JRR Tolkien’s Denethor The Lord of the Rings the romance was very different from that of Peter Jackson’s films, and Jackson’s changes sold Denethor and Pippin short. Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings the trilogy portrayed Denethor as an abusive father to Faramir, scorching in his words, tone of voice, and facial expressions. The emotional and verbal abuse he directed at Faramir was accompanied by a downward spiral that culminated in one of fantasy’s most chilling deaths. Denethor fell into despair, madness and cowardice.
In Jackson The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film, Pippin swore loyalty to Denethor following the revelation of Boromir’s death. As Denethor’s favorite son, Boromir gave his life for the Hobbits, and Pippin’s oath was made to seem like a kind of well-intentioned but naive repayment. Gandalf looked irritated, supporting the view of Pippin as someone with a good heart but no common sense. Denethor’s increasing madness cemented Pippin’s oath as a waste of life for a character who deserved better. But the book told a different story.
Pippin serving Denethor made more sense in the book, as Denethor was honorable
Pippin’s loyalty to Denethor showed his good judgment in the book
In The Lord of the Rings novel, Denethor was an honorable man, and Pippin’s shocking oath to serve him was a surprising and powerful expression of Pippin’s good sense of character. Pippin’s strange insight into Denethor’s innate goodness shone through his long-suffering, wrinkled façade. Denethor was an intriguing and complex character. He was certainly flawed and a bad father, but not outright abusive. Also, Denethor was a good leaderinstead of the grotesque, decadent, corrupt tyrant he was Return of the King.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy changing Denethor’s character served an important purpose
Peter Jackson’s films had their own internal logic
By making Denethor look worse, The Lord of the Rings the films also made Pippin look worse, but these changes served an important purpose in the trilogy overall. The films had to condense a lot of source materialand Denethor’s cruelty made Faramir very sympathetic quickly and easily. This was necessary because Jackson’s changes also made Faramir look worse than he did in the book. This, in turn, was done to make Aragorn stand out as a shining example of a human. Jackson’s Denethor was quite unfaithful, which impacted Pippin, but these characters fit the internal logic of the trilogy.
The changes to Jackson’s Faramir also ensured that Faramir presented yet another obstacle for Frodo, which was a useful plot device given other changes. It was a shame that Tolkien’s Denethor and Pippin didn’t appear, but Jackson’s changes resulted in one of the best scenes ever made in fantasy. Pippin’s beautiful song was contrasted with Denethor’s revolting solo dinner as the camera cut to Faramir’s suicidal charge to defend Osgiliath. The utter waste of the war was revealed by this shocking incongruity, expressing one of the The Lord of the Rings’ key messages and confirming that Jackson had fidelity in mind in general.
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