Playing Sherlock: a few Hobbit plot deductions from the figurine character biographies

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Conclusions

It is important to note that it is likely that every scene in this Hobbit trilogy will either have relevance across the trilogy itself, or relevance in the context of the LotR trilogy.

For instance, although the incident with the three trolls appears rather random, it has a broader significance as it allows the company to discover the swords — Glamdring, Orcrist and Sting, which have significance throughout the rest of the films.

Similarly, the time at the aerie of the eagles, following the rescue from the burning trees, gives some background to them, which adds context to a) their intervention in the Battle of the Five Armies in film three, b) the rescue of Gandalf from atop Isengard in FotR, and c) the rescue of Sam and Frodo from Mount Doom in Return of the King.

Even the incident with the spiders in Mirkwood has broader relevance. This is because they are the off-spring of Shelob, and thus the incident gives the encounter Frodo and Sam have with Shelob some context.

When all is said and done, and given the film-makers’ track record of preferring to use scenes and dialogue in different contexts rather than to excise them completely, not to mention the confidence with which all involved in the production have clearly embraced the idea of a trilogy despite having finished principle photography, I’m confident that nothing suggested in this essay is beyond the realms of possibility.

Let the debate begin.

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Thomas Monteath is a life-long Tolkien aficionado, who still believes –- with apologies to the excellent Andy Serkis -– that the finest Gollum was Peter Woodthorpe in the BBC’s 1981 Radio adaptation. In real life he is an academic in the UK, who can on occasion be found propping up the bar at the Eagle & Child. These views are his own, and do not necessarily represent those of TheOneRing.net or its staff.