#misplaced protagonist

Negotiations Awkwardslide (19/25)

In other words, many of the problems of this scene derive from the fact that it exists as a set-piece in a vacuum. It has no set up, no foundation---it does not follow from what came before. It makes superficial claims that we’re supposed to accept without question, and ignores any implications those claims might have.

Negotiations Awkwardslide (4/25)

My interpretation of book!Bard comes from The Hobbit. For starters, Bard name-drops his lineage at the drop of a hat. Second, in chapter 14, “Fire and Water,” Laketowners clamor for 

“’King Bard! King Bard!’ they shouted; but the Master ground his chattering teeth.

‘Girion was lord of Dale, not king of Esgaroth,’ he said. ‘In the Lake-town we have always elected masters from among the old and wise, and have not endured the rule of mere fighting men. Let “King Bard” go back to his own kingdom---Dale is now freed by his valor, and nothing hinders his return. . . .’ 

[Then a bit more of rabble-rousing, hushed by Bard, and] 

. . . even as [Bard] was speaking, the thought came into his heart of the fabled treasure of the Mountain lying without guard or owner, and he fell suddenly silent. He thought of the Master’s words, and of Dale rebuilt, and filled with golden bells, if he could but find the men.

At length he spoke again: ‘This is no time for angry words, Master, or for considering weighty plans of change. There is work to do. I serve you still---though after a while I may think again of your words and go North with any that will follow me.’

As for his attitude toward Thorin I get it from the way Bard parleys with Thorin---“proudly and grimly,” in Bilbo’s humble opinion---his mistrust when Bilbo delivers the Arkenstone, and the fact that he’d objected to Thorin’s quest from the beginning.

Negotiations Akwardslide (5/25)

Concerning the Law of Conservation of Morality, which does not exist, despite the insistence of bad writers everywhere:

If 100 units of Morality exist, and Bard has 70, then Thorin can only have a maximum of 30 Moralities as long as he shares a scene with Bard. 

Except the movie insists that Thorin has 60 Moralities. In the Laketown debate in The Desolation of Smaug, this conundrum was resolved by the presence of the Master and Alfrid, who both have negative Morality, thus creating room for Bard’s 70 and Thorin’s 60.

This scene in The Battle of the Five Armies, however, has no such saving grace. However, Thorin is only allowed to lose Moralities when he shares a scene with Gandalf or Bilbo. Otherwise, his Morality value stays the same, causing problems when Bard shows up because Bard has Constant Morality (coincidentally, Thranduil does most of the talking in scenes he and Bard have with Gandalf).

Therefore, the scene can’t go anywhere: it seizes up, atrophies: instead of honoring the situation and characters, all time is spent juggling equations statements to the audience to ensure that Morality is conserved.

I’ve seen some critics reference this idea when discussing other TV shows/ movies/ books, but they tend to use the term “Zero-Sum” to describe such characterization.