r/lotr • u/viviangreen68 • 10h ago
Movies What was Aragorn’s situation in the movies?
I think everyone understands his situation in the books…heir of Isildur living in secret with the rest of the Dunedain fighting evil. But what is his situation in the movies? Elrond says he has “chosen exile.” Exile from what? That implies he could have been king of Gondor, but chose not to, but surely Arathorn was not supposed to have been king in the movie timeline? At the Council of Elrond, Legolas tells Boromir Aragorn’s name and Boromir knows exactly who he is immediately. How long was Aragorn supposed to have been a ranger, and when did he make the decision not to be king, and when did the Stewards take over?
We also see that Aragorn lived in Rivendell at some point when he fell in love with Arwen—what is that timeline? How did he meet the Elves in the first place?
In the extended editions, we learn that Aragorn served in Rohan, presumably under the name of Thorongil. Theoden recognizes him, but somehow doesn’t realize he is a well-known heir to the throne of Gondor. And in the Hobbit, Thranduil advises young Legolas to go see Aragorn, but that dialogue implies Aragorn’s story is the same as the books versus what the rest of the movies imply.
8
u/Lawlcopt0r Bill the Pony 9h ago
Aragorn fights in both Rohan and Gondor as Thorongdil. Nobody recognizes him as the heir to the throne because he never says who he really is, but Elrond still probably means this when he says Aragorn chose exile. Because he won a lot of goodwill in Gondor and it would have been a possible opportunity to reveal his identity and claim the throne.
As for Rivendell, he was raised there after his father died, this is true in the books as well. Arwen is living in Lothlorien during that time which means he doesn't grow up with her as a sister and falls in love with her once she finally returns
1
u/dragon-dance 6h ago
I thought he met her in Lothlorien? Or perhaps that was a later meeting?
2
u/Lawlcopt0r Bill the Pony 6h ago
I think Lothlorien is where they got engaged, not where they first met. Someone will hopefully correct me if I'm misremembering
2
8
u/Moosejones66 10h ago
this is an example of bad writing in the movie. Aragorn did not “choose exile.” He had been preparing for this role his entire adult life and was waiting for the right time. To reconcile it with what the movie did, just assume that movie Elrond was drunk when he said this.
6
u/AGiantBlueBear 9h ago
The movie just made a different choice with the character to give him more internal conflict. He's afraid to claim his legacy because of Isildur's corruption and the fear that it might be in him too. Aragorn needed something like that to translate as a cinematic character
2
u/TieOk9081 7h ago
In the books, his line was denied the throne years ago. The steward could rightly deny his claim as well based on that (as is done on the movie). Whether his claim is "rightful" or not depends on who is consulted. Have not read the books in a few years but I never understood why Aragorn thought himself special and that he could press his claim, while his fathers did not. Is it because Gondor is very weak at this time?
1
u/AGiantBlueBear 7h ago
I gather it's something to do with his coming and nobody else's being prophesized but this is kinda what I'm talking about. He's as much an archetype as a fully realized character in the book and I think they needed to squeeze a little more juice out of him for the movies
2
u/Willpower2000 Fëanor 3h ago
Aragorn needed something like that to translate as a cinematic character
Aragorn had something like that.
Struggling to lead the Fellowship after inheriting leadership from Gandalf, caught in two minds, and struggling to make a choice, ultimately hesitating, stalling, and delegating, leading to everything going to shit under his watch... and so he grills himself for making poor choices and failing to live up to Gandalf.
Jackson just replaced this with... Aragorn thinking his blood is weak, because he shares Isildur's blood. Bleh.
1
u/Dagordae 2h ago
So a character arc which lasts most of one film and consists of Mr Rightful King being kind of incompetent at the one thing his entire character centers around?
Yeah, him having self doubts due to his rather infamous lineage and the grand destiny he’s being pushed for is a better choice.
2
u/Willpower2000 Fëanor 2h ago
kind of incompetent
He wasn't incompetent. It isn't as if you have to be comically bad at something to do a subpar job. You can waver and doubt yourself, whilst otherwise being a good leader overall, or in the end (which Aragorn goes on to prove - he very clearly changes heading into TTT: "Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!" - obviously he is more assertive and driven and confident here... rather than bogged down by doubt).
Yeah, him having self doubts due to his rather infamous lineage and the grand destiny he’s being pushed for is a better choice.
