Glorfindel! You’re awesome! I’m glad you were cut out of the movie!
Let me explain.
Glorfindel is, as I said, awesome. Dude killed a freakin’ balrog during the fall of Gondolin. (Not quite equivalent to Durin’s Bane, because in early conceptions the balrogs were far more numerous and less individually powerful. But still.) Dude is the one who led the forces out of Rivendell that (along with an expeditionary force from Gondor) helped destroy the forces of Angmar. Dude is actually the one who told Eärnur of Gondor that “not by the hand of a man shall [the Witch-King] fall.” So, yeah. I love Glorfindel.
But having his role in the story taken by Arwen was still probably the single best adaptation change in the movies.
I mentioned last time that, despite the relative scarcity of women in Tolkien’s stories, he nevertheless has a number that are truly awesome, 3-dimensional, and butt-kicking. Observant readers may have noticed that Arwen wasn’t on the list, because she’s frankly boring. Arwen and Aragorn exemplify what is probably my favorite tweet from Awful Fantasy:
They were perfect for each other. He was strong, brave, intelligent, heroic, honorable, funny, and empathetic, and she was pretty.
Arwen may resemble Great-Great-Grandma Lúthien physically, but when Thingol gave Beren the win-her-hand quest, Lúthien went with him and was every bit as important as Beren in making it happen. Elrond tells Aragorn that his daughter will wed no less than the King of both Gondor and Arnor, and the most helpful thing she does is make a flag.
Glorfindel is, as I said, awesome, but most of that has nothing to do with LotR proper. And if you’re going to introduce a new character in a series that was already pushing the limits of what non-book-readers could keep track of, you have to ask what you’re going to cut to make room. Having Arwen fill in his role is a great change.
As for the book chapter because this is not, after all, about the movies. The gang comes across the three statues from when Thorin, Bilbo, and company met the trolls Tom, Bert, and Bill. The Hobbits are freaking out about spotting trolls, and Strider (who obviously knows perfectly well precisely where they are and what the deal is with these “trolls”) has some fun with them. And then we get even more reasons to adore Sam with his song. If you don’t love Sam, you are a bad person and you should feel bad.
I appreciate the tension and anxiety Strider is feeling in this chapter. He doesn’t make a big deal out of it, but it is subtle and well-done on Tolkien’s part. He knows he’s not doing Frodo any favors by pushing him so hard, and he knows that his only hope is to get to Elrond for healing before it’s too late. He knows that taking the Road would help with both problems, but he knows that if the Riders come upon them again they’re done. There’s a building quiet tension in Strider right up until they meet Glorfindel, who changes the equation and settles firmly that speed > stealth. They take the Road.
And then we get a super tense and exciting chase scene, with Frodo being sent ahead on Glorfindel’s horse to win across the Ford of Bruinen before they get caught by the Black Riders. And then he gets across, and there’s a lovely “oh crap, now what?” moment as Frodo realizes they can just ride across the Ford after him. They hesitate a bit, because in the finest tradition of evil spooky things the Riders are reluctant to cross running water, but it’s a reluctance only. And then there’s a fortuitous flash flood just as Frodo finally lapses into unconsciousness from his wound.
And thus concludes Book 1 of The Fellowship of the Ring. It’s by far the most Hobbit-ish of the 6 books of LotR, and the most linear for the obvious reason of everyone sticking more or less together for the length of it. Looking back to the Long-Expected Party, the change in tone from the first few chapters in the Shire to how dark and tense things are here is remarkable. Tolkien’s readers wanted more Hobbits with this book, and they got them, but this is much deeper than if Tolkien had just written The Hobbit II: There and Back Again, Again.
Art is, as always, from Jian Guo.
Monday, we attend Many Meetings. Hopefully someone brought donuts.
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