The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers leaves one heartbreaking question about the Battle of Helm’s Deep unanswered — what became of Haleth, son of Háma? The young man of Rohan played by Callum Grittins had one scene with Aragorn just before the battle, and is shown in the fighting a few times after that. It is not clear if Haleth survived, and fans continue to try and track down glimpses of him in the fray over two decades later.
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Haleth’s heartfelt conversation with Aragorn made it into both the theatrical cut and the extended edition of The Two Towers. In both, it’s the second-to-last scene before the fighting begins, and it starts with Aragorn sitting forlornly on the steps, frustrated that Théoden didn’t call for aid from Gondor yet unwilling to abandon the people of Rohan. When he sees Haleth standing around looking nervous and uncertain, Aragorn seems to reluctantly decide to try and reassure the young soldier.
“The men are saying that we will not live out the night. They say that it is hopeless,” Haleth says while Aragorn inspects his sword. Handing it back, Aragorn responds: “This is a good sword, Haleth son of Hama. There is always hope.”
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With a set-up like this, you might expect Haleth to appear again after the battle to bring his story to a close — for better or worse. He could have been shown celebrating with the other survivors or among the casualties they were grieving. We never see Haleth after the fighting is over, meaning we can only speculate about his fate. However, fans have tracked his placement in the battle meticulously and put forward their best guesses.
The most ominous sight of Haleth is on the wall of Helm’s Deep as the orc army lines up below, both sides waiting for someone to make a move. Haleth stood right next to a soldier named Aldor, who fired the first arrow, killing an orc and getting the battle started. Based on this shot, fans extrapolate Haleth’s position in wider shots of the full battle, estimating that he was either on the exterior wall of the keep just to the left of the gate, or on the slightly higher wall that is just above the gate itself.
Wherever he was, Haleth was lost in the chaos of battle somewhere. We can speculate about when and why he might have moved from his position, but we don’t see him for sure. He doesn’t even show up in the close-ups of the gate defense later, when we see young boys tossing rocks down onto the heads of the orcs with battering rams. The uncertainty of Haleth’s fate leaves many fans feeling worse than even confirmation of his death.
Haleth’s Backstory
Haleth is not just some random boy that Aragorn encounters. As he says, he is the son of Háma, who was the captain of King Théoden’s personal guard and the doorward of his keep. He was played by John Leigh, and is most recognizable from the scene where Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli first arrive at Edoras to meet with Théoden. As you may recall, he insists on disarming the Fellowship before they enter, but Gandalf smoothly convinces him to let him keep his “walking stick” so he can break the enchantment on Théoden.
Sadly, Háma does not survive the exodus from Edoras to Helm’s Deep. The people of Rohan flee en masse to this safer castle, but along the way they are attacked by wargs — orc battle wolves. Háma is one of those killed in this fight, while Aragorn is thrown off a cliff and presumed dead. Aragorn arrives at Helm’s Deep later by himself, which makes him even more of a figure of awe among the people of Rohan. It’s easy to imagine how he would become particularly fascinating to a young man like Haleth, mourning his father who died in the exact same skirmish.
Many fans choose to believe that Aragorn knew this when he chose to reach out to Haleth in that scene on the steps, and it’s certainly up to the viewer’s individual interpretation. Sadly, Haleth’s ultimate fate in this series is up to interpretation as well, and some fans find it unsatisfying.
Is Haleth in The Lord of the Rings Books?
Haleth is not named in J.R.R. Tolkien’s original The Lord of the Rings novels, and his conversation with Aragorn is not in those pages either. However, Háma actually is a character in the books, and not an insignificant one. There, it’s implied that Háma let Gandalf keep his staff intentionally, knowing it would break the spell on Théoden and free him from Saruman’s influence. Théoden reprimanded Háma for letting a weapon into his throne room, and briefly suspended him from duty.
In that version, Háma is actually killed in the Battle of Helm’s Deep itself, not in a harrying attacking along the way. The book describes how the orcs not only killed Háma, but butchered his body gruesomely in an attempt to intimidate the defenders watching from the walls above. After the battle, Théoden decided to honor Háma with a special grave of his own. The king even cast the first handful of earth onto Hama’s grave personally.
Háma comes up later in the books when Théoden accompanies Gandalf and others to confront Saruman himself. The evil wizard tries to reassert his influence over Théoden, and the king must resist it by his own willpower this time. When he rejects Saruman and calls out all the evil deeds he has done, he cites the cruel butchery of Háma among them.
Barring some new insight from the writers or filmmakers, we’ll likely never get a conclusive answer on Haleth’s fate. However, that won’t stop fans from picking the scenes apart, and an enduring mystery like this one can be good for a fandom over time. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is streaming now on Max — both the theatrical cuts and extended editions. Tolkien’s novels are available in print, digital and audiobook formats.
