rocky41_7

Anonymous said:

Hey, are you still bitter/salty over the characterization of Thranduil in The Hobbits movie? It's been 9 years and I'm still pissed because despite how beautiful Lee Pace's Thranduil was, I felt like it warped the perception of who Thranduil really is as a king, father, and son. Even Oropher's reputation in the fandom kinda sored.

I said:

Anon, I will be salty about that until I’m cold in the ground.

There are actually a number of things I like about The Hobbit films. Lee Pace does a wonderful job with what he was given; he really captures the ethereal grace of a being who is above mortal concerns. I love the aesthetics of Mirkwood and its people in the films. And I’m not salty that they tried to beef up his character a little–there’s really not much to go on in the books, so adding the tragedy of his wife weighing on him and complicating his relationship with Legolas (do NOT talk to me about how the films massacred Legolas) wasn’t a bad way to add more emotional weight to his story. Neither was adding his alluding to the War of Wrath to give him more personal feelings about the waking of Smaug.

But the thing they tried to do where they wanted to make Thranduil ~morally ambiguous~ was so yuck. In the books he has beef with the Dwarves, yeah–because they were trespassing on his land, refuse to tell him why, and have a significant chance of stirring up a dragon if they continue. IF he overreacted, there were some relevant issues at play here. And Bilbo himself describes Thranduil as a well-liked “king of a good and kindly people.”

In fact, Bilbo is so taken with Thranduil that at the Battle of Five Armies, Bilbo explicitly thinks that if he were made to choose among them, he would side with the Elvenking. Yes, OVER Thorin.

I’ve detailed before why the movie switching Bard’s gunning for war and Thranduil’s reluctance to fight from the books makes no sense, so I won’t get into it again, but yeah.

Final thoughts are that the Elves in Mirkwood in the films have so little joy? In the books, the Company stumbles across them feasting and partying in the woods; in the movies, Legolas’ scout contingent captures them without any prior contact. All three of the main Elves in the story–Thranduil, Legolas, and Tauriel–are so sober and serious the entire trilogy; I think Tauriel is the only one who smiles or ever looks happy. YES the Elves of Mirkwood are dealing with a lot–Sauron in the backyard and all–BUT the book also shows how much joy they still have, and I think that’s really missing from the movies, from Thranduil and all the rest of them.

Also, they cut Thranduil laying Orcrist on Thorin’s tomb and that makes me sad.

He had offered her the crown.

From this ship ask meme on tumblr

Thank you ヾ(•ω•`)o

falls asleep on the couch

Thorin. He sleeps more to begin with, and is less attached to his little rituals than Thranduil. Elves don't really "nap" either, so if Thranduil was sleepy, he'd pick a quiet activity and go into waking sleep for a bit. If he catches Thorin asleep on the couch, sometimes he'll balance things on his forehead to see if it will stay until Thorin wakes up.

makes friends with the neighbors

LMAO I think canon proves that neither of them is great at this...Thorin's not exactly personable among strangers (unless he has a goal), and Thranduil tends more to keep to himself, but if I had to pick one, Thranduil is better at being polite even when he doesn't feel it, so he probably wins this one. He generally believes in mutually-peaceful relationships with one's neighbors, whereas Thorin takes the "my business is none of their business" tack.

is the adventurous eater

Thranduil. He's been around longer so he's eaten a lot of weird/unappealing things, and Thorin generally prefers to keep to things he already knows he likes, although he's not necessarily opposed to trying new things. Also, both of them have seen hard times when they didn't have a lot of choice, so if it's down to "eat this weird/gross thing or go hungry," they'll usually eat the thing.

hogs the covers at night

In the instances when their sleep schedules align, probably Thranduil, by virtue of several things: a) Elves in true-sleep are very difficult to wake up. When he goes down, he goes down. b) Taller, longer limbs c) Stronger. 

Thorin has definitely ended up clinging to Thranduil not to cuddle but just to stay under the covers. This is doubly the case in Dwarven beds which were definitely not made with Elven proportions in mind! Fortunately, Thorin runs pretty warm, so he's usually not too bothered when this happens.

forgets to do the dishes

I think neither of them. They both like to keep things reasonably neat, so keeping a shared space clean is probably one of the things they wouldn't argue about. Thranduil possibly has become accustomed enough to having other people around to do that though that he might on occasion forget it's his job in other places.

tries to surprise their partner more often

Another toughie--I feel like neither of them is very spontaneous. Thorin probably wins this one just because Thranduil's concept of "often" is a lot less often than Thorin's concept of "often." 

Thranduil: I do spontaneous things for you!

Thorin: The last time you had a surprise for me was five years ago.

Thranduil, an immortal: See, I just did something!

Also, I feel like Thorin is not a huge fan of the unexpected, so while he might appreciate the thought that goes into a surprise, he probably prefers to just know what the plan is. He likes having his days organized.

leaves dirty laundry on the floor

See above about the dishes. Thorin might take this one being slightly less fastidious than Thranduil, and more single-minded generally, but overall I think they would keep a shared place pretty neat.

stays up til 2 AM reading

Thranduil. For one, he sleeps a lot less in general, and being immortal, is a lot more prone to losing track of time. It's not unheard of for Thorin to wake up in the morning and Thranduil is exactly in the same place doing the exact same thing he was doing when Thorin went to bed.

Semi-related, but even though he sleeps less than Thorin, there probably are nights when he goes to bed anyway, just to lay a few hours with Thorin while Thorin sleeps, because while Thranduil may lose track of his own time, he is very aware of how little Thorin has, comparatively :( 

sings in the shower

Both! Thranduil probably more often, because Elves sing about basically everything and Wood-elves apparently really love singing about mundane chores. But they both do sing, and they both love listening to each other sing. Tipsy duets by the fireside is a favorite pastime, and neither of them is above a serenade now and again.

takes the selfies

They are both grandpas who scoff at this sort of thing no matter how many times Legolas and Dis' boys explain it. However, Thranduil is probably slightly more inclined. He knows how pretty he is. Doesn't always hurt to remind other people. Thorin views most social media as a privacy violation and never gives out his real name let alone putting up pictures of his face. 

plans date night

Another one where I feel like they're relatively well-balanced. Thorin will take the lead with more traditional date activities--going out to dinner, going to the movies/theater, family events. Thranduil does more of the "let's stay up late and go to the park to look at the stars" or the "let's get up hella early and hike up a mountain to have a picnic out there" sort of things. To Thorin's perpetual chagrin, Thranduil is a hippie at his very core and will always come up with some nature-related activity for them. 

There are also instances when Thranduil gets worked up about the whole "ticking clock" where Thorin is concerned and will plan a bunch of stuff at once to "make the most" of their time and Thorin always complains this makes him feel like he's terminally ill or something (which, to Thranduil, he kind of is). He usually goes along with it anyway though.