>> I'm with you -- IMO, that decision blurred the distinction between Boromir and Faramir. <<
Yes, it did.
>> He says that Faramir, as a military leader in the field, would never have agreed to let the Ring go -- although he still didn't try to take it for himself -- until it was proven to him that he could not prevent Sauron from taking it. <<
Ah, but Faramir wasn't really a military leader. He only did that because it was expected of him. He's the bookish one of the pair, and that's why he's the family scapegoat while Boromir is the golden boy. They simply do not think alike. Faramir recognized that the Ring was a hazard and that the best way to protect the land was to get the Ring as far away as possible. The Fellowship had a good plan in terms of destroying it with a stealth attack. Faramir was far too thoughtful to have fallen for the same fool idea that Boromir did.
Re: Unsullied Hero
Yes, it did.
>> He says that Faramir, as a military leader in the field, would never have agreed to let the Ring go -- although he still didn't try to take it for himself -- until it was proven to him that he could not prevent Sauron from taking it. <<
Ah, but Faramir wasn't really a military leader. He only did that because it was expected of him. He's the bookish one of the pair, and that's why he's the family scapegoat while Boromir is the golden boy. They simply do not think alike. Faramir recognized that the Ring was a hazard and that the best way to protect the land was to get the Ring as far away as possible. The Fellowship had a good plan in terms of destroying it with a stealth attack. Faramir was far too thoughtful to have fallen for the same fool idea that Boromir did.