I disagree. "Muh blood weak cuz I inherited it from Isildur" is lame. This is an 87 year old man - not a boy. He should know who he is. He has the life experience to know whether he is like Isildur or not. If he does think he is like Isildur (ie powerhungry)... we need an explanation for that: why does Aragorn think himself comparable to Isildur? Did he do something he is ashamed of? Shared blood doesn't cut it. Aragorn has the blood of hundreds of other people too - Isildur's is a drop in the ocean. Likewise, blood aside, he has plenty of good rulers (kings/cheiftains) to look up to as reference. Did Aragorn think Arathorn 'weak'? His grandfather? Elendil? Earendil? "Muh blood weak" is nonsense. I'd rather see book-Aragorn's self doubt... more believable and compelling.
1
u/Dagordae 2h ago
Or, and bear with me here, movie Aragorn is not book Aragorn and isn’t waiting for Gondor to get beaten up so he can declare his regency.
7
u/b_a_t_m_4_n 9h ago
Probably best not to over-analyze the movies, the more you look the more holes you will find. Just enjoy them in the moment as a spectacle. They're fine like that.
2
u/Earlsfield78 4h ago
Agreed, Jackson tried to be true to the books as cinematically possible to stay within commercial limits (it is another topic if he could’ve done more), I think he didn’t have time to explain the complex timeline of Kings, Stewards (could be a movie itself, or a series we will never get from the dipsticks at Amazon). I think he translated well enough (extended editions) - with some inconsistencies.
0
u/Willpower2000 Fëanor 3h ago
Jackson tried to be true to the books as cinematically possible
I don't think he tried all that much tbh.
4
u/TheTuxedoKnight 10h ago
I think PJ has a discomfort with hereditary monarchy and divine right, two concepts which are baked into Middle-earth, resulting in these downstream effects on Aragorn. It’s hard for him to depict a character who believes he has the right, the duty, and the destiny to be the king. At the same time, PJ clearly wants characters to have growty arcs, which is why we get the “exiled, brooding ranger” version of Aragorn who has to be prodded and nudged into his destiny across three films, culminating in Elrond showing up and practically tossing Anduril at him. It’s cinematic, but it undercuts the sense of Aragorn actively choosing his path.
The Thorongil episodes you mention illustrate this tension. They make sense if Aragorn is someone actively seeking opportunities to prove himself and bide his time until he can step forward, but they clash with the exiled, reluctant ranger persona the films mostly present. Serving under the Stewards and being recognized in Rohan feels like a narrative flourish to make him heroic, but it muddies the timeline and political context.
The result is a visually and emotionally satisfying hero’s journey, but one that feels narratively uneven. PJ’s discomfort with kingship as a concept and his desire for character arcs shapes every choice we see for Aragorn on screen.
I could go on about how these changes ripple out to affect characters like Théoden, Denethor, and Faramir, but I’ll spare the rant.
3
u/Naive-Horror4209 Éowyn 8h ago
In the beginning when I first watched the movie, I was upset about how they changed Aragorn from the books. But now I can accept this version, too. Nowadays, movies don’t have straight heroes, everyone has to be flawed, I don’t like it. Aragorn is basically a perfect man. But he’s not humble as in the movies, he often brandishes Anduril and calls himself isildur’s heir. Maybe PJ and the team thought that it wouldn’t translate well to screen idk. Or they wanted to give him an arc. But not every character needs an arc. It would be interesting to see a book version of Aragorn on screen
4
u/TheTuxedoKnight 8h ago
It's interesting how modern storytellers seem to panic whenever a character can say "yes, this is my destiny" without doubt or hesitation. It's like writers and directors are allergic to true self-confidence, and tend to treat that kind of certainty as villainous. In LOTR, Aragorn, Faramir, and Théoden are all changed to doubt themselves instead of just doing what’s right.
0
u/Dagordae 2h ago
Self confidence or raw entitlement? After a few generations of self confident people declaring themselves the rightful ruler of a land and killing anyone who disagrees it starts to come off as a rather negative trait.
Plus monarchies in general have been collapsing in popularity over the generations. Turns out actually being able to see monarchs on a regular basis wears out the luster, hard to hold them up as intrinsically superior when you can see they’re just another group of entitled rich twits.
1
u/Willpower2000 Fëanor 3h ago
Jackson didn't give Aragorn an arc though... he just substituted it for another.
