Lord of the Rings: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Aragorn
[tldr_position]As a ranger turned reluctant king in the Lord of the Rings films, Aragorn's hero journey takes him from the Shire to the Black Gates of Mordor, and along the way he develops the skills and deeds necessary to become who he's born to be. In J.R.R. Tolkien's novels, Aragorn is already well on his way to claiming the throne of Gondor and Arnor, especially since it's a requirement to marry his true love, Arwen.
The inconsistencies in Aragorn's cinematic depiction create some glaring narrative problems for his character development. As a result, Aragorn loses much of what makes him so appealing to fans, even if he gains more grit and complexity by becoming an antihero.
10 HIS UNKEMPT APPEARANCE
While the hard life of a ranger accounts for Aragorn's untidy appearance throughout The Lord of the Rings trilogy, there are instances when he could have made himself more presentable.
In the source material, Aragorn cleaned himself up regularly for important appearances, especially for audiences with the likes of King Theoden. And in the Battle of Pelennor Fields, Aragorn wore resplendent armor befitting his status as a future king, not the tattered garments he favored in Return of the King.
9 HIS SELF-DOUBT
Humility and modesty are fine qualities for a king to have, but Aragorn spends much of the Lord of the Rings doubting his ability to lead. His self-deprecating airs become cumbersome, especially when his character was depicted differently in Tolkien's novels.
Aragorn doesn't spend ages evading his right to the throne of Gondor and Arnor; he's told of his destiny at age 21 by Lord Elrond, and performs certain noble deeds to be worthy of his legacy. That Aragorn wouldn't cower before King Theoden and awkwardly absolve himself of his responsibilities.
8 HIDING HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ARWEN
In The Fellowship of the Ring, it's implied that Lord Elrond doesn't approve of Arwen and Aragorn's relationship because Aragorn is a human and a common ranger and Arwen is Elven royalty and an immortal. Elrond doesn't want to be parted from his daughter when she chooses to live a mortal life with her human lover.
In Tolkien's books it's never expressly stated that Elrond doesn't "approve" of the relationship Aragorn has with Arwen. He simply forbids them from ever getting married until Aragorn takes his place as King of Gondor and Arnor.
7 HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ÉOWYN
The introduction of Éowyn into the Lord of the Rings films is clearly to instigate a love triangle and make a possible rift between Aragorn and Arwen. Despite only being around each other for a small amount of time, Éowyn develops romantic feelings for Aragorn, but he cannot reciprocate them.
He makes it very clear that he's completely uninterested in Éowyn in Tolkien's novels, but he's far less rigid in the films when he lets her down gently. They have many flirtatious moments together, which feels wrong since Éowyn is in her twenties and Aragorn is supposed to be in his eighties.
6 SPARING GRÍMA WORMTONGUE
In The Two Towers, after King Theoden is free of Gríma Wormtongue's dark magic, he wants to kill his advisor for making him "walk on all fours like a beast," but Aragorn stays his hand.
Gríma goes on to later inform Saruman of the weakest spots in the wall before the Battle of the Hornburg. Not only does this make Aragorn partially responsible for the wall breach, it also robs King Theoden from being the one — in the novel — to spare Gríma's life.
5 HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ELROND
In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Elrond and Aragorn have a clear bond, though viewers aren't really told why it exists. No lines of dialogue ever explain it, and it's left to some viewers to conclude they simply know each other because Aragorn is courting Elrond's daughter.
In Tolkien's novels, their fondness for one another comes from Elrond having taken Aragorn and his mother under his protection since Aragorn was two years old, and so the Elven King views Aragorn as a member of his extended family.
4 HIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE PALANTÍR
In the films, Aragorn uses the palantír taken from Saruman at Orthanc to distract Sauron, and force him to move his legions to the Black Gate, where he will take on the heir of Isildur and his forces. This requires a lot of assuming on Aragorn's part, who has no idea where Frodo is at this point.
In the novels, Aragorn uses the palantír to give himself a test of his worth and fortitude as the future king of Gondor. He looks into the palantír, which once belonged to the kings of Gondor, and seeks Sauron's secrets, but doesn't speak of what he sees.
3 HIS TACTICS
At the Battle of the Hornburg in The Two Towers, when the orc forces have managed to blow the Deepening Wall open, Aragorn commands the Elven archers to switch from firing at them to taking up their swords. The elves could just as easily have continued to decrease the orc ranks by firing at them with their heightened speed, like Legolas.
In Return of the King, when Aragorn goes to the Army of the Dead to claim their allegiance, he determines their oath fulfilled if they simply "fight" for him. After they travel to Minas Tirith, they depart after aiding in the battle, despite the fact that Aragorn still needs them to defeat Sauron, due to his imprecise wording.
2 HIS SIGNS OF WEAKNESS
Peter Jackson wanted a hero's arc for Aragorn, and thus intentionally made him appear weaker towards the beginning of his trilogy and stronger towards the end, which meant that the character took actions he would otherwise not have.
When he gazes into the palantír's depths in Return of the King, he's frightened at the vision the Dark Lord projects (Arwen dying), while in the novels he appears unaffected by what he sees.
1 HIS RECKLESSNESS
In The Fellowship of the Ring, after Boromir is pierced by several arrows and killed by the Uruk-Hai, Aragorn takes on dozens of them instead of tracking Merry and Pippin. Had he perished, it's likely they would not have survived.
In Return of the King, Aragorn carelessly risked his life at the Battle of Pelennor Fields by placing himself at the forefront of the Army of the Dead, who could have easily swept through Sauron's forces without him being jeopardized.