Where is Everybody in Season 3 Frame?

I guess that as long as the primary driving force behind his reaction is "I belong with the Dunedain" and not "I don't belong with the Elves" that's still meeting my preference. The former is still striving toward what his destiny is (even when he doesn't know what his destiny is), the latter is just sort of pouty angst.
 
I agree that his driving force should be primarily positive rather than negative. On the other hand, if some part of him feels like he's held in a cage, the memory of that feeling could be important when he meets Eowyn later on.
 
Avoiding Harry Potter-esque pouty angst is a good call. I think that we could make a trite/clichéd story out of "teen Estel rebels by sneaking out of Rivendell and drinking miruvor and telling Elrond 'you're not the boss of me!!!' " so....let's not ;)

I'd rather come up with a story specifically about *him*, not about coming of age in general. He's a human raised by elves (sorta), he's without a dad, but has a father-figure in Elrond, he has no doubt noticed his mother's isolation and bitterness. So, what does 15-year-old Aragorn think about the world he lives in? What are his goals? How is this different from when he was a child? What are his dreams for his own future, and what does he perceive to be his mother's dreams for him? What is his relationship with the Dunedain community outside of Rivendell? Surely he's *met* them, but has he visited them? If not, why not, and if so, what were the circumstances that led up to that visit?

Anyway, I'm sure we can come up with some interesting things to say that aren't stereotypical teen angst and rebellion, but maybe not make that the focus of the Frame?

Haakon - *great* point! When Gandalf, Aragorn, and Eomer stand around Eowyn's sickbed and talk about her experience, part of me wants to scream. None of them understand her! They're just explaining away her desires because they don't like the idea of shieldmaidens who sneak into battle! (Ie, Tolkien wrote a strong female warrior character despite himself ;) ) But - that's not all that is said. Eomer kinda calls Aragorn on it, saying, you know, none of this was a problem til she met you. But Aragorn says - you had other things to do; she was trapped there with Théoden and no hope of it getting better. He does 'get' her in a way. So...if he sees in Eowyn's restlessness something of his own fear of being trapped idle forever as the world outside got darker in his own youth...that could work.
 
Yeah, even after learning his identity, the one fear I can imagine Aragorn having is the fear that he's just a vessel for his bloodline, destined to do nothing but have a son and fade away, as his many forefathers might superficially appear to have done.
I don't think it would be a crippling fear, or even a lasting fear, but it might be an immediate reaction. "I've felt this destiny that I can't explain hovering over me since I was a young boy, can it possibly be true that I'm just another in a line of Men who do nothing more than father sons? <pause> No, this destiny is still before me, and now I can see how I fit into the larger tapestry of history, so I now have an idea of the flavour of my destiny."
 
MithLuin said:
Haakon - *great* point! When Gandalf, Aragorn, and Eomer stand around Eowyn's sickbed and talk about her experience, part of me wants to scream. None of them understand her! They're just explaining away her desires because they don't like the idea of shieldmaidens who sneak into battle! (Ie, Tolkien wrote a strong female warrior character despite himself ;) ) But - that's not all that is said. Eomer kinda calls Aragorn on it, saying, you know, none of this was a problem til she met you. But Aragorn says - you had other things to do; she was trapped there with Théoden and no hope of it getting better. He does 'get' her in a way. So...if he sees in Eowyn's restlessness something of his own fear of being trapped idle forever as the world outside got darker in his own youth...that could work.
Click to expand...
I like this note, but I would caution against overplaying it. I want Aragorn to be empathetic to Eowyn, but the whole idea of "you can only empathize if you understand/have experienced the exact same thing" has always felt... self centered? to me. There should be hints, but let's avoid constructing scenes/moments to artificially create parallels.*


*and that's not even getting into the social/gender dynamics: Aragorn has a lot more freedom as a young man than Eowyn will, if only because he's his own Chieftain!
 
He's not chieftain *yet* - he is very much the bottom rung in Rivendell.

It wouldn't be an exact parallel, and I agree that shared experience is not the only source of empathy. Aragorn is a wise character, and thus no doubt has some empathy for those he has nothing in common with. Hints that people could argue aren't even actually parallels would be better than heavy-handed exactly analogous situations, anyway.
 
