#chieftain of the dunedain

[wearepaladin]

Something that astounds me is that there hasn’t been any serious attempt by anyone to depict a young Aragorn story. More specifically, of his adventures under the name Thorongil, Eagle of the Star, during the period between the Hobbit and Fellowship. Let me outline what takes place here.

From 2957 to 2080, Aragorn served in the courts of both Rohan and Gondor at a critical time, as this not long into Sauron’s return as a power in Middle Earth, and being an existential threat to both kingdoms. That’s 23 years of interesting stories to tell, showing several critical details about his development.

1. It shows him learning how to be a leader outside the confines of either Elrond’s or the Dunedain’s influence, where his role was known, if kept secret, and immediately respected once he took his role of chieftain, while in Gondor and Rohan under an assumed name and initially an outsider, his eventual leadership and trust had to be hard earned and genuine. This would prove critical in the War of the Ring, as he would be able to rally both Rohan and Gondor at their times of greatest need.

2. He also learns the ways of Gondor and Rohan as a government servant, earning the respect of both kingdoms Thengel and Steward Ecthellion, and thus know both the culture and the way these kingdoms were run. If you have ever heard someone sneer at Aragorn’s leadership lacking an understanding of the Gondorian Tax Code, just point to this fact.

3. All of the above situates Aragorn to be in a story that contains both courtly intrigue and a long war against the existential threat of Sauron. While he was beloved by Ecthellion for example, Denethor had no such warm compunctions towards him, and that had to lead to some tense moments that could translate well into a story of court intrigue.

4. Aragorn also lead a critical victory against the Corsairs of Umbar, Allies of Sauron, destroying Sauron’s primary naval attack force and slowing the plans of Conquest considerably. Umbar had a long history of those among Númenor who cleaved close to Sauron, and any depiction of them would provide an antagonist that hasn’t received as much focus as other servants of Sauron, allowing for some interesting exploration.

5. At the end of the 23 years of service, Aragorn went East, into enemy Territory, and it’s from his recounting of this we know a bit about Rhun, the home associated with the Easterlings, and where the stars appear different in the night sky. Outside of Mordor, are whole groups of people that have never received a fair look on what life is like under Sauron, and would not make peace with the men of the west until Sauron’s defeat. Here we could see not only men but the dark elves who never went west to see the light of the trees, who could have a culture quite different front their western cousins, and where the two blue wizards fought a unknown war against Sauron.

6. When Aragorn returned home via Lothlórien , he reunited and began the process of courting Arwen and gave her the Ring of Barahir, and she in turn abandoned her mortality for him. A powerful ending that heralds all the future events to come.

In short, you got character growth, you have conflict of intrigue and against evil, foes and cultures previously unexplored, and potential for new faces and heroes to invest in and hope for. When the Legendarium becomes open for all to write and publish, that is the novel I want to read and maybe even write myself. I’m amazed no one else seems to have hit on it.

[scottlocked-hunt]

Happy Birthday Aragorn Son of Arathorn ||. KING OF NOT ONLY GONDOR, KING OF SWAG. MARCHES IN LIKE HE DIDNT JUST ROLL DOWN A CLIFF WRESTLING A WARG.

HE HAS A SWAGGER IN HIS STEP. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU STRIDER, CHIEFTAIN OF THE DUNEDAIN

I BOW TO YOU MY CAPTAIN, MY KING.

gifs not mine

[tarbuchyloewenthal]

Envoy Idunn & the New Tebaru Senakis

mulling over my 'canon' envoy being a hybrid court augur/vanguard scout who chose to let the leaders of the living lands vote for an independent nation.

in the months and years following the siege of paradis, i see her taking on a role that's essentially the same as aragorn being chieftain of the dunedain rangers. she rebuilds the tebaru senakis not as a fellowship of sapadal godlikes but as a ranger order based on the rangers of fior.

she's not interested in being the new head of state. maybe she'll accept it as a ceremonial position, but it's not what she or the leaders of the living lands want. that type of top down hierarchy doesn't vibe with the denizens of the lands. so instead she focuses on making sure the people are safe from the wilderness and imperial aggression, and the most viable way to do that is to have rangers patrol for threats.

she's very intent on making a decentralized state work in a world that probably has a lot of designs for the island during a time of major upheaval.

