Nice topic, Mirkgirl, and very original rendering of the issue.
I'd simply like to add that, even with everything above, there is more direct stress to Merry and Pippin, which falls upon the 'salvation' of Boromir, his release from the grip Ring has on him:
According to Gandalf:
Quote:
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'Poor Boromir! I could not see what happened to him. It was a sore trial for such a man: a warrior, and a lord of men. Galadriel told me that he was in peril. But he escaped in the end. I am glad. It was not in vain that the young hobbits came with us, if only for Boromir's sake. But that is not the only part they have to play. They were brought to Fangorn, and their coming was like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains.
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And, of course, already mentioned Saruman. The rendering of the episode in the movie is ugly to my liking - making Treebeard look quite a silly character, but I believe that PJ managed to grasp the essense - if not Merry and Pippin, Orthank would have survived (or would have fallen to Ents anyway, but not at the precise and crucial moment of battle at the Helm's Deep)