#where was gondor when the westfold fell

[gandalf-the-fool]

[creativecuquilu]

Craiyon things as prompted by Dalle - Part 2

Hope you like them!

[thecraggus]

Me workshopping new memes: “Alvin, Simon, Theoden…is that something?”

[dancingbluelight]

source !!

[enbycrip]

[twinkpoll]

Don't complain about the options in the final bracket if you weren't here for the six days of insanity that were the submission period.

[o-blivia]

Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell?

[fixaidea]

Dear costumers!

If you can answer the following:

'Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell?'

You are eligible to receive 1 pc OBI balloon at the construction department counter. Happy shopping!

[gandalf-the-fool]

[shadowofmorgoth444]

Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell?

[northfoldfire]

Why is your username the way it is.

Someone else took my own fucking name so I couldn't just do "North". Then I decided what the hell, "where was Gondor when the Westfold fell" but with my name instead of West (I'm trying out 'puns'. Connor says I'm good at it but he'd say that no matter what.) Then even "northfold" was taken, so I added "fire" because. Well, you know.

[spinostarz]

i think a curse has been placed on me because i cant stop randomly just saying "Where was Gondor when the Westfold fell" in a super dramatic voice whenever im hanging out with friends

[dancingbluelight]

source !!

[niennawept]

Have you ever thought about where was Gondor when the Westfold fell?

I have! But I'm sorry to say that I've never actually looked up the answer (fake LotR nerd - the shame!). Tbh, I'm really shaping up to be more of a Silm fan and I've forgotten much of what I once knew about the Third Age.

[clownboy-yeehonk]

Theoden is such a crucial character bc to me he's in the same font as boromir. He's a mortal man facing impossible circumstances and he struggles! One of the recurring themes of these stories is how dangerous and destructive despair can be. The loss of hope in ordinary people does just as much harm as evil itself--see denethor who's driven mad by the palantir.

Theoden faces what is, on paper, impossible. It's what, 300 men in helms deep? Against 10,000 orcs? Ridiculously terrible odds. All through the race to helms deep and the battle itself, you see theoden battle doubt. He despairs that all is going to be lost, his line ended, his son is dead and his people are soon to follow (are we seeing the influence of world wars here, it's not an allegory but tolkien definitely drew off his own lived experience). And yet you see theoden, again and again, decide to keep going. If they're going to die they're going to make it a death worthy of song.

And then he does it again! Gondor calls for aid, and Rohan will answer! He's human enough to ask where Gondor was when the Westfold fell, and he's bitter but he answers the call anyway! He rides into battle (after delivering one of the coolest pre battle movie speeches ever) screaming death and kills a fell beast, and gets to see his niece slay the witch king before dying.

He doubts, he fears, he's mortal and he doesn't make it to see the sun rise on better days, but he does it anyway. He's so utterly human, and that's what (in my opinion) makes his performance work. We see him struggle to put aside his fear and doubt to do what needs to be done, all while wondering if it's any good!

And it is good. Better days do come, because even when it all seems over and lost, ordinary people deciding to do what they can is ultimately what is going to make the difference against insurmountable evil, whether you're a hobbit or a king.

He's ordinary and human in his moments of weakness and that's what makes his performance so poignant, and it makes it even more impactful when he's strong and noble because at the end of the day, he's just as human as the rest of us.

Anyway the fact that none of the actors got academy awards is utterly criminal.

In light of the sad news about Bernard Hill, I feel like we should take a moment to really appreciate the acting performances in the LOTR trilogy. The fact that none of the cast got Academy Awards is well-known and I think even now the sheer visual spectacle of the trilogy can overshadow everything else, but the performances were SO crucial to what made the films great.

It’s easy to take the success of the movies for granted now, but that was never a guarantee. Aside from the practical aspects of portraying such an epic fantasy onscreen, the series is peppered with dialogue that is fine on the page but unbelievably difficult to deliver. As Harrison Ford famously remarked to George Lucas re Star Wars “You can write this stuff, but you can’t say it.”

From Gandalf’s “To the Bridge of Khazad-Dum!” to Elrond’s “It must be cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came!” it would be so easy for the whole thing to collapse into farce. The only reason it doesn’t, is because of the talent and conviction of the actors.

Bernard Hill was tasked with one of the most objectively ridiculous lines in the entire trilogy. “The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep one last time!” And he delivered. BOY, did he deliver. He gave it all the gravitas and emotional weight of Shakespeare, he made it truly rousing instead of ridiculous, he took the audience with him to that moment, that place, right into Middle Earth with its people and its history, and made it REAL.

And for that, I thank and salute him. RIP, sir. Go now to the halls of your fathers. You earned it.