[three-smiles-and-a-unicorn]

Happy birthday to Aragorn II Ellessar Edhelarn Estel Thorongil Envinyatar Dunadhan Telcontar, Son of Arathorn, Chieftain and High King of the Dunedain, Isildurs Heir, King of the West and the reunited Kingdoms Gondor and Arnor, Lord of the West, Captain of the forces of the West, bearer of the star of the north, wielder of the sword reforged, victorious in battle, whose hands bring healing, the elfstone, Elessar of the line of Valandil, Strider, Wingfoot, Longshanks! I didn’t even notice until I scrolled Tumblr today, I’m such a disappointment :/

[nerdasaurus1200]

See this man here?

Aragorn son of Arathorn? King of Gondor, Sauron’s Bane, Chieftain of the Dunedain? Yeah, he would be the biggest lgbt ally in all Middle Earth.

[sourb0i]

This is only a half formed thought, but consider: Trans Aragorn

He is still born Estel, and his lineage is kept secret, but it's less of a worry because he's a girl, and obviously the Heir of Isildur can only be a man.

When he turns twenty, he finds out about his heritage. Maybe Elrond tells him, maybe he finds out on his own. But something clicks deep inside.

He cuts his hair. Starts teaching himself the sword. Pours over history books and ancient scrolls, learning as much about himself, his legacy, and Gonsor as he can. He reads about Aragorn I, fifth chieftain of the Dunedain, and well, that's a good a name as any-- especially when he leaves Rivendell to live with his people.

Over time, people start assuming he's a man and, well, he doesn't correct them. Isildur's heir has to be a man, right? So that's what he'll be. Never mind that every time he catches a glimpse of himself in a still pool, grizzled and worn and utterly unrecognizable as anything but a man, his heart flutters a little in his chest. He doesn't really know if he's meant to be Chief of the Dunedain, King of Gondor and Arnor, but he knows he's always meant to be Aragorn.

[estel-elrondion]

Arathorn son of Arador

The 15th chieftain of the dunedain and the father of Aragorn.

I like to think this is how he would have looked when he first met Gilraen.

This is also the first time I have drawn a human character from lotr, I think it has turned out decent

[wisheduponastar]

help with an oc name

well, technically a nickname? a cover name?

The oc I bring to you is my new darling, Aranuir (meaning noble (Aran) and eternal (uir), it's also a previous name of Dunedain chieftains), who is Aragorn's younger brother. He is the main character of what will hopefully become my new magnum opus for lotr fanfiction.

He is the poet of the two, and was raised to be a diplomat and support his brother rather than rule a kingdom. He is fiercely loyal to his brother, to the extend that.... something might happen. If he could be anything in life, he would be Gondor's steward or a poet.

The name I need is for when he's accompanying his brother, and they're serving Thengel/Ecethellion together. Thorongil means 'Eagle of the Star' - so I want some symbolism as well.

If anyone has any other questions about him, I'd be very happy to answer :)

(also, endgame in this fic is Aranuir/Boromir. It doesn't matter for this poll, but it's important to me :) )

[theworldsoftolkein]

Chieftains of the Dunedain - by enanoakd

The Chieftains of the Dúnedain were the hereditary rulers of the Rangers of the North.

The title was created following the final destruction of Arthedain in T.A. 1974 by the Witch-king of Angmar. The heir to the throne of Arthedain, Aranarth son of Arvedui, in T.A. 1976 chose not to claim the kingship and instead ruled the remnants of his people as Chieftain.

They were descendants of Isildur through the kings of Arthedain and Anárion through Fíriel; as such they regarded themselves as the legitimate heirs to both Arnor and Gondor. The Chieftains were raised in Rivendell, where the heirlooms of the House of Isildur, were also kept.

[readingthesilm]

im gonna watch born of hope tonight and share my (unorganized) thoughts here!

• 0:02:50 in and it has already grabbed my attention

• arathorn is a badass!!! as i expected! i love all explorations of the dunadain and his fellow rangers are cool too. he’s so humble, similar to aragorn’s “havo dad, legolas” “do not bow, when you meet my father you can greet him thus, but until then…”

• gilraen! i’ve read about her in fics!

• ouch for the girl ranger who has a crush on arathorn who he totally friend zoned :(

• halbaron, that must be halbarad’s dad?

• arador seems like a good dude - a good dad to arathorn and a good chieftain of the dunedain.

• they’re married!!!!! :’) <3

• okay i love this 🥹 baby and toddler aragorn?! it’s too much!

