here for you

this is so old but i love it too much not to post it

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This interaction is really quite interesting.

Eowyn's personal will is something that is a point of conflict between Aragorn and Eowyn. When Aragorn instructs Eowyn to stay, Eowyn asks why she may not do with her life as she wills it, to which Aragorn responds few are able to do so, and includes himself in that.

However, Eowyn turns the tables on him by pointing out how his situation as a man is different to hers as a woman.

She points out that as a woman, her will is never her own. Whereas need dictates what Aragorn does, how he responds to that need is for him to determine. His voice matters, his guidance is asked for, his cooperation is required. Plans are not made for him, as they are Eowyn. And while there are times a person has to be chosen to do something against their will, for Eowyn, that is her life.

Notably here, Aragorn cannot make a re-buttle. He has to shift the conversation towards Eowyn's fears, because he cannot tell her that her situation, the denial of her will, doesn't hinge upon her sex, as is proven by Aragorn himself later in the chapter.

He feels he needs Eomer's permission as well as Theoden's to let Eowyn ride with him. Theoden at least is Eowyn's king, she is hid subject and therefore owed authority over her, as with everyone else. Yet Eomer is not Eowyn's king, nor is she under his command as a member of his forces. In Aragorn's eyes, she is his sister, therefore she is his to command.

Despite Aragorn's efforts, despite Eomer and Theoden's lack of permission, Eowyn resolves to do as she will, and rides to battle, and she takes Merry with her, as she tells Merry;

These words are repeated by Theoden, after she and Merry defeated the Witch King, to the good of all. Eowyn embraced her will, and because of that, a great good was achieved.

Faramir doesn't need schooling as to the importance of Eowyn's will.

Where they go, the life they will live, hinges on Eowyn's will.

Eowyn herself we see take charge of her life.

She has chosen life over death, she will no longer seek death in battle or look for happiness only in war, but she will become a healer and help rebuild the world. None of this is contingent on anyone else giving her permission.

No one gives her the order to leave Gondor, to leave Rohan, to return to Gondor, to return to Rohan. She is stating, without room for disagreement, where she is going and what she is going for, and on what terms she can return.

"I will" "I will" "I will". An insignificant phrase in itself, but for Eowyn, who has been told all her life "you will", to be saying "I will" at least is a significant shift in the power dynamics between herself and others.

Eomer is part of that shift.

Eomer, Eowyn's king and head of her family, does not speak of their marriage as something Faramir asked him for, and that he granted permission for. Eowyn granted it "full willing", Eowyn agrees, and "therefore" they shall be married.

But Aragorn doesn't seem to be in on the memo, hence the quote above. Here, he rather reduces Eowyn to an object, a gift, a fair treasure to be passed from one kingdom to the other. He calls her a thing, and comments on Eomer's generosity to "give" Eowyn away, when Eomer himself only spoke of the match in terms of Eowyn agreeing to marry Faramir.

Eowyn's response is friendly, but it's also direct, and in her response she makes a demand of Aragorn.

Rather a departure from the last time she asked something of him.

On her knees, begging, using terms of intimacy that he will not return. Desperate pleading met with dispassionate refusal. A use of "thee" met with a cold sounding "lady".

At her troth plighting, she looks him in the eye, making no show of submission or deference to him. She addresses him respectfully and with warmth, as her future liege-lord and as the man who healed her, but she isn't backing down or taking a submissive stance. She doesn't ask Aragorn to wish her joy, there is no "please", no "will you". She tells him, she instructs him, what to say, what to give to her.

She is centring herself, she is instructing Aragorn to direct his comments at her. Once more, she brooks no refusal.

It is direct, it is confrontational in manner, it is an order.

Eowyn gets what she asked for. Aragorn wishes her joy, and he uses "thee". Double win.

get in loser we’re living past the end of our myth

Faramir @ Eowyn in the houses of healing

Reputation

Tolkientober #6: meals

(AO3 link to follow) (unedited)

"Go on. Have a bite."

Faramir stared at the spoon for a second too long before Éowyn huffed in annoyance.

"You are afraid, are you not?"

Embarrassed at being caught, he lowered the spoon and looked at her apologetically.

It was autumn, and they had been sitting in the shade of a large maple tree, its yellow and red leaves celebrating the fruitfulness of the harvests this year. The couple had been exploring the woods of Emyn Arnen and when the sun had gone well past its peak, they had agreed to have a rest and a meal.

