LOTR: Why Would A Servant of The Enemy 'Look Fairer, But Feel Fouler?'

gamerant.com:

Learning how to tell their friends from their enemies is one of the hardest tasks that the hobbits of the Lord of the Rings trilogy must face in their entire quest to destroy the ring of power in Mount Doom. This is mostly because they are an overly trusting kind of creature, and rarely have reason to suspect one another in The Shire. At home, their lives are quaint and simple. The biggest transgression that a so-called enemy might make is perhaps treading on a neighbor's flower-bed, or taking more than his fair share of the food and pipe-weed.

However, identifying enemies is a skill that they must learn very quickly in their journey. In the first few days after leaving the Shire, they have already been chased by ring-wraiths, nearly swallowed by Old Man Willow in the Old Forest, captured by the hideous beings in the Barrow-downs, and spied on by the traitors who lie in wait for them at the Prancing Pony. Here, they also meet Strider, and are at once warned by Bar Man Butterbur that he is a ranger, a wild and unruly person not to be trusted. Sam, who has better instincts than the others, is immediately defensive, judging Strider by his worn and haggard look.

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In Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of the trilogy, Merry is also distrustful as they have no choice but to follow Aragorn off into the wild, having received no word from Gandalf about where they were supposed to go, or what they should do next. Of course, none of the hobbits are very happy about this, but they must go along with it. Meanwhile, Aragorn does his best to earn their trust in small ways along the journey, including giving apples to Pippin for second breakfast, guiding them on safe and