• elladan and elrohir!!! i love to hear more backstory on how and why gilraen and aragorn came to imladris and i had no idea arathorn was supposed to leave the dunadain in secret

• “all the chieftain of the dunedain have spent time fostered in rivendell” and arathorn himself spent time there as a child?! woahhh

• and now im crying.

• wow this was excellent - writing, casting, acting, plot. it told a story that was consistent with tolkien’s works and it made my inner theater child sad i didn’t stick with it, because i remember being in plays and movies (none the size and scale of this) and i had so much fun with it. this must have been so much fun to make, and a labor of love.

• I LOVE FANMADE CONTENT.

[duxbelisarius]

Except this doesn't answer the question at all, no one should be capable of surviving in the North because you cannot support a population akin to Medieval Scotland in conditions akin to the arctic for years on end. George is vehement that Dorne gets enough rain in the summer to survive, so he clearly knows that some writing measures are required to mitigate the worst effects of longer seasons, I just wish he'd done the same for northern winters before outright implying that there's mass starvation and thousands of young men have to leave home never to return.

As to Jon being Aragorn's closest parallel in the series, he is as far from Aragorn as you could possibly be. Unlike Jon or Dany, Aragorn has years of experience governing people and in a much more decentralized system since he was Chieftain of the Dunedain once he came of age and succeeded his father. He was fostered by Elrond of Rivendell and received the best education and tutelage in his role one could have hoped for in his setting, he was an experienced warrior who fought alongside the Rohirrim and even in Gondor under a false identity prior to the events of LOTR, he has prepared for most of his abnormally long life to become king of Gondor. If he wasn't ready then there's not a chance Elrond would have given him the Shards of Narsil or the Ring of Barahir, let alone allowed him to marry Arwen.

This is all aside from the fact that Aragorn is a king in a feudal system who already receives regular tribute from his vassals, so broad reaching tax policies are not something he can or would even need to formulate. But while we're at it, Rhaenyra's tax policy would seem to indicate that George knows nothing about tax policy himself, given that he made it a key factor in her downfall that she just bilks King's Landing for everything of value and somehow manages to recoup the losses to the Royal Treasury suffered as a result of Tyland Lannister's plans. And not a single one of her useless suits calling themselves a Small Council, Daemon, Corlys, the whole lot, asks the question of whether or not this is even feasible!

This is actually so funny because….isn’t this literally the point of Jon’s political arc as a ruler in ADWD? 😭 What policies can he enact to ensure that the Watch and the wildlings are fed through the winter? The question even comes up during Alys Karstark’s wedding, because Jon knows that the Watch is down to its last sticks of butter. This is the same arc GRRM uses, along with Dany’s in Meereen, as a reference of how he would like to explore this very question. Btw Jon Snow is arguably Aragorn’s closest parallel in ASOIAF so 😭

[aragornsrockcollection]

Elrond: Sir, that’s my emotional support line of kings.

[arofili]

