Do you have any thoughts on the scene in Two Towers when Aragorn switches from elvish to common tongue to yell "THEN I SHALL DIE AS ONE OF THEM" ?
I have a lot of thoughts on every single scene in Lord of the Rings! I like overthinking things!
I think the films gave Aragorn a character arc he didn’t have in the book?
There’s this recurring Thing in the films where characters get upset at Aragorn for being “only human,” and doomed to die.
Arwen/Elrond are the most obvious examples. The main Angst™ of their plotline is Aragorn being mortal, and it being like: “Why did you have to be mortal, Aragorn? Mortality sucks! Dying is the worst! Why couldn’t you just be invincible and live forever like a normal person?”
But idea that “people are heartbroken that Aragorn is only human and mortal” isn’t just in that one subplot.
There’s a parallel between Arwen crying at the idea of Aragorn’s death:
And Eowyn crying at news of Aragorn’s death:
Scenes that happen within about ten minutes of each other.
Legolas and Eowyn get extremely protective of Aragorn after he nearly dies in battle. His “death” scared them, so they get frustrated with him–insisting that he HAS to allow them to protect him.
So it’s like….Legolas and Eowyn have the exact same fear as Arwen?
As Arwen leaves Middle Earth because she can’t bear the thought of losing Aragorn, Legolas and Eowyn are frantically trying to stop Aragorn from dying.
“You must rest– you’re no use to us half alive.”
“Let me fight by your side– you do not command the others to stay!”
So I like this moment a lot because.
Film!Aragorn’s relationship with Arwen fell apart because he was mortal and doomed to die. Then his relationships with his friends (Eowyn and Legolas) also start to fall apart because he scared them by nearly dying. The Two Towers is about how People Really Don’t Want Aragorn to Die.
And idk but…..I feel like this line is where Aragorn finally embraces that he’s only mortal? After two movies of people getting frustrated/heartbroken at him for not being a Perfect Legendary Immortal, he finally snaps and says “yes, I’m just an ordinary mortal man. And I’m going to die like all other ordinary men. And I’ll be proud to die like other ordinary men.”
And I just….really like that aspect of his character arc in the films.
I feel we can’t discuss Aragorn accepting his own mortality without addressing the elephant in the room. And that elephant’s name is Boromir.
This is a death that weighs heavily on Aragorn’s conscience because Boromir died almost as a direct result of Aragorn’s choices, or in some ways, his LACK of choice. Aragorn couldn’t seem to decide if he belonged to the world of the Elves or the world of Men. This comes to a head when Boromir confronts him about mistrusting the people of Gondor, yet he was “quick enough to trust the Elves.”
And then not long after, the attack at Amon Hen happens. Boromir is killed. And Aragorn is shown very forcefully what his indecision has cost him: not only the life of someone under his protection, but also the possibility of a lifelong friendship that would have been invaluable to him.
There’s several layers of symbolism to Aragorn putting on Boromir’s arm guards. They represent his promise to Boromir, they serve as a constant reminder of the man who swore loyalty to Aragorn with his dying breath. But they also represent Aragorn finally making a choice. He has chosen, very firmly, to belong to the world of Men. Their fate, whatever it may be, will be his fate, as well.
Legolas treats him like one of his own kin. Éowyn treats him like some otherworldly creature. Both of them are unable to accept the fact that Aragorn could die. And this is beyond frustrating to Aragorn because here he is, surrounded by old men and young boys who KNOW they are about to die, but yet according to his friends, he is better, he is more important, he is the only one not allowed to die.
So when Aragorn shouts “Then I shall die as one of them!” what he really means is “I am no better than they are. I don’t deserve life more than they do. My life is not more important than theirs.” And some may argue that, as the future king of Gondor, he’s wrong. But that mindset is actually the best mindset a king can have: that just because he wears a crown and sits on a throne, it does not make him any better or more deserving than the rest of his people. It just makes him lucky.
