By-The-Bywater: A Podcast about All Things J.R.R. Tolkien

19. A More Robust Line of Succession.


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Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Ned’s choice of topic: Boromir, Faramir and

Denethor. Uniquely in The Lord of the Rings, the fractured family dynamic
between the Steward of Gondor and his two heirs is also one of politics on a
grand scale, with all three reacting to the growing threat to the land they
rule or are heirs to as well as trusting to a slim hope of salvation. But, of
course, how each of them views that slim hope and what has to be done to see
it come true is its own issue that divides them further. What does it mean
when it’s said that the blood of Numenor runs true in Faramir and Denethor but
not Boromir? Is Faramir himself maybe too much of a ‘good boy,’ a paladin in
all but name, given the circumstances he and his land find themselves in? Do
the three members of the family hearken back to the kind of feelings and
sentiments that Tolkien may have seen as a young officer in World War I, on
the same side but not in total alignment? Is Boromir and his dilemma served
better as a character in Peter Jackson’s adaptation more than in the original
text itself? And are Denethor’s final acts of despair, seen by Tolkien as one
of the worst things someone can do to others and oneself, possibly a
misunderstanding of what depression can be?

Show Notes.

Jared’s

Doodle really
captures the subject perfectly.

They’re fully filming again in New Zealand. Isn’t it wonderful when a society actually

has a plan and sticks to it?

Morfydd Clark continues to give good interview quotes.

Nudes, nudes,

nudes. We
won’t link all the pieces in response, they are too many and mostly boring.

Denethor via Tolkien Gateway, and

more about Boromir and
Faramir there too of course.

Jingoism — it’s not a good look.

Our imperialism episode, where we

talked some about Gondor as a society/polity.

If you are enjoying the show, and if you can, please consider supporting the

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By-The-Bywater: A Podcast about All Things J.R.R. TolkienBy Jared Pechaček, Oriana Scwindt, and Ned Raggett

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