Of course experience isn't necessary for empathy. But in drama it's often the way we can hint at the empathy without having to write lines expressing it in words. Besides, as you say, we don't have to make a big deal out of this. It could just be there. Some people will make the connection and some won't.
 
Ok, when we set the time frame to Aaragorn being 15 years old. What's going on in the world? Where is everybody, as asked by the title? What are the main protagonists up too? Gandalf, Sauron, the stewards of realms, Rohan and Gondor, the dwarves? Can we show story elements of the big plots in a frame, before it happens in the main story in a couple of season from now?

If I could wish for one thing, I would argue to have an encouter of elves and dwarves in the frame. This seems the right moment when dwarves enter the main story in Beleriand. Some dwarf perspective would be great!
 
This is 4-5 years post Battle of Five Armies. So, not much has changed in the 3rd Age since season 1 or 2. There should be a good deal of dwarf traffic between the Blue Mountains and Erebor, so surely an excuse for a dwarf or so to tromp through Rivendell if we need them to, or for meetings on the road. We could also have a White Council meeting if we needed to, though they don't really meet that often, so....

Here's a timeline of what's going on in the world that century:
  • September 22, 2890: Bilbo Baggins is born in the Shire.
  • 2903: Folcwine, fourteenth king of Rohan, dies and is succeeded by his youngest son Fengel
  • 2907: Birth of Gilraen (later wife of Arathorn II)
  • Fell Winter of 2911–2912: wolves invade the Shire. Tharbad is ruined in the following floods.
  • 2930: Arathorn II becomes the Chieftain of the Dúnedain
  • 2931: Birth of Aragorn, son of Arathorn II and Gilraen
  • 2933: Arathorn II is killed while hunting Orcs
  • March 15, 2941: Thorin Oakenshield meets with Gandalf the Grey at the Prancing Pony in Bree, the Quest of Erebor begins
  • July 2941: Bilbo Baggins obtains the One Ring; the White Council drives Sauron out of Dol Guldur
  • October 2941: Esgaroth is attacked by the dragon Smaug, who is consequentially killed by Bard the Bowman; Thorin Oakenshield, Fíli, and Kíli killed at the Battle of Five Armies along with Bolg son of Azog; Dáin II Ironfoot becomes King of The Lonely Mountain; Town of Dale re-established by Bard
  • June 22, 2942: Bilbo Baggins returns to Bag End
{2946} Season 3 Frame goes here
  • 2951: Sauron reveals himself in Mordor, and starts raising Barad-dûr anew. Estel, later known as Aragorn, comes of age and is told about his heritage.
  • 2953: Last meeting of the White Council. Fengel, fifteenth king of Rohan, dies. His son Thengel returns to Rohan to succeed him.
  • 2956: Aragorn first meets Gandalf the Grey
  • 2957–2980: Aragorn as Thorongil serves in the armies of King Thengel of Rohan, and Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor
  • September 22, 2968: Frodo Baggins is born
  • 2978: Birth of Boromir
  • 2980: Arwen pledges her hand in marriage to Aragorn; Frodo Baggins loses both of his parents in a boating accident; Aragorn, in the service of the Steward of Gondor Ecthelion II leads a taskforce south and kills the Captain of the Haven, ruler of Umbar; Samwise Gamgee born; Théoden, son of Thengel, becomes seventeenth king of Rohan after the death of his father.
We don't know when Balin and Gandalf visit Bilbo in Bag End, do we? (at the end of 'The Hobbit'). Obviously sometime before 2989, when Balin leaves for Moria, but probably not as soon as 5 years after their adventure.
 
Last edited:
Well, the only thing I am aware of happening anywhere near this point is Gandalf and Balin's visit to Bilbo at the end of "The Hobbit". And since Aragorn doesn't officially "meet" Gandalf until a few years after Aragorn learns of his true identity, so I don't think we would necessarily want to use that.

Um ... Dale is being rebuilt at this point, most likely.... We could see dwarves from the Blue Mountains migrating to Erebor.

I think that Theoden's father is born right about this time, also, but I don't think it's relevant.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top