Lord of the Rings 30 Day Challenge - Days 16-20

So obviously I am way behind.  The group I act with had our first performances last weekend so I was busy with that and then this week has been crazy and I've been having computer problems, so, yeah, I have not been getting online a whole lot.  But I got sick today (yay, day before second to last performance.  I'm not freaking out at all.) so I decided that while I'm lying in bed feeling miserable but rather happily listening to Christmas music, I might as well try to catch up some because I'm pretty sure I won't be able to blog again until Saturday at the earliest but in all likelihood not till Monday.  I'll do a few tonight and try to do the rest over the next few days so I'm caught up by the beginning of next wee.  So are you ready for a super long post delving into all things I love about Lord of the Rings?  Of course you are!

Day 16 - Favorite Female Character
Seeing as there are only three major female characters, this is probably the easiest one to answer.  Arwen bugs me, Galadriel has a fairly small though important role and is pretty awesome, but

Eowyn is my favorite.  Eowyn's a strong character, not just physically but emotionally.  She lost both her parents, her uncle came under Saruman's power and she was left to tend him, and then her cousin died and her brother was banished.  That's a lot for any girl to deal with, but deal with it she does without complaint.  Then, of course,  there's the fact that she can wield a sword.  She is not some helpless girl who needs a man to defend her.  More than that she wants to bring honor to her people, to serve them.  She goes a little overboard initially with the whole wanting to win renown, but her heart's in the right place.  She's smart and clever and compassionate and caring.  She understands Merry's desire to ride into battle, to fight for his friends and all that he loves, and when Theoden denies his request to ride with the rest of the army, Eowyn takes him with her, though she herself is defying Theoden's orders to remain behind.  In the Battle of Pelennor Fields, she proves once and for all that she's not just a pretty face.  She

single-handedly takes down one of the Mumakil and then proceeds to destroy the Witch-King of Angmar, the one literally no man could kill, with help only from Merry.  Part of what I love about her is how much depth there is to her character.  She can be war-like, tough, strong, fearsome in battle, but then she can also be vulnerable, kind, gentle, caring, a delicate flower.  I feel like when we first meet Eowyn, Wormtongue's description is quite accurate, "So fair, yet so cold, like a morning of pale spring still clinging to winter's chill."  The circumstances of her life to that point had left her cold, but throughout the movies we get to see that coldness melt and see her really come into herself and grow and just become this really amazing character.  I could go on and on, but I'll leave it at that.

Day 17 - Elves or Dwarves
As much as I love both races, I'm going to have to go with Elves.  I know that's kind of the cliche answer, because everyone loves Elves, but it's not just because Elves are pretty or their clothes are

pretty or whatever.  I do have valid reasons, or at least reasons I feel are valid and not totally shallow.  So Elves, the fair folk, fairest of all races who live in Middle-Earth, as attached to nature as the Dwarves are to rock and earth.  As someone who loves nature, walking among the trees, admiring the flowers or better yet, growing them, I identify more with the Elves.  Yeah, jewels and silver and gold and all, pretty, shiny, but not so much my thing.  Leave me out in the mountains for a couple weeks in relative solitude and I am a ridiculously happy girl.  So besides the fact that I am perfectly at home in nature, I also love and admire the fact that they incorporate so

much of nature into their lives.  You see it in their architecture and buildings.  Consider Lothlorien where they have staircases literally carved into the sides of these giant trees and they live among the treetops or Rivendell surrounded on all sides by forest and streams and rivers.  Their jewelry is often made to look like intertwining leaves or vines or flowers.  Their cutlery and dishes are much the same, made to resemble various aspects of nature.  It's just

incredible and beautiful.  As I mentioned in one of my past posts, even their armor is designed with

nature themes in mind.  I also admire the Elves for their wisdom and strength in living so long.  Because they do live so long, they are generally considered to be the wisest race.  They have so much more time than everyone else to read and learn, not to mention they've generally experienced more than anyone else.  But I always think how hard that must be to have the world changing around you while you stay the same.  So for that, I also, not pity the Elves exactly, but I guess feel sympathetic towards them in a way.  Sorry, I'm not always great at expressing my feelings or finding the right words for what I'm feeling.  But in any case, that's generally why the Elves are my favorites.  Oh, and they do have ridiculously pretty clothes.

Day 18 - Coolest Visual Effects
There are so many amazing visual effects in these movies that it's hard to even choose, but the first

one that comes to mind and is definitely one of my favorites is when Legolas takes down the Mumakil in Return of the King.  Not only is an impressive feat but that whole scene is just epically (is that even a word?) amazing.  I mean, can you even imagine the athleticism doing what he did would require?  I guess that's why Aragorn asked the elf to do it though it would have been amusing to see him or Gimli give it a go.  I can just imagin Gimli telling Aragorn that he'll need to toss him again but don't tell the elf.  The scene's fun too because you have Legolas continuing to count his kills as he goes along and keeps shooting and body checking bad guys and then he slides down the trunk like a pro and looks at Gimli like, did you see that, bro, am I awesome or what?! and Gimli just looks at him and says, "That still only counts as one!"  It just cracks me up every time.

Day 19 - Weirdest Screencap
So, I'll admit, when I saw this, I was just kind of like, huh?  And how do you expect me to do this?  But never fear for there is a website for just about everything and thus it was not too hard to find a website that literally has the all three movies in screencap edition.  And as it turns out, looking at screencaps can be ridiculously addicting because so many of them look hilarious and weird.  So, naturally, me being me, I simply could not choose just one, so here are a few from the beginning of the second part of the extended version of Return of the King.  May they bring you laughter!

Wow, Mr. Jackson, that is a very malevolent look!

Derp Face!

There's a hand coming out of my face...that's...awkward.

Oh no she didn't!

Really, man!

Gasp!

You're an idiot, Gimli.

Day 20 - Saddest Character Death
Boromir definitely wins this one.  I have always hated the fact that Boromir died.  I admire his character and the fact that he never makes it back home is just so sad.  His death is the most tragic I

feel because he's a man who's made some mistakes, but his heart is truly in the right place.  I know a lot of people like to hate on him because he did try to take the ring from Frodo and he did go a bit, well, crazy.  But I take my opinion for him not just from the movies, but also from the books.  I think what a lot of people don't understand is that Boromir is a man on the verge of desperation.  He has the enormous weight of his people to bear, not to mention the weight of having to please his father as well as the weight of dealing with his father's dislike of his brother whom he loves.  I mean the guy has so much going

on and so much resting on his shoulders, can you blame him for losing it a bit?  To him, the ring appears as a weapon, something that could be used against Sauron, a weapon that he