the line of elros ◈ chieftains of the dúnedain ◈ headcanon disclaimer

          Aragorn II, known also as Estel and Elessar, was the sixteenth and final Chieftain of the Dúnedain and the first King of the Reunited Kingdom. He was named for his ancestor Aragorn I, but raised under the name Estel. He never met his father Arathorn II, who died when he was only two years old, and was raised by his mother Gilraen and Lord Elrond in Imladris.           For many years he was unaware of his heritage as the Heir of Isildur, but at the age of twenty-one Elrond revealed to him his true name and ancestry. This knowledge filled Aragorn with great hope, and on the very next day as he sang of Beren and Lúthien, great heroes of old, he first beheld Elrond’s daughter Arwen and fell instantly in love, thinking her to be Lúthien herself reborn.           Aragorn now took up his role as Chieftain and went out into the Wild as a Ranger of the North. In his travels he met the Wizard Gandalf and became interested in the Shire, earning the nickname Strider by the suspicious folks of Bree. After a time he turned to the South, serving Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor and King Thengel of Rohan in their struggles against the Enemy under the name Thorongil.           On his return journey to Imladris, Aragorn stopped first in Lothlórien. There he met Arwen again, and for a season they wandered the Golden Wood together, forging a deep bond of love. At midsummer they plighted their troth; later, Elrond agreed to permit their marriage if Aragorn would first become king of both Gondor and Arnor, a task nearly as daunting as Beren’s quest to recover a Silmaril for Lúthien’s hand.           The might of Sauron continued to grow, and Aragorn was never idle in the fight against evil. At the behest of Gandalf, he hunted down the creature Gollum and delivered him to the prisons of the elves of Mirkwood for safekeeping before heading back to the Shire to serve as a guide to Frodo Baggins and the One Ring on their journey to Rivendell. He defended Frodo and his companions when they were attacked by Nazgûl on the hill of Amon Sûl, and joined the Fellowship of the Ring to ensure the destruction of Sauron’s artefact.           When Gandalf fell in the darkness of Moria, Aragorn took up leadership of the Fellowship, taking them to Lothlórien for a brief respite. There Arwen’s grandmother, the great Lady Galadriel, gave to him an enchanted green stone, as a token of approval over their marriage. He wore this stone upon his breast, and from it took his kingly name Elessar.           At the Falls of Rauros, Aragorn was uncertain whether he ought to continue with Frodo to Mordor or follow Boromir to Minas Tirith as he had originally planned. The choice was taken out of his hands when Frodo and Sam slipped away on their own and Boromir was slain; with Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf, Aragorn instead embarked on a quest to rescue the hobbits Merry and Pippin.           Their path led them to Rohan, where he befriended Éomer and reunited with the miraculously reincarnated Gandalf. He fought with the Rohirrim against Saruman’s attack on Helm’s Deep beside his friends and King Théoden, and after the battle he knew it was at last time to return to Gondor. With a group of stalwart companions at his side, including Legolas, Gimli, Elrond’s sons, and a company of faithful Rangers, Aragorn walked the Paths of the Dead and won the allegiance of the Dead Men of Dunharrow.           As the Battle of Pelennor Fields raged, Aragorn besieged the Corsairs at Pelargir and commandeered their ships. He and his army arrived just in time to turn the tides of the battle, but even then Aragorn would not claim kingship just yet. Instead he passed the leadership of Minas Tirith to Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth, and only under great duress did he enter the city to heal his friends Merry, Éowyn, and Faramir from the Nazgûl curse. Thus, despite his efforts to maintain relative anonymity, he became known for the King he was, in accordance to a prophecy of old, The hands of the King are the hands of a healer.           Aragorn took counsel with his closest advisors and decided that a distraction was necessary to buy time for Frodo and Sam to destroy the One Ring. He led the armies of the West to the Black Gate of Mordor and waged war against Sauron directly in the Battle of the Morannon, which was won only when the Ring was consumed by the fires of Orodruin and Frodo’s quest was completed.           Thereafter Aragorn returned to Minas Tirith in all his kingly glory and was crowned King Elessar of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor. At long last he wed Arwen Undómiel, daughter of Elrond, and began a blessed rule in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth. Under his leadership, Gondor was reinvigorated and fallen Arnor restored, and peace and prosperity came to the Men of Middle-earth.           Arwen Undómiel, wife of King Elessar and Queen of Gondor, lived for nearly three thousand years before her marriage to Aragorn. In their union, the lines of Elrond and Elros were reunited after two Ages of Arda. Arwen was a skilled craftsman, weaving the Standard of Elendil and reforging Narsil, the Sword That Was Broken, into Andúril, as well as many more projects before and after.           Like her father before her, Arwen was offered the Choice of the Peredhil: whether to be counted as an elf or a man. She delayed her Choice for millennia, though in her heart she knew she would choose mortality. When she met Aragorn she knew that at last her time had come, and the people she was meant to live and die with were finally living. Her choice brought grief to her father Elrond, for he had already lost a brother to mortality, but she was firm in her decision and glad to become a Queen of Men.           When Aragorn died after a reign of 122 years as King, Arwen left Gondor and traveled to the remnants of Lothlórien, where she laid down her life and passed beyond the circles of the world. At this time, her son Eldarion took up the mantle of King and continued the Line of Telcontar, the House founded by Aragorn.           Eldarion ruled wisely and justly, aided in governance by his three siblings, all gifted in their own way. Though he was the eldest, he relied on the counsel of his sister Erthoril, who worked tirelessly as a diplomat to unite and pacify the various peoples of Middle-earth. His sibling Eliominal was a deeply spiritual individual who led a revival of religion in Gondor; like Eldarion himself, they never wed, and though Erthoril did marry, she and her wife had no children. Thus the Line of Kings continued through his youngest sister, Evrindil, a cheerful historian with one daughter and two sons who supported their sister as the first Ruling Queen of the Reunited Kingdom.

