#tolkiendil

One of my absolute favorite things about Lord of the Rings is the character development and friendship of Legolas and Gimli.

They met and immediately resented one another because of the centuries-old bitterness between dwarves and elves. But once they become part of the fellowship, they learn how to work together.

The moment Gimli tells Legolas about Galadriel giving him 3 hairs from her golden head, Legolas is starting to think "maybe dwarves aren't so bad." And Gimli obviously doesn't think negatively of all elves since he declared Galadriel as the fairest thing in all of Middle Earth. (I also love the implications of her giving him 3 hairs when she denied them to Feanor. See The Silmarilion if you've never read it. It's worth the read.)

By the time they meet the Rohirim during their pursuit to rescue Merry and Pippin from the Orcs, Legolas' instinct is to defend Gimli from Eomer's threat.

The Battle of Helm's Deep is another showcase of their friendship. One of my favorite moments from The Two Towers is their friendly banter when they await the battle.

I also love that they turn every battle into a friendly competition. I like to imagine how they got to that point. Did they both silently keep tally of their kills in the battle against the goblins in Moria? And then later discuss it? Perhaps as a coping mechanism to the grief of losing Gandalf on the bridge of Khazad-dûm? I can see it starting as banter between whether elves or dwarves are better fighters. And I can just see how from that point on, they have this agreement of "whoever kills the most enemies in the next battle is the superior warrior."

And when Legolas takes down the oliphaunt in the Battle of Gondor and Gimli is just flabbergasted. He indignantly insists it still only counts as one. By that point, they are completely friends who would lay down their lives for the other without thinking twice.

And one of the many moments throughout the series that brought me to tears was their march against the Black Gate. They all expected to die there - a last ditched effort to distract Sauron so Frodo could destroy the ring. They were the diversion and they knew it. When Gimli says he never thought he'd die side-by-side with an elf and Legolas just smirks and counters "What about side-by-side with a friend?"

Gimli considers and you can see him really process it. That Legolas is his friend. After everything they endured together, how could they not be? I've watched these films at least 30 times and I always tear up when Gimli replies, "Aye. I could do that."

If you've never read the books, please consider doing so. Their friendship is so fantastic. It's truly one of Tolkien's greatest acts of the trilogy in my opinion. Legolas even built his own boat and snuck Gimli into Valinor, making him the first and only dwarf to ever see the undying lands. The fact that they remained such close friends until the end of time just gives me so many feels. I stan one elf-dwarf friendship as the ultimate enemies to friends trope.

Just saw a post of someone comparing the incest in g0t with Arwen and Aragorn and attacking fans of Tolkien who find the incest in g0t distasteful. I wanted to reply to the post but is it really worth it? Nah, it’s not the Tolkiendil way. We don’t needlessly fight against other people because they lack knowledge or if they hold a different point of view : We educate them. 

When we talk about the fact that Aragorn and Arwen are related, we have to keep in mind that Arwen is an elf and Aragorn may have elven blood but he is a human. Their lifespan is different. She was born in the beginning of the Third Age, and he was born around the end of the Third Age , I mean he did bring about the end of this age. She is an elf, and around 2780 years old when she weds Aragorn, who is 88 years old (I believe he was 87 when the quest of the Ring started but 88 when he became King). How to put this in perspective? Well, here we go (I apologize for any mistake I’ve made and miscalculations as the amount of data we have goes beyond a few novels) : 

 Elros and Elrond were brothers. Elrond had a daughter (Arwen) and two sons (Elladan and Elrohir). So that’s how they are related. Elrond’s line (at this point) finishes with these three children. Elros who chose immortality (read Tolkien if you want to know more) had many human descendants.

 After Elros, there were 25 ruling Kings and Queens of Númenor. After Númenor’s downfall, came the time of the High Kings of the Realms in Exile : Elendil and Isildur. After that, after the War of the Last Alliance, came the line of Valandil, son of Isildur (funny thing, Arwen was most probably 5 years old when Valandil died), the Kings of Arnor and a total of 10 kings. We come to the Kings of Arthedain, 15 of them until Arvedui was defeated by Angmar and was succeeded by his son Aranarth who became the first Chieftain of the Dúnedain. Ah yes, we are getting closer to our dear old Aragorn, who was the 15th Chieftain of the Dúnedain. 

So this was about Aragorn’s ancestry. I wanted to put into perspective how many people came after Elros before Aragorn. He cannot even call Elrond his uncle! Their connection is sooo stretched. 

So yes, technically they are related but how many generation separate them?  After Elros, it took 80 generations to bring about Aragorn. Eärendil is a long lost ancestor for Aragorn while for Arwen he is her direct grandfather.

Check out all the things that happened in Middle Earth, and to Aragorn’s ancestor between Arwen’s birth and his in the Chronicle of Arda (The Encyclopedia of Arda is always a help for facts checking). 2690 years separate them. At this point, I’m more concerned by their age difference than their possible family ties!

