46 replies to this topic

[Celeglin]

I know it's a rather cliched, but I figure we may as well have one. Try to post some lengthy explanations, so we can all have a good read.

Galadriel
Hands down my favourite character in all of Tolkien's works. Her story spans a longer period of time than any other non-Maia/Vala-character (bar Cirdan, though his brief mentions don't make for much of a story). Even with the various versions of her pre-First Age tale, I can really admire what she did in Valinor no matter which version it is I'm reading. Her perseverence through the Second and Third Age in her decision to remain in Middle-Earth until the remaining great evils of Melkor (personified by Sauron) were wholly destroyed are truly admirable.

And yet, it's here where I really like her character, but not for the above reason. As much as she may have wished to believe otherwise, her real (possibly subconsious) reason for remaining in Middle-Earth was because she had not yet felt true power in ruling her own people. This was her reasoning for leaving for Middle-Earth in the first place (not in vengeful search for the Silmarilli), and she had not experienced it through the First Age. By the Second Age, she had ruled in Lorien and (depending on which version you follow) Evendim, Lindon, Edhellond, and Eregion. But now there is the Ruling Ring, with which she could rule all. "I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired to ask what you offer." (FotR, The Mirror of Galadriel). Yes, she did perform a sacrifice on the behalf of the Elves here in allowing the Ring to be destroyed, but I find her own denial for the thing she has most wanted (for over 6000 years now) in the name of a better good the true definer of her character. I find her refusal of the temptation of the Ring to be the strongest of any character in the novels.

Of course, the duality of her character and her vague omnipresense throughout the trilogy also add to my case. She also seems to find her way into so many stories, if rarely noticed/appreciated but with great importance (Sauron's Return, Ride of Eorl, Amroth and Nimrodel, etc.).

Other favourites of mine...

Celeborn
- long, ambiguous history open to varied interpretation
- his manners closely resembles the Celeglin character I've created
- has some great lines in FotR

Eowyn
- favourite non-Elf character
- source of my favourite scene out of anything Tolkien:

She was clad as a Rider and girt with a sword. In her hand she bore a cup, and she set it to her lips and drank a little, wishing them good speed; and then she gave the cup to Aragorn, and he drank, and he said: 'Farewll, Lady of Rohan! I drink to the fortunes of your House, and of you, and of all your people. Say to your brother: beyond the shadows we may meet again!'
But she said: 'Aragorn, wilt thou go?'
'I will,' he said.
'Then wilt thou not let me ride with this company, as I have asked?'
'I will not, lady,' he said . . . 'Farewell!'
Then she fell on her knees, saying: 'I beg thee!'
'Nay, lady,' he said, and taking her by the hand he raised her. Then he kissed her hand, and sprang into the saddle, and rode away, and did not look back . . .
But Eowyn stood still as a firgure carven in stone, her hands clenched at her sides, and she watched them until they passed into the shadows under the black Dwimorberg . . ." (RotK, The Passing of the Grey Company)

- nothing get's me in such a way as this dialogue. One of the few scenes I was disappointed in the films in relation to the book.
- of course, you also have her display of love and loyalty in her confrontation with the Witch King, which was just far too awesome

Edited by Námo, 17 April 2010 - 11:15 AM.
added smiley to topic!

[Bart]

My favourite would be Eru, because without him there wouldn't be anything else

[JEV3]

My favorite character...

ATM my favorite is Turin Turumbar...

Turin is my favorite mainly because I feel bad for him... He was the victim of Morgoth's hatred and was cursed because his father wouldn't reveal the whereabouts of Gondolin. He also was very headstrong, and brave, although he was also stubborn and had an ill temper. When he was young he fought alongside the people of Doriath and eventually, a nasty elf got on his nerves by insulting his family. When Turin accidentily killed him he went into exile, although the king begged him to return. His best freind sought him out and rescued him from the hands of orcs, only to be slain by Turin. When Turin realized what had happened he went into a madness, but he was led to Nargothrond. Here he led Nargothrond in many battles and achieved peace throughout Beleriand, but when Glaurung issued forth, he was stubborn and refused to allow his bridge to be torn down. He may have loved Finduilas (I think that's her name), but he hadn't a chance to rescue her because of Glaurung's stare. Then he went to look for Morwen and Nienor only to find their homes taken over. After mudering the chieftan he was banished and went to the forest of Brethil where he thought he escaped his doom. However doom came to him in the form of Nienor, his sister. She didn't know that she was his sister, so they were married. When at last Glaurung heard of Turin once again he went on rampage. It was Turin who suggested that they try to slay the beast at the crossings of Teiglin. When he at last killed Glaurung he passed out, and Glaurung revealed to Nienor who she was and she jumped off a cliff... Turin heard from Brandir what had happened and murdered him, but when he found out the truth he commited suicide.

