Ohhh Merry & Pippin. I adored them so much. They’re often discounted as the comedic relief, but they are so much more than that. Their actions pushed the Ents to get involved and take back Isengard. Had it not been for Merry and Pippin, things could have gone very differently.
I do love the celebration scene after the victories of Helm’s Deep and Isengard. We get a glimpse of the carefree, naive hobbits from the Shire (until Pippin sees Gandalf and remembers the Palantír). But still, they deserved that tiny moment of celebration and respite from the constant fighting and misery.
They’re remarkable in that they each play their own role in the story and yet they’re always seen as one entity, even when they’re separated. And when they are separated, it’s so devastating - we see just how close they are and how much they depend on one another.
When Gandalf takes Pippin away from Rohan to Gondor, Merry explains that they’ve always been together. They don’t really know how to be without one another.
This scene really twisted my heartstrings. It’s one of the rare moments when you get a glimpse of how young Pippin really is. He’s the youngest of the Fellowship and the youngest of the hobbits. He’s so used to being with Merry that when they’re abruptly wrenched away from one another, he’s terrified.
As much as I hated seeing them separated, it was completely necessary for their characters’ development. They each came into their own once they’d been separated. Both Merry and Pippin learned to become warriors, each playing their own roles in the great battle of their time. They’re both taught, in their own ways, to value their worth and that despite their size, they can make a difference.
Meriadoc, Esquire of Rohan and Peregrin Took, Guard of the Citadel. It felt like both Theoden and Denethor patronized the hobbits to a degree, but both Merry and Pippin took their roles seriously and it meant a lot to them.
They changed so much over the course of the story. I also felt the moment that Pippin found Merry on the battlefield in Gondor was important. Because when they were separated in Rohan, Merry makes a point to say that he always led Pippin into trouble but he was always there to get him out of it. Once they’re reunited, Pippin is the one to look after Merry and make sure he’s safe. (While we’re talking about this, when Pippin found Merry’s cloak and spent hours searching for him, I always get emotional. Pippin refuses to give up, searching long into the night, until he finds Merry).
So in short (or not so much), I adore Merry and Pippin and I get so angry when I hear anyone insinuate that they weren’t important to the story. They prove that the size of someone does not determine their worth and that even the smallest inhabitant of Middle Earth can make a contribution that makes a difference.
I love the interaction between Boromir and Merry & Pippin. He was genuinely fond of them and he taught them to fight. I’m sure I’ll go into more detail about Boromir later. I have a lot of feels about him too.
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