To Faramir's surprise, Éowyn had offered to take care of their lunch, though she had not waited for his agreement and had set to work immediately. Not once since they had gotten to know each other in the Houses of Healing had she cooked in his presence.

An hour later, they each had their bowls full of the stew she had made.

Éowyn smiled lightly. "You have heard others talk about my cooking skills and now you fear for your health."

"No, I do not fear for anything," replied he. His denial came too quick and even if she could not read minds like he could, she knew very well the source of his hesitance.

"Go on, then," she urged, gesturing with her hand.

After a long moment, the Steward bravely took a mouthful and swallowed. Then he sat up, his eyes wide in bewilderment.

"You look so taken aback, Faramir," Éowyn said before taking a spoonful herself, "was it not the flavour you expected?"

Not knowing how to reply without offending her, he filled his mouth with a few more bites. Éowyn laughed with her lips pressed together to stop herself from spilling her food.

"I will readily admit that there was a time that I thought myself to be a better cook than I truly was," she slowly said while stirring her stew, "but you must realize that - after my unintented assassination attempt on the Heir of Elendil -"

Faramir chuckled and shook his head, his dark wavy hair bobbing along in the motion.

" - I have been in the extended company of Meriadoc Brandybuck. How could I not be learned in the art of cooking, travelling and recuperating alongside such an avid lover of food?"

"Milady, you have my heartfelt apologies for ever doubting you," said Faramir and he caught her hand in his, a twinkle in his eye. Then he brought it to his lips and kissed it firmly.

She allowed him to dote upon her as she watched him with a soft smile. Then her hand slipped out of his to rest against his cheek.

Shifting closer to him, she frowned. "Faramir."

"Yes, dearest Éowyn?"

"I may have learned how to cook, but I rather enjoy my reputation of being a bad chef."

"Is that so?" He looked at her with his brows raised, curious to hear more.

"Why Faramir, it is a clever sword to wield at court," she explained, feeling all too proud of herself, "if Lord or Lady so-and-so bother me too much with their arrogance or self-importance, all I have to do is invite them over to our residence for a home-cooked meal -"

He quickly put his bowl aside before bursting into a fit of laughter. "And they leave you alone? Is that why Lady Arradel and Lord Gwerion postponed their visit to Ithilien?"

Éowyn tilted her head meaningfully and grinned.

Faramir *after meeting Eowyn*: Once I figure out how to undoom her from the narrative, the wedding is back on!

Realistically, the Witch-King’s mace is Cursed As Fuck and should be melted down and then the slag cast safely into the sea.

However, to me, it hangs in the great hall of whatever seat the new Prince and Princess of Ithilien build for themselves, and sometimes visitors praise Faramir for such a mighty war-prize, and every time, he grins like Beren reborn and says, “Thank you—my lady wife won it!”

If the person stays for supper, supper is always followed by a minstrel playing one of the many songs about Eowyn’s defeat of the Witch-King. If the lord & lady of the house feel basically benevolent toward this person, it’s one of the classic, classy ones, like the epic Gondorin “The Fair Maid and the Dark King” or the stirring Rohirric “The Loyal Shieldmaiden.”

If this person is really a jerk, rather than just ignorant and a little sexist, they get all 50+ verses (endlessly improvised) of “How Lady Eowyn Kicked the Witch-King’s Ass”, a drinking song composed by a mix of Riders and Rangers with assistance from Merry and Pippin.

There's a gallery in Emyn Arnen with a wall covered in a tapestry telling Eowyn's life story. Every time someone comes to visit, Faramir insists on showing them the tapestry and walking them through everything leading to her victory over the Witch King, and their wedding.

Eowyn has given up trying to stop him, and has advised their guests just to go with it if they want it over sooner.

Beginnings and Endings

"Your son has returned after great deeds."

Denethor had always appreciated irony. It suited his quiet understated, and sometimes a bit mean, yes ,he was aware of that sense of humor. And while he deeply hated himself for feeling that way, he still couldn't help noticing the tragic and bitter irony that accompanied the moment.

So did Imrahil he was sure.

With expressionless face he watched as his brother in law carried his son to him, and placed his helpless body in his arms.

For the second time.

Beginnings and endings merging together.