He may have suffered his entire life and come to a horrible end, but it is Turin himself who killed Morgoth. It was this last bit of information that ultimately led me to decide that he was my favorite character, firstly because it meant that he wasn't condemned of suicide, and secondly he was the one that rid Arda of evil forever.

My other favorite characters include:

Aragorn
An man who came from exile and became king of the reunited kingdom.

Beren & Luthien
Two lovers who braved all perils for each other.

[zimoo]

My favourites change constantly, depending on which book I'm reading.

Ecthelion is at the top though (Ecthelion of the Fountain, not the Gondor stewards). Ever since I read 'The Fall of Gondolin' he has been my favourite. The fact that the Eldar use his name as a battle-cry based on a single battle shows how much of an impact he had. If only there were 10 or so chieftains identical to him, then Gondolin would have never fallen .

The fact that, even after slaying what must have been thousands of orcs, he then still killed Gothmog (despite the fact that neither of his arms were usable). Gothmog who slew Feanor, Fingon and many other great chieftains, slain by a warrior with no usable arms . Plus, unlike many of the others who killed Balrogs, he didn't die because of the Balrog himself (anyone who says Gothmog killed him gets yelled at by me), but rather because of his sheer exhaustion in being unable to stop himself from drowning (that part always made me wonder, why on earth didn't his allies help him out of the water? ).

On the note of Ecthelion, does anyone else believe he was the original wielder of Orcrist? Because the fact that the orcs had such bad memories about it (despite the fact it was probably only involved in 2 battles), coincides with the sheer amounts of orcs that Ecthelion killed during the Fall of Gondolin IMO.

Galadriel is also a favourite of mine, pretty much for the reasons already mentioned by Celeglin.

Edited by zimoo, 24 February 2007 - 10:27 AM.

[adummy]

I would have to go with Boromir. I just feel like it would have been a lot different for the Fellowship if he had lived. I think, if Boromir had lived and gone to Helm's Deep, Denethor would have sent aid to Rohan because he loved him so much. Also, he wouldnt not have gotten so mad at Faramir for losing Osgiliath. and because he seems, to me, the most realistic character that is apart of the Fellowship.

................................................Ecthelion was killed by gothmog *runs away*

Edited by adummy, 27 February 2007 - 02:22 AM.

[zimoo]

Denethor had no aid to send, which is why he didn't send it in the first place. And even so, what aid could be sent? The fellowship arrived at Edoras, then 1 or 2 nights (I forget which) later they fought the battle. Even if Denethor had a huge supply of horses he wouldn't be able to send aid in time.

*Chases down adummy and yells at him*

[Nertea]

Boromir in the movies... he just ends up as such a well-developed character by the end of the trilogy. One of the few characters I like better in PJ's version than the book. Also Sean Bean does a great job (better than Trevelyan!).

Otherwise... I don't know. I'm quite fond of book Denethor, mainly because I tend to associate with the flawed characters . Plus he's well written. And Eomer. One of my favorite scenes in my mind is that bit just before Aragorn arrives where he rides to the hill and sets his banner... epic. Damn, if i was a better artist I'd sketch that...

[adummy]

as Nertea put, i really like what pj did with him. the reason why i like him so much now

[cahik_]

for some reason i have strange urge to say Celeglin. no idea why...

wait maybe it is because he is such good modder

[Bart]

Nim the dwarf > All

no, j/k

Guess I don't really have a favourite..

[Lauri]

I don't really have a favorite... reading the Norwegian of LOTR doesn't really give you a so totally awesome feeling when, say, someone goes for a last charge or something... it's more dull

But in the movies, I'd have to go for Boromir He's so awesome, and yeah, he just is.... Eomer is totally awesome as well! Guess I like the second in commands better than the kings\stewards

[GothmogtheOrc]

lol, I'm opposite: I like the kings and rulers best.

The WitchKing would have to be my favorite character but there's no special reason why I like him the best... I just like the bad guys and I always thought he and the nazgul were rather cool. They always had that mysterious-ness about them in both the films and books.

