[ SECRET POST #2737 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2737 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 041 secrets from Secret Submission Post #391.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

You know, it would be a massive change from the book, but you could even have Bilbo handing over the Arkenstone to Bard in exchange for Fili, Kili, and the others. Then instead of "I gave Bard your thingy so he could trade it for gold because you're being a dick," it would be "I gave Bard your thingy so that he could trade it for gold because you're being a dick, but only if he agreed to let the others go back to the mountain with me, because they're more important. You dick."

[(Anonymous)]

I really, really don't want it to end up that way, because it changes the whole tone of the exchange for Bard, Thorin and Bilbo in particular.

In the book, Bard genuinely had legitimate grievances (the dwarves woke Smaug and sicced him on Laketown, he's just killed the dragon for them, a lot of the treasure was from Laketown/Dale so theirs by right, etc) and he was mostly courteous about asking for them despite the armed backup and the fact that Thranduil had showed up to join him. He didn't show up with people's families in his grasp threatening them harm. Though I actually doubt he'd do that, even with hostages, but if Thranduil shows up all bets may be off, and I'm not looking forward to that.

Thorin in the throes of gold fever chose the treasure over the safety of his people, and he ignored everyone's (including his nephews') advice to the contrary, fully intending to sit in a siege until Dain arrived and fixed it for him. When he realised Bilbo's betrayal, he flipped out and almost killed him. However, it's going to ramp him up a level if he actually ignored his captive brethren in order to keep his treasure. Thorin is already building towards flaming tragic asshole, adding that is just overkill.

And Bilbo ... this one's harder to explain, but in the book the exchange was more about Biblo averting/trying to avert future bloodshed, doing his best to keep the peace between three peoples and averting conflict before it started, not about Bilbo having to steal treasure to immediately save/free some of his companions. It kind of ... strips his choice of its larger ramifications, and reduces it to an immediate hostage exchange? It's not about war or peace or the safety of larger peoples, it's about just saving four of his companions the way he's been doing the whole journey. It loses something, makes his choice smaller.

I am sincerely hoping the third movie doesn't end up on that path. But having the four dwarves in Laketown is making me real twitchy.

[(Anonymous)]

Unpopular opinion, but I thought the whole clusterfuck was everyone's fault. There's some interesting meta about trying to see Thorin's side and not being happy with the armies, plus Bard straight up saying he thought the dwarves were dead. The movie so far did make him have motives that weren't about just treasure, but they'll probably strip out what little nuance the situation had before.