#and éowyn getting a happier path to ... um. happiness

[anghraine]

If things hadn't gone awry in Moria with the Balrog etc, and Boromir and Aragorn had continued on with their original plan to leave the Fellowship near Gondor to make their way to Minas Tirith, what do you think would have happened to them?

Oh, that’s interesting. 

For me, it’s pretty heavily influenced by Aragorn’s canon insistence on arriving in Gondor as only chieftain of the Northern Dúnedain and not a royal claimant (yet) in order to avoid divisiveness in the middle of the war. Even once Denethor is dead and Faramir has recognized him as king, he avoids calling himself the king until people like Imrahil start doing it. 

It’s not because he’s at all conflicted about claiming the throne, imo, but because he’s intelligent, and very good at biding his time until the right moment and then acting decisively. I think that would hold true—he’d arrive in Gondor as a Dúnadan lord and warrior seeking to help fight Sauron in whatever way Denethor sees fit. 

Denethor: Thorongil. :|

I feel like book!Boromir would be deeply ambivalent about the situation (hell, even Faramir would be, given that his initial response was a decidedly unenthusiastic “maybe”). I tend to think Boromir would be fine-ish with Aragorn as far as the brother-in-arms aspect went, but always have certain reservations, influenced by Denethor’s and Faramir’s perceptions. Regardless, Aragorn would have the sense to bide his time until the end of the war.

Then—

Assuming that the Rohan situation had worked itself out somehow (*waves hand*), I do think that Aragorn would press his claim, if semi-privately. I imagine that all four of them would be very popular at that point, so the situation wouldn’t have easy pressure points. I can’t really see Denethor giving way unless he had absolutely no other choice, and probably not even then. And it would take a hell of a lot for Boromir or Faramir to support Aragorn against Denethor. Maybe some variant on the mystical healing could convince one/both, but it’s still hard to see either turning on their father. 

For me, it’s hard to see this working out beyond, at most, some Henry V solution where it’s understood that Aragorn will take the throne after Denethor’s death (still hard for me to see Denethor accepting, but…). Until then, I suppose he’d be either a leading captain in the scaled-down but ongoing wars, or possibly involved in rebuilding Arthedain/Arnor with support from Gondor.

…and, okay, this is all skipping over the actual plot of LOTR, but if I was going to seriously consider it, two things immediately come to mind: a) per above, how the Rohan plot would actually work out without Aragorn there, and b) Faramir’s suggestion that Boromir would have been sent to Ithilien to lead the Rangers there if he hadn’t died. That would mean that Frodo would actually be reunited with Boromir in Ithilien, and maybe Boromir’s attempt to claim the Ring would happen there?

With a host of men at his call, as it were? It’s hard to see that going well. Frodo could escape with the help (“help”) of the Ring, but Sam and Gollum? But maybe Boromir has his repentance after Frodo vanishes, frees Sam and Gollum to find/follow Frodo with provisions etc, returns to Minas Tirith a haunted man, and head out to battle on the Pelennor Fields with guilt and the Black Breath hanging over him. He’s the one to sicken and nearly die. Perhaps he does tragically die before Aragorn can save him, but I think it’d be more interesting in terms of the overall dynamics if Aragorn uses his kingly powers to save Boromir before his family’s eyes. 

It’s still hard to see an easy resolution, though—it takes us back to where we were before.

At the same time, this could actually be a pretty upbeat scenario? I mean, Aragorn saves Boromir and Faramir is still around = Denethor doesn’t go mad = Gandalf is able to fight on the battlefield instead of getting distracted with Denethor’s drama, which he implies would have saved Théoden = Théoden lives = YAY, EVERYONE I CARE ABOUT LIVES.

And if Éowyn rode to Minas Tirith, it would be wholly about protecting Théoden+defiance and not Aragorn, whom she probably wouldn’t even have met, so the first time she sees him is when he heals her. It’s possible that would also be fruitful ground for her infatuation to form, but it’s also possible that it’s such a brief and strange experience that her infatuation never has the chance to form. In that case she and Faramir probably have a super fluffy courtship while all this is happening. Though maybe it’d be more difficult, given that an (apparent) alliance between the House of Eorl and House of H��rin against the background of all this could be a messy thing. There are a lot of ways that could go. 

(However it happens, Boromir and Éowyn are totally bros.)

Sorry, this is rambling and messy and prioritizes my own, um, particular interests—but there you go!