Sir Peter Jackson Reacts to Criticism about 48 FPS

Sir Peter Jackson gave a verbal response to the criticism that has been given by viewers of the released 10 minutes of film at last weeks CinemaCon at Las Vegas. Here is an excerpt of an article i viewed:

 
Peter Jackson says the negative reaction this week over new technology he’s using to shoot The Hobbit won’t hold him back, and he hopes moviegoers will give it a try and judge for themselves.
“Nobody is going to stop,” he said. “This technology is going to keep evolving.”
When Warner Bros. showed off 10 minutes of footage this week at CinemaCon, the annual convention for theater owners, many attendees complained that this version of Middle Earth looked more like a movie set than the atmospheric, textured world seen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

There was a lot of love for Jackson’s storytelling — the scenes of young Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman, from the British version of The Office) battling a trio of goblins, and Ian McKellen’s Gandalf exploring the tombs of the now-reanimated ringwraiths, received universal praise. Complaints only centered on the technology used to capture and project the footage.

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Jackson hopes critics of the format will change their minds when they see the finished film, but notes that it will also be available in traditional formats in many theaters.
“At first it’s unusual because you’ve never seen a movie like this before. It’s literally a new experience, but you know, that doesn’t last the entire experience of the film–not by any stretch, [just] 10 minutes or so,” Jackson tells EW. “That’s a different experience than if you see a fast-cutting montage at a technical presentation.”
So what does he say to people who just decide they don’t like the glossy new look of the format he’s using?

“I can’t say anything,” Jackson acknowledges. “Just like I can’t say anything to someone who doesn’t like fish. You can’t explain why fish tastes great and why they should enjoy it.”
Right now, every second of a motion picture is made up of 24 images, or “frames,” but Jackson is shooting his two Hobbit films at 48 frames per second, which he says creates a more lifelike picture and will make 3-D less of a strain on the eyes.
When it debuts Dec. 14., The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be the first major performance for 48-frames, while this week’s showcase was just an audition. Jackson says those who remain unconvinced should wait to see more before closing their minds completely. “There can only ever be a real reaction, a truthful reaction, when people actually have a chance to see a complete narrative on a particular film,” he said.
Some representatives from smaller theater chains, unwilling to speak on the record, grumbled privately about the cost of upgrading their projection equipment (which could be thousands of dollars per screen) to accommodate something they fear could attract a backlash from customers.
Jackson, however, says he noticed one thing in the press: Critics seemed to like it more as the show went on.
“A couple of the more negative commenters from CinemaCon said that in the Gollum and Bilbo scene [which took place later in the presentation] they didn’t mind it and got used to that,” Jackson says. “That was the same 48 frames the rest of the reel was. I just wonder if it they were getting into the dialogue, the characters and the story. That’s what happens in the movie. You settle into it.”
The Hobbit has become the touchstone in a larger conversation happening within the film industry about how to make movies more immersive and appealing.
While Jackson and Avatar‘s James Cameron are advocates, not all directors are sold on the 48 frames format. Ang Lee – who was at CinemaCon to show footage from his upcoming 3-D epic Life of Pi – told EW he hadn’t seen The Hobbit presentation but worries that 48-frames may be too much of a good thing. “I have mixed feelings. I don’t think 48-frames solves everything. Each time you solve a problem you can bring in others — because you make the problem look more clear, maybe, ” he said with a laugh. “It takes time. It sounds like a good idea, but I’m a little skeptical.”
Despite the mixed reaction, Jackson and Warner Bros. did not lose any major support from exhibitors they need to get this format in front of audiences. Large exhibitors remained committed to at least giving 48-frames a try, based on Jackson’s track record as an innovator. Amy Miles, CEO of Regal Entertainment Group, said she hoped to upgrade between 2,500-2,700 of the company’s 3-D projectors to show films at 48 frames per second.
“At end of the day, we have to do everything we can to widen that experience gap between what you see in the theater and what you see in the home,” Miles told EW. “Bringing the option to our customer is what we’re doing. Ultimately, let’s be clear, that’s who decides what’s going to be successful going forward.”
Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Bros., suggested audiences may just need time to get accustomed to the new presentation. “It might not initially be accepted by all, but eventually [Jackson] feels it will be and eventually it can only improve,” he said.
Fellman also pointed out that some of the Hobbit footage was unfinished. In a pre-taped intro, Jackson warned the audience that many visual effects were not yet in place. Fellman said the rawness of the material may have been at least partly responsible for the negative response. “I think by the time he presents this film finished, the majority of moviegoers will accept it and be pleased,” Fellman said.
The studio won’t have to bet its entire box office earnings on the foundation of 48 frames per second.  The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey will be available in six different ways: 3-D, 2-D, and IMAX 3-D, each one in both the traditional 24-frames style and the new 48-frames

  Evidently there will be many different styles to choose from, so keep the countdown to December 14th going. It's gonna be a great time no matter how you choose to view it.

Things you probably didn't know but didn't bother to ask

Her are several facts in Tolkiens world you probably did't Know, such as:

 (1) Galadriel married Celeborn during the First age, from what I could discover they were related to one another. Celeborn was Galadriel's grandfather's brother's grandson. Hmm, lets see. that would I believe make them cousins but I'm not sure in what degree. First, second , third, not really sure but definitely related. Does that make the relationship incestuous? Probably, but please feel free to draw your own conclusion here.

 (2) Galadriel and Celeborn had one daughter named Celebrian, she would grow up to marry Elrond, yes that Elrond. They had three children, two boys Elladan and Elrohir and one daughter Arwen. That means that Galadriel is Arwens Grandmother and Elronds mother in Law. and eventually Aragorns Grandmother in Law if there is such a thing.

 (3) Aragorn is of Numenorean race and was therefore long lived, at the time of his marriage to Arwen he was 87 years old but Arwen was Elfish and was around 2,790 years old . She really went for the younger guys. She gave up her immortality to live as a human, she had that right being half or one quarter Elf. She died in the 121st year of the Fourth Age at the ripe old age of 2,901. Aragorn was but a mere 210 when he died but he did enjoy a nice log reign as King Of Gondor, some 120 years or so.