[sesamenom]

OP's argument contains approximately 43 incorrect statements and assumptions in total, which I will respond to in detail below:

Realistically, Aragorn has no claim to Gondor’s throne

wrong :-)

969 year difference Twenty six generations of human lived, breathed and died since the last King of Gondor.

okay so this is... a bit more complicated

the last King of Gondor (excluding the High Kingship claim on Isildur's side) was Earnur, who died in TA 2050.

Earnur was born TA 1928, making him approximately the same generation as Aranarth (TA 1938) on Aragorn's side and Vorondil (TA 1919) on Faramir's side.

Counting from my family tree, there are 15 generations on Aragorn's side since Aranarth (and Earnur), and the stated 26 on Faramir's side since Vorondil (and Earnur).

Pelendur was 40 when Vorondil was born; Vorondil was 41 when Mardil was born. Their average generation time on the Steward side would be around 40 years, and the average Gondorian would live for another 80 years past that.

The average generation time on the Dunedain side is closer to 70 years; and the average Dunedain would live for again, another 80 or so years afterwards (excluding the ones who died in orc raids)

That gives us approximately 25 generations worth of Gondorians in the time between Earendur and Aragorn, 14 generations of Dunedain, and one generation of peredhel.

except, since they live a bit longer, there were likely Gondorians up to the mid-2100s and Dunedain up to the 2200s who remembered the (short) reign of Earnur. Herion was the last Steward born before Earnur's death, so only 22 of those Stewards were actually born after Earnur's rule. on the Dunedain side, 2 of the 15 chieftains were born during Earnur's rule.

The Old Kings of Gondor are distant memories.

Faramir would like to object:

There are Loremasters in Gondor dedicated to the study of Gondorian history: furthermore, this continues traditions dating back to the late Numenor period, when there were still those few old Numenoreans who could somewhat see the Straight Line, hence how they got to Valinor/Tol Eressea in the first place.

What SHOULD have happened is after a generation or two, the Stewards of Gondor claimed full kingship. And because the line of kings had died out, no one would care. It happened almost ONE THOUSAND YEARS AGO.

It happened almost one thousand years ago, yes. At Aragorn's coronation, he quite famously recites the Et Earello verse, first spoken by Elendil about three thousand years ago, and his crown is fashioned after the helm of Isildur.

Elros ruled almost six thousand years ago and most anyone important, including assorted Chieftains and Stewards, probably knows his brother personally. Ecthelion died in FA 510, and Denethor's father bore his name as that of a famous elven warrior. Before him was Turgon and Turin II; Beren, Egalmoth, Morwen, Turin I, Dior, and assorted Hurins lie further up the family tree.

The memory of Gondor is long, and their traditions longer.

Aragorn may have a direct line of descent to Isildur,  but that’s old news.

He is the direct heir of Isildur, who was the eldest son and heir of Elendil, who was the heir of Elros, who was the first King of Numenor and the heir of the High Kingship of the Noldor and the Sindar, and the great-great-grandson of Melian the Maia.

Aragorn is some foreigner, who is NOT a noble, and spent most of his time wandering the wilderness as a Ranger.

He spent 23 years (a third of his adult life, at the time) as Thorongil, serving in the army of Gondor alongside Steward Ecthelion II, to the point where Ecthelion II may have liked him more than Denethor.

He then spent several years acting as a scout in the early phases of the War of the Ring, including capturing Gollum in TA 3008. Afterwards, he returned to Arnor as a Strider the Ranger, wherein he was tasked with guarding the Shire. His "wandering in the wilderness" was in fact his cover for keeping the Ring hidden and Frodo guarded.

Remember, not all who wander are lost, and the crownless again shall be king :)

For reference, all this information is available in summary on Tolkiengateway which the OP has most kindly linked.

Legitamacy [sic] of bloodline isn’t the only factor that makes a king. You also need land, and armies, and some degree of cooperation from fhe [sic] local nobles to crown yourself king.

Land: the entire region of Arnor as controlled by the Dunedain. Armies: he brought the Dunedain and most of Southern Gondor in what was practically a miracle army at the Pelennor. Cooperation from local nobles: he was something of the favorite not-son of Ecthelion II (perhaps why Denethor distrusted him?) and Faramir in fact officiated his coronation:

he also had the support of Imrahil, for what it's worth.

What happened in Return of the King is the current ruler Denethor, was a bad ruler who screwed up badly and was in league with Sauron. Then Denethor died, and Faramir was injured in battle. Faramir then should have gone on to become the ruler of Gondor, as Denethor’s heir.

