[The Saucepan Man]

It's a real shame because I was really enjoying this scene up until that moment. I loved the portrayal of the Mouth of Sauron - it has a very "alien" character to it.

Whether he was a messenger or simply sent to gloat, the fact remains that he was a non-combatant envoy and his decapitation was a breach of the "rules of engagement" on Aragorn's part. Sauron might have been the embodiment of evil, but, as Lyta said, when the good guys start playing by the rules of the bad guys, then they are no better than them. In Tolkien's world, the end does not justify the means.

But this was not what spoilt the scene for me since, in many respects, this is not Tolkien's world, but a (Tolkien-inspired) Jackson's world. And this is Jackson's Aragorn, not Tolkien's Aragorn.

When I watched the scene, I couldn't quite work out what it was that irritated me about the decapitation. Then obloquy put his finger on it on another thread. It destroys the entire character of the Mouth. He has been built up as this wonderful gloating character who lords it over Aragorn and co. Then Aragorn just goes and chops his head off. Easy as that! Tension dissipated. Audience applauds. Well, they shouldn't be applauding. The situation remains grim.

The scene would have been so much more powerful (in my view) if, after saying his piece, the Mouth had simply turned round and ridden back to Mordor. Aragorn could then have done his "I will not believe it" bit and ridden back to give his inspiring speech. It should be "Hope against all odds", not "Silly old Mouth - I'll just chop off his head and that's that".