Is it making your head spin? Yes... Because this is heroic fantasy, including creatures who are not human... for example : ELVES. Did you know that Aragorn was king for 120 years ? And was 87 when he got to the throne? I’m not talking about the age span of some of Númenorian ancestor. So no, Arwen and Aragorn are not an incestuous relationship. These characters’ reality goes beyond the box. 

Incest exists in Tolkien’s works, please refer to Túrin (and I don’t think that’s the only case but the dire consequences remain the same) : this story is enough to understand how incest was represented in Middle Earth (and most probably what the author thought of it). 

Now you can choose to view Arwen and Aragorn’s marriage in any way you choose but bear in mind that it was not written as incest. In fact, they are not even from the same race! Half elven maiden and a human (albeit with some elven blood) are two difference races in Tolkien’s world.

I haven’t read enough of G0t to have more to say about this work but I feel like these two works are very different and when we are comparing them we have to be very careful. As a tolkiendil, I must add that the difficult thing when it comes to discussing Tolkien is the amount and depth of information we are provided with. Many elements and themes are very subtly developed in the course of many ages, and many texts.

Ohhh Merry & Pippin. I adored them so much. They’re often discounted as the comedic relief, but they are so much more than that. Their actions pushed the Ents to get involved and take back Isengard. Had it not been for Merry and Pippin, things could have gone very differently. 

I do love the celebration scene after the victories of Helm’s Deep and Isengard. We get a glimpse of the carefree, naive hobbits from the Shire (until Pippin sees Gandalf and remembers the Palantír). But still, they deserved that tiny moment of celebration and respite from the constant fighting and misery.

They’re remarkable in that they each play their own role in the story and yet they’re always seen as one entity, even when they’re separated. And when they are separated, it’s so devastating - we see just how close they are and how much they depend on one another. 

When Gandalf takes Pippin away from Rohan to Gondor, Merry explains that they’ve always been together. They don’t really know how to be without one another. 

This scene really twisted my heartstrings. It’s one of the rare moments when you get a glimpse of how young Pippin really is. He’s the youngest of the Fellowship and the youngest of the hobbits. He’s so used to being with Merry that when they’re abruptly wrenched away from one another, he’s terrified. 

As much as I hated seeing them separated, it was completely necessary for their characters’ development. They each came into their own once they’d been separated. Both Merry and Pippin learned to become warriors, each playing their own roles in the great battle of their time. They’re both taught, in their own ways, to value their worth and that despite their size, they can make a difference. 

Meriadoc, Esquire of Rohan and Peregrin Took, Guard of the Citadel. It felt like both Theoden and Denethor patronized the hobbits to a degree, but both Merry and Pippin took their roles seriously and it meant a lot to them. 

They changed so much over the course of the story. I also felt the moment that Pippin found Merry on the battlefield in Gondor was important. Because when they were separated in Rohan, Merry makes a point to say that he always led Pippin into trouble but he was always there to get him out of it. Once they’re reunited, Pippin is the one to look after Merry and make sure he’s safe. (While we’re talking about this, when Pippin found Merry’s cloak and spent hours searching for him, I always get emotional. Pippin refuses to give up, searching long into the night, until he finds Merry). 

So in short (or not so much), I adore Merry and Pippin and I get so angry when I hear anyone insinuate that they weren’t important to the story. They prove that the size of someone does not determine their worth and that even the smallest inhabitant of Middle Earth can make a contribution that makes a difference. 

Bonus:

I love the interaction between Boromir and Merry & Pippin. He was genuinely fond of them and he taught them to fight. I’m sure I’ll go into more detail about Boromir later. I have a lot of feels about him too.

The moment when Haldir arrives to Helm's Deep with an entire legion of elf warriors.

Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Theoden knew their situation was dire. 300 ill-equipped men and boys against 10,000 orcs. And in their most desperate moment, Haldir arrived with the elves. And his rousing pronouncement that in a previous age, elves and men aligned together to save Middle Earth is just one of my favorite moments of the series.

And I love Legolas in this scene. He's so happy to see his people. His greeting with Haldir is so sincere and warm.

And Aragorn - he grew up in Rivendell; he knows Elvish customs. So he expresses his gratitude with the elf version of a hug... but he's still a mortal man and he's like "nope, not good enough" and grabs Haldir into a tight embrace. And Haldir is just like "oh, ok this is fine then".

Lord of the Rings contains so many beautiful friendships. I’ve already touched on Legolas and Gimli so now I’m going to focus on the ringbearer himself and his gardener. I mean, of course, Frodo and Sam. 

One thing that does get under my skin is the shipping of these pairs. So let’s clear that up - I do not ship it. I think that in Tolkien’s world, these characters just form such strong bonds but that does not necessarily mean bonds of romance. 

