she wasn't in the later movies, being non-canon & all. Assuming she got to return to Mirkwood, that's all the explanation needed. And even if she didn't, there's no reason to think Legolas would have seen her in either Rivendell or Lothlorien. She could have sailed west with the other wood-elves. I admit I was less than happy with the Kili/Tauriel/Bolg scene, but I don't think her dying would have made it any more palatable. Most people on TORn have a bigger problem with the fact that Fili & Kili died separately, and not "defending Thorin with shield and body." Plus there's the Beorn thing. As for Legolas not sticking around, well he basically took Tauriel's side over his father, so perhaps he thought if she were banished, he ought to be as well.


I get what you're saying about that never-ending fight scene, and the reason for the grudge match was SO DUMB!!! Thorin v. Azog: You killed my grandfather & nephew, prepare to die! Legolas v. Bolg: You bloodied my nose, prepare to die! Yeah, pretty lame

Likewise, Fili and Kili dying for Thorin was used by Tolkien as an excuse for the lack of character development - all we see between them in the book is Thorin mentioning that they are his nephews in Laketown. Instead, the films show their bond, and Kili and Thorin's agony and trauma at Fili's death. There is far more development in the films than in the book.

Even a minor addition like Thorin understanding that Kili has died and he is all that is left of the Line of Durin might have made his final stand against Azog feel more meaningful.

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One of my bigger complaints with the book is the lack of character development, but I gotta cut Tolkien a little slack here as he was still working on his writing style. I hated both the fact that he killed off both nephews and the way he did it, kind of like an afterthought - "oh yeah, they died, too." But the fact that PJ didn't have them die together is a common complaint on this board. Interesting that you didn't like Beorn killing Bolg, I don't suppose I care that much one way or another. Yeah, Legolas was fighting to protect Tauriel, and it's that love triangle that to me makes this story less good. I personally would have preferred Tauriel going to aid the Dwarves because it was the right thing to do, instead of trying (and failing) to protect her crush, but I guess WB decided the movie needed a romantic subplot I look forward to reading the article on their fighting styles, thanks for the link!

... isn't that Kili and Fili don't die in the same moment. Instead it's that some audience members feel less pathos and emotion for the scene because of the way it is constructed. As it stands, the trauma in this scene is broken into two portions– trauma for the downfall of the line of Durin, and trauma for Tauriel and Kili's mutual loss.

For some people, this creates a thematic incision that ultimately makes the climax of the film less impactful because Kili's death doesn't necessarily mean anything in relation to Fili and Thorin's death. And it's worse if you don't buy the love story between Kili and Tauriel.

I think a lot of people wanted a sense of thematic unity, and Kili dying defending Thorin instead of Tauriel might have brought more weight to the scene.

Even a minor addition like Thorin understanding that Kili has died and he is all that is left of the Line of Durin might have made his final stand against Azog feel more meaningful. Instead, (I feel) it has the weight of a final boss battle in a video game. Thorin isn't given the moment to feel the magnitude of what has transpired– and the stakes of what it means if the Line of Durin falls is never made entirely clear, except that as audience members, we obviously wouldn't like it if we like these characters.

Again, I think this would have been solved with more time to clarify this sequence, but the studios weren't as flexible with reshoots and scheduling as New Line was in the LOTR days.

Ah, but the love triangle is just Thranduil throwing shade...

Also, Kili doesn't die for Tauriel.

He throws himself forward in rage and grief, determined to avenge his brother.

He then goes to fight alongside Tauriel

We'll have to agree to disagree on this.

I note she does die in the book:


"Often we let him mount up to the highest branches, until he felt the free wind; but we set a guard at the tree's foot. One day he refused to come down, and the guards had no mind to climb after him: he had learned the trick of clinging to boughs with his feet as well as with his hands; so they sat by the tree far into the night.
"It was that very night of summer, yet moonless and starless, that Orcs came on us at unawares. We drove them off after some time; they were many and fierce, but they came from over the mountains, and were unused to the woods. When the battle was over, we found that Gollum was gone, and his guards were slain or taken."
-The Council of Elrond