 (4) While the battle in front of Saurons gate was happening tere were other battles being fought elsewhere. Sauron had sent other armies out to do their part in the conquering of Middle Earth. Bard the Bowmans Grandson Brand King of Dale and Dain II the King under the Mountains made so famous in the Hobbit stood  stood with their respective Armies of Men and Dwarfs against an army of Saurons and both died doing so but their Armies were victorious. Meanwhile another Army of Saurons attacked Lothlorien home of Celeborn and Galadriel not once but three times and the Elves led by Celeborn defeated them three times. The Elves eventually attacked Dol Goldur ( home of the Necromancer in the Hobbit ) and with Galdriels aide they tore down the very walls of Dol Goldur itself and there Mirkwood was cleansed and thereafter was called Lorien.

Elven Magic

What kind of magic are we discussing? Not the Harry Potter kind of magic not the old pulling a rabbit out of a hat type magic. No we are going to discuss Elven magic in Middle Earth. Yes Elves were magical beings just because of their very nature. I mean immortality is quite the magic trick even though they did not give it to themselves it is still magical in nature, What we need is a good definition of magic.Her I'll throw this at you .The art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature. There that should help. Now the Elfs had different kinds of magic they performed. They are as follows:

(1)  MAGIC OF THE MIND. This is the simplest way to put it. We have several examples of this magic. Let us start with Galadriels mirror. With this mirror she helped the viewer see the future unaffected by present action. For example Sam sees the Shire destroyed and in flames which was a vision of what might be so the magic was involved with foresight. We also have Galadriel communicating with other Elves via long distance Telepathy and at the end of  The Return Of The King it is said the Galadriel, Celeborn and Gandalf talked for long stretches about the olden days without ever speaking a word, all in the mind you see. When Galadriel first meets the fellowship in Lothlorien she communicates with them all telepathically and offers each a choice which some reveal and others don't and eventually she warns Frodo that Boromir will try to take the ring, she appears to have the gift of magical foresight, that is she can see the into the future.

(2) MAGIC OF CREATING,  Well, what do i mean by that? The Elves were master craftsman, many were taught by the Valar ( Gods ) when they dwelled with them in the undying lands and they had many centuries to learn their craft. They were able to channel what we would call magic into their creations, we have several examples. The Palantir or the seeing stone so prominently mentioned in The Lord Of The Rings (LOTR) these were stones or crystal balls if you like that allowed the user to see far distances and if the mind and will was strong enough to communicate with others. Both Saruman and The Steward of Gondor used them with disastrous results for both. As you can see magic can be both a positive and  a negative force. The Creator of the Palaniri was Feanor one of the mightiest Elves ever, it was he who also made the Silmarils using light from  the two great trees of the Valar. Jewels that were so beautuful that they ignited the great war that ended the First age of Middle Earth. Also we know of the great rings of power crafted by the Elves with the aid of Sauron,these rings could delay the effects of time and turn the wearer invisible among other magical properties. We are told of great Elven blades that had magical power, Frodos balde Sting would glow blue whenever there were Orcs around and also remember Galadriels phial that offered light when all others had failed. We have Arwens banner that was black as night to us mortals but yet was viewed by the Oath Breakers at the paths of the dead that showed  Aragorn to be the rightful heir of Isildur.

   This is of course only my understanding of the magic of the Elves, others have written better and longer on this subject, I suggest you do a Google search on Elven magic and see what you can turn up.

John-Rhys_Davies (Gimli) speaks about "The Hobbit" and 48 FPS. Let not your hearts be troubled Hobbit fans. If Gimli says it's good than it is Good. Nuff said.

Discussion of the Hobbit by the panel at ComicCon 2011

  Thought you might enjoy this discussion panel at the ComicCon . Really interesting stuff from 2011.

TORN( the one ring net) Teusday event/ Hobbit Spoilers

  I spent a very nice and rewarding Teusday evening in Barlimans chatroom last evening awaiting a report to be given by Quickbeam ( Clifford Broadway ) at TORN Teusday an informal chat experience at The One Ring Net site. It was delyed an hour while Quickbeam made the drive in from Vegas but I had a good time chatting with others in the chatroom and let me tell you there are some very dedicated Tolkien/Peter Jackson fans there and from all over the world, it was an unique and fun experience and I highly reccommend it to all fans of Professor Tolkiens.The report from Quickbeam is every Teusday at 5:00 pm Pacific time, 8:00 pm New York time and has been a rather layed back affair with Quickbeam talking and occasionally answering questions/comments from people in the chatroom, I even got a few questions in which was a bit of a thrill. Quickbeam gave a very enthusiastic report on the 10 minute preview from Sir Peter Jackson, the preview was preceeded by a video clip from Sir Peter explaining his decision to make "The Hobbit" in 48 frames per second mode (FPS) instead of the 80 year old standard of 24 FPS. Sir Peter explained that at 48 FPS it was like someone had knocked a wall in the Theater and you were staring through the hole at the action going on outside. I personally will take his word for it and will make a concerted effort to find a theater near me that will be able to show that film at 48 FPS, that coupled with 3-D should make this an incredible movie event, coupling the technical aspects of the movie with a story I have known and loved for Decades and combining that with what I am sure is a hugely talented team of Actors and Industry professionals well let us just say this December can't get here soon enough,Okay now for Quickbeams report and I warn you in advance that there are spoilers ahead so be warned and avert your eyes for the rest of this report. Here are the  contents of the scenes Quickbeam reported on :

  The White Council featuring Saruman, Gandalf, Galadriel and Elrond.- Here we have the council discussing the finding of a sword of mystery that had been discovered that Galadriel announces to the Council is a Morgul Blade that is only carried by Ringwraiths and leads her to believe that they have risen once again from there tombs by the power of Sauron.Which leads Gandalf to journey to their tombs to see if they have indeed risen from their crypts.
- Riddles in the Dark with Smeagol and Bilbo- This was proaly the longest scene shown and was described as a rather creepy affair and that Gollums appearance is much approved over the Gollum of LOTR and that Andy Serkis had lost none of his flair in his presentation of Gollum.

- The Trolls – Tom, Bert and Bill – This was described as a rather extended scene and the Trolls are quite different in appearance from LOTR and here actually speak in a British Cockney accent as spoken in the novel, Quickbeam described it as very exciting and technically brilliant with lots of swordplay from the Dwarfs. Do they turn to stone like in the novel? Didn't get to ask. Sorry.

