Did I just see 'Gandalf' throw 'Denethor' into the pyre?

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>It was my contention that the deaths of Denethor and Boromir were extremely convenient and that without Faramir as Steward, Aragorn's ascendance to the throne would have been far more difficult. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>It seems to me that in the books Boromir had some doubts about Aragorn when first introduced to him at the Council of Elrond, however, he came to accept Aragorn's claim as Isildor's heir. Boromir was not an obsticle to Aragorn's ascendance to the throne.<P>PJ and his writers have changed many of the characters personality traits. Until RotK I thought they had been doing a good job portraying Gandalf. Of course, they couldn't leave well enough alone so we have scenes such as:<P>Gandalf wacking Denethor with his staff.<BR>Gandalf pushing Denethor back onto the pyre.<BR>Gandalf yelling at Pippin and again using the staff instead of affording him respect when he offers his services to Denethor.<P>Gandalf was supposed to come back from death with additional wisdom (hence from grey to white). Not with a penchant for wacking people around!