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Lurker in the Mirk
Valinor
May 4 2014, 9:10am
Post #201 of 210
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Here's the snake ring pic. (source)
Fan of both books and movies. Oh, and it seems I have severely misnamed myself... for the moment.
Thranduil Appreciation: I, II, III
"BoFA"= The Battle || "BotFA"/"tBofTA" = The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
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Lurker in the Mirk
Valinor
May 4 2014, 9:13am
Post #202 of 210
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Here.
Fan of both books and movies. Oh, and it seems I have severely misnamed myself... for the moment.
Thranduil Appreciation: I, II, III
"BoFA"= The Battle || "BotFA"/"tBofTA" = The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
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vanima ephel
Rivendell
May 4 2014, 5:57pm
Post #203 of 210
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Kinky.
So maybe it's not a wedding band, maybe it represents the whole family, as there seems to be one large, wrinkly snake, one small wrinkly snake and one small, smooth snake (Thranduil, wife/mother, Legolas). Or maybe there are three more heads and three more tails out of sight on the other side, meaning six snakes and possibly three more children? Though rings are usually styled to have a 'display' side, and it just doesn't look like anything is sticking out on the back. (Though it's possible any extra heads or tails have been flattened into the body of the ring on the backside, it just doesn't seem likely.)
Seriously though, I'm kinda stumped. I don't remember any snake references specific to Tolkien's legendarium. It could mean anything. (Or nothing.  )
"I dissent, even at the risk of being held incorrect or not sober."
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vanima ephel
Rivendell
May 4 2014, 8:39pm
Post #204 of 210
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I found an old archived thread that gave several mentions of snakes, but they all seem to be minor references or bits in the history that never made it to the published text. All of them were negative associations, so a snake ring is likely another sign of corruption, which doesn't mean our Fisher King isn't using it as a wedding band or as a symbol for something positive in his life, but if Tolkien had given it to him it would likely imply Bad Things Under The Surface.
"I dissent, even at the risk of being held incorrect or not sober."
(This post was edited by vanima ephel on May 4 2014, 8:42pm)
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vanima ephel
Rivendell
May 4 2014, 10:19pm
Post #205 of 210
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lol. I guess being very literal can keep an interview short and to the point.
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Or maybe he's one to get sidetracked easily.
Btw, I think I found that interview with Lee Pace where he was asked if the rings had a story behind them. Wow, he really tap-danced around that question didn't he! If LP is at one of the SDCC Hobbit panels and I can get a TORn staffer to ask a question for me, I'll try to be more specific. Maybe I could try phrasing it like this (tell me what you think): "Mr. Pace, I read in an interview once that all of the rings Thranduil wears have a story behind them. If that is true, is there any chance you could tell us what those stories are?"
That seems a pretty direct question to me. But I guess I'll have to start re-watching all of LP's interviews to be sure he isn't just good at finding ways to be cagy.  In order to develop the very best strategy to get the maximum available information, of course. (Such a chore.)
"I dissent, even at the risk of being held incorrect or not sober."
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Eruvandi
Tol Eressea
May 4 2014, 10:30pm
Post #206 of 210
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 Eruvandi, how about you try the ideas you got out, and update here? Then let's see what else we can do.
Good thinking. I noticed interviewees tend to stray from giving complete answers, so as detailed (I extended your Q) and as able to steer him back to topic would be great... we want all 4 rings to be accounted for!  Oooh, I like that! That way he has to either answer it, or say that he can't answer for spoiler-y reasons, but there won't be any getting distracted or talking his way around it.
I hope LP remains the forever tech-innocent for his sanity's sake... actually every celebrity should I know, right? Sometimes I wish LP was on Twitter like a bunch of the other Hobbit actors because if nothing else I could politely beg ask him if he'd consider being on an episode of TORn Tuesday, but I totally understand why he isn't on there or on a bunch of other sites. If I was an actor, I'd be kind of freaked out to go on a website and find that people had done drawings, gifs, etc., of me and characters that I had played doing things that I or the character never did. It would just be super weird, like, I wouldn't want to know that people think about me like that.
"But there’s empty cross, there’s an empty tomb
Fire and wind now sweeping in this tiny upper room
There’s a hungry world, there’s a risen King
Unlock the doors, what reason more could we ever need?
So sing with me, I dare you to
Because there’s an empty cross; there’s an empty tomb"
~Empty (Disciples)-sung by Dan Haseltine and Matt Hammitt
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Eruvandi
Tol Eressea
May 5 2014, 12:03am
Post #207 of 210
(13915 views)
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So maybe it's not a wedding band, maybe it represents the whole family, as there seems to be one large, wrinkly snake, one small wrinkly snake and one small, smooth snake (Thranduil, wife/mother, Legolas).
I thought both the small snakes were smooth. Yes, the one small one does seem to have some little marks on it (there are some less visible marks on the other small snake too) but IMO, it looks more like something that happened accidentally when the ring was made. Like, the tool that is used to stick the snakes together might have scratched it a little and couldn't be smoothed out again . Or, given how old Thranduil is, maybe the ring is supposed to be really old too and the marks are just scratches from the general wear and tear of him wearing it all that time.