- Gandalf in Dol Guldur with Thrain  Thrain was the father of Thorin Oakenshield and gave him the map to the sidedoor into the lonely mountain next to Smaugs lair.This is supposed to have happened prior to Gandalfs meeting with Thorin Oakenshield, I am not sure how this timeline will play out in the storyline of the movie.

- Legolas and Tauriel in an action sequence -  Here we get to see Legolas in action and he appears to be of a different attitude towards Dwarves as one of his line is " don't think that i won't kill you Dwarf " while aiming an arrow at Thorin Oakenshields head. We also meet Tauriel ( Evangeline Lilly of LOST fame ) a character created by Sir Peter for the movie and all I can say is right on. She has to be one of the hottest actresses ever and I can't wait to see her as an Elf.

- Radagast the Brown  a fellow Wizard. This sounded a little bizarre and a little hilarious . Gandalf meets Radagast who Quickbeam described as wearing a Wizards hat that when removed shows a birdsnest  underneat it which would explain all the bird poop in Radagasts beard, LOL and get this he has a sleigh pulled by Bunny rabbits. Quickbeam explains that these are not your average bunnies so I can't wait to see this scene.

- Quickbeam also explained the somewhat controversial scene where Galadriel plays with Gandalfs hair in a rather flirtful way. It seems she is asking why Gandalf chose a hobbit (Bilbo) to accompany the Dwarfs on their mission to slay Smaug and Gandalf admits to having lately feeling afraid and that Bilbo in some unexplainable way gave him courage. There Galadriel brushes his hair and says something to the effect that  we should all draw strength through friends.So it appears she wasn't flirting with him at all and shame on you for thinking so

  I know you have read the reviews and some were very negative on the 48fps part of the movie some even going so far as to say that the 48fps aspect would doom "The Hobbit" to failure by an audience who would not be able to fathom or stomach so radical a change in the way one views a movie.You know that there were critics that felt the advent of Talkies back in the 1930s would ruin things for the movie going public and you see how that turned out. Just sit back and relax and let old Professor Jackson sort things out. I promise you that you won't be dissappointed or I'll kiss a Troll smack on the lips.

Bad Reviews For " The Hobbit "

 In Las Vegas today at ComicCom a 10 minute clip of " The Hobbit " was shown and garnered some pretty negative reviews, not concerning the Storyline or acting but about Sir Peter Jacksons decision to use 48 Frames Per Second (FPS) instead of the industry standard 24 FPS. Here I will present an excerpt of a review given by a reviewer at IGN.com ( It looked like an old Doctor Who episode, or a videotaped BBC TV production. It was as shocking as when The Twilight Zone made the boneheaded decision to switch from film to tape one season, and where perfectly good stories were ruined by that aesthetic. Here, there were incredibly sharp, realistic images where colors seem more vivid and brighter than on film, but the darker scenes were especially murky (and the 3D only dims that image even more). Frankly, it was jarring to see Gandalf, Bilbo or the dwarves in action against CG-created characters or even to move quickly down a rocky passage. The whipping of a camera pan or the blur of movement was unsettling.

While 48fps may create a more realistic, "you are there" picture quality, it actually works against The Hobbit from the 10 minutes of footage we saw. This undeniable "reality" kept pulling me out of the movie rather than immersing me fully into its world as the Lord of the Rings films did; the very fantasy element, the artifice of it all (whether it's the wigs, fake beards or CG monsters) was plainly, at times painfully, evident. There was none of the painterly gentleness that film offers a fantasy film, as was so beautifully the case with the original (shot on film) LOTR trilogy. I fully expect the 48fps issue to become the much-talked about "mumbling Bane" flap to come out of CinemaCon. ). As you can plainly see not exactly a glowing review and I have read several more in the same vein. What is to be drawn from this criticism? Not much really. These 10 minutes were from unfinished excerpts of a movie still in process and the final product has yet to be delivered to our local cinema screen. Be of good cheer fellow Tolkien and Sir Peter fans all will be well come December 14th, rest assured that you have an amazing journey in front of you and to tell you the truth I have never really set much stock in professional reviewers anyways. God! the times I got screwed over by Siskel and Heberts reviews I don't care to count..

                                                                    AH HA

Not 10 minutes after posting this I ran across this review: 

  
We won't reveal any spoilers about the unfinished footage that was shown (green screens appeared in shots as this was just rough footage), Jackson and Warner Bros did show off fight scenes (including a couple of shots of Orlando Bloom as Legolas in action), more intimate conversations between lead characters, and grand sweeping shots of the scenery. It was, simply put, mind-blowing to see in 48 frames per second. It's literally like being on the set next to the actors as they're performing.
As Jackson also explained, he chose to show 10 minutes of footage because it does take a moment for your eyes to adjust to the higher rate, something I noticed extremely briefly before becoming totally immersed in the footage. You can not get a more genuine, realistic viewing experience than this unless you are watching a performance live.
Said Jackson, "As a filmmaker, I always want to create a strong sense of reality, to allow the audience to lose themselves in whatever the cinematic story is that I'm presenting. Shooting and projecting at 48 fps gives you the illusion that a hole has been cut in the wall of the cinema, and you're watching the story unfold with a heightened sense of reality. It's terrific for 3D; I've looked at the 48 fps dailies for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 3D for over a year now, and with the reduction in strobing and flicker, it is a much more gentle experience on your eyes. 48 fps is not just limited to 3D. A film shot in 48 fps looks fantastic when projected in 2D, and converts well to 24 fps as well."
Once audiences get to see The Hobbit screened at the 48 frames per second rate when it's released in theaters on December 14, 2012, I can guarantee moviegoers are going to demand all films be presented at 48 fps.

      I guess the moral to this story is, wait and judge for yourself  fellow Tolkenites or Tolkonians. Please pick your own Descriptive.