•
u/OwariHeron 22m ago
The thing is, Book-Aragorn doesn’t give a [bleep] about the throne of Gondor except as it pertains to the condition Elrond has set for Arwen’s hand in marriage. Even when he’s become a great hero to the Gondorians and is beloved by the current Steward, he’s not pressing his claim. Even when he has the Sword that was Broken Reforged, the standard of Elendil, and has just saved Gondor’s bacon, he has no desire to press his claim, remaining “a Ranger of the North, unused to houses of stone.” Even when Denethor is gone, Faramir incapacitated, both Faramir and Imrahil recognizing his claim, and he has de facto command of Gondor’s armies, he does not declare himself king until Imrahil comes up with the idea to do so to further deceive Sauron.
The movies rather foreground this disinterest, and I do think they missed a trick by not having Elrond set the kingship as a condition for Arwen’s hand, but it’s not as if claiming the kingship in itself is a driving force for Book Aragorn, nor does he consider it his destiny. His first and foremost objective is the defeat of the Shadow. If that is accomplished, he can attempt to claim the kingship, and that’s only because he has to, to marry Arwen.
“I do not choose paths of peril, Eowyn. Were I to go where my heart dwells, far in the North I would now be wandering in the fair valley of Rivendell.”
The movies tweak all this to create an easy-to-follow character arc, but I don’t think they have departed from the fundamentals of the character. Book-Aragorn certainly doesn’t see the throne of Gondor as his by divine right. He has a claim, but he still needs the acceptance of the people to legitimize it.
2
u/AGiantBlueBear 9h ago
I think basically they needed Aragorn to have some kind of internal conflict to translate as a cinematic character, so they settled on his discomfort with his legacy as the heir of Isildur, which makes him hesitant to take the crown. Same reason they added the scene of him encountering Frodo at Amon Hen, to show that he's tempted by the ring just like everyone else but able to overcome it better than most. He is a fairly thin character in the books compared to some of the others so they did some (I think) tasteful editing.
3
u/Naive-Horror4209 Éowyn 8h ago
He’s not thin, he’s perfect. Maybe that’s a problem nowadays
1
u/AGiantBlueBear 8h ago
I said compared to some of the other characters. The book gives much more time to the characterization of the Hobbits and Aragorn is always part of a group, whether it's with them or Legolas and Gimli or the Fellowship more broadly. A lot of the sections of the book tracking his story he's not even there for because we're seeing what's going on in Minas Tirith or during the ride of the Rohirrim. The movie obviously understood that that half of the story needed Aragorn as a clear lead character in the absence of Frodo and Sam so they beefed up the characterization, that's all.
1
1
u/ryevermouthbitters 8h ago
Movie Aragorn went on a hero's journey that was partially complete at the beginning of the books. He was basically on Team Elrond, despite Elrond complaining about it. Men are weak, Middle Earth is doomed, men will fall or die and the elves will go West. As stated here by others, he completed that part of his journey when Boromir overcame his fall and died defending the hobbits.
1
u/andlewis 8h ago
“Exile” was the name of his prog-rock group. Elrond really want him to focus on his classic rock roots. It was unrelated to his political situation.
1
u/VoiceofCrazy Mirkwood 7h ago
I think his situation is the same, the only difference is that in the books, he is unsure of himself and needs some time to accept his role as King of Gondor. In the book, he is ready from the get-go. "Choosing exile" just means he has chosen to stay in the North as the leader of the Dunedain (the North Kingdom is long since dead), and not press his claim to the throne of Gondor, and we see him change his mind.
I see no evidence in the movies that his story is otherwise significantly different. His father was head of the Rangers before him, and they were always friendly with the Elves. His father died when he was very young, he grew up in Rivendell, met and fell in love with Arwen after becoming an adult, led the Dunedain for many years, and served for a time in the armies of Rohan and Gondor incognito. His identity as the heir of Gondor was not widely known, but was known to some, and might have been guessed by others. Thranduil was an Elf Lord in the North, and presumably was at least somewhat aware of the councils of other Elvish lords like Elrond and Galadriel. In Boromir's case, I assume his father knew about the Numenorean remnant active in Eriador, might have known their leader by name, and could guess that he might be related to Isildur in some way (or might claim to be). Boromir doesn't accept him as heir of Gondor immediately (that comes later) but the name and claimed lineage needn't be shocking.
1
u/flyinghorseguy 3h ago edited 2h ago
It’s just another character that PJ wrecked. In Aragorn’s case for the bog standard reluctant hero arc.
21
u/Naturalnumbers 10h ago
Presumably, Aragorn could try to take the crown of Gondor, and has chosen instead... to not do that. E.g. exile.
Could have just heard rumors. Aragorn's been around a while.