I love how in the films Boromir and Aragorn made a Hobbit Dad Agreement™ that Aragorn was responsible for looking after Frodo and Sam, while Boromir was responsible for looking after Merry and Pippin.
On Caradhras, Boromir carries Merry and Pippin while Aragorn carries Frodo and Sam; Boromir trains Merry and Pippin to sword-fight; in Moria Frodo/Sam both call for Aragorn when they need help; on the stairs of Moria Boromir takes Merry and Pippin while Aragorn takes Frodo and Sam; when going down the Anduin Boromir goes with Merry and Pippin in a boat while Aragorn goes with Frodo and Sam; etc, etc, etc.
The big climactic payoffs to these relationships are Aragorn allowing Frodo/Sam to leave the Fellowship, and Boromir dying for Merry and Pippin.
Aragorn and Boromir must’ve had a conversation offscreen like “Ok here’s the plan: two hobbits each. We can’t separate Merry/Pippin or Frodo/Sam, so we’ll each take care of one Hobbit Duo.”
The reason Frodo/Sam were Aragorn’s hobbits is probably because the Fellowship didn’t trust Boromir to look after Frodo. Aragorn was better at resisting the Ring.
But I also enjoy the idea that Aragorn was like “I want to look after the relatively laid-back and mature hobbits who take this quest completely seriously” and Boromir was like “I WANT THE HYPERACTIVE LITTLE BROTHER ONES”
I also think it’s relevant that Aragorn and Boromir “switch hobbits” in the end.
After Gandalf’s death/as he loses hope, Boromir begins trying to reach out to Frodo.
And after Boromir’s death, Aragorn decides to rescue Merry and Pippin. He lets “his hobbits” go to Mordor alone, then sets off to save the hobbits who (up until this point) have been Boromir’s responsibility.
And then Faramir takes over protecting Frodo and Sam for a bit on his brothers behalf






