The Hobbit Movie Update

     Well it's just under eight months to go till " The Hobbit " movie part one shows up in your local theater. The latest scoop is more of a technical one. The standard frame rate of movies had been 24 frames per second (FPS) like forever but Sir Peter Jackson and fellow Director James Cameron have been leading a crusade in Hollywood to change over to 48 frames per second. At this frame rate a movie will have a much sharper image eliminating jutter and other motion artifacts, so Sir Peter will be presenting " The Hobbit " not only in 3-D but also at 48 FPS. There is a small problem with this as most movie theaters projectors at this time and date can only show movies at the old standard of 24 FPS, So what is to happen come December 14th. I predict that a lot of theaters will make the necessary upgrades in order to stay competitive so come Dec. 13 check out the local area theaters and see who had made the switch and make the necessary arrangements. It would seem that they will all eventually be forced to do so, James Cameron will be making the new Avatar movies at 48 FPS and the advent of big time blockbusters at 48 FPS will force this switch upon them. Just as long as they don't mess with the popcorn.
    In production news they are still filming major scenes and will finish some time in the future. Questions arise: such as. where will " The Hobbit " part ones storyline end? I personally feel it will be at Laketown and the party setting off to face the Dragon Smaug but others have different ideas on that matter. Will they show the White Council in battle with the Necromancer ( Sauron)? That would be seriously  cool. How much airtime will be given to Christopher Lees character (Saruman)? A lot I hope. There are a lot of unanswered questions that will all be explained in due time but until then it is always fun to come up with them and new ones as well. On an interesting aside it was revealed today that up to ten minutes of "The Hobbit " film will be shown at CinemaCon in Las Vegas tomorrow 4/24/2012. it will be shown in 3-D at 48 FPS, lets hope that some or all of it will leak out to the public.

Of Dragons

  It is said that the Valar did not have the power to create new life but Melkor is credited to bringing about the existence of two different races on Middle Earth, the Orcs and Dragons. He didn't actually create either race out of nothingness. What he did was to take a certain race or species and through the use of dark and terrible magic pervert it. Orcs were said to have come from captive Elves held in the dungeons of Melkors fortress Angband. As for Dragons I have not been able to discover what beast he used for this transformation but transform he did. After seeing the strength of the Elves he felt that Orcs alone would not be sufficient to aid him in their defeat so he begat the race of Dragons.There were two types : (Glaurung) which were flightless and (Ancalagon) which had wings and thus the power of flight.Smaug of course was Ancalagon.Winged-dragons only first appeared during the War of Wrath, the battle that ended the First Age, so all dragons introduced before the end of the First Age couldn't fly (such as Glaurung), although breeds of wingless dragons did survive into later ages.Also there were fire breathers and those that breathed Frost. The father of Dragons was named Glaurung who was slain by Turin Turambur. The one Dragon that most Tolkien fans are familiar with is of course Smaug. In the late Third Age the dragons bred in the Northern Waste and Withered Heath north of the Ered Mithrin, stirred by the return of the King, and began to make war with the Dwarves around year 2570 , DainI and Fror of Durins Folk were killed by a great cold-drake in 2589). It was perhaps in these wars that dragons swallowed four of the Seven Dwarf rings. The dragons also shared a love of treasure (especially gold), subtle intelligence, immense cunning, great physical strength, and a hypnotic power called "dragon-spell". The best way to talk to a dragon under the circumstances of this spell (when it was questioning you) was to not directly give it the information it wanted, as this would compromise you and your friends, but not to flat out deny it an answer, because this would anger it to violence. Therefore, the best way to talk to the dragon is to be vague and speak in riddles- apparently dragons find it hard to resist wasting time with riddles. When Bilbo is in the cave he answers Smaugs questions about who he is using terms like Barrel Rider and the Lucky number and through these what seemed to be clever riddles Smaug knew he had come to Laketown and was one of thirteen others ( Dwarves, He could tell by their smell) and because of these clues decided to destroy Laketown, he really was quite the clever Dragon. He of course was slain by Bard the Bowman but he was not the last Dragon Gandalftold Frodo that "there is not now any dragon left on earth in which the old fire is hot enough [to melt the Rings of Power]", indicating the presence of other, lesser dragons. An interesting aside; Dragons always slept with one eye open if they felt or found anything suspicious around their treasure cave and knew each bit of their treasure down to the smallest bit.

Eru; Lord God Almighty/Absentee Landlord.

 Eru is the Supreme being who in the beginning of the Silmarillion creates the Valar ( lesser Gods/Angels) who through him sing great songs that help bring about Middle Earth and he sends those of the Valar who so desire it, to Middle Earth to finish the job and to be there for Erus children when the awake, that is Elfs and Man. THe Valar then descend to Middle Earth and go about the business at hand which is of course the making of Arda ( The World) and then poof out of the picture poor old Eru goes. From them on he is just a name mentioned every now and then but he seems to have left the running of things to the Valar and gone on about his business. Seems he rather washed his hands of the whole affair and left things in the care of his underlings.Why? Did he get bored or did he do all this creating business for his own amusement.Lets see I'll make this place and populate it and kick back with an adult beverage or two and watch this whole thing fall apart, should be good for a few chuckles. Let me see what can I add to my perfect little world to make it a little more interesting Hmmm? I've got it. I'll throw in greed,jealousy,hate,predjudice and I'll let the Elves live for ever which oughta really piss off Men who will only get to live a little while,yeah that ought make things lively. Maybe a little far fetched but he does seem to me to have lost interest and left it all to middle management.The only other time you hear of him doing anything at all is when the Numenoreans try to overtake the Blessed Realm and the Valar turn things over to Eru and how does he handle it, maybe try a little diplomacy, give them a stern lecture? Nah, he wipes their asses out.Not much for compassion, old Eru. Oh well it just seemed like a good little rant about an omnipotent being who basically seemed when it was all said and done to be as I said an absentee landlord. These are my opinions, what are yours?

Jewelry,Rings and Sparkly Things and Greed and war and death

   Rather a strange title for a Blog entry but having read quite a bit of Professor Tolkiens works i have come to notice that so many of the tales revolve around some bauble of great magic or beauty and it always causes someone or some people to go a little crazy and start killing each other over it or them and its not just Men. ( the so called easily corruptible ) but also Elves and even Gods. We have this image of Elves as superior beings who are so above all this nonsense but they are just as bad as Men about this if not worse.. If you have doubts about this statement of mine then please read my blog on " The Terrible Oath" . There is a whole storyline on Saurons war with the Elves to retrieve the rings of power that the Elves made, his logic being that he taught them how to make them ( so he could control them) and if they weren't going to use them then he wanted them back and this war lasted over a thousand years. Yet you hear about it only briefly in the appendix at the end of "The Return Of The King". I'm not even going to mention the Silmarils and the sadness and death they brought about.There was also the  a great jewel of wonder and beauty called the Arkenstone and this great jewel placed a great  lust for its possession in the Dwarves and helped to bring about the untimely death of Thorin Oakenshield as a matter of fact a good part of the ending chapters of The Hobbit dealt with the convergence of four great armies ( Men, Dwarf, Elf and Goblin) all coming for their fair share of the jewels and gold of the Dwarfs of the Lonely mountains. It seems everyone was easily corruptible when it came to to jewels and gold. But Professor Tolkien being a great moralist seldom allowed anyone to keep these treasures and profit or receive pleasure from their acquisition, usually they lost them through treachery or deceit or the jewel itself punished them ( please see the Silmarils) but no one ever seemed to see the errors of their ways and the good people of Middle Earth still continued to lust for jewels, rings and sparkly things.

