I guess,
Boromir88, that I was looking at "potential" the other way around. Not what Denethor hoped for his son, but what Boromir could have been by being true to himself and thus to the Fellowship. We see glimpses early and late of what Boromir had to offer, saving the hobbits from frozen death on Caradhras, and his sacrificial attempt at the end to save them from the orcs.
Granted, if the orcs had not captured Merry and Pippin, then the Ents would never have flooded Orthanc nor Gandalf healed Theoden;
but..... Frodo and Sam still would have left the rest of them behind amid the chaos of so many orcs. What if Boromir had never tried to wrest the Ring from Frodo? Never have gone up the hill after him? I realize "what ifs" are vain in terms of the story, but I find they can often lead to fresh insight into themes and characters nonetheless. Any takers? Should I start a new thread? Has this one already been done?
