Lord Of The Rings’ Official Aragorn Replacement Is A Dark Reflection Of The Original

There are many memorable characters in The Lord of the Rings, from bastions of truth, goodness, and courage to figures who embody pure evil in humanoid form. Everyone has their own favorite, whether it be the immutable loyalty and bravery of Samwise Gamgee, or the ancient wisdom of characters like Gandalf and Galadriel.

That said, one of the most crucial is Aragorn, who goes from a ranger bathed in the shame of his ancestors, to the King of his people in a world where Sauron and his forces have been defeated. Add to that him being an exceptional warrior, and he quickly becomes a uniquely compelling force across the course of the narrative.

Understandably, other adaptations of Middle-earth have tried to create their own takes on a similar figure, but one in particular goes down a markedly different route that’s actually a fascinating reflection of what might have been.

Video game fans out there will likely at least be aware of Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, and its sequel, Shadow of War. Though it’s important to note from the outset that the stories they tell are by no means canonical, they are really interesting takes on the universe that we all know and love.

At the center of all of that is Talion, a former ranger of Gondor who is seemingly killed by orcs at the start of the first game, along with his wife and child. He puts up a brave fight but ultimately fails, before he is brought back by the creator of the Rings of Power, Celebrimbor, in wraith form.

On the face of it, there are plenty of similarities between Talion and Aragorn. They are both associated with Gondor and its military traditions, they are exceptional warriors, and they have every reason to want to take direct action against Sauron and his nefarious forces.

That said, while Talion has been accused in the past of being a simple, poor man’s version of Aragorn, he’s much more of a reflection of what might have been. Spoilers from here, so be warned.

A Dark Reflection, Not A Poor Approximation

Talion shaming an enemy in Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor

We all remember the moment in Fellowship of the Ring where Frodo gestures to Aragorn with the One Ring in his open palm. It would be the perfect opportunity to steal it for himself in order to wield a pseudo-power that would never really be his while Sauron continued to endure. Instead, he gently closes Frodo’s palm and fights the Uruk-Hai horde to allow him to escape.

Meanwhile, at the end of Shadow of War, Talion takes on Isildur’s ring and, over the course of decades, falls to its corrupting influence. He becomes one of the Nazgul, eventually pursuing Frodo across Middle-earth in the events of The Lord of the Rings. That all comes after years of a further corrupting influence in the form of Celebrimbor, who increasingly wants to assert his own dominance over Mordor and its denizens.

Ergo, Talion quickly becomes a reflection of what might have been, if Aragorn had fallen to malign influences as his ancestor Isildur unfortunately did. He becomes so closely associated with extreme corruption that its difficult to see how Talion could ever have been a force for good. That’s why his ultimate moment of death, after the One Ring is destroyed, is so touching, finally allowing the pure spirit that remained underneath to go and be with his family.

Though Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War had a few problems, Talion was actually a compelling take on a fallen figure of sorts, one where we get a look at how the evil forces of Middle-earth operate. Though we don’t know if the series will ever return, there is more room for those kinds of takes on Tolkien’s epic masterwork.