Seriously though, I'm kinda stumped. I don't remember any snake references specific to Tolkien's legendarium. It could mean anything. (Or nothing. )
I see what you did there...
Perhaps the whole snake think has something to do with the whole thing of how the Mirkwood elves are "less wise and more dangerous"? I have no idea...Back to the meaning of the ring itself...
Thinking of the large snake just now, I think it's distinct texture is very interesting. On one hand it *does* look wrinkly, almost like how your fingers wrinkle and get prune-y when they're wet. On the other hand, when I look at it for a minute, it almost seems to look like rough tree bark. Maybe it's symbolic of how Thranduil is like an ancient tree that has stood tall and strong while watching thousands of years pass by. And if we're following along with the idea that the ring represents the whole family, the other two snakes are small and smooth to indicate that Legolas and wife/mother are/were younger and have seen less than him. Ooooor...
You know...as I think about Thranduil's rings and the way the one silver ring is corrupted while the other is not, and the large snake is "corrupted" while the others are not, it makes me wonder if maybe Thranduil's rings are reflections of him in a similar way to how Mirkwood is a reflection of him? Like, maybe the large, gold snake, and the one silver ring started out as smooth just like the other snakes and the other ring, but as Thranduil has become corrupted, that ring, and part of a ring that are symbolic of him have magically become corrupted too? Then, if we're right that the small snakes are representative of Legolas and wife/mother and the other silver ring belonged to wife, it makes sense that they would stay smooth because the two of them weren't/aren't corrupted...
The plot thickens...
"But there’s empty cross, there’s an empty tomb
Fire and wind now sweeping in this tiny upper room
There’s a hungry world, there’s a risen King
Unlock the doors, what reason more could we ever need?
So sing with me, I dare you to
Because there’s an empty cross; there’s an empty tomb"
~Empty (Disciples)-sung by Dan Haseltine and Matt Hammitt
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Eruvandi
Tol Eressea
May 5 2014, 12:33am
Post #208 of 210
(13895 views)
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Do you know the Japanese folklore about Momo-taro, or Peach boy? I think that's where the inspiration for this came from Yes, I think I remember hearing about that at some point when I was much younger. I also vaguely remember this show that I liked when I was little where, in this one episode, the characters were reading a story about "Shell boy" where, basically the same thing happened as with peach boy, except the main characters were a fisherman, his wife and a boy that they found in a clam shell and adopted as there own son. Shell boy made friends with some talking critters and had adventures too. I don't know if "Shell boy" is an official variant of Peach boy or if it's just a variant that the show's creators made up, but it was pretty silly.
Awwww, those are adorable! See, *that* is the kind of father that I imagine Thranduil being when Leggy was much younger: Not super cuddly, certainly not abusive, but still little moments of loving tenderness even while trying to deal with the official business that comes with being king of a whole realm.
LOL can't wait to see how that works out with Ronan (and I mean it in a good way) I find it interesting that Tom Hiddleston auditioned for Thor's role, became Loki and essentially stole the Thunder God's thunder, including a large chunk of the fangirl!squee. With GotG, LP also auditioned for the lead role but became the villian. The prosthetics and paint may get in the way of convincing fangirls to squee along, but there's still the same potential for title of fan-fav. At least on the superherohype forums LP's casting was quite well-received, and the comic-fandom's onboard and eagerly waiting to see the LP Ronan onscreen. The filmmakers, though, they're such teases! Still keeping Ronan close, and no official images of him. Boy do they know how to work up fandom interest! Yeeeeeah, I don't see Ronan being the eye-candy of GotG with all that blue stuff and the helmet covering his face. But if LP plays it well, and I'm sure he will, he still may become a fan favorite, even if it's not because of his drop-dead gorgeousness. I sure hope we get a good pic of him soon! Don't they know that LP is the absolute, only reason I care about or even watched the GotG trailers?!
"But there’s empty cross, there’s an empty tomb
Fire and wind now sweeping in this tiny upper room
There’s a hungry world, there’s a risen King
Unlock the doors, what reason more could we ever need?
So sing with me, I dare you to
Because there’s an empty cross; there’s an empty tomb"
~Empty (Disciples)-sung by Dan Haseltine and Matt Hammitt
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Eruvandi
Tol Eressea
May 5 2014, 2:10am
Post #209 of 210
(13895 views)
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Bwahah-*cough*-haha! I really shouldn't read your posts when I'm eating.
No wonder Legolas can hold his liquor so well. He learned from the best! I love the expressions on Elrond's face!
"But there’s empty cross, there’s an empty tomb
Fire and wind now sweeping in this tiny upper room
There’s a hungry world, there’s a risen King
Unlock the doors, what reason more could we ever need?
So sing with me, I dare you to
Because there’s an empty cross; there’s an empty tomb"
~Empty (Disciples)-sung by Dan Haseltine and Matt Hammitt
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
May 5 2014, 3:15am
Post #210 of 210
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As we've reached the 200-post limit again,
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I'll be locking this thread. Feel free to start another appreciation thread on page one.
(I'll place a bet that it will take all of 10 minutes for a new one to start...)
Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded beggar with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Ataahua's stories
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Okay
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