#silvan

Case in point, as you have already pointed out, Daddy Oropher was taken as their king by the Silvans, not the other way around. They were refugees (well, perhaps not anymore at that exact point(?), but when Doriath fell, Oropher and little Thranduil became refugees of the second Kinslaying). What I'm saying is this: I'm unsure how much they had to offer the Silvans, and yet, they said, "this guy is our King now".

And let's not forget: both Oropher and Thranduil held the kingship of the Woodland Realm for over 3000 years each. That is far more stable than can be said about any other king of elves this side of Aman (and even perhaps including Aman, though I'm not sure how long Finwë was king there). That doesn't sound like some sort of despotic leader kind of shit to me, but actually like a really good place to be.

As for Thranduil himself? I don't see why he wouldn't continue his father's legacy as concerns the coexistence of his Sindarin culture with the Silvans'. If anything, he might even have adopted Silvan culture to a far deeper degree than Oropher ever had: We do not get any indication that Thranduil ever leaves middle earth. That is the essential difference between their cultures - that the Sindar never consciously gave up on the Great Journey. They were delayed when Elwë met Melian, and then things happened (as they do), but the Sindar were always eventually going to follow through on that original plan. And yet, we don't see Thranduil sailing. Legolas, yes, and pretty much everybody else.

But not Thranduil.

As for Oropher being "friend shaped": By and large, I agree. I do think he had a chip on his shoulder regarding the Noldor (rightfully so!), was culturally conservative (understandably) and was too proud for his own good. He was ill prepared for the war against Sauron, and Thranduil paid the price (of course so did Oropher and two thirds of his contingent, and side note, I wonder if he can ever get free of the Marshes).

I do have some headcanons that under the influence of Sauron's first rise, Oropher became less friend shaped, but as I said, for the most part I agree.

But he also stood alone, as did Thranduil later when Sauron returned to Dol Guldur during the Third Age. Both of them were continually forced to make strategic retreats. They had no help, and they certainly had no magic rings that protected their realm (looking at you, Galadriel, Elrond and Gandalf). So they were forced to isolate (comes from a word meaning island) the realm, seeing as it became ever more unsafe. Seeing how it became derogatorily known as "Mirkwood".

And Thranduil specifically had to work through the catastrophic fallout of the war of the Last Alliance. Imagine being there, and before anything has even started, you not only lose your father (horribly, I might add), but now you're suddenly in the hot seat, and have to try and make the best decisions possible in a very bad situation (which I'm sure Thranduil did, but I regularly lose my shit thinking how horrific that first day must have been).

OnlyTHEN to realize that Sauron, that rat bastard, is sitting on your very doorstep, preparing for yet another war against the free peoples of middle earth. I see a lot of people criticizing Thranduil for being too passive politically, but as far as I'm concerned? With no help from the White Council or any magical trinkets, Thranduil protected his people. He built a better military strength than his father ever had been able to, to the point that he was able to defeat the invasion of the Woodland Realm during the events of LOTR, so if you ask me: he did exactly the right things at exactly the right times. No, he wasn't bold and flashy about it, but quiet and cautious. But that's a good thing in my books, and I'll hear no Thranduil slander over this.

And finally, FINALLY, the part that pisses me off the most: Thranduil did have a weakness for treasure, and he wanted to have more, etc. And even so, even having that weakness, it was Thranduil who famously said the words: "Long will I tarry ere I begin this war for gold."

Yes, that's right. Thranduil, being himself not immune to the call of the bling, was wise enough to know that starting wars over gems is A Very Bad Idea (tm). He survived the sack of Doriath, and the Second Kinslaying, (and possibly the third), he knows what he's talking about. And that implies a very different personal character than we see in the movies.

What do we actually know about his personality? Apart from his reluctance to start the War of the Silmarils, Third Age edition, now with additional dwarves? He liked to party with his people, he treated prisoners humanely, he held long term functioning trade agreements with the outside (anyone for some Dorwinion wine?), he was protective of his people, and he lived in harmony with nature.

Yes, he disliked dwarves (and I'll definitely admit that like Oropher, Thranduil has that Doriath chip on his shoulder and perhaps should learn to let go, because bigotry suits him ill). I'd never claim Thranduil is perfect. But he was never that cold or aloof, or at the very least not to the degree that it ends up being his entire personality thank you very much.

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