Tag: bilbo baggins

Of Iron– Chapter Four Itty Bitty Preview

poplitealqueen:

I should just call this chapter “Of Trolls and Azanulbizar”.

This isn’t substantial in the slightest (since there’s stuff I’d rather not spoil) but I like it. I like the friendship blooming between Bilbo and Dain, dammit!

And I’m also always down for Dain heroics at Azanulbizar *glares at movie* Though I do like how badass it made Thorin…Thinking I might do something in between…maybe…Anyway, here’s a soundbite!

Keep reading

I’ve always assumed that the tendency to view Bilbo as perfect comes from it being written by him, and most readers aren’t astute enough to comprehend that, as the primary focus, he could be anything but flawless. They are self-inserting, since they want to see themselves as the primary focus of life, and want to be perfect themselves, so they ignore every mistake and flaw in Bilbo to make themselves feel better. They also feel every slight from Thorin to Bilbo deeper for the same reason.

avelera:

baggvinshield:

this could very well be the case for some readers, especially with regards to them not being astute enough to recognize bilbo as the unreliable narrator he is. but i find it nearly impossible to believe someone could watch the hobbit movies, actually watch them and actually spend even a couple minutes thinking about bilbo, and come away with this idea that bagginshield must be an unbalanced relationship because bilbo is Obviously Perfect and thorin is Obviously a PoS. (and so we have our trolls lol)

“But you know how things went, at any rate as Bilbo saw them. The story would sound rather different, if I had written it. For one thing he did not realize at all how fatuous the Dwarves thought him, nor how angry they were with me.” The Unfinished Tales by JRR Tolkien in other parts goes on to remind us that at many points the Company had to carry Bilbo because he couldn’t keep up with them (and he wasn’t light), that he was constantly complaining about everything, had no experience, and was in general a very unpleasant traveling companion. All things that Bilbo fails to mention in his own account, for obvious reasons. 

For real, though, Bilbo is kind of a jerk and that’s ok because perfect characters are boring and his arc is about him becoming a better person, not that he was some perfect ideally bucolic little hobbit from the beginning and ugh if I see this whole wide-eyed delicate innocent flower-child Bilbo one more time I’m going to lose my shit

avelera:

I would suggest that this idealization of Bilbo into an angelic figure was because people were getting Bilbo and Frodo mixed up, but the fact is that Frodo actually is a self-sacrificing cinnamon bun and he didn’t get nearly the level of idealization in fandom that Bilbo does, I swear to fuckin’ Mahal

that troll never fucking read the hobbit. the whole quest was about bringing out the best in bilbo, who was stuck in a lifestyle of selfish comfort and stubbornness?? how is that christ-like? but then, if you take material from the movies, thorin is a bit more “human”, a 3D character with doubts and frustrations, but he literally made bilbo come out of a shell and learn how to love and help others? the quest and the love for thorin literally built bilbo’s character and greatness

avelera:

It can be entirely said in the films that any good qualities Bilbo had he learned from observing Thorin. He demonstrably did not give a shit about the dwarves when they first showed up, he was a coward afraid to even TALK to Gandalf, he was a miser and greedy with his food, and as far as we can tell never did anything for anyone but himself ever since his parents died. Sure he had some inner love of adventure, carefully hidden, and within him were qualities which would eventually blossom into courage and wisdom, but the fact is that was his character arc to become a better person.

Contrast that with movie Thorin who basically has no sense of self (or self preservation, frankly) who throws himself into horrible physical and existential danger to get his people home which, yes, sometimes necessitates he gets kinda growly with people who give him shit while he’s trying to do that. He’s not perfect, he holds grudges (which are justified) but sometimes against people who had nothing to do with his plight (which is not). He can be rude but the fact is he kinda usually has something else on his mind when that happens (saving Bilbo from falling off a cliff face, for example, or getting to the hidden door in time when it comes to Kili’s injuries). The whole point of dragon sickness was that it turned him into something he wasn’t. 

The whole point of Bilbo saving him from dragon sickness in ANY sense (which he actually doesn’t, as such, his words and those of many others come back to him and he frees himself after seeing how much he’s changed) is that Bilbo reminds Thorin of who he used to be. Bilbo by observing Thorin and becoming more like him now serves as a touchstone to help bring Thorin back to himself. 

Thorin (and the plight of the other dwarves) inspired Bilbo to be a better person. All Thorin had to do on his emotional journey of being a better person was accept that maybe outsiders like Bilbo want to help them, and shouldn’t be so callously dismissed. Bilbo literally went from caring about no one except himself to risking his life to save his friends of another species he heretofore thought very little of. Bilbo’s moral improvement arc is HUGE compared to Thorin, who doesn’t even really have a moral arc in BotFA except to break free of a parasitic disease that twists him into something he isn’t, and achieve his goal of providing a home for the people he literally sacrifices everything for. 

But, y’know, Bilbo can do no wrong, after all, and Thorin is such a meanie… ugh

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