[Iris Alantiel]

Through the entire trilogy, I don't think there is any absence I noticed as much as the absence of Faramir and Éowyn's romance. I'm a total hopeless romantic, and one of my favourite parts of the book is that particular storyline. I think most of the screen time went to Arwen and Aragorn because the directors felt they had to have a romance for the movie to appeal to the non-book-worshipping masses, and Arwen and Aragorn's romance could carry through all three parts of the trilogy, whereas we didn't even meet Éowyn and Faramir until TTT. But I've always found Éowyn and Faramir's story equally beautiful, and certainly it seemed more significant in the books than Arwen and Aragorn's relationship. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, it's the only romance Tolkien goes into detail to describe the development of in the actual body of the story.<P>Another reason why I missed that scene was that I felt as if Éowyn and Faramir really contributed to that theme of keeping hope and not giving in to despair. It shows that, though Éowyn could not have Aragorn, there is still life after love lost, and hope and joy returned to her heart again. <P>Also I really loved the visual image of the moment when "their hair, raven and golden, streamed out mingling in the air", which of course would not be in the movie, neither of them cast as having raven hair, but such is life, and I thought Faramir was very well portrayed in spite of his non-raven-haired-ness.