Silverlode
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Dec 18 2014, 3:56am
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Observations from a second viewing (all spoilery)
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Just a few thoughts and observations from my second viewing. Feel free to add more geeky observations in this thread too. 
We heard a lot during the DOS promotions about "fathers and sons", but I think that theme was even stronger in this film, as the storylines came to their conclusions:
Bard and Bain work together to kill Smaug.
Thranduil and Legolas, at first opposed, end by coming to a sort of understanding.
Thorin treats Fili as heir apparent in this movie, and though there's not a lot of dialogue, actions speak louder than words. I paid a lot of attention to Fili this time around, and I noticed that he plays a more key role than might first appear.
- When Bilbo greets the Laketown dwarves and warns them of Thorin's dragon-sickness, it's Fili who looks most concerned and runs ahead to find him.
- When Thorin sees him, he throws the jewel to Fili, welcomes his "sister-sons", and then makes his speech about the great treasure of Erebor for Fili's benefit, as the one who will inherit.
- Fili moves to prevent Thorin from throwing Bilbo off the wall
- I think it might be Fili who says he's going out to fight and begins to rally the dwarves until Thorin commands them to stand down (though most of that line happens while the camera is still focused on Thorin)
- Thorin takes "his best warriors" with him up Ravenhill - Fili, Kili, and Dwalin.
- Thorin tells Fili to go scout out the tower position and to take his brother (specifically putting Fili in charge rather than speaking to them equally)
- Fili, as the one in charge of the recon expediction, is the one who tells Kili to take the lower tunnels, which initially keeps him from being captured
The dwarves take off their armor after Thorin tells them to stand down and not to fight when the orcs arrive. Thorin is still wearing his crown after that, but not his golden armor, and none of the other dwarves are wearing theirs either - they're all just in chain mail after that.
Thorin refers to the necklace that Thranduil wants as being "the stones of Lasgalen". Eryn Galen (Greenwood) was the original name for Mirkwood before the Necromancer poisoned it. Eryn Lasgalen (Wood of Greenleaves) is the name that Thranduil and Celeborn later give to Mirkwood after Sauron is destroyed. In addition to being a little nod to wider mythology, it also indicates that Thorin knows the necklace belongs to Thranduil by right - or he likely would not call it by that name.
For those who have been upset about the brief appearances of the the Eagles and Beorn - the army they attack is not Azog's army before the Gate; it's the Gundabad army coming in from the north - and they take them all out by themselves. The Dwarves, Elves, and Men were barely hanging on at that point, trying to hold their own against the first army. So yes, it was too brief, but yes, they also saved the day.
I agree with those who say PJ's cameo may be the Laketowner in grey who gets up on the food cart to hand it out to the crowd. It's really a blink-and-you'll-miss-it one, though. There are no direct shots of his face.
On the topic of blood and guts:
All the closeups of fallen warriors (including fallen Elves) show them in pools of red blood.
When Legolas throws Orcrist into the orc that is attacking Thorin, when he pulls it out, it has black blood on the blade.
When Thorin kills Azog and stumbles to the edge of the waterfall to look down on the battlefield, a section of the waterfall turns black with Azog's blood running under the ice, and in the later overhead shots you can also see the blood spreading out under the surface. 
Silverlode
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(This post was edited by Silverlode on Dec 18 2014, 5:38am)
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