0:02 if you ask a group of tolken enthusiasts
0:03 even those who deeply love Peter
0:05 Jackson's movies what their least
0:07 favorite part of the films was there's a
0:09 decent chance most of them will give you
0:12 a onword answer fair I'm sorry I'm sorry
0:15 that's a ridiculous thing to say there's
0:17 absolutely no way people who enjoy
0:18 reading tolken that much would ever keep
0:20 their responses to a single word you're
0:22 much more likely to get a full speech
0:24 that sounds like it has been fully
0:25 prepared but really has just been given
0:28 over and over again because these fans
0:30 of the books feel so passionately about
0:32 their beloved novel and the characters
0:34 within so what is it about Jackson's
0:35 fairr that struck a nerve with devoted
0:37 readers of Lord of the Rings why do they
0:39 care so much about a character who
0:42 appears in only a few scenes and has no
0:44 real meaningful impact on the plot did
0:46 Fair suffer character assassination
0:48 along the lines of Luke Skywalker or
0:51 Indiana Jones was he written poorly in
0:53 some way is he an insufferable character
0:55 who would not fit into tolken world the
0:56 answer to those latter three questions
0:58 you may be surprised to know is not an
1:01 unqualified yes and in most cases is a
1:04 solid no Jackson's fairer is far from
1:06 poorly written and the themes
1:07 surrounding his brief character Arc are
1:09 wholly in line with those of the book I
1:11 mean I just made a video about how
1:14 incredible borr Arc is in no small part
1:16 because he falls to Temptation and then
1:18 because he turns away from his error and
1:20 seeks Redemption if there's one thing we
1:22 know about the one ring it is that the
1:24 ring poses an enormous Temptation for
1:26 any who behold it why would we be
1:28 surprised that Jackson's Fair decides to
1:30 take the ring to ministerial Earth and
1:32 present his father with a mighty gift
1:34 who among us could judge this captain of
1:36 men for seeking to wield the strength
1:38 that would save his people would we do
1:41 any better probably not but therein lies
1:43 the main problem of this adaptation
1:45 Peter Jackson understood the value of a
1:47 good character Arc his version of
1:50 Theoden portrays a remarkable Journey
1:52 from despair to Hope as the monarch of
1:54 Rohan discovers what it truly means to
1:57 be a king Jackson's interpretation of
1:59 fair likewise has a sensible and
2:01 meaningful Arc discovers that froto
2:03 carries the One Ring Falls prey to its
2:06 Allure and its promise of power resolves
2:08 to take the ring to Gondor but then has
2:10 his mind changed after Sam tells him of
2:12 Bar's ring induced Madness you want to
2:14 know why your brother died he tried to
2:17 take the ring from froo after swearing
2:19 an oath to protect him and after he
2:21 hears Sam's famous speech about hoping
2:23 against hope and that good will prevail
2:26 over evil and when the sun shines it'll
2:28 shine out the clearer so in that sense
2:30 Fair does succe Ed ultimately where
2:33 barir failed but only after a milder
2:36 fall of his own in this Jackson missed
2:38 the point of fair who is supposed to
2:41 stand in stark contrast to mourir in the
2:43 book fair says to Frodo in reference to
2:45 a silder bane the nature of which is not
2:47 known to him at the time I would not
2:50 take this thing if it lay by the highway
2:53 not were Min tith falling in ruin and I
2:56 alone could save her so using the weapon
2:58 of the dark lord for her good and my
3:01 glory this is virtue when we talk about
3:04 established cultivated virtue we refer
3:06 to someone acting as Fair does In This
3:08 Moment someone who does not hesitate in
3:10 his refusal of Temptation characters who
3:13 struggle falter fail and have to be
3:15 redeemed are incredible examples and we
3:18 absolutely need them but we also need
3:20 characters further along that road of
3:22 growth ones who have perhaps failed in
3:24 their own way or ones who have through
3:26 whatever means developed Superior
3:28 strength of character these Paragons of
3:30 virtue aren't often placed at the center
3:32 of a given story because their lack of
3:34 Need for growth makes them more of a
3:36 challenge to write in a compelling
3:38 fashion it's not at all impossible to
