Throughout the trilogy, there are a few times in which he makes some questionable decisions and choices, most notably in the circumstance of his heirdom to the Throne of Gondor. After the Council of Elrond, a scene takes place in which Aragorn is found by Arwen staring at the broken shards of the once glowing sword Narsil. The sword was used to cut the ring of power from Sauron by Isildur, of whom Aragorn is a direct descendent.
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Arwen asks him “Why do you fear the past? You are Isildur’s heir, not Isildur himself. You are not bound to the same fate.’’ And he replies “The same blood runs in my veins, the same weakness.” This seems most unlike the heroic character of Aragorn that the audience comes to know, in which he is brave, and selfless, and would not let this fear or self-doubt stop him from doing what he knows is right. At this point, he is aware that the white city is failing without a true king. The white tree of Gondor is withering in the courtyard, the Steward Denethor has abandoned all hope, and the people of Minas Tirith are suffering. It is Aragorn’s duty to put this to rights, but instead, he has been neglecting the throne because of his own concerns. This is the first case where he may not quite be as honorable and awe-inspiring as people otherwise think.
The second case may be argued in the treatment of Eowyn. From the first moment she sets eyes on him, she falls in love, being in awe of his battle prowess, his nobility, and his kindness. Although nothing romantic happens between the two, there are several cases where Lord of the Rings fans feel that he is unfair to the young maiden. It is clear that she has been through a lot in her short youth, having lived through the death of her parents when she and her brother Eomer were young, having been taken into the house of their Uncle Theoden only to watch him be twisted and withered by the poisonous words of Wormtongue, and also witness the death of their cousin Theodred, who should have lived a long and full life but was taken too soon. She subsequently latches on to Aragorn, but he gives her several confusing signals that contradict one another.
For example, he tells her she should be strong and brave, and fight for what is right, yet asks her to stay with the women and children in helms deep rather than battling beside him as an equal. He tells her she should have no hope in loving him, but also tells her that his true love Arwen may be leaving Middle Earth to travel to the Undying Lands, which gives Eowyn false hope. And he personally tends her with the Athelas flower in the House of Healing, calling to her and asking her to come back to him from the veil, which some may suggest is emotional manipulation considering her feelings, even if it is to help her survive a wound. She does eventually find love and happiness when she marries Faramir of Gondor, but she spends a longer time recovering her broken heart than her injured body.
The third, and arguably the most glaring case is in the fellowships meeting with the Mouth of Sauron at the Black Gates. The surviving members meet with this strange and eerie figure under a flag of true, in order to discuss terms and see if some agreement can be arranged. Of course, when dealing with the dark lord, there was never going to be a fair bargain struck, but the Mouth, Sauron’s right-hand man so to speak, agreed to meet with them under parley. He quickly turns to goading them, however, tossing the Mithril garment of Frodo’s in their direction and feigning that he was tortured horribly.
In a very uncharacteristic moment, Aragorn does something incredibly dishonorable in cutting of the Mouth of Sauron’s head. To strike during a truce is a most shameful action, and shows that Aragorn may not be as noble as previously thought. In fact, it is later seen that the tip of Aragorn’s sword if tarnished after he sunders the head from its shoulders, a physical representation that he is himself tarnished by the ignoble action.
However, these are all actions that pertain only to the film adaptations. The decisions were made to give him more flavor and depth of character, but in the original books, he never does anything so discourteous to Eowyn, being firmly and respectfully clear with her about where they stand. He doesn’t run from the throne of Gondor but has in fact been working hard to be worthy of it for many years, and he doesn’t cut the head off the Mouth of Sauron, because to break the truce and be the start of a war would completely undermine everything he stands for.
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