Of Bilbo and the Dwarfs

Bilbo Baggins was a Hobbit and therefor supposed to be inclined to being a bit of a homebody and never do anything so out of character as going off on adventures with Wizards and Dwarfs and fighting Spiders and Dragons but that is exactly what he did to his everlasting amazement. But how did these events get set in place. It all begins with one of the great rings of power that was given to the Dwarf Thror and the magic of the ring helped to increase the wealth of the Dwarfs and they became rich and prosperous, unfortunately such news of their wealth came at last to be heard of by Dragons for Dragons are great, powerful and wicked creatures and loved gold and shiny jewels and so the Dradon Smaug came to the home of the Dwarfs, (Erebor) in the Lonely Mountains and their he slew a great many of the Dwarfs and the others fled and that day Smaug became the new King under the mountain and he guarded his wealth in a great hall and suffered no one to take it. What do Dragons do with their great wealth? Do they buy pleasure or power? Do they build great palaces? No. they merely possess it and use it not but derive great pleasure from looking at it and the counting and cataloging of it, a terrible waste indeed but than again they are Dragons and who is to argue with them. Years later Thror decided to return to the mountains and left the magic ring with his son Thrain. Now Thrain possessed the ring for many years but the ring was slowly working it's magic on him. The rings did not have the same effect on Dwarfs as they did on Men. The Dwarfs were made of sterner stuff and could not be held slaves to the ring and pass into spectres such as the Ringwraiths. What it did was to magnify the Dwarfs desire for wealth and this often as not led to their deaths and destruction thus it was that the ring led Thrain to seek to return to the Iron Mountains and there regain the treasure of the Dwarfs from Smaug the dragon. On the journey he took two other dwarfs Balin and Dwalin ( they would be part of the 13 dwarfs that accompanied Bilbo to the Dragon) but along the journey Thrain was captured by Orcs and taken to Saurons fortress where it was discovered that he possessed one of the rings that Sauron so wanted back. The ring was taken from him and he was slowly tortured and eventually died in Saurons dungeon. Befor he died a strange meeting took place,Gandalf the wizard had come to Saurons dungeons looking if he could discover if it was truly Sauron taking shape again in Middle Earth. Gandalf came upon a dying Thrain and was given two objects by him firstly a map and secondly a key then Thrain died, Gandalf escaped the dungeons of Sauron. It was years later that Gandalf began to worry that Sauron could use the power of the Dragon against Middle Earth and decided it must be eliminated. In Bree at the inn called The Prancing Pony Gandalf was approached by none other that Thorin Oakenshield the heir of Thrain and a meeting was set up which eventually led to the plan of 13 Dwarfs under the command of Thorin to return to the lonely mountains and slay the dragon Smaug and reclaim their stolen treasure. At first Thorin Oakenshield wanted to gather a great Dwarven army and assault Smaug with them but Gandalf counseled differently he said " Your plans are those of a king but your kingdom is gone, you will have to try something simpler and yet bolder,indeed something desperate". and then he made a most unusual suggestion.Thorin Oakenshield was a bit of a pompous ass if the truth be told and when Gandalf advised him to contract for a burglar and more specifically a Hobbit he snorted in indignation and stated he found Hobbits of little worth but Gandalf at last convinced him. Gandalf explained that Dragons ever guarded their gold against the attack of Dwarfs and could smell a Dwarf easily(Dragons had a great sense of smell) and Smaug had never smelled a Hobbit before. and that Hobbits were possessed with the natural ability of great stealth a pretty good talent to possess if you are to be employed as a burglar. Thorin eventually agreed to this but reluctantly so and more than anything didn't really want to anger a Wizard(who does). Bilbo had been noticed by Gandalf some years before and had made a favorable impression on him and it was Bilbo that Gandalf suggested so that one evening a Wizard and 13 Dwarfs came to visit him unexpectedly one early Spring night and that as they say was how it all came about. I am sure you remember their little adventure so I will stop here and let them begin their journey that didn't quite turn out as they had hoped for, mostly

Sex in Middle Earth

   You would have to assume that there was sex in Middle Earth.Where else did everyone come from? It seems Elves had few children , Why? I am not sure. Men it would seem were very sexually active as they were quickly becoming the dominant race in Middle Earth. As for Orcs, did anyone see a female Orc in LOTR? All I saw were the black Uruk-Hai of Sarumans gestating in some sort of muddy and slimy transparent uterus. What of Trolls aand Goblins? As for Dwarves Gimli states that there are dwarf women but that they look a lot like Dwarf men and so are seldom noticed as Women. poor Dwarf Males. While I am at it did you ever stop and think of how many bachelors there are in LOTR? Lets see, Hmm, well it appears they all were. Bilbo and Frodo, bachelors. Sam, Merry and Pippin, bachelors. Aragorn, Boromir, bachelors ( But I will give a shout out to Aragorn for having a thing going on with Arwen). Theoden, Denethor, either Bachelors or Widowers. Elrond and his Sons, bachelors. Saruman and Gandalf, Bachelors, but being Maiar maybe they were supposed to stay bachelors in order to focus on their mission. Gollum,bachelor and the head bad guy Sauron, bachelor. Maybe if these guys had wifes and kids they wouldn't have time for all this rings of power stuff. As for the women they all seem to be in some state of Old Maid kind of loop. Arwen and Eowyn but they do find their man at the end.Galadriel and Celeborn had been I'm guessing  man (Elf) and wife for thousands of years but I can't find any record of them ever having Children together, you would think after a few centuries they could come up with one pregnacy. No. i am afraid sex is one aspect of Middle Earth that Tolkien having been born into the Victorian age was not going to dwell on this subject. So let your imagination run wild as to what really went on in Middle Earth.I have a good idea of what your thinking and would just like to add "Shame On You".

