[Kalimac]

Lily, welcome! I'm really impressed by your post. The only point I wanted to comment on was #4, where Faramir says "I think at last we understand each other..."<P>That was definitely a sideswipe, in the sense that I was thinking "Huh? HOW did this persuade him exactly?" The only two explanations I can think of are these.<P>1) The scene really got sliced, a la Lothlorien in the original release vs the extended edition. (Celeborn: "Wait, WHERE did my lines go??"). Faramir's line is, after all, part of one of the final speeches he makes to Frodo in the book, where he explains that he understands the innate evil of the Ring.<P>2) What Faramir means is "If bearing the Ring has shattered and corrupted you to the point where you're willing to hand it over and become the willing slave of the forces of darkness, maybe taking and using it wouldn't bring about such great results." This is kind of a leap, though it would be perfectly reasonable if Faramir had a few more short speeches interpolated where he EXPLAINS this thought process.<P>Just hoping the extended TTT does it a little more believably. And for heaven's sake, Faramir, give them some food this time around. Dragging them a week's march out of the way and then just booting them out without any supplies are not the actions of a guy who really understands what he's dealing with.