Would Osgiliath Have Still Fallen if BOROMIR Was There? | Lord of the Rings Lore

With or without Boromir, Osgiliath was destined to fall.

I would also add that Denethor would have given more support to Osgiliath if the defenses were under Boromir vs Faramir.

I would have followed you, my brother... my captain... my king.

Yes. Sauron wanted it too much. The orc forces were overwhelming. Plus with the Easterling Pirates arriving by boat...

Now You have me curious about Faramir's role.... Would He have gone to Rivendell ? How would Faramir's presence in the Fellowship compare to what We know 🤔

It may have delayed the inevitable, but Osgiliath was going to fall. Boromir, in my opinion, gets more hate than he deserves. Both he and Denethor II were just not strong enough to fight Sauron. They did a great job for a long time, though.

I think if Sauron found such a strong resistance at Ogiliath he would just make his troops croos at Cair Andros.

I think those who think Boromir could hold Osgiliath forget a few important details. First, the Nazgul. Seeing a beacon of hope holding the line, the Witch-King would have probably attacked Boromir personally. There's no way Boromir stood a chance against a Nazgul, let alonbe the Witch-King. At that point, the whole of Gondor would know that the enemy had defeated their greatest hero. A lot has been said of morale, and that would devastate Gondorian morale. Or, the second thing, the Witch-King was also a brilliant strategist. And seeing thhat the Gondor forces intended to hold Osgiliath, would have moved another army to cross the river elsewhere and cut off the army in Osgiliath. Thereby deestroying the main army, and capturing/killing Boromir. The same devastating loss of morale would crush Gondor much sooner.

While I haven't scanned every comment, I haven't seen anything about a couple of points. Firstly, in your timeline, Boromir wouldn't have time to do much of anything with Rohan, and he was suspicious of Galadriel in the original. He'd never contact Lorien of his own accord. But more importantly, Faramir goes to Rivendell, joins the Fellowship, and resists temptation, so let's say the quest proceeds as depicted, up until Cair Andros. It was the biggest fork in the road in the story. Frodo, while being uneasy still, would never have come to sit on the seat of Amon Hen. Aragorn had planned to head for Minas Tirith, and Frodo might've been willing to go along, but that would have brought the Ring straight to Denethor, but also to Boromir. His lust for the Ring would've been far greater from defending Osigiliath for so long. The Ringbearer would've been betrayed, regardless of anything Faramir might attempt. Without Boromir's fall (and repentance), the Fellowship would have failed, because the desperate Frodo and tenacious Sam would've never associated themselves with Gollum, so no successful secret entry through Cirith Ungol into Mordor. It's the difference between just barely possible to impossible, and that makes all the difference in the Arda. (That's what I get for loving alternate history books, too, a habit of really thinking about the ripple effect)

The most important after effect of Boromir remaining in Gondor would've been Denethor's own inner conflict against the Palantir and the despair he faced before the siege of Minas Tirith. I do believe that Faramir would've been sent to Rivendell in his stead, especially since he was the first to receive those visions. With that in mind, it's possible and even likely that the fellowship would've been spared the conflict and loss of Boromir and even it's breaking. Faramir and Aragorn along with those few who chose to journey to Gondor in aid of the war would've been better welcomed by Boromir as Faramir vouched for the returning king. But that's speculation.

I have always wandered what would have happen if Farimir had gone instead.

I bet Gandalf intended Faramir take the trip to Rivendell. That would have provided Boramir as stated.

Denethor-ass question

Interesting thought experiment, but Tolkien wanted Osgiliath to fall, so it would have fallen regardless.

One does not simply walk into Mordor.

Faramir would have gone instead and wouldn't be tempted by the ring and Denethor wouldn't have succumb to madness, he withstood Sauron when he looked in the Palantir. The breaking of the Fellowship would not have happened.

There is NO WAY Denethor would have allowed Boromir to leave Gondor because of a dream (!) during this crisis situation, UNLESS Denethor knew about the Ring and hoped Boromir would find it and bring it back to Gondor.

Denethor would have not been grieving and might be more focused on what was going on with the battle against the souron

I always like the sorta "what if" stuff people come up with for LOTR lore. Tolkien even seemed to talk about it at times if I recall.

Great video! I think you made a wonderful argument and I think you made the correct predictions. As for strategy, I think Boromir will use a combination of the three.