In Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, loses his mind. The primary catalyst for this was the death of his eldest and favorite son, Boromir. Aside from a scene in the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, his first line in the trilogy was, “Perhaps you have come to explain this. Perhaps you have come to tell me why my son is dead.” That was not the only reason for his mental breakdown, however. He also faced what seemed to be an unwinnable battle during the Siege of Minas Tirith. It took a series of unexpected miracles to prevent the Dark Lord Sauron’s forces from destroying Gondor. Further, he saw Aragorn as a threat to his rule since Aragorn was the rightful King of Gondor.

During the battle, Denethor’s other son, Faramir, was gravely wounded. Denethor mistakenly believed him dead, and this sent him over the edge, causing him to try burning himself and Faramir alive. In J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel, Denethor’s madness is exacerbated by his use of a palantír, which Sauron uses to manipulate him and convince him that there is no hope for victory. But some fans of the films have theorized that there was an additional, hidden reason that Denethor lost his mind, and it stemmed from a short yet infamous scene in The Return of the King.

Denethor’s Eating Habits Could Have Poisoned Him

John Noble, who portrayed Denethor in Jackson’s films, had his surname misspelled as “Nogle” in the credits of the extended edition of The Two Towers.

While Denethor’s soldiers risked their lives in combat, he ate a lavish meal and requested that Pippin sing for him. This was a disgusting scene that juxtaposed Denethor messily devouring his food — most memorably a tomato — with Gondorians riding to their doom, and some fans have theorized that the tomato was insidious. In the real world, tomatoes were considered poisonous throughout most of Europe in the 1700s. This was incorrect, but possibly not without reason; the acid from tomatoes could potentially leach lead from the pewter dishes that were commonly used by the upper classes and cause lead poisoning. Perhaps this phenomenon damaged Denethor’s brain and contributed to his madness.

Though a fascinating theory, it has some major flaws. First and foremost, there is no proof that tomatoes significantly contributed to lead poisoning in the 1700s. Tomatoes are acidic, but no more so than many other food items that were deemed perfectly safe; wine served in pewter goblets would have been a stronger and more common source of lead poisoning. Rather, the belief that tomatoes were poisonous was likely a result of their relation to the deadly nightshade plant. Further, Denethor’s tomatoes were whole until he ate them, so there was little opportunity for the acid from them to touch his pewter plate. Even if a subtle nod to lead poisoning was intentional on the filmmakers’ part, it had no basis in the novel, as Tolkien did not mention that Denethor ate tomatoes or that he used pewter dishes.

Everything in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Films Had a Purpose

Jackson instead included the infamous scene of Denethor eating for a symbolic reason. The red juice dripping down Denethor’s chin resembled blood, and it represented the blood that spilled during the Siege of Minas Tirith, including that of his son, whom he had sent to all but certain death at Osgiliath. Denethor callously ignored the bloodshed just like he ignored the mess on his face. The scene was distressing not only because of Denethor’s sloppy eating but also because of that context. By cutting between the meal and bloodshed, Jackson made every bite that Denethor took or every piece of chicken that he tore apart viscerally upsetting.

The theory that tomatoes gave Denethor lead poisoning is believable because Jackson put so many subtle details along those lines into his The Lord of the Rings films. It also ties the lore of Middle-earth into the history of the real world, which Tolkien would have appreciated. But Denethor’s madness did not need a secret, scientific explanation, because the horrifying circumstances of the War of the Ring were more than enough to damage his psyche. Though the audience has the perspective to know that Denethor behaved unreasonably during the Siege of Minas Tirith, many in his position would have succumbed to despair just as he did. Hope was a powerful tool, so Sauron did everything he could to keep it from his enemies.