We’re celebrating Father’s Day by taking a tour of some of the best (and the worst) fathers from sci-fi and fantasy. Dads!
It’s Father’s Day, everyone. Have you told you dad how much you love him? Have you gotten him a card? Have you called, or at least texted? Have you arranged a Zoom party to celebrate everything he means to you and presented him with a set of gold clubs or a Ken Burns documentary set or socks or whatever he’s in to?
We all celebrate differently. But you’re done with the festivities, why not kick back and see how the best (and worst) dads in science-fiction and fantasy handle things? Because whether teaching you how to ride a bike or how to bullseye a womp rat at 100 paces, everybody has a dad.
You make sure that you and yours don’t pale in comparison, let’s start with the “worst dads” side of the coin…
Fifth Worst Dad: Denethor II from The Lord of the Rings
Look, being the steward of a great city like Gondor has to be a touch job, especially if you’re doing it while Sauron is breathing down your neck. Still, that doesn’t excuse some of crop Denethor gets up in The Lord of the Rings.
Denethor had two sons: Boromir, a brave warrior type any father could be proud of; and Faramir, who was more of a quiet sadboi type. But even though they both had their strengths, Denethor clearly favored Boromir. When Boromir dies in The Fellowship of the Ring, it hastens Denethor’s looming madness, already enflamed by trying to use the mystical Palantír to check in on Sauron.
Their relationship reaches a nadir when Denethor assigns Faramir to retake the city of Osgiliath from Sauron’s forces even though he knows it’s a suicide mission. So does Faramir, but he goes anyway, because he just wants his dad to be proud of him. And before he leaves, they have this lovely exchange:
"Faramir: “You wish now that our places had been exchanged, that I had died and Boromir had lived.” Denethor: “Yes, I wish that.”"
I swear to god, Denethor, if you don’t hug him right this instant…
And it gets worse. When Faramir comes back wounded, Denethor freaks out, realizing too late how much he really does love his son. But he doesn’t use it as a reason to grow into a better father, oh no: Denethor orders a pyre be built, intending to burn himself alive along with the “body” of his son. But Faramir is still alive!
Thankfully, Gandalf intervenes before Denethor can drag his son with him to crazy person heaven, and although we’re sure Faramir does some grieving after he recovers, in the long run, he probably didn’t need that kind of toxicity in his life.