For it too had been Imrahil who had handed him Faramir for the first time. Finduilas' labour had again been excurciatinlgy long. Everyone said that the second child usually came more swiftly but the babe certainly followed their big brother's example and did not make things easy. Denethor, at that time Steward already in all but name because his father had become increasingly frail, had been unable to spare the time to wait near his wife's bedroom and be as close as possible during the birth. So he and Imrahil had agreed to take turns, that one of them would always be close at hand to comofort her, welcome the child or ...well neither of them dared to even think that.

Denethor had been called away to deceide a pressing matter at court when the baby finally was born. Word was sent at once and Denethor hurried back to see his wife and child, when he arrived, Finduilas was just getting some help washing up, and so it was Imrahil who greeted him with a tired smile, relief written plain on his face, as he bowed before Denethor and handed him a small bundle.

"Your son has arrived after great travail."

-and added grinning "and trust me you will find there is NOTHING wrong with his lungs".

Denethor had eagerly taken the little boy from his uncle's arms and then for the first time beheld his second son, little Faramir, who looked at him with wide open eyes and a curious gaze.

Now his son would never open his eyes again. Then tiny hands had closed around his finger, holding on tight with a strength that never failed to amaze him. Now his son's had lay limply in his own.

Denethor looked out of the window where the battle was raging, feeling a curious disinterst towards the dramativ events unfolding outside. The world was ending. So be it. But he would not be slaughtered for sport but meet an end of his own making.

He called for the guards and as they carried the stretcher with his dying son out of the house he noticed one last irony, as they passed a now disused room which had once been the nursery and Faramir's first room.

The day of Faramir's birth Boromir had gone missing, like he was missing now. They had all searched for quite a while till finally the nurse found him on the floor of the new, yet empty nursery which had been prepared for the expected baby. Boromir, hearing that the baby was arriving any minute now had come there, waiting for his brother( the notion that it might be a sister angrily dismissed) to arrive and determined to be the first to meet him, had snuck into the nursery and spend many hours there peering into the cradle, if the baby had yet come.

As usual, Boromir had hurried ahead and then waited for Faramir to follow suit and join him.

Looking at Faramir's grey and haggard face Denthor knew Faramir was almost there already and felt reassured that they all would soon be reuinted.

And everything would be just the way it once began

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING 2003 | dir. Peter Jackson

part 2 of Minas Tirith society trying and failing to understand that Aragorn and Arwen are just. waiting. to have a kid and the royal couple spreading wild rumors about elf reproduction:

Faramir and Imrahil, southern Dúnadain and both scions of Mithrellas, are totally in on it.

Year 15 of Heir Watch™️. Faramir and Imrahil practically skip into court in Minas Tirith, interrupting a luncheon of the Eastern Lebennin Pickled Fishmonger's Guild. They loudly proclaim how happy they are to help Arwen with her ~royal duties~ and bring her various random implements, presented grandly on a silk pillow. A bamboo whisk from the far East, three (3) mûmakil-ivory nipple rings, jarred frog spawn from Harad and, of course, of course, (fishmongers and their family members from rural Lebennin in Minas Tirith on holiday watching spellbound, leaning in) the absolutely necessary carved cylinder made from the heart of a naturally fallen mallorn-tree, enchanted for fer-ahem-ABUNDANCE, and suspiciously. . . "mushroom" shaped.

Faramir and Imrahil both bow and scrupulously apologize to Queen Arwen for being too excited to wait to show these treasures in private later as she requested. Arwen nods sagely and accepts them with grace. Faramir and Imrahil race back out the door to meet Eowyn, who stayed outside for being unable to meet the exacting Gondorian courtly manners expected in this instance without using obvious horse dong puns and metaphors, and is ready to explode.

Aragorn, who Arwen and her loyal delivery lords got the jump on, has to duck into a private chamber because he's bright red and about to melt into giggles. In his study next door he overhears two pageboys listening through a cracked door (their regular duty at court, in case the king needs something) having a quiet but scandalized meltdown:

"What's the frog spawn for? Why - why a whisk? Why does it have to be bamboo?"

"My mom was saying something about the Queen the other day and my dad yelled at her to stop before my little sisters heard. Oh, Elbereth, is this why?"

"Why are there three nipple rings? Not two, not four! Does - do they have three nipples? Do Elves have three nipples?"

