[Formendacil]

Rereading the previous chapter, I was struck by the number of those for whom "The Field of Cormallen" was their most deeply moving chapter. And I get it, but that sentiment for me is far stronger in "The Steward and the King." At least this time through, this was the chapter that made me emotional as I read it.

Some of this, no doubt, is the romance of Faramir and Eowyn, which receives the barest of glances in the film (and I tend to cherish whatever the films neglected), and some of it is the wonder of the Elves coming and Aragorn's midsummer night dream, but I think it is, more than anything else, the restoration of the King that affects me.

Minas Tirith is the one character present throughout the chapter. She waits, with Faramir, Eowyn, and Merry for tidings of the army, and rejoices when the eagles bring word. She is the one reborn and made glorious, welcoming back all her children (side-note: what a bittersweet moment the return of the newly-widowed and half-orphaned must have been. Many men of Gondor had died since they were sent away to Lossarnach and beyond). She is the one hallowed by a new White Tree and the visit of the Elves, who enters a new, unrivalled golden age.