One thing that these storyboards have really brought out to me is that the way we have structured these stories, Gilraen is fairly often upset/angry/disapproving of things. She's Estel's mom - she loves him dearly and there should be plenty of warm moments between the two of them in the script. But there aren't. It's just her fighting with Elrond about how to parent her son.
I'm not sure how to fix this, but I don't want to introduce her scowling. She can scowl, of course, and scold her boy when he does things he shouldn't do. But...there needs to be more to their relationship than that, and is that the *first* thing we want our audience to see about her? Look how warm and interesting Elrond is in these storyboards - how can we do something like that for Gilraen?
We have mentioned that we want Gilraen to be based on the character of Andreth (the mortal woman who loved Finrod's brother, but, alas, it was not to be). We meet her in the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth when she debates philosophy with Finrod - she is an old wise woman of the Edain, but bitter. It is only at the end of the conversation that it is revealed that she had loved an elf, and that her lost love has been the source of much of her bitterness in life. She never understood why he left her.
Gilraen is still young. Sure, she may die in loneliness and (some) bitterness. She does strike me as a rather melancholy person from the brief snippets we've seen of her. Andreth and she have a lot in common...but what of the spirited young Andreth who would reach for the flame and give her love to an elven prince of the Noldor? We should see more of that passion in Gilraen, mingled with sorrow, but not cold and bitter. She's not a helicopter mom, and the conversations with Elrond aren't PTA meetings.
This is Jenny Dolfen's illustration of Andreth, and I would like to see our Gilraen be more like this, if possible! She is thoughtful and smiling and has plenty of spirit.
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