At least check out sparknotes before you make such a bold claim? Denethor definitely wasn't doing great at the end, but he was most certainly not "in league with Sauron": rather, he was in a state of Sauron-induced depression at the thought of impending Sauron-induced doom. (Poor guy) After Denethor's death, Faramir went on to become the Steward of Gondor as Denethor's heir, part of whose role was to grant the kingship to the rightful claimant.

But here comes Aragorn, who turns a siege with an army fo [sic] the Dead, and tricks the enemy into fleeing wih [sic] the ships. He has the banner of Gondor’s king, heals some people, BOOM. He is king. No contest, little pushback. Faramir, who is by right the next ruler of Gondor, because his farher [sic] and ancestors have been ruling Gondor doe [sic] the past thousand years, accepts Aragorn as king.

Aragorn brings hope in the form of sudden and unexpected reinforcements, turning a certain death into a potential victory, bearing the symbol of Elendil and the White Tree. Essentially, it's like if King Arthur showed up to the middle of the Battle of the Somme and saved several thousand lives while holding Excalibur up.

He then performs what is seen by the people of Gondor as miracles akin to the elves of old: the hands of a king are the hands of a healer, as so the loremasters tell. Not only does he heal the soldiers, but he specifically heals the injuries of the Shadow dealt by the blows of the Witch-King of Angmar himself, after the Shadow's victims were thought to have met certain death. Additionally, this tradition likely dates back to Elros having some potentially Maia-derived power, similar to Elrond healing the Morgul-knife.

It is Faramir's official job to cede the throne to Aragorn, which both of them recognize. Additionally, part of the process involves the ceremonial acceptance of the people of Minas Tirith:

I would like to note that Faramir was on the edge of death and Aragorn applied some magic medicine to heal him.

Asea aranion/kingsfoil doesn't do anything for *Mannish people not of the Line of Elros, making it a very effective demonstration of Aragorn's bloodline through the "hands of the king are the hands of a healer" tradition- the medicine isn't magic, Aragorn is, and he just saved Faramir's life by manually kicking Sauron-remnants out of his head.

I dunno about you, but if I was Faramir, and my bloodline ruled Gondor for centuries, and I was up for kingship because Denethor just died, I would ve [sic] a tad reluctant to give it tyo [sic] some foreigner who showed up just today.

He would in no way be up for kingship anymore than Ioreth would; Aragorn's descent through the Line of Isildur remains the line of the High Kings of Arnor and Gondor. Additionally, Aragorn as Thorongil has been around Gondor for 20+ years and was already beloved by the people and other nobility alike.

How i wouldve written is:

Given OP's previous plethora of errors, I think we can all agree that it's lucky this is not the case

The Stewards of Gondor become kings, and only a few historians care about this, because it is ancient history.

Someone of a high station serving under the king has previously declared the heir's claim void and become king; that someone is called Castamir and that event is called the Kin-strife, one of the bloodiest eras of Gondorian history in which Osgiliath fell to civil war and its palantir was lost. Additionally, the realm of "ancient history" becomes very different when Elrond is one of the leading loremasters of Middle-Earth, and Gondor has surviving oral traditions dating back to at least middle period Numenor (as evidenced by the recognition of Et Earello and the familiarity with Sindarin in general, and Quenya among loremasters)

Denethor, the corrupt ruler dies.

Denethor does die, and is the Ruling Steward at the time of his death. He is no more corrupt than Theoden-with-Grima is, though he does make some exceedingly ill-advised decisions.

The hero Aragorn shows up and helps drive off the armies of Mordor, saving Gondor.

Yes, he does in fact show up in the ships of the Corsairs with reinforcements and the standard of Gondor/Elendil.

Aragorn heals Faramir, has a nice little talk of “hey I saved your city, I save your life, you are now in my debt, would you give me the throne pretty please? Oh and you are weak and bed bound, meanwhile I have this legendary sword. In case you were wondering.”

He wouldn't need to ask: Faramir is more than willing to do his duty and reinstate Aragorn as King, especially given that both his claim and leadership have been well proven.

And then Aragorn becomes king of Gondor.

Specifically, he becomes King of Gondor and Arnor, though in practice he's mostly king of Gondor because he grants the Shire independence.

Yo I have a hot take about how Aragorn is not the rightful king of Gondor

Wanna hear it?

After the last hot take, I dread to. Please tell me.

[paradoxspaceheater]

my hot lotr take is book aragorn >>> movie aragorn