"Dad said his cousin's friend's gardener worked under visiting Elves in the eastern orchards last season and she swears up and down the Elves were at first confused about what everyone was talking about, and then they all started laughing-"

"No, no, the Queen - what am I thinking? She pretty clearly has two - oh, don't look at me like I've peeked in her dressing room, you know what I mean - so does the King have three nipples? Is this a Northern Dúnadain thing?"

"That was not a mushroom!"

Of diplomacy and toy wagons

If Denethor had learned one thing in his time as soldier and politician it was that solving one problem only meant you had a little more space to deal with the next one.

A knowledge that also came handy as a father he found.

Boromir had been much disappointed when his little brother had been born, stressing angrily that he had expressively asked for a BIG brother, one who could take him riding like his friend's Bergil's brother did. But this one? This brother couldn't do ANYTHING and was much to small anyway! He had no use for such a brother and asked if they could exchange him.

No amount of explanation would soothe him.

At first.

But then after six weeks Boromir surprisingly warmed up to his little brother. He started making faces for the baby trying to make him laugh, rocking the cradle and dutifully showed him every toy he picked up before playing with it, carefully explaining what he was about to do and sometimes even placing it in the baby's cradle. He frequently asked when Faramir would be big enough to join him playing and was not happy with the answers he received voicing his concerns that the poor baby must be awfully bored being kept in bed most of the day!

Considering that it should not have been surprised him that one day the quiet of his office was disturbed by a commotion in the nursery. rushing inside he found the frantic nurse, who between sobs explained that the baby was gone.

A bunch of the responses to this post of mine brought up the appeal of a (bookverse) scenario where Denethor lives.

I always find this fascinating! As I said in the post, while Denethor's tragic arc is a fantastic one that makes sense for his character, it also feels a bit like he (and to a lesser but still present extent, Faramir) gets steamrollered by the plot for the sake of Aragorn's ascension.

So what happens if he doesn't get driven to suicide by the plot? I've only read a couple of fics dealing with this, long ago (not on AO3), and both resolved it by having Denethor ultimately come around to Team Aragorn. Personally, it's difficult for me to imagine him doing this of his own free will in basically any scenario.

But what does happen?

I'm not sure, but personally, I always think of three basic ways to avert the "Denethor conveniently removes himself from the picture, leaving a dying Faramir to be convinced by mystical kingly healing" situation without drastically changing the circumstances. Here they are:

Hope is a theme that runs throughout the story of The Lord of the Rings. You can no more remove Tolkien's themes and ideas about Hope than you could remove the Ring itself. It is always there, echoing silently at the edge of words, shimmering faintly in the darkness; and when it is absent a point is made to emphasize that very fact.

In the two "sections" of the book - one that focuses on Frodo and Sam and one that focuses on everybody else - we see the different ways that Hope is addressed. The story of Frodo and Sam shows what happens when Hope slowly ebbs away, leaving nothing but sheer, raw, heartbreaking determination behind - or in the case of Frodo, a person so broken that nothing can heal him.

But in the other section - the one that focuses on the rest of the Company and on Rohan and Gondor - Hope takes a slightly different form. Instead of being a story of the loss of Hope, it is the story of the restoration of Hope. Or more specifically, the Hope that certain characters can and do bring to the story, and to the people around them. And tragically, what will happen when certain characters cannot and will not Hope, and instead give way to Despair. And that's the Hope that I want to talk about.

In Sindarin there are two words for Hope: Estel, which is Hope based on Faith, and Amdir, which is Hope based on Proof. Aragorn, the heir of Kings, is undoubtedly the personification of Estel in the story. That is literally one of his many, many, many names. And I argue that Faramir, the heir of Stewards, is the personification of Amdir. Yes there are other characters that also embody Estel and Amdir - Gandalf and Imrahil spring to mind, but I mainly want to focus on Aragorn and Faramir. And I want to focus on how Estel vs Amdir has a profound impact on Despair.

Almost from the moment that Gandalf falls, Aragorn steps into his role as Estel. It is explicitly stated time and time again in the text that Aragorn brings hope with him wherever he goes. But the Hope of Aragorn is the one that you must have faith in, which means that it is a Hope that cannot always be physically there. To all appearances, Hope must abandon the people who need it most in order to shine out bright and triumphantly when most needed. And so Estel departs, and the people must have faith that Hope will return or give in to Despair.

