When Peter Jackson adapted J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy series The Lord of the Rings, he knew the films wouldn't please every fan. With their gorgeous visuals, exciting action, and extensive world-building, they turned into an incredibly successful franchise. The Fellowship tasked with getting the Ring of Power to Mordor and preventing the dark lord Sauron from taking over Middle-Earth was the crux of the trilogy, and fans came to revere their characters.
One of the most important figures in the films was Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and descendant of Elendil, once the High King of Gondor and Arnor. In the novels, he accepted his birthright before ing the Fellowship, but Jackson wanted to give him a proper hero's journey, and so made him a reluctant would-be king and much more fallible. Here are 10 ways Aragorn got worse and worse.
HE NEVER BATHED
While there were a few instances when Aragorn decided to change out of his weathered ranger gear (mostly around the company of Elves), he spent the majority of the Lords of the Rings films looking like he needed a bath.
In The Fellowship of the Ring he's introduced as the perpetually muddy Strider, and in The Two Towers he shows up in Rohan looking the worse for wear for a Númenórean would-be king seeking the audience of King Theoden. In the books, there were many times when Aragorn wore kingly attire, such as at the Battle of Pelennor Fields in Return of the King.
HE WAS FILLED WITH SELF-DOUBT
It's a fine quality in a future king to be modest, but the constant self-deprecating done by Aragorn in the Lords of the Rings films got old. In The Fellowship of the Ring, when Boromir was on his deathbed, he needed so strongly for Aragorn to assume his birthright but he deflected his duty.
In the books, Aragorn arrived at the Council of Elrond having already re-established his right to be king, but the films required Aragorn to go on a journey to discover his mettle. That's also why he won't stand up to King Theoden as the would-be king of Gondor and Arnor he truly is in The Two Towers.
HE STRUNG WOMEN ALONG
While Eowyn and Arwen didn't occupy the same positions in the books that they did in the films, their parts were important in the character development of Aragorn. In Arwen's case, he couldn't see her frequently, and when they could meet, it had to be in secret.
In The Two Towers, when Eowyn started to draw close to him, he wasn't particularly fast in revealing that his heart belonged to Arwen until Eowyn pressed the issue.
HE MADE STRATEGIC ERRORS
When he sought the help of the Army of the Dead, rather than having their defeat of Sauron be the determinant in fulfilling their oath, he simply says, "Fight for me, and I will hold your oath fulfilled", so they travel to Minas Tirith and after that battle depart, despite Aragorn and Gimli knowing they still needed them.
Towards the end of Return of the King when his forces are at the Black Gate, Aragorn has a parley with Sauron's messenger, the Mouth of Sauron, whom Aragorn soundly executes in what appears to also serve no tactical purpose other than to upset Sauron further.
HE WAS INDECISIVE
It must have been beyond frustrating to be Lord Elrond, and watch the strength of men fail when Isildur didn't destroy the ring, only to watch his descendant Aragorn refuse to acknowledge his illustrious birthright from the unbroken line of Elendil.
Aragorn doesn't claim his birthright in either The Fellowship of the Ring or The Two Towers, and when Elrond approaches him with the sword Anduril and exclaims, "Become who you were born to be!" Aragorn's response is to frown and put the sword away.
HE WAS MADE TO LOOK WEAK
When he gazed into the Palantir in Return of the King, he got frightened at the vision of Arwen Sauron was producing for him, rather than wrenching control from the dark lord and acting the part of the heir to the Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor.
In both his dealings with the Army of the Dead, and later with the council before the final battle of the War of the Ring, he's made to look weak and plaintive, as though he's frightened and begging them to fight for him rather than sounding like a confident commander. His speech to the men at the Black Gate also pales in comparison to Theoden's.
HE WAS RECKLESS
Often when the films were meant to demonstrate Aragorn's bravery they ended up highlighting his recklessness instead. After Boromir's death in The Fellowship of the Ring, he took on several dozen Uruk-Hai (including their leader) and risked death when he needed to stay alive to track Merry and Pippin.
In Return of the King, at the Battle of Pelennor Fields he carelessly risked his life at the forefront of the battlefield when the Army of the Dead could just have easily swept through and he wouldn't have had to lift a finger.
HE DEMONSTRATED POOR TACTICS
At the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers, after the orcs managed to blow open the Deeping Wall, Aragorn released the Elven archers from bow to sword too soon. The archers could have continued to mow down ranks of orcs with a seemingly endless supply of arrows (just look at Legolas).
Also, the Assault on the Black Gate in Return of the King could be viewed as a waste of Aragorn's best battle commanders and forces viewed only as a diversionary tactic to prevent Sauron from comprehending the true plan for the One Ring's destruction by Sam and Frodo.
HE NEVER STOOD UP FOR ARWEN
In The Fellowship of the Ring, it's implied that Arwen and Aragorn can't show public displays of affection while in Rivendell because her father Lord Elrond doesn't approve of their romance.
Even though it's causing Arwen great distress to love a man her father doesn't approve of, Aragorn doesn't challenge Elrond in the films. One of Elrond's conditions for Aragorn marrying Arwen was uniting the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor, which Aragorn didn't do in all his years as a ranger and doesn't do until the final film in the trilogy.
HE WAS TURNED INTO AN ANTI-HERO
J.R.R. Tolkien envisioned Aragorn as a true fantasy hero, already aware of his noble destiny by the time he arrived at the Council of Elrond. He was a just, fair, and natural-born leader. He didn't need to "come around" to accepting his lineage, and he didn't become a ranger to defer being made King of Gondor and Arnor.
He was depicted as a reclusive anti-hero by the writers in Fellowship of the Ring, with the burden of nobility thrust upon him. He became a reluctant hero who begrudgingly assumed more of a leadership role in The Two Towers, and by Return of the King he assumes the throne because everyone expects him to.