  For an excellent article on Elves and Sex please go to the following site: http://www.ansereg.com/what_tolkien_officially_said_abo.htm

  CORRECTION: After careful re-reading I have discovered that Galadriel and Celeborn did indeed have a child, one daughter called Celebrian. I apologize for the error.

Of Spiders

When J.R.R. Tolkien was a boy he was bitten by a Tarantula which was I am sure a very frightening as well as painful experience for him and must have turned him into a lifelong Arachnophobe along with millions of others including I am sure J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame who seems to have an affinity for including Spiders as forms of terror and evil in her books as well. The two main great spiders in Tolliens tales are Ungoliant and Shelob. Ungoliant was an evil creature that took the form of a giant spider who was continuously ravenous in her appetite. She was recruited by Melkor ,one of the ,if not the greatest of the Valar to aid him in his revenge against the other Valar for there imprrisonment of him. She surrounded the both of them in a great darkness she wove around them and made their way to the undying lands the home of the Valar where she assaulted the two great trees of light and using her great beak she drained the two trees dry killing them in the process she then accompanied Melkor to the home of Finwe where Melkor slew him and took the treasures of his home including the three Silmarils they then made their escape in the cloud of darkness back to Middle Earth. Now Melkor had promised to give her what she asked to feed upon with both hands and she demanded her payment so he fed her many wondrous jewels he had brought from Finwes home but when she demanded that Melkor feed her the Silmarils he refused and she attacked him, Melkor called for assistance from his Balrogs who came and saved their master and Ungoliant escaped. It was later said that because of her great hunger she finally devoured her ownself. She had mated with and then devoured other lesser creatures of Spider form and one of her descendants was Shelob who guarded the back entrance to Surons realm in a place called Cirith Ungol ( Spiders Lair  ). Sauron was aware of her presence but did not harm her as he looked upon her as a sort of watch dog and if she dined on an Orc of his every now and then it was of no great matter to him. Like most spiders she would attack her prey and sting them which injected her poison and the victim would lay as still as death and  offer no resistance when it came time for her to feed on them.She was wounded by Samwise Gamgee, a hobbit, who had gone to the rescue of his master Frodo, the Ring Bearer. I din't believe he killed her as when he puts on the Great Ring he can hear Shelob weeping over the wound he gave her.Maybe she is their still.

Of Hobbits

    Hobbits present quite a puzzle to me. firstly we have to ask the question, where did they come from, not geographically but who created them? We can account for the creation of Elfs and Men they were created by Eru ( the supreme being ). We can account for the creation of Dwarfs they were created by Aule one of the Valar. We can even account for Orcs, they were once Elfs who having been captured by Melkor were changed by dark and cruel magic. But hobbits, no such creation story exists at least that I can find. Were they some sort of race of men who because of their enviorment grew but to a short height. Were they some victim of dark magic? We are told that when Eru brought forth Middle Earth it was a barren and shapeless place, but were their others here before Eru and the Valar? Who was their Creator? I'll tell you. I don't know. But they were a part of the races of Middle Earth but not so widely known. Treebeard the Ent who was of an ancient race stated he had never heard of Hobbits and did not know of them in the list of living things. Maybe it was due to their isolation in the Shire and that they were great homebodies preferring to live among their selves. They were not a great people in the scheme of things,there were no great warriors ( excluding Bullroarer Took ) no great hobbit Wizards. They were a simple people and did not for the most part concern themselves with the affairs of the big people. Sauron it seems had never heard of them or at least discounted their existence which was a good thing until the nasty business with the ring.They were happiest when left to themselves and allowed to follow their passions the growing of things and the eating of things. They were a good natured people and had no natural enemies, they possessed no standing Hobbit army or it seems had a need to.They followed their own laws and seemed to live an idealistic lives in their little country until Those foolish Baggins went off on their mad adventures and brought the wrath of strange and terrible people, Wizards and Darklords and Ringwraiths and the like. It would seem to me that the Hobbits had the right idea all along, mind your own business and stay out of the affairs of Men, Elfs and Wizards. As for who was the creator of the Hobbits I guess I can correctly say a rather tired and bored Professor of Languages named J.R.R. Tolkien when he came upon while grading an exam paper, a blank page and he scribbled upon it " In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit " a very great creator indeed.

