Character Disappointment

[HarperMeredith]

I started listening to this podcast a few months ago and for the most part I have loved it. I'm currently partway through season three but looked ahead at the casting list for season four. To say that I'm disappointed in the character description for Thranduil is a huge understatement! After the way his character was massacred in the movies I was really hoping (and expecting!) for you guys to do something not just different and better but something more book-accurate. Unfortunately from that description (weak? not admirable? Legolas braver and better and stronger in every way?!) it seems that you have done exactly the same as the movies that you have such a poor opinion of - if not worse than them! This is so sad and seems like a real missed opportunity, and I really don't understand the reasoning behind it. Someone please reassure me that it's not as bad as it sounds?! I'm sorely tempted to quit listening as I don't think I can bear the disappointment.

 

[Odola]

I started listening to this podcast a few months ago and for the most part I have loved it. I'm currently partway through season three but looked ahead at the casting list for season four. To say that I'm disappointed in the character description for Thranduil is a huge understatement! After the way his character was massacred in the movies I was really hoping (and expecting!) for you guys to do something not just different and better but something more book-accurate. Unfortunately from that description (weak? not admirable? Legolas braver and better and stronger in every way?!) it seems that you have done exactly the same as the movies that you have such a poor opinion of - if not worse than them! This is so sad and seems like a real missed opportunity, and I really don't understand the reasoning behind it. Someone please reassure me that it's not as bad as it sounds?! I'm sorely tempted to quit listening as I don't think I can bear the disappointment.

It is for the frame? I do not think it will show much in the show.

Altogether the pretend-show is fun, even if there are many times I disagree with the hosts, as many others do also - even if in other places. Some suggestions will be accepted, some rejected, but the fun is in the discussion.

E.g. I was disappointed with the later decission to "jerkify" Thingol - (there seems to be a certain dislike for Sindar kings for some reason. ;-) )


I myself would also not think Legolas above his father in character.

Thranduil was the last elven king left standing in the whole of Middle-Earth. His rule was almost as succefull as Gil-Galad's. One does not achieve this by being subpar.

So I do not see how his son with neither title nor command would be in any way better than his royal father. Thranduil went out of his way to help the Lake-town people in their urgent need while the most remarkable that Legolas ever did except for singing songs was having a killing competition with his friend the dwarf who of them has killed more orcs.

I do like Tranduil in the Hobbit movies - except for him being shown killing a prisoner which was an unnecessary war crime that no noble elf would ever commit except for maybe Eol and Maeglin. I do find Legolas in the Hobbit movies weak of character, naive, obnoxious and overbearing.

[And I am and was from my teenage years a Legolas-fan - starting long before the PJ movies came out . This was mainly because he seemed a little fleshed out character one could invent many backstories with in one's head.]

 

[MithLuin]

Welcome to Silm Film!

If it makes you feel any better, the actor who was chosen to play Thranduil does not typically portray weak characters. I can share who that is, if it is important to you.

Thranduil, in the books, is mostly known for his deep distrust of the dwarves. There is baggage from Doriath there, as well as the story of the Last Alliance in which his father Oropher died. Portraying Thranduil as a somewhat xenophobic character is certainly within the canonical description of him. That being said, he does not do anything particular egregious in the Season 4 Frame story. He is involved with an old dispute over the gates of his kingdom, which are magical and dragon-proof and built by dwarves. This dispute is used to highlight Thingol's decision in the Ban to outlaw the use of Quenya in his kingdom.

Whether or not you choose to continue listening is of course up to you. There will always be decisions along the way that disappoint and dismay listeners. We have to make choices and decide one way or the other to develop our adaptation, so naturally there will be times when the choices made seem like the wrong one. It is up to you whether that decision is so egregious that it makes the project not enjoyable any longer, or if you can decide that you would never do it that way, but continue on enjoying the rest of it.

 

[kanji_d]

Welcome indeed!

Also, Thranduil is, as yet, not a character in the main storyline (Have we even introduced Oropher? I feel like we keep kicking the can on that). We're going to spend time developing his character before the events of The Hobbit when we reach that point in the main story. The frame is just a taste of what we're going to get later on - and like Marie says, the story was written to highlight the actions of Thingol in the main storyline, who is a very complex character. Thranduil right now reflects one of those facets, but will certainly have the opportunity for complexity as he becomes a major player.