DwellerInDale
Nargothrond
Aug 21 2013, 11:49am
Views: 3600
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The story so far (spoilers)
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I did not go into detail on Tauriel's story arc in the previous post, so since you've raised the question here, I should present my current understanding.
Tauriel is the captain of the Woodland Guard. As such her character does occur in The Hobbit, albeit in a very minor role and (based on a single usage of a masculine pronoun, I believe), as a male. Her role has been expanded for the films, for several reasons. First, as Philippa Boyens has explained, a visual interpretation of The Hobbit with no female characters whatsoever would eventually feel too strange, like something out of Boys' Own Stories. It wouldn't mesh well with the 3 LOTR films as a prequel. And in the book the elves are often nameless, faceless characters, which again would feel odd if they literally translated book to film. Thus the creation (or modification) of one elf character, the captain of the guards, into a female character seems like an obvious way to kill two birds with one stone.
There is enough information now to see where they are going with Tauriel's story arc. We will meet her in Mirkwood, where she will rescue Fili and Kili from the spiders, and promptly take them and other Dwarves prisoner, helped by Legolas and the members of her Woodland Guard. They march the Dwarves off to the dungeons. She wonders about her king Thranduil's motivation for non-involvement in Thorin's quest and imprisoning the Dwarves. And one day she finds the cells empty, and reports this straight to Thranduil, who sends her elf guard out after the escaped Dwarves. Just as they overtake the Dwarves in their barrels, however, they are attacked by orcs. In the ensuing battle with the orcs, members of her elf guard are slain. This has quite an effect on her. The Dwarves escape with Bard's help.
Back in Mirkwood, Tauriel helps interrogate an orc that she took prisoner. They learn of the orcs' vendetta against Thorin's group. Thranduil again decides to do nothing about it. It is the nature of evil, he says. But Tauriel, as a younger, "less wise, more dangerous" elf, feels strongly that they should get involved. When Legolas says, following his father, "It is not our fight", she responds "It IS our fight". Thus she will set the example and be the catalyst for Legolas (and Thranduil) eventually changing their minds and having the elves become involved in the BOFA.
I have further clues and ideas about what happens to Tauriel in the end, but I want to save them for now. She will be in Dale, for example, and will ride in on the moose (sorry, Irish Elk) with Legolas, where she will meet Gandalf and Bilbo. She will be involved in the fight against orcs in Laketown, and will help revive a human girl. I'm at this point not sure whether she will go help out at Dol Guldur; that is one possibility suggested by Philippa Boyens' comments. Philippa dropped the hint that Tauriel's story arc will have things in common with a story line from LOTR concerning an elf, and that hardcore fans would recognize it. This could refer to the prophecy of the Witch King's doom, for example. Or, she may watch Legolas leave the Woodland Realm and go off by herself, as in the Nimrodel story line. We don't know enough yet to decide which story line PB was referring to.
All in all, my point was this: given the above, Tauriel is no "Mary Sue" inserted into the story for no real reason. Her presence will truly add some necessary embellishment to the plot, and will influence events in LOTR.
Don't mess with my favorite female elf.
(This post was edited by DwellerInDale on Aug 21 2013, 11:57am)
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