NFB Re-Watches The Lord Of The Rings: “The Midgewater Marshes” And The Lay Of Luthien

Previous entry: Effective Editing In “The Nazgul”

She died…

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring – “The Midgewater Marshes”

Wherein the hobbits blunder into a bog and seem surprised that it’s deeply uncomfortable; Aragorn demonstrates his usefulness again; and we hear a very sad song.

This scene, that exists purely within the extended editions, is a strange hodgepodge when you take a hard look at it. Not even 90 seconds in total length, it consists of two very different moments: one an odd insert of very little practical purpose really, and the other a much quieter, and much more plot-pivotal, thing. It’s the latter that I will be focusing on for this entry (though I will have a little space to give to the former), as we take a look at the true beginning of Aragorn’s major character arc, told here in the form of a nod to the deeper legendarium, one that has great resonance for two of this trilogy’s most important characters. This is the beginning of the key romance plot for The Lord Of The Rings as well, albeit one that is imbued with a lot of tragic undertones right from the off.

The details are pretty simple. Following on from the events of “The Nazgul”, the proto-Fellowship takes a break for the night as they attempt to cross the titular marshes, with Aragorn taking watch as the hobbits sleep. To pass the time or maybe just for his own enjoyment, Aragorn takes to singing, a low song of elvish words. This either wakes Frodo, or maybe the Ring-bearer was always awake: he inquires as to the nature of the song, and Aragorn reveals that it is a piece of the Lay of Luthien, a song about a beautiful elven princess who gave her love to Beren, a mortal. Frodo asks what happened to her, and Aragorn simply says that “she died”, before encouraging Frodo to go back to sleep. Left alone once more, Aragorn silently contemplates things.

Why does any of this really matter? This additional scene seems very much to me like a nod-and-a-wink to the true Tolkien aficionados in the audience, giving the coming Aragorn/Arwen plot a bit of a kickstart in comparison to the theatrical cut, but a kickstart that only those familiar with the text will really understand (Aragorn does actually sing a part of this song in the text as well, though it is on Weathertop in “A Knife In The Dark”). Not too far ahead of meeting Arwen, Aragorn lays out the plight that she and he face subtly, by simply talking about one of the only other times in the legendarium such a thing actually happened. Unions between kindreds is a seriously rare occurrence it seems (happening only three times), perhaps because the consequences seem so drastic, with the elven half of the equation fated to lose their immortality in the process. That imbues any such romance with enormously tragic overtones, and this nod to the tale of Beren and Luthien, the kind of epic that probably deserves it own adaptation at some point – get on that Amazon, you’d be better off probably – will have us in the right frame of mind when we actually get to meet Arwen, ahead of the more romantic moment that the two will share in Rivendell.

And all of that itself revolves around those two words: “She died”. This is a gross simplification of the story of Beren and Luthien really, that doesn’t do justice to the enormity of what those two characters went through, and the way that death and life renewed became a part of that journey, but it is the most incisive way of getting at the point. Luthien loved Beren, and for that love she gave up her immortality for a life with him, a life that ended in death with none of the quasi-resurrection that typically is meant to occur for the elves. Any other elf who finds him or herself in such a position will suffer the same for their love. And that is what Aragorn has in his head at this place and time. He is on the road to Rivendell, a place where his own love resides, and is presumably consumed with thoughts of wanting to see her, but also of the inevitability of where their love will lead if they carry through with it. To love someone so much that you are willing to accept their decision to accept death in being with you is no small burden. Mortenson’s performance here, for just those two small words, is outstanding.

The larger context of this moment is also worth considering, because it is so weird. Aragorn’s heartfelt recitation of the story of Luthien with all that it means for him and his entire character arc comes only after a brief interlude where he and the hobbits blunder around a midge-infested bog, the stand-out moment of which is Pippin falling flat on his face in the brown water. It’s an instance of the extended cut including material for the sake of including it for me: you could argue that the moment adds to the impression of the group being really out in the wilds and suffering for it, but I would say that this impression has already been made and will be made again, and it is dubious whether the point needed to be made at all. Coming as it does next to a much more emotional moment, the lack of necessity for this scene stands out ever more.

You can pretty much forget about the actual Midgewater Marshes scene I suppose, it’s just not that important, it really is just sort-of there. But the film chapter “The Midgewater Marshes” is a vitally important inclusion when you get down to it, and all because of its second half. It’s a quiet moment when we learn, even if it isn’t immediately obvious, some very important things about the Aragorn character, something related through an exploration of the deeper lore and through the fantastic non-verbal acting of the principals. He isn’t just some grim-looking ranger out to guide the hobbits through the worst part of the wilds, he’s a man with a backstory with a lot laid out ahead of him, with burdens much heavier than we might have realised.

What do they eat when they can’t get hobbit?

Notes

-The music here is from the latter-half of “The Nazgul” from the complete recordings, with drawn strings for the marshes before we get into Viggo Mortenson’s softly-sung performance of the lay. The translation is roughly “Tinúviel the elven fair/Immortal maiden elven-wise/About him cast her shadowy hair/And arms like silver glimmering”.

-Tormented by the creatures that give the marshes their name, Merry comes up with the best response: “What do they eat when they can’t get hobbit?”

-We won’t really see it anywhere else in the trilogy, but Aragorn gets to show off his prowess as a hunter here, which I think is important. It showcases him as more than a guide, but as someone who knows what he is doing in the wild when it comes to survival.

-Man, the look on Aragorn’s face for much of the moment between him and Frodo is something else. He looks, if not exactly close to, but getting near tears, just thinking on the story of Luthien and the wider context.

-Of course, Frodo should really already know this story, or at least book Frodo would have I’m sure. Movie Frodo is ignorant of such tales it seems, and that at least is something that allows a bit of audience surrogacy.

-“She died” will always get me. Every time.

Final Thoughts: An interesting mishmash of moments and ideas, “The Midgewater Marshes” is a chapter you can understand being clipped out of the theatrical version, but I do deem that a shame insofar as we missed out on that Luthien moment, Everything is now set-up nicely for the reunion of Aragorn and Arwen coming up, and their quieter moment that the get to share in Rivendell. But before we get to any of that, we will have to take a brief sojourn back to Isengard.

Next entry: Domination In “The Spoiling Of Isengard”

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