Gimli and the Steward's Chair

[The Only Real Estel]

The way I see it, not even technically was it Faramir's chair. Faramir says himself that he hasn't yet taken up the mantel of Stewardship (or something like that) while talking with Éowyn more than a week later. So it's not his chair...yet.

Perhaps not techinically, but everyone still new that the chair belonged to Faramir. Just like, techinically, the throne belonged to no one because Aragorn hadn't accepted the Kingship yet; but that doesn't mean that anyone can sit in it. While the chair was not being occupied by the Steward, it was still being kept for him (or should've been).

I think the point of that moment is not so much that Gimli was in the chair, as the fact that somebody other than Denethor was in it, and the Throne is still empty.

Good point, but I think the same effect could've been achieved by showing that Denethor's chair was empty (along with the throne).

Still, though, that's a great thought, Fordim, & probably the best defense of the moment I've heard yet .

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

I think you're looking at it and thinking about it so hard that you're seeing the answer you want to see. I think the only reason Gimli was in the chair smoking was because the Director thought it would be amusing and light-hearted. I doubt he put a lot of thought into it, other than "Don't sit in the throne."

[The Only Real Estel]

Eomer of the Rohirrim:

I think you're looking at it and thinking about it so hard that you're seeing the answer you want to see. I think the only reason Gimli was in the chair smoking was because the Director thought it would be amusing and light-hearted. I doubt he put a lot of thought into it, other than "Don't sit in the throne."

Me:

It'd be different if the steward had no son & no one knew who the next one would be, but maybe PJ thought it'd be funny to have Gimli sitting in the Steward's chair

Ah, you see, I had given that idea some thought (especially since the 'funny' moments that PJ has inserted don't usually have a lot of thought behind them), but then I thought: But that's such a boring conclusion...not to mention it would kill the conversation revolving around this topic. Well, as long as I don't have to stretch for ideas, I'll support something better for theorizing about. Or at least it went something like that. Besides, if we would have concluded that PJ just wanted to make the scene funny, we would've missed Fordim's post (a quite good one), & that wouldn't have been good at all.

[Arathiriel]

Oh yeesh - they had Gimli sitting in Denethor's chair because honestly I don't think they wanted to worry with the trouble of making Gimli look the correct size in that scene...

Plain and simple...

[The Only Real Estel]

Oh yeesh - they had Gimli sitting in Denethor's chair because honestly I don't think they wanted to worry with the trouble of making Gimli look the correct size in that scene...

I really doubt it. Any time you see more people than just Gimli, it likely isn't John Rys-Davies there anyway; it's his 4 foot-9 inch scale double, so they wouldn't have put that scene in because they were worried about size.

[Bombadil]

I believe it was just a flat out sign of disrespect. Estel mentions before how Gandalf respected Denethor, which is true, but I could not see any repect from Mithrandir in the movies.

Ever since TTT Gimli basically became a source of comic relief for viewers, which is too bad- yet his character was still developed as a hot-headed dwarf who strayed from being polite at times. It was rather fitting at that point to show the careless dwarf disrepecting the Stewardship of Gondor. (btw all my dwarf descriptions taken through movie characterization, not book!)

Of course before long Gimli came out with another comical line while in the chair, to further add to Jackson's characterization.

[Arathiriel]

Quote:
Oh yeesh - they had Gimli sitting in Denethor's chair because honestly I don't think they wanted to worry with the trouble of making Gimli look the correct size in that scene...

I really doubt it. Any time you see more people than just Gimli, it likely isn't John Rys-Davies there anyway; it's his 4 foot-9 inch scale double, so they wouldn't have put that scene in because they were worried about size.

Personally I still think they just had Gimli seated because they wanted him the right size without having to worry about doing something to get him that size!

[Arathiriel]

Besides, if that is the scale double instead of JRD, then I have to ask why have Gimli sitting in Denethor's chair? Why not just let him stand up along with the rest of the characters instead?