[Boromir88]

While I was scrolling through Middle-earth memes, a pretty random question popped into my head.

It's fair to say Tolkien didn't believe in "Absolute Evil" as nothing is evil to begin with and everything is susceptible to the "Fall."

What is a more entertaining (and/or emotionally impactful) story to you, a villain's redemption or a hero's fall?

There may have been a brief time Sauron was capable of redemption and that could have been an interesting story. But I think I've always had a soft spot for Boromir's story, because it is a hero's fall. I believe it's also why I became attracted to Isildur's story, that is arguably an even more tragic fall than Boromir's story. The hero of the Faithful, brought down by Sauron's ring.

Kind of related, Gollum's story. While I don't think anyone could view Smeagol as a hero (I recall Tolkien writing he was a thief even prior to finding the Ring). Yet, he fell even lower and Gandalf's comment "It's a sad story" has stayed with me after all these years of being a fan. Gollum's story ends with him as a villain, but ironically a savior (even if, unintentionally so).