As far as traditional heroes go I'd say my favorite is Aragorn, especially in TTT and ROTK where he starts to become a king. My favorite line in the books is where he meets Eomer for the first time and he says suddenly "I am Aragorn son of Arathorn, heir of Elendil, [insert full lineage and titles here]. Here is the sword that was broken reforged. Will you help me or fight me? Choose swiftly!".

I also like Faramir, Theoden, and Eomer. All the kingly guys.

-GothmogtheOrc

[adummy]

if we are going for evil, i would say my favorite is the Mouth of Sauron. i always thought of him as a manuplitive little bastard. i always hoped that if the mouth took over for Sauron after him, he would not do the "i have more forces than you" kind of fighting. more of just tatics that screwed people over with tricks

[m@tt]

I like a lot of the evil characters (Sauron, Witchking, MoS etc) because they are undeveloped compared to the good guys, which gives them a bit of mystery. And in the movies they look pretty cool as well. Only read the three books once so I cant really comment on favourite book character.

And I dont particularly like Gollum, despite my username, there are reasons for that strange choice.

[olog hai of the east]

Wow, No one mentions the greatest characters of all Merry!

Merry is the best because, He defeated the Witch King (Eowyn held him back lol), He raids farmor maggots farm, Not that way in the books perhaps. He likes fine food and tobbaco (sp?). He can drink, ALOT!!
He also is a hobbit, Making him Mr Cool

[adummy]

pffff. anyone who knows anything knows Pippin>Merry

[Rob38]

My favorite character by far is Eowyn. Being a woman, she was always pushed aside and ignored, but when the time came, she proved to be one of the bravest and strongest in all of middle earth. I also think Miranda Otto played the role of Eowyn extremely well in the movie. She really brought the character to life

My second favorite character would have to be Gandalf. Always wandering around and snooping about, he was always doing something. He started the whole entire Biblo adventure and eventually helped Aragorn become the king he was born to be. I also believe that Ian McKellen played rthe role of Gandalf wonderfully. I just love that scene where Gandalf stands his ground against the Balrog. Truly amazing.

And my third favorite character is the one everybody forgets, good old Samwise Gamgee. I truly believe he was the real hero in the entire series. He saved Frodo countless times throughout the story, and he never abadons him. Without him, Frodo would have long been gone in the story, and most likely Gollum would had taken back the Ring.

[zimoo]

I find people overrate Samwise. Yes he stayed with Frodo all the way to Mordor, but all the fellowship would have if Frodo hadn't left. He didn't have to deal with the power of the ring, so for my part I'd rate Frodo higher than Sam.

As everyone seems to be discussing the fellowship, my favourite fellowship character is Gimli. The fact that he put aside his differences with Legolas and became best friends was very interesting, and the fact that Galadriel gave him her hair, while she turned down the same request from Feanor, greatest of elves was cool too

[CIL]

My favourites change constantly, depending on which book I'm reading.

Ecthelion is at the top though (Ecthelion of the Fountain, not the Gondor stewards). Ever since I read 'The Fall of Gondolin' he has been my favourite. The fact that the Eldar use his name as a battle-cry based on a single battle shows how much of an impact he had. If only there were 10 or so chieftains identical to him, then Gondolin would have never fallen .

The fact that, even after slaying what must have been thousands of orcs, he then still killed Gothmog (despite the fact that neither of his arms were usable). Gothmog who slew Feanor, Fingon and many other great chieftains, slain by a warrior with no usable arms . Plus, unlike many of the others who killed Balrogs, he didn't die because of the Balrog himself (anyone who says Gothmog killed him gets yelled at by me), but rather because of his sheer exhaustion in being unable to stop himself from drowning (that part always made me wonder, why on earth didn't his allies help him out of the water? ).

On the note of Ecthelion, does anyone else believe he was the original wielder of Orcrist? Because the fact that the orcs had such bad memories about it (despite the fact it was probably only involved in 2 battles), coincides with the sheer amounts of orcs that Ecthelion killed during the Fall of Gondolin IMO.

Galadriel is also a favourite of mine, pretty much for the reasons already mentioned by Celeglin.

Gondolin still would have fallen. Turgon was a good king. It was just the fact that his sistor had to have the stupid bastard child that back-stabbed him (almost literally). If Turgon had been as powerful as Ecthelion... Maybe.. things may have been different. But few Elves, or for that matter, anyone residing in Arda, could ever hope to come anywhere near hoping to rival either Feanor or Thingol in power.

Edited by Crazy Intellectual Liberal, 18 June 2008 - 06:48 AM.