3:40 pull off Maximus and Gladiator and Steve
3:42 Rogers in Captain America and the Winter
3:44 Soldier are two examples of men who
3:46 don't grow significantly in wisdom
3:48 humility or Prudence but who are faced
3:49 with other challenges and have to adapt
3:52 their viewpoint on certain issues but
3:54 for the most part Paragons of virtue
3:55 tend to serve best as secondary
3:57 characters there are often advisers such
4:00 as Gandalf iro and Obi-Wan can Fair
4:02 doesn't really fit that role he doesn't
4:04 have much of an impact on Frodo's
4:06 Journey at all the main piece of advice
4:09 he offers is to not follow gllm to heral
4:10 which Sam and froto do anyway because
4:13 what choice do they have so what is the
4:15 point of fair then when I said a minute
4:17 ago that Jackson missed the point I did
4:19 not mean that he shot wide of the target
4:20 entirely but rather that he failed to
4:23 hit the bullseye quite on purpose as it
4:25 turns out when interviewed about the
4:26 changes made to the ranger Captain
4:28 Jackson explained we've spent a lot of
4:30 time in the last film and in this one to
4:32 establish this ring is incredibly
4:34 powerful then to suddenly come to a
4:35 character that says oh I'm not
4:37 interested in that to suddenly go
4:38 against everything that we've
4:40 established ourselves is sort of going
4:42 against our own rules we certainly
4:44 acknowledge that fair should not do what
4:46 barir did and that he ultimately Has the
4:48 strength to say no you go on your own
4:51 way and I understand we wanted to make
4:53 it slightly harder to have a little more
4:55 tension than there was in the book I see
4:57 where Jackson was coming from here but I
4:59 definitely do not agree with his line of
5:01 thinking if you want to explain how fair
5:02 could resist the ring where borr could
5:05 not a very simple explanation would be
5:07 that fair had only just stepped into its
5:09 presence whereas bourier had witnessed
5:11 it at the Council of Alon had gazed upon
5:14 it for hours and had been traveling
5:16 alongside the ring bearer for months
5:18 certainly were fair to take the ring he
5:20 would not be able to resist it even if
5:22 he were to allow himself to consider
5:24 taking the ring he might fall to that
5:27 temptation but he doesn't Fair refuses
5:29 the Temptation outright before it can
5:31 establish the smallest Beach head within
5:34 his mind he tells Frodo even if I were
5:36 such a man as to desire this thing and
5:38 even though I knew not clearly what this
5:40 thing was when I spoke still I should
5:43 take those words as a vow and be held by
5:46 them but I am not such a man or I am
5:48 wise enough to know that there are some
5:51 perils from which a man must flee Fair
5:53 doesn't triumph over the ring he doesn't
5:56 stare down the will of Sauron and win he
5:58 simply refuses to play the game because
6:01 he knows he wouldn't win that is the
6:04 virtue of humility of knowing yourself
6:06 your abilities and your limits if we
6:07 look at everyone whom the ring temps
6:09 they are all tempted to some form of
6:12 grandeur even Sam is given a vision of
6:14 all of Mordor transformed into an
6:16 enormous garden and how does he resist
6:19 that Temptation you guessed it through
6:20 humility through proclaiming that his
6:23 own simple Gardens worked by his own
6:25 hands would be enough for him fair
6:27 refusing outright the thought of taking
6:29 the one ring wouldn't be a denial of the
6:31 Ring incredible tempting power it would
6:35 be an acknowledgement of it that is what
6:37 Jackson missed let me put it this way
6:39 let's say I have a crippling addiction
6:42 to Oreos double stuff obviously I'm not
6:44 insane if I am working to purge myself
6:46 of this viice of chocy creamy gluttony
6:48 and grow in the virtue of moderation
6:50 would my best option be to have a
6:52 package of Oreos sitting open on my desk
6:53 while I work so as to strengthen my
6:56 resolve through Perpetual trial as
6:58 amazing as having 24 access to Oreo
6:59 sounds that would obviously be a
7:01 terrible idea because you know those
7:02 three rows of cookies would be empty
7:06 within a day okay so should I instead
7:08 keep the Oreos in the kitchen cupboard
7:10 no I shouldn't have them in the house at
