a great while to come. I can only imagine the disappointment longtime fans felt when this scene didn't make ROTK. In a few lines, Éomer is perfectly captured.
  
  Also, it's a real shame about the Gimli/Éomer stuff getting cut. There's a terrific callback at the end to their first meeting. Éomer had disparagingly referred to Galadriel as a witch and Gimli took offense. He insisted that if Éomer had chanced to look upon Galadriel and didn't immediately confess that she was the most beautiful thing in creation, they were gonna have beef. Anyway, much later, after Aragorn has been crowned and Éomer returns from Rohan for the wedding festivities, he calls Gimli over:

  'Gimli Gloin's son, have you your axe ready?'
  'Nay, lord,' said Gimli, ' but I can speedily fetch it, if there be need.'
  'You shall judge,' said Éomer. 'For there are certain rash words concerning the Lady in the Golden Wood that lie still between us. And now I have seen her with my eyes.'
  'Well, lord,' said Gimli, 'and what say you now?'
  'Alas!' said Éomer. 'I will not say that she is the fairest lady that lives.'
  'Then I must go get my axe,' said Gimli.
  'But first I will plead this excuse,' said Éomer. 'Had I seen her in other company, I would have said all that you could wish. But now I will put Queen Arwen Evenstar first, and I am ready to do battle on my own part with any who deny me. Shall I call for my sword?' 1011

  It's terribly cute.
  
• The reveal that Denethor's madness was rooted in his manipulation by Sauron. Sauron The Deceiver is well named, but we don't really get a sense of why in the films. Manipulating people like Denethor, Théoden, and Saruman is how someone who's a giant eye almost conquers the world - without lifting a finger ;)
  
• The House of Healing! I hear this will be on the EE, which rocks so hard. I like that it comes back to lore and legend to prove Aragorn the rightful king, and he does it by saving Faramir, whom the people no doubt would have favored to lead them. I love that Faramir knows him to be Elendil right away. Also, this whole chapter wins mad points for making me laugh not once, but twice. Poor herb master. Impatient!Gandalf and Snarky!Aragorn kill me.
  
• Merry, Pippin, Leggie, and Gimli catching up in Minas Tirith. No, I don't know where this would have fit. But I love the image of Leggie and Gimli walking in Minas Tirith to see Merry and Pip and each mentally working out what changes will need to be made to the place once Aragorn takes the throne (Gimli's thinking renovation and Leggie planning gardens and the like ) I love these guys.
  
• The Last Debate - I wish we could have had the scene where the leaders of men all pledge to follow Aragorn. It reminded me a lot of the Fellowship pledging themselves to Frodo. It would have been neat to see...of course, then the Prince of Imthail would have had to have been introduced, and the other captains...and okay, I can see why they left it out.
  
• The Mouth of Sauron revealing to our heroes that Sauron's forces have captured Frodo and giving them proof in the form of his cloak, brooch and mithril vest. This is something I've heard for sure makes the EE. Squee! ::happy dance::
  
• The quiet courtship of Éowyn and Faramir. I'm such a girl - I LOVED this. Both warriors forced to sit out the final battle, wounded physically and mentally and healing together. I adored their first exchange:

  'What would you have me do, lady?' said Faramir. 'I also am a prisoner of the healers.' He looked at her, and being a man whom pity deeply stirred, it seemed to him that her loveliness amid her grief would pierce his heart. And she looked at him and saw the grave tenderness in his eyes, and yet knew, for she was bred among men of war, that here was one whom no Rider of the Mark would outmatch in battle.
  'What do you wish?' he said again. 'If it lies in my power, I will do it.'
  'I would have you command this Warden, and bid him let me go .... I do not desire healing. I wish to ride to war like my brother Éomer, or better like Théoden the king, for he died and has both honor and peace.'
  {Snippage of Faramir explaining that her brother rode out with Aragorn some days ago and that it is left to both of them to endure long hours of waiting for word of the fate of their lands}
  She did not answer, but as he looked at her it seemed to him that something in her softened, as though a bitter frost were yielding at the first faint presage of Spring. A tear sprang in her eye and fell down her cheek, like a glistening rain-drop. Her proud head drooped a little. Then quietly, more as if speaking to herself than to him: 'But the healers would have me lie abed seven days yet,' she said. 'And my window does not look eastward.' Her voice was now that of a maiden young and sad. 996

