LOTR Rants | Mostly Aralas

a TTT scene by scene analysis of aralas, ig (pt1)

FINALLY PT2 IS HERE AND ITS 7K WORDS SO I SPLIT IT INTO TWO CHAPTERS

SORRY IF THIS IS LIGHTER/LESS ACADEMIC TONED

DONT TAKE EVERYTHING UNIRONICALLY !!

enjoy 😭<33

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A Scene-by-Scene Analysis of Aralas in Peter Jackson's the Two Towers and the Straight Context, Queer Scene Theory (SCQS)

There is more than one reason that Peter Jackson's the Two Towers is my favorite of the trilogy, and my favorite film of all time. It is not only because of the cinematography, the pacing, the action, the charm of the plot as adapted from J. R. R. Tolkien's novel of the same name and the deviations from that plot that make the film translate all the better to the big screen—those are all valid reasons to love it, but what really sparks my adoration of Peter Jackson's the Two Towers is the flurry of Aralas moments that it presents. Many may watch the film and do not see these at all, while for others, it is all they focus on, but either way, upon rewatching with a critical eye, a deeper layer to it all is revealed. In this Aralas scene-by-scene analysis of the Two Towers film, I will attempt to translate into words my chaotic notes and thoughts upon my most recent rewatch, analyzing those Aralas moments.

Let us begin.

The first scene of note in terms of Aralas in Peter Jackson's Two Towers is also the first scene in which the two interact in any meaningful way, aside from simply running side by side across the sprawling plains of Rohan—the iconic "Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall" scene. The fleeting eye contact between the two, while it may seem exactly that, fleeting, to the untrained eye, is a genially placed continuation of Aralas key themes established in Fellowship—allegiance, reliance, and following one another without question. These themes are only continued through the rest of the film's beginning, as seen in the second scene of note: when Aragorn feels the approach of the Rohirrim riders and all three of the company fall into defensive stance. Notice how Aragorn and Legolas immediately turn to each other, first and foremost, at this smallest hint of danger, something one notes several times throughout the Fellowship of the Ring as well. Moreover, throughout their covert glances and strangely close stance, Gimli stands off to the side, looking on with a distinct separateness to his character—also continuous of the final scenes of Fellowship, in which he glances between Aragorn and Legolas as they argue over staying or going at the shores of the Falls of Rauros.

During the approach of the Riders of Rohan lead by Éomer and his own, the Three Hunters are forced behind a set of large rocks, hiding from the oncoming horde. Again, continuing the theme of Aragorn/Legolas closeness and Gimli separateness, Legolas and Aragorn huddle strangely, unnecessarily closely behind that rock, while Gimli is out of frame. Note that all Three Hunters are in possession of cloaks of Lórien, which would hide them from all foes, rocks or no rocks, and that Legolas is an elf, and thus does not need such basely material objects such as rocks to hide himself from enemies. Not to mention that I say rocks and notrock—meaning that this is a rather large set of rocks, and there was no need for the two to sit that closely.

It is also worth mentioning that this scene is an almost laughably direct, though perhaps unintentional parallel to Tuor and Voronwë, the heroes of J. R. R. Tolkien's Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin, the Last Version of the Fall of Gondolin Unfinished Tale. In it, Tuor, a Man, ironically, distantly related to Aragorn who ends up marrying an elf-maiden distantly related to Arwen, and Voronwë, an Elf of the great city of Gondolin turned Círdan's mariner, travel together to that city of Gondolin, the greatest of the ancient elf -cities in Tolkien's lore. On the way, they encounter many perils, including several bands of orcs, from which they hide beneath Tuor's cloak, reminiscent of the cloaks of Lórien, as it was given to him by a god, behind an outcropping of rocks. In that scene, Tuor is described as having drawn Voronwë "down into the dark shadow"and then "side by side under the grey cloak they lay and panted like tired foxes." This could also be interpreted as a parallel to the characters of Sam and Frodo's later scene before the Black Gate of Mordor hiding beneath Frodo's cloak amid the brambles and rocks before the Gate. All three pairs, Tuor and Voronwë, Sam and Frodo, and Aragorn and Legolas are widely shipped and agreed to have queer subtext by the queer Tolkien fanbase, and both those former couples shall enter into the narrative of this essay in later parts, fear not.