#yeah i'm not done rereading lord of the rings yet

[tolkientolkientolkien]

Silmarillion Pre-Reread Review and Comments

So! This is my third and last for the moment. The Silmarillion! I have not read this book in its entirety for over a year and a half, which is quite sad, so I am posting my thoughts on it, then rereading, then updating (via a reply) my thoughts to reflect newer views. Should be interesting!

General Impressions of this Book When I first read this book I read it for more information on Tolkien’s villains and their backstories (because, as you can probably tell if you read my other thoughts, I really really like them). Specifically on The Nazgûl of all people. Yeah. They show up like once in the last 50 pages of the book… poor planning on my part. Anyways, the second time I read the Silmarillion through I was there more for the heroes, parallels, irony, and Melkor. Make sense? Probably not, but ONWARD

Characters:

Well, there are a lot. I’m just going to list the first amazing and meh characters that come to mind, as well as a catergory of “I wish I knew more about this character” because there are so many and I missed a few.

Amazing: Melkor/Morgoth - I’m getting the villains over with at the top of the list because, to be honest, they’re probably pretty predictable. I am fond of Melkor’s character because he is a spoiled five-year-old disaster child with like 3 friends. Oh, and the ultimate evil. Honestly, villains and their motivations interest me. How does one claim the moral high-ground while entirely subverting it? How does one keep it while literally destroying someone’s life and sanity? It interests me. Of course, I don’t necessarily approve of his actions, but that goes without saying. Sauron - As I said, pretty predictable. Now. Just a clarifier - I… don’t ship. Like at all. And it’s nothing to do with the characters, it’s just that my silly brain has a low tolerance for non-platonic relationships. So I personally can’t ship angbang (although I will occasionally read fanfictions because decent characterization of my favorite characters is at times worth it). With that in mind, Sauron (for me currently and with the qualifier of my somewhat clouded memory) shines best in the role of a servant of a higher power. His intelligence and skill at manipulation are most terrifying when he can play the real power/mastermind as off at a distance. He’s a genius at intricate plans, designs, and the actual process of winning, but grand visions of the universe are, in my current view, something he is more comfortable borrowing from others. OOH SAURON’S RAP BATTLE WITH WHO WAS THAT FINROD HE WAS COOL TOO THERE ARE TOO MANY NAMES THAT START WITH F okay I need to stop sorry that one was long Fingolfin - Fingolfin, like Faramir, is a cinnamon roll who did not deserve any of the things. I have several siblings, so sibling relationships and problems amuse me greatly. Fingolfin is noble and that perfect younger sibling who never gets in trouble for anything and-… ugh-… the description of his going to fight Morgoth is just SO SAD HELP *sobs* Fëanor - Fëanor is 150% an awful person… but I relate to him soooo much. His inability to take criticism, skill at accidentally blowing things out of proportion, and #sibling problems make it so that I love this character… but hate his life choices so very much like DUDE Y ARE U LIKE THIS??? I too feel that I may accidentally start wwiii by ranting too much so LET’S BURN SOME BOATS YAY er no Maedhros (and Maglor) Adding to the list of cinnamon rolls who do not deserve the things, these poor characters and their terrible oath are so very sad. Maedhros is one of my very favorite characters because he tried so very hard and yet failed and it just kills me (and him too oh wait). Okay. He was my favorite long before that but I like being poetic WHICH LEADS ME TO MAGLOR who is also awesome, but I don’t really have time to describe it other than that he was the only smart person in this entire story who just chucked the cursed thing into the ocean. A+ Glorfindel - I mean, I missed him in my LOTR thoughts, so I’d better put him in here. Glorfindel is awesome. So very awesome. I mean, you can’t get much cooler than falling off a cliff, killing a balrog, to save a whole lot of people. Luthien - Luthien was my Halloween costume when I was 15. No one had the slightest clue who she was and I was very sad. Do I even need to explain this? Luthien literally talked (well, sang) two valar and one of the creepiest maia I know of (well, that one was the dog) half to death in order to her achieve her goals. I don’t know how you can get much more awesome than that. Tar-Míriel - TAR-MÍRIEL WAS A PERFECT CINNAMON ROLL WHO DID NOT DESERVE THE THINGS OKAY *sobs*

Meh: Turin - turin u are a drama queen but i guess i sort of like u anyways so i dunno Maeglin - again, I have nothing against people who like this character, I just personally don’t care especially much for him. certain of the sons of Fëanor who shall remain unnamed because I cannot remember their names - I mean, you were cursed, but still??? Ar-Pharazôn - Dude, I don’t care if your name looks cool or you attacked Valainor, I hate you from the depths of my soul. (annatar was cool though, yay sauron AND MELKOR REFERENCES I IS HAPPY)