The Terrible Oath

What was the terrible oath that i am  speaking of? It was the oath of the Elf Feanor and his sons to reclaim the Silmarils at whatever cost against whomever would possess them.The tale begins with the creation of the two trees of the  Valinor by Yavanna Kementari of the Valar,the wife of Aule.Of the two trees and their fate all the tales of the Eldar days are woven.But for our purposes I only wish to discuss their relevance with the terrible oath and save the other tales for another day. The trees were called Telperion and Silpion one had dark leafs of green and the underside were as of shining silver and the other a lighter shade of green with and underside of gold and eevry day as one waxed the other would wane and with them came the days known as the bliss of Valinor and thus also began the count of time in Middle Earth. There was an Elf, the greatest of Elfs, his name was Feanor the son of Finwe the King in Terion. Feanor was a master Craftsman and created many and wondrous things and he pondered how the light of the two trees might be preserved imperishable and he summoned all his skills and created the Silmarils, three great jewels and the inner fire of these jewels Feanor made from the blended light of the two trees and Varda hallowed the Silmarils so that no mortal flesh, nor hands unclean, nor anything evil could touch them without suffering from unending pain.Melkor,the evil god was jealous of Feanor and secretly plotted to take the Silmarils from him but he was afraid to show his hand in this and decided to trick Feanor instead.He told them that the Valar secretly were plotting to take the Silmarils for their very own but Feanor did not trust Melkor yet the seed of doubt was placed in Feanors mind. Melkor who had been released from the prison of the Valar had vowed his revenge upon them and with the aid of Ungoliant a a spirit of evil in the shape of a great spider traveled to the undying lands hidden in an impenetrable darkness woven by Ungoliant and their they slew the two trees Telperion and Silpion then Melkor and Ungoliant traveled to the house of Finwe,Feanors father and there slew him and took the three Silmarils and then made there escape back to Middle Earth. The Valar upon hearing of this turned to Feanor and asked him to give them the Silmarils for they contained the light of the trees and with tis light the trees could be remade but Feanor refused. Feanor the gathered his people together aand convinced them they must pursue Melkor to Middle Earth and there retrieve the Silmarils and that the Valar had convinced the Elfs to live with them so that they would be protected by them but the Valar could not even protect the two trees. It was then and there that Feanor and his seven sons: Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod and Amras made the terrible oath and this is what they swore to.They swore with Illuvatar(Eru) as their witness vowing to pursue with hatred and vengeance to the ends of the world be it Valar,Elf or Man as yet unborn, or any creature,great or small,good or evil, that time should bring forth until the end of days, whoso should take or keep a Silmaril from their possession. Wth this oath they sealed their own doom and the doom of many,many others. then seeking away to leave the undying lands and travel to Middle Earth he went to the seashore where the Teleri a seagoing race of Elfs lived and asked to use their great ships.The Teleri refused so in what is knaown as the Kinslaying Feanor and his people fell upon and slew them and took their ships and passed into Middle Earth.There were not enough ships to carry all of the Noldor across the sea, so Fëanor and his sons led the first group. Upon arriving at Losgar, in the land of Lammoth, in the far west of Beleriand, where Morgoth and Ungoliant had passed not long before, they decided to burn the ships and leave the followers of Fingolfin behind. However, Fëanor accidentally left his son Amras in the ships, and he was burned alive. The earth being flat in those days, the remaining Noldor saw the flames, and perceived that if they were to go to Middle-earth, they had no choice but to cross the Helcaraxë. This they did under the leadership of Fingolfin, and suffered great losses along the way, which greatly added to the animosity they had for Fëanor and his sons. Learning of the Noldor's arrival, Morgoth summoned his armies from his fortress of Angband and attacked Fëanor's encampment in Mithrim. This battle was called the Dagor-nuin-Giliath ("Battle under the Stars"), for the Sun and Moon had not yet been made. The Noldor managed to win the battle and disperse Morgoth's armies. Fëanor, still in a great rage, pressed on toward Angband with his sons. He came even within sight of Angband, but was ambushed by a force of Balrogs, with few elves about him. He fought mightily, hewing even after receiving several wounds from Gothmog, lord of Balrogs.His sons came upon the balrogs with great force of elves, and were able to drive them off. However, as Fëanor was being carried off the battlefield, he knew his wounds were fatal. He cursed Angband thrice, but with the eyes of death, he knew that his elves, unaided, would never throw down the dark towers. At the moment of his death the passing of his fiery spirit reduced his body to ashes. He was the only person to die this way, for no death like his were ever seen or heard, nor did his soul leave the halls of Mandos his sons were still bound by the Oath to recover the Silmarils, which would determine the events of Middle-earth during the First Age.It is said that he will return for Dagor Dagorath, and will finally reclaim his beloved Silmarils, and then surrender them to Yavanna.
    Now because of the oath Feanor, his son Amras and the TeLeri Elfs are dead. A doom has been laid on his people and the Elfs he left to their fates are turned bitter to his people and yet even more death and grief is yet to come.A silmaril was at last taken from the crown of Morgoth(Melkor) by Beren and Luthien and given to the Elven king Thingol.The sons of Feanor demanded the Silmaril be turned over to them and when refused the second kin slaying occured when they attacked the Elfs who possessed and even though their were many deaths the sons of Feanor did not gain possession as the Silmarils was taken to the undying lands by Earendil and away from them.During this battle three of the sons(Celegorn,Carunthir ,and Curuthin) fell.Then occured the War of Wrath where the Lords of the West finally assaulted Angband the fortress of Morgoth and defeated him and cast him into the void and the two remaining Silmarils wer captured.  When the last surviving sons of Feanor (Maehdros and Maglor) learned of their capture they demanded that the jewels be returned to them but this was denied them,they attacked the camp of the Elfs who had the jewsls in their possession, slew the guards and stole the Silmarils but because of their black deeds the jewels rejected them and caused great pain to come upon them and the pain was so great that Maehdros threw his Silmaril into  a firey fissure and threw himself in as well, Maglor tossed his into the sea,legend has it that he still wanders the shore singing laments for his despair and regret.Because of the terrible oath Feanor and most of his sons were dead and yet the jewels were never to be held by them again. THe jewels were turned to the Fire,water and skys. What was the sin of Feanor,theterrible oath? No,that was but a byproduct of it,the real sin of Feanor was pride, a great and terrible pride that in the end caused the death of many and the destruction of much.Pride goeth before the fall as the old saying goes and in this case it was assuredly so

To Any and All

If you would like to submit a Tolkien article be it the written word, drawing, painting or whatever, as long as it is Tolkien related. I would be pleased to display it here in my blog making sure that you get the full credit that you so richly deserve for your time and effort.Thanking you in advance. Eruvatar.

The Palantiri

The Palantiri were the seeing stones that were introduced to the reader in "The Lord Of The Rings". In this post I will discuss their magical properties, who made them and for what purpose,how they were used, and how Sauron ultimately used them to corrupt and weaken others, most notably Saruman and Denethor the Steward of Gondor.The Palantiri, according to "The Tolkien Companion", were made by Feanor during the Elder Days and seven of them were given to the Men of Numenor in the Second Age. Prior to Numenor's destruction, the Palantiri were taken by Elendil and his people on the ships bound for Middle-Earth and upon their arrival were distributed throughout Arnor and Gondor. In these days, their use held no danger as they were all in the hands of the Numenorean exiles and served as a means of communication between their locations.Elendil and his heirs placed the stones at strategic points around Gondor and Arnor.They placed one atop Amon Sul (Weatertop) another at Anuminas the capital city of Arnor, another at the Grey Havens where Cirdan the Elven Shipwright dwelled ( it was useless to the Numenoreans as it would only look towards the west and the undying lands of the Valar).The other four Palantiri were kept in Isengard, Minas Anor, Minas Ithil and Osgiliath. The Stone at Osgiliath was lost in the civil war among the Numenoreans in the year 1437 of the third age When Minas Ithil was captured by Saurons forces in the year 2002 of the third age they captured the Palantir and returned it to Saurons lair in Minas Morgul. This caused the posessors of the other stones to lock the remaining stone at Isengard and Minas Tirith  away fearing that Sauron could spy on them with the aid of the stone and they were kept that way for the next thousand years. It was in the year 2050 that the last king of Gondor disappeared in a confrontation with Sauron and the right to use the stones fell to the ruling stewards of Gondor. Saruman the Wizard began to occupy the tower of Isengard and there he found the Palnatir and began to use it as did Denethor the Steward of Gondor both to there own destruction but I will explain that later. For now let's discuss the stones themselves. Some were small and coud be held in your hand but others were as large as a large globe you may see in someones study,the more powerful the stone the further it could see, the smaller stones had a distance of 500 miles. They could see through stone and brick but only see what was illuminated by fire or,candle or sunlight. You could not hear an audible voice but could read the others mind so it came to your mind as a voice. That is,Thought could be 'transferred' (received as 'speech'), and visions of the things in the mind of the surveyor of one Stone could be seen by the other surveyor. They were unbreakable and appeared to be made of a black crystal. They had poles within them and in order for them to be used the nether pole had to be placed at the bottom.In order to look at a specific direction the surveyor had to stand at the opposite end, for example to look East you had to look from the Western side and vice-versa.