7:12 all as a matter of fact I should
7:14 probably have my wife do all the grocery
7:15 shopping so that I'm not tempted to
7:17 wander down the cookie aisle and pick up
7:20 a pack or three I'm sure she won't mind
7:22 in doing so I am not saying Oreos have
7:25 no power over me but rather I know if I
7:27 let myself I would drown in a shower of
7:30 chocolate cookie crumbs this is exactly
7:32 Fair's attitude this is why he tells
7:35 froto I do not wish to see it or touch
7:37 it or know more of it than I know which
7:40 is enough lest Peril per chance waylay
7:42 me and I fall lower in the test than
7:45 froto son of Drogo Fair freely admits
7:47 the existence of his own weakness and
7:49 vulnerability he is not Tom Bombadil who
7:51 could act as if the ring was a child's
7:52 play thing that had no effect on him
7:55 whatsoever because it didn't Fair
7:57 clearly knows that if he took the ring
7:59 if he even considered taking the ring he
8:02 would fail Ergo he has to make the very
8:04 idea of using the ring as a weapon of
8:06 Gondor so Preposterous that it is
8:09 basically a joke you may remember this
8:11 line from the movie chance for phir
8:15 captain of Gondor to show his quality
8:16 you might be surprised to know that
8:18 those words are lifted straight from the
8:21 pages of the book and here in the wild I
8:23 have you two halflings and a host of men
8:26 at my call and the Ring of rings a
8:28 pretty stroke of Fortune a chance for
8:30 fair captain of Gondor to show his
8:32 quality upon reading that you might
8:34 think that Jackson's fair is in fact a
8:37 faithful adaptation but only until you
8:39 reached the end of the next paragraph
8:41 Fair sat down again in his chair and
8:44 began to laugh quietly he was making a
8:47 joke the words said in all seriousness
8:49 in the movie are quite literally a joke
8:53 in the book fair mocks the very idea of
8:55 achieving personal Glory through
8:57 capturing and using the one ring and in
8:59 that mockery is what CS Lewis would call
9:01 a sense of humor and proportion in his
9:03 book the screw tape letters Lewis writes
9:05 from the perspective of an elder demon
9:07 mentoring a younger fiend who is tasked
9:08 with leading a human to damnation in the
9:10 passage to which I am referring screw
9:12 tape advises his nephew wormwood to
9:14 attempt to draw his subject's attention
9:16 to the fact that in a given moment he is
9:19 being humble and to feel Pride at his
9:21 own humility and then should the human
9:23 realize this prideful urge at humble
9:25 himself yet again repeat the cycle of
9:27 smug self-satisfaction but don't try
9:29 this too long for fear you awake his
9:31 sense of humor and proportion in which
9:33 case he will merely laugh at you and go
9:36 to bed fair was able to laugh at the
9:38 thought of Temptation at the pride he
9:39 may have felt at his successful
9:41 resistance of its lure and at the idea
9:44 that he could be any more than he is
9:47 again this is true humility genuine
9:49 acknowledgement of one's place in the
9:51 world the very virtue against which
9:53 screw tape is warning wmid in that
9:55 passage by this virtue as by all the
9:57 others the enemy wants to turn man's
10:00 attention away from self to him and to
10:02 the man's neighbors beir is not
10:03 interested in his own gain nor in
10:05 winning the laudations of others when
10:07 bourier fell to Temptation and tried to
10:09 take the ring from Frodo we read of how
10:11 he envisioned himself at the command of
10:13 the Conquering gondorian armies and from
10:15 Fair we learn of Barr's abject
10:17 disappointment that their family the
10:19 line of the stewards could never Ascend
10:21 the Throne of Gondor where his brother
10:23 clearly had aspirations of grandure
10:26 faramir does not he loves his City and
10:28 Country no less than Boromir did but
10:30 unlike his older brother Fair
10:32 understands that the part he plays is
10:34 but a small one and yet he will do his
10:36 duty as best he can fighting as any good
10:39 soldier ought to fight with discipline
10:41 honor and never forgetting the reason
10:44 why he wages War I do not love the
10:46 bright sword for it sharpness nor the
10:48 arrow for its swiftness nor the warrior
10:51 for his glory I love only that which
10:54 they defend the city of the men of numor