Don’t get me wrong, I think Frodo and Sam very much loved one another - but as brothers. Comrades. Companions. It speaks to Sam’s steadfast loyalty that he never faltered in his support of Frodo. Sam was part of the Fellowship, yes, but he had no obligation to go to Mordor with Frodo. But he did go. 

And let’s be real - Frodo would have never made it without Sam. How many times did Sam stop Frodo from putting on the Ring? Or rouse him back to the present when the Ring was manipulating his mind? Hell, if Sam hadn’t stuck with Frodo, Sauron would have gotten the ring after Shelob stung Frodo. 

I’ll be honest, I’ve read the books and I’ve seen the films countless times, but I never really cared much for the Frodo and Sam story until recently. I really paid attention this last re-watch and so many moments touched my heart. 

I know the line “Don’t you leave him, Samwise Gamgee” was added for the film and not in the original books, but I absolutely love it. It fully encapsulates how dedicated Sam was to always sticking by Frodo. 

Like in The Two Towers when Gandalf mentions Frodo is alone and Aragorn says, “He’s not alone. Sam went with him.” Gandalf is genuinely surprised for a moment and then he undoubtedly remembers what he told Sam to do. And he’s immensely pleased (and probably a little impressed, since Sam was very timid at the beginning). 

Even in Fellowship when Frodo tells Sam he’s going to Mordor alone, Sam wades into the river, knowing full well he can’t swim, and declares, “Of course you are! And I’m coming with you!” It never occurred to Sam that they would ever be separated. 

And don’t even get me started on Sam’s rousing speech at the end of Towers (another section of dialogue exclusively from the film but I love it). Frodo was completely ready to give up, but Sam reminded him of what was important. And more importantly, that Sam would never abandon him so long as the burden of the Ring was theirs. 

I think it’s also important to see how Sam’s own hope faded during Return of the King. In the beginning, he tells Frodo he’s rationed the food so there will be enough for their journey home. But by the time they’ve made it into Mordor and he gives Frodo the last of his water, Frodo worries about there being none for the return journey. Sam looks bleak and says, “I don’t think there will be a return journey.” Sam desperately wants to see the Shire again, but he’s accepted that it is unlikely to happen and that he’ll die with Frodo in Mordor. And he’s still willing to do it. 

And when Frodo had lost all his strength, Sam carried him up the mountain. I cry every single time during that scene. I don’t know if it’s the notes of “Into the West”, Sam’s unwavering devotion, or the combination of the two, but it never fails to make me cry. 

Sam saved Frodo’s life over and over. Some people try to argue that Frodo didn’t appreciate Sam, but I believe he did. What a lot of people need to remember is that Frodo was being poisoned by the Ring. It was constantly trying to corrupt his heart and his mind and Frodo had to put practically all of his energy into resisting its influence. I believe Frodo was grateful to Sam and he knew very well that his task would not have succeeded if he had gone to Mordor alone. 

Frodo was right about one thing - he wouldn’t have gotten far without Sam. 

Ok, so this turned into more of a Sam appreciation post. But I do think that Frodo also did his part to try and protect Sam. In Mordor when Sam realized Frodo wasn’t dead, he gave Frodo back the Ring, despite his reluctance to do so. Now, I definitely believe by that point, Frodo was possessively obsessed with the Ring, but I also believe he meant what he said about not wanting Sam to be burdened with it. He says, “It would destroy you, Sam.” 

Frodo knew how much damage the Ring had already done to his own psyche and he couldn’t bear for Sam to experience that. Sam, who always sought the beauty and joy in the world. Frodo had already endured months of the Ring’s influence. It had begun to poison his mind and torment his soul. By insisting he carry the Ring solely on his own, Frodo spared his dearest friend from suffering the same fate. 

It breaks my heart that Frodo was never the same afterwards. That for three years after returning home, he probably suffered in silence, both physically from the Morgul-blade wound and mentally from the torment of the Ring. When Galadriel said the quest would claim his life, I initially assumed it meant he would die trying to destroy the Ring. He didn’t, obviously, but she was still right. Frodo’s life was never his own afterward. 

Ohhh... this one is hard. I love the dwarves. But my love for them was mostly borne of The Hobbit trilogy and I told myself I was sticking to LOTR for this countdown. So it's got to be elves. I loved them more when I first got into LOTR (thanks, Legolas...)

The elves are just so other-worldly and ethereal. The concept of them living for thousands of years is really something.

They've seen so much - I mean, Elrond has been around since Isildur failed to destroy the Ring. Galadriel is older than the moon. They have all watched the world change so much.

And the fact that the age of elves ended and they all departed Middle Earth makes me so sad.

He spent his entire quest from Moria onward believing Gandalf was dead. And still, he endured.