The Insanity of Denethor

[Marileangorifurnimaluim]

During the RotK, when Denethor leaped off the walls of Minas Tirith, my boyfriend (who's never read the LotR) leaned over and whispered:

"I'll bet that wasn't in the books."

So it was obviously phony. My sense of abiding goodwill for PJ notwithstanding, I don't think anyone thought his jumping off a cliff was believable. I found it discouraging that this complex character was portrayed as a garden-variety villain and a coward.

- Maril

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

I was utterly shocked and amazed (and completely convinced that I was seeing things) when Denathor took his swan dive. I saw the movie embarrassingly late in its showing (I didn't see it until mid-February, for various reasons) and I was with my boyfriend on our first date. Needless to say, I figured I already knew everything about the movie (what with friends and family and their infernal need for spoilers), so I spent a rather large amount of time joking with my date instead of paying complete and total attention. Each time a person that was dead or dying was on screen, one of us would whisper "I see dead people." Thus, I was vaguely distracted by the guy behind us saying "Quiet, you're ruining the mood" just when Denathor started going mad.

Since I was laughing so hard (you probably had to be there to understand the humor), When I saw Denny go up in flames, I was like... "That's changed a bit." Then he started running around and took his Flaming Leap of Death, and then I was just confused. I couldn't for the life of me figure out WHY they made such a noble and powerful man fling himself off a cliff while on fire. The books were much more convincing and well-concieved. Then today reading the appendices, I saw that Denathor was extraordinarily alike to Aragorn, and then I started thinking- would Strider fling himself off a cliff? I think not.

Fea

[Kitanna]

I was almost crying I was laughing so hard when Denethor died in the movie. It was a "What did I just see moment?" I swear that scene came straight out of a Mel Brooks movie. I actually liked how Denethor went in the books, but he seemed a little less crazy, but that scene made my day. I don't see how someone could not laugh after seeing that. Or at least anyone who has read the books. No Palantir, nope nope, just some crazy steward running and fallen off a tower in Minas Tirith. Priceless.