10:56 and I would have her love for her memory
10:59 her ancientry her beauty and her present
11:01 wisdom in that passage and in another
11:03 where Fair describes Gandalf's visit to
11:05 Min tith in order to uncover The Mystery
11:07 of the nature of Ailor Bane we get the
11:09 sense that this Ranger of Gondor is
11:11 quite knowledgeable regarding the
11:13 history of his people the numenorians
11:15 numor the island Kingdom of men was
11:17 destroyed when its inhabitants
11:19 pridefully attempted to sail to the
11:21 Blessed realm which was not made for men
11:23 to inhabit Fair's ancestors were among
11:26 the faithful who led by elendil and his
11:28 sons fled from valinor before it was
11:29 destroyed and they setled in Middle
11:31 Earth in other words fmer is shown to
11:33 have a knowledge of history that
11:35 predisposed him to be wary of any
11:37 promise of power or greatness such as
11:40 that promised by a silder Bane in this
11:43 as in humility he surpasses his migher
11:45 more ambitious brother now who's to say
11:47 what Fair would have done should he have
11:48 been through one to travel to Rivendell
11:50 to lay eyes on the one ring and then to
11:52 travel alongside its Bearer for week
11:55 after week as we just read Fair tells
11:57 froto to keep the ring hidden lest it
11:59 tempt him tolken absolutely wrote fa
12:01 arir is more pure-hearted and less apt
12:03 to even experience Temptations of power
12:05 than Boromir but certainly Fair himself
12:07 would be grateful that he did not have
12:09 to resist the pull of the Ring's
12:11 presence on a daily basis for months on
12:14 end but fair did not go to rivendel so
12:16 those musings remain merely a thought
12:18 experiment the reason that bmir was
12:20 present at the Council of Alon is denior
12:21 although in the book barir goes more
12:23 willing than in the movie in both
12:25 however denior commands that his Elder
12:27 son make the journey to imladris to
12:29 uncover The Secret of his Sor Bank which
12:31 leads me to my discussion of how the
12:33 relationship between fair and his father
12:35 was altered in the movie and again not
12:37 in Fair's favor when Fair arrives in
12:39 oscil with Frodo and Sam he passes them
12:41 off to damrod who will take them to
12:43 minth with a message for the steward
12:47 tell him faram sends a mighty gift which
12:49 is pretty funny since I can imagine
12:50 denor looking down at these two
12:52 halflings and thinking that fair had
12:54 screwed up again in mistaking them for
12:56 great warriors and their daggers for
12:59 enormous swords I can hear muttering
13:01 something like again my younger son
13:03 demonstrates that my expectations of him
13:06 can always sink lower anyway throughout
13:08 the two movies in which he appears fair
13:11 is ever eager to earn his father's favor
13:12 as evidenced by that clip I just played
13:14 although he does arrive at a level of
13:16 virtue akin to that at which he starts
13:19 in the book I would not use the ring not
13:21 if Min tith were falling in ruin and I
13:23 alone could save her his attitude is
13:25 very much look at me dad I can be like
13:29 bmir too which isn't great not that it
13:31 doesn't make sense within the confines
13:34 of the film alone I have absolutely no
13:36 problem with this writing it speaks to a
13:38 deep desire in all of us to be loved and
13:41 appreciated and when we are not given
13:43 love and appreciation when they are in
13:46 our view unfairly withheld we are want
13:48 to do drastic deeds in order to obtain
13:50 them the problem is that such Reckless
13:53 acts are not wise or prudent and fair is
13:56 supposed to be among other things wise
13:58 and prudent in the film denior sends him
14:00 and his men on a verifiable suicide
14:02 mission assaulting a fortified position
14:05 already held by the forces of Mordor in
14:07 the book he sends fair to osth before
14:09 the Orcs take it to reinforce the
14:10 defenses there a mission to which Fair
14:12 does object as he believes he and his
14:14 men would be better used defending Min
14:16 tith but not one which is ridiculous and
14:19 insane on the face of it to be fair this
14:21 change makes denior look far worse than
14:24 it does fair who in both cases goes to
14:25 fight a battle he believes to be ill