  At which point Faramir invites her to walk with him when she's not at rest, for he often finds himself looking in that very direction. He says she would be a comfort to him. And she's all blankly but adorably "why would I be a comfort to you?" And he's all adorably "cause you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and if the world's about to end, I should be so lucky as to spend my last days with you after having spent so much time in the Shadow of Mordor and they're both, in a word, ADORABLE beyond my ability to share with you. And the scene where Faramir confronts her about why she doesn't return to her brother when all's said and done? Awwwwwwwwwww. Though I could have done without the extraordinarily cheesy

  Then the heart of Éowyn changed or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her.
  'I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun,' she said, 'and behold! the Shadow has departed!' 1001

• I wish PJ had kept Faramir's part of the coronation in the scene. After all, he IS the Steward of the city now that his father is dead. He SHOULD have been the one to officially announce the end of his office and the return of the king. I especially think it was important in light of how much loved he was by the people...undoubtedly there would have been those who questioned Aragorn's right to the throne and by having Faramir throw his own support behind him. Ah well.
  
• The final parting of the Fellowship at Isengard. The hobbits, Gandalf, Elrond, Cereborn and Galadriel will ride with Aragorn until the Gap of Rohan but Gimli and Legolas leave the company here (they're off to explore Fangorn forest cause Leggie is a giant nature dork). Isengard is the last place the surviving members of the Fellowship are all together:

  'Here then at last comes the ending of the Fellowship of the Ring,' said Aragorn. 'Yet I hope that ere long you will return to my land with the help that you promised.'
  'We will come, if our own lords allow it,' said Gimli. 'Well, farewell, my hobbits! You should come safe to your own homes now, and I shall not be kept awake for fear of your peril. We will send word when we may, and some of us may yet meet at times; but I fear that we shall not all be together ever again.' 1017

So, that's just about everything. In retrospect, I'm amazed at how much PJ and co actually got into the movie. I'm much less annoyed that the Gandalf/WK stuff was cut, but I'm still bitter about the HoH/MoS stuff. The rest I'm happy to wait until the EE to see (::crosses fingers::)

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Good show. You being so big on Eowyn now is fairly odd though(book! or otherwise). Who though a few well placed words could erase months and months of pure hate and disdain? =P I really like that Gimli/Eomer exchange. Makes me feel like I'm missing out on the fun.

It's a shame you didn't get through these books about a year and change ago though. The last bits of the last quote would have been perfect to take the place of the away/profile thingy you had up during your last days at Brown. Shame. Why did I even retain that (or it's gist rather)? Yeah.

OT - Ricky Gervais has the most abrasive & irritating laugh in history.

[ayrdaomei.livejournal.com]

You being so big on Eowyn now is fairly odd though(book! or otherwise). Who though a few well placed words could erase months and months of pure hate and disdain? =P

Lol, well you gotta admit Book!Éowyn is practically a whole new character. I still strongly dislike TTT!Éowyn. I remember some of the girls on the list used to write that they were such Éowyn fans and I just couldn't figure it. But I see why now. She kicks ass.

Makes me feel like I'm missing out on the fun.

Well, I tried my best ;) I do think you should eventually read the books, they're quite worth it (just skip over Book IV. Trust me on that one). You can't borrow my copy though. ::eyes spot on shelf that belongs to her Hitchhiker's Guide::

OT - Ricky Gervais has the most abrasive & irritating laugh in history.

OMG, doesn't he just? I thought at first he was doing it on purpose...then I realized no, that's how he laughs. Yeah. It's special.