Faramir, on the other hand, is a different kind of Hope. Gondor has been at war with Sauron for centuries. There is no single man, woman, or child in Gondor who has ever known peace without the threat of war and violence looming within sight of their very city. They are a people who can no longer afford to have faith in Hope. Their Hope must be based on Proof, and that is exactly what they have in Faramir, and is likely a role shared by Boromir before he departed and fell. So Faramir proves himself, day in and day out. He proves himself a man of wisdom, a man of courage, a man who all his people can depend on. He proves himself to be willing to ride against a flying Nazgul on the off chance he can help his men - and the Hope he inspires is so great that even his horse will not turn aside when that is his purpose. And yet, when the situation is at its most dire, Amdir falls. And now the People have nothing.

And Despair, as the antithesis of Hope, is an important element in a discussion about Hope. So first let's talk about the antithesis of Estel: Denethor.

Denethor, who in a sense is the personification of his people, has been leading a steadily weakening people for years, fighting a war that has been going on for centuries. He does not have the luxury to Hope, and he certainly doesn't have the luxury for a Hope that you have to have faith in. Faith died long ago, and all that is left is what meager Hope can be pulled from the daily grind, from the blood and sweat and tears of the men who fight in this war. All that is left is Amdir - and Denethor's relationship with Amdir is famously strained.

But Denethor struggles on. He continues on when Boromir falls, despair beginning to cloud his judgement as he is overwhelmed by grief. But it is only when Faramir falls in battle - when Amdir is seemingly lost, that he has no Hope left. And so in Despair he turns to the Palantir and is literally given a glimpse of Estel. But Faith died long ago, so he doesn't see the Hope that he must have Faith to see. And thus his Despair gives way to madness.

And in his madness, he nearly destroys what remains of Amdir.

But Estel has come, even if Denethor did not have the necessary Faith to see it. And what it is that can restore Hope when there is no longer any proof for it? What can restore Amdir? Who can restore Faramir? Estel can - the healing hands of the King.

Estel and Amdir, the King and his Steward - the two go hand in hand. The people of Gondor want to believe in their King, but they do believe in the Stewards that have ruled them for centuries. So is it a wonder that the people's ability to have faith in Hope is only restored when Estel restores Amdir?

But there is one other character, intrinsically linked with Faramir and Aragorn, to whom the themes Hope and Despair are poignantly evident: Eowyn.

Like Denethor, Estel is what pushes her over the edge and into a desire for death. When Estel cannot manage to give her any hope for a future and leaves her behind to a bleak present, she loses all hope. But unlike Denethor, Estel was the only hope she had. So when she lost her faith in Hope she had nothing to fall back on to. When she lost her faith in Hope, she did not have years and years of Hope based on proof to depend on. Instead she is pushed to the same level of desperation that led to Denethor's despair and madness.

Like Denethor, Eowyn sought to die - possibly with those she loved beside her, although that is not made explicit. Like Denethor, the intervention of Hobbits saved her life. Unlike Denethor, she did not get the chance to try again. And now, after failing even at her own death, with Estel saying that he cannot restore her from her Despair, (literally saying that he can recall her from the dark valley, but if she awakes to despair she will die unless some other healing comes that he cannot bring), Eowyn finally meets Amdir. She finally meets the kind of Hope that her bitter, depressed, desperate soul can depend on. And Faramir, with the Hope of Amdir, is able to heal her the way Estel could not.

And once Estel restores Amdir, Amdir can bring about the kind of healing that Estel cannot. After all, Hope that you must have faith in is only powerful when people have Faith. And sometimes that is not possible. Sometimes Hope needs to prove itself to a person before they can accept the nebulousness of Faith.

When Estel restores Amdir and Amdir, in turn, restores Faith - the people now have the faith needed for Estel's true return.

After their engagement, before Aragorn and the host's return, Faramir knew that while Eowyn loved him and genuinely wanted to marry him, she still had a fangirlish crush on Aragorn, that wasn't distressing to him (because yeah, who wouldn't) but he knew was a source of anxiety for her, because she was worried about how she was going to face him after everything that had gone down between them.

To help Eowyn overcome her dread (and romanticise Aragorn just a little less) he showed Eowyn the crown of Gondor, which Aragorn would be crowned with.

Eowyn was suddenly a lot less worried, and sure enough, when she saw Aragorn again, with the crown on his head, she found it much easier to look him in the eye.