14:27 advised out of obedience to and respect
14:30 for his father but sending fair to hold
14:32 the line in osth wouldn't show his
14:34 desperation for Dan Thor's approval as
14:35 would having him charge headlong in a
14:37 horde of entrenched Orcs which again
14:39 from a storytelling perspective is
14:41 perfectly legitimate it just undermines
14:44 Fair's virtuous quality that is so so
14:48 important in the books why is his virtue
14:50 so important well let's first consider
14:52 the most common argument against him
14:55 being that way it usually goes along the
14:57 lines of he's too perfect flat and
14:59 boring in response I would like to to
15:01 once again refer to my very dear friend
15:04 CS Lewis in a sort of ghastly Simplicity
15:05 we remove the organ and demand the
15:08 function we make men without chests and
15:10 expect of them virtue and Enterprise we
15:12 laugh at honor and are shocked to find
15:15 traitors in our midst we need examples
15:17 like that of fair we need them
15:19 desperately if we reject them as Goody
15:22 Two sho's Boy Scouts we mock the very
15:24 thing we should be admiring we disregard
15:26 the Unseen struggles and toils that such
15:28 characters have undergone to be as they
15:30 appear to be in their Tales it's crucial
15:32 for us to hear stories of men and women
15:35 of great virtue those who do not fall to
15:37 temptation but stand above its murky
15:39 Waters and refuse to be sucked in their
15:41 stories give us something to which we
15:43 can Aspire while such Paragons of virtue
15:45 are rarely the best candidates for these
15:48 story's main protagonist their role and
15:50 example as advisers and dispensers of
15:52 wisdom should not be discarded as
15:53 wonderful as it is to see our heroes
15:56 struggle even fall and thus to relate to
15:58 them more closely we should have an
16:00 equal desire to hear the stories of
16:01 those who have already achieved the
16:04 level of humility courage and Prudence
16:06 to which most Heroes Aspire we should
16:08 not let our desire to humanize Our
16:10 Heroes be so overwhelming as to preclude
16:13 the possibility of these much needed
16:14 examples of humility and pure
16:17 heartedness now none of that is to say
16:19 that fair is a perfect man who never did
16:21 anything wrong ever I have done nothing
16:24 wrong ever in my life I know this and I
16:26 love you as the thumbnail on my borr
16:29 video declared all good men fall but but
16:31 not All Men Must Fall prey to the same
16:33 Temptation it's clear from Fair's words
16:35 that he was prepared to face isor Bain
16:37 that he had thought long and hard about
16:38 whether he would put it to use and had
16:40 decided in the negative long before
16:42 stumbling across the two Hobbits in the
16:44 woods of ailan for this particular
16:45 challenge which comprises the vast
16:47 majority of his screen and Page time
16:49 Fair had an established and Resolute
16:52 defense and so he emerges Victorious the
16:53 development of virtue requires
16:55 dedication and constant vigilance
16:57 clearly this Captain who served his
16:59 country by patrolling its borders was
17:02 rich in both Fair's brief role in the
17:04 story of Lord of the Rings is of still
17:06 more significance for this one simple
17:08 reason as it demonstrates the central
17:12 theme that pervades the story good can
17:15 and will triumph over evil but the
17:17 nature of that Triumph will likely be
17:19 unexpected Peter Jackson was right in
17:21 saying that the one ring is this
17:23 incredibly powerful tempting Force he
17:25 was wrong however in his interpretation
17:27 of faramir's refusal to take the ring
17:29 faramir's victory over the ring was not
17:31 like that of Gandalf or gadriel who both
17:33 refused the ring after Frodo offered it
17:36 to them fair is after all only a man not
17:38 a primordial Maya nor an immortal elf
17:40 with several Millennia worth of wisdom
17:43 and foresight he could only triumph over
17:45 the ring by refusing to play its game by
17:47 telling Frodo to keep it hidden by
17:48 banishing all thoughts of it from his
17:50 mind before they had the slightest
17:52 chance to take rote his victory is one
17:54 not through his strength of will but
17:57 rather through his humility the quality