      

       Now as for Saruman and Denethor and how they were ensnared by Sauron through the Palantiri. Saruman found the Palantir at Isengard and having studied ancient lore concerning them was aware of how they worked,Desperate to acquire knowledge he turned to using the Stone and eventually made contact with the Stone held by Sauron and a communication began between them began..Saruman possessing a strong will  would not have been made to bend to Saurons will but Sauron used the thoughts and messages he sent to convince him that war against him could only end in defeat so Saruman decided to go over to the winning side and allied himself with Sauron as for Denethor Sauron played the same mind games on him via the Stone and also convinced Denethor that to wage war against him was hopeless.To Denethors credit he did not abandon his people and their struggle against Sauron for personal gain but he did abandon hope and after losing one son (Boromir) and feeling he was about to lose another (Faramir) he became despondent and planned to take his life and that of his son until stopped by Gandalf but Denethor did perish after setting himself on fire. But there was one who used the Palantir to his advantage against Sauron, Aragorn dared to take the stone and to find communication with Sauron and revealed himself to be the true heir of Isildur and the rightful king of Gondor,this caused fear in Sauron who prematurely released his armies against Gondor and turned his focus in that direction and was unaware until too late the activities of Frodo and Sam and their quest to destroy the one ring in his own back yard.So in the end the tables were turned against Sauron and the Palantiri were turned into a weapon to be used against him instead of for him. In the end  the Palantiri played a major role in the tale of "The Lord Of The Rings" what happened to them after the war I'm not sure of, The Stone of Barad Dur would not have been destroyed when Sauron, fell if anyone tried to loacte it and retrieve it for their own purposes either good or evil no tale tells.

The sadness of the Valar

 The Valar were the Gods of MiddleEarth,created by Eru in ages past they helped create MiddleEarth through there song and having helped in the creation a certain number came to help in building and maintaining it for the arrival of the Eldar and the Atani (Elfs and Men). There task was made extremely difficult by the malice of Melkor  the strongest of their kind who endeavored to undo all that the Valar did in their preparations to make MiddleEarth a beautiful,wondrous,and harmonious dwelling place for Erus children.The task became so difficult and frustrating that the Valar eventually had to go to war with Melkor in order to stop his interference in their building efforts. Melkor was imprisoned for a long age and was then released and it was thought by the Valar that he had been tamed and was repentful for his past actions but they were wrong. In secret he made plans for his revenge against them.With the aide of Ungoliant a monstrous spider he crossed into the home of the Valar and there he had Ungoliant attack and kill the two trees created by Elbereth the Queen of the Gods, the trees were magical and were the joy of the Valar.THen Melkor stole three wondrous jewels made by Feanor of the Elfs called the Simarils and took them back to his home in MiddleEarth called Angband ( IronHell ).When Feanor learned of this he became scornful of the Valar and took a good number of hie people and left the home of the Valar, during his voyage back to MiddleEarth he and his followers slew another Elf clan in order to steal their boats from them. He made his sons take a sacred oath never to rest until they had recaptured the Simarils no matter who had possession of them, this oath led to great tragedy and death. Now the Valar having first seen Elfs felt a great love for them and had invited them to leave MiddleEarth and come dwell with them in the undying lands that were the home of the Valar and this had ended tragically.They had lost their two wondrous trees to Melkor and had lost the love and respect of the Elfs who now called them weak and foolish because of their decision to release Melkor from his imprisonment.

       Now let us turn to the Atani ( Men ). Eventually the Valar had to go to war with Melkor once again and attacked his fortress of Angband,there he was finally and utterly defeated and was cast out into the void never again to enter or trouble MiddleEarth again. There were a race of men who were faithful to and aided the Valar in their war against Melkor.They were rewarded for this by the Valar,they were given a new land to live in, a large Island set in the far west apart from the main land of MiddleEarth called Numenore. Here they could live without the constant threats and fears associated with life on the mainland, a peacful esistence and long life was given to them, thrice the normal age of men. Their land was in sight of the Valars home in the undying lands. The Valar felt that here they would live long and peacful lives under the watchful eyes of the Valar and the Elfs who lived with them. The Numenoreans became a great people and built wonderful things and beautiful cities, their long life spans helped them increase in knowledge and power, they soon became master sailors and eventually began to trade with the Elfs and Men of MiddleEarth and became richer and more powerful. But the Numenoreans began to feel cheated, why should they die like ordinary men why couldn't they obtain immortality like the Elfs and the Valar. A great king of the Numenoreans was so powerful that he defeated and captured Sauron himself and made him his prisoner and returned him to Numenore there Sauron won the Kings trust and soon was his closest advisor and began ro whisper in his ear that immortality could be theirs if they only had the courage to take it. The king was growing old and feared death so he built a great fleet of ships and then he defied the ban of the Valar which was to never set sail for the undying lands. Eru interfered and destroyed the great armada and the home island of Numenore killing all but a faithful few who had fled East. Once again the Valar had been betrayed by people they had shown the greatest kindness and love to.Their hearts must have been broken at this latest treachery. Soon thereafter the Valar stopped all dealings with the Elfs and Men of MiddleEarth. But even after all the treachery and the contempt shown them by the children of Eru they still cared for them and sent the Istari (Wizards) to MiddleEarth to help the Eldar and Istani in their struggles against Sauron and they allowed those of the Elfs who wished to do so to retuen to MiddleEarth when the had tired of it. I guess even though they had suffered in the past for their affections for these people that down deep they still cared for them and wished to protect them from themselves.