Patriarch vs. Parent

I feel like the films and by extension much of the fandom overlook how Denethor is not only Boromir and Faramir’s father, but also their lord and commander. There is ongoing tension between the personal and political dimensions of their relationships, which honestly explains like 99% of what can feel “mean” about Denethor’s treatment of Faramir. Indeed, part of Denethor’s arc is recognizing his personal love for and reframing his role as father to his son just as Gandalf predicts: Your father loves you, Faramir, and will remember it ere the end.

Denethor is invoking the political dimension of their relationship when he bids Faramir return to defend Osgiliath: if there is a captain here who still has the courage to do his lord’s will. Even as their discussion references Boromir and their personal relationship, Faramir makes his points about conditions in the role of a captain and Denethor ultimately commands him as is his right as the highest point of authority. And the command is not even a necessarily bad one: Denethor is a ruler in a desperate position, seeming even more desperate by the information he’s gleaned from the palantir, and is using the best resources he has left to defend the realm. Even as Faramir begs his father to “think better of” him personally, he accepts his commander’s instructions as he must as a captain of Gondor’s military.

Denethor’s choice of Boromir for the journey to Rivendell was also more political than personal. In the books Denethor initially prefers Faramir for the assignment but is convinced to send Boromir, who by political measures is the better choice: his heir, the titled Captain-General, the more experienced of the two brothers. The council favors him. Even in his bitterness Faramir acknowledges that it was “the lord of the city” that made that choice– Denethor as ruler, not father, even if the consequences are deeply personal for both of them.

In general, Denethor seems to lean more heavily into his role as his son’s ruler and commander– something which we can easily imagine has colored the lifetime of their relationship: duty over desire, public service over personal warmth. In the patriarchal inherited power structure of Gondor, especially in wartime, Denethor’s primary concern with his sons would be their efficacy as an extension of his rule. Under the pressures of the Stewardship of a struggling realm, no shit he’s too burnt out to sustain a warm father-son relationship distinct from the political, especially by the time his children are grown-ass adults sharing this responsibility. However, he is more father than commander in a few notable moments, which become more significant over the short period of time we see him. Faramir in the books (and Mablung in the movies) states that death is the penalty for flouting the Steward’s orders to waylay travelers and apprehend those of political interest. However, when Faramir returns from Ithilien, even though he has done precisely what Denethor hoped to avoid by allowing a strategic resource to leave their domain, Denenthor doesn’t even mention capital punishment. He literally ignores the stated law as it pertains to his only surviving son. He does throw some sharp fatherly jabs– Faramir’s persistent naivety about the harsh realities of ruling during wartime, his relationship with Gandalf, comparing him to Boromir, etc.– because indeed, Denethor must be especially disappointed that his own son cannot be trusted to respect his laws and the chain of command. But he also affords him major grace considering the established consequences that would presumably be enforced for anyone else.

Denethor’s fatherly grief for Boromir is also what first starts to compromise his efficacy as Steward, along with his use of the palantir. Gandalf is critical when Denethor’s priority upon his arrival is to discuss his son’s final days with Pippin rather than the state of the ongoing war. (And here is a place the books and movies differ significantly: in the book Gandalf and Pippin see that Denethor has already called for aid from Rohan and has set his people to work repairing the Rammas Echor; it is only in the film that Gandalf accuses him of having “done nothing”). And we only see Denethor after this point, which seems to be why a lot of folks assume Denethor is paranoid and incompetent and always has been– but both Faramir and Imrahil, close to Denethor, observe that he is not himself. The man has held shit down up until that point; Gondor has lasted as long as it has because of Denethor’s rule, not despite it.

And when Faramir is returned to Minas Tirith on death’s door, Denethor flips dramatically, withdrawing his attentions from the siege to focus entirely on the fate of his dying son. (And he truly believes he is dying!). He renounces his command and soundly rejects Gandalf’s entreaties that he return to the defense of the city as his role demands, and chooses instead a private death alongside the child he believes already doomed by the choices he made as Steward. (In addition to reasserting autonomy over Gondor and his own fate– but that’s another post).

It doesn’t end well, and it certainly doesn’t afford any opportunity to live a renegotiated, repaired relationship, but Denethor does indeed remember it ere the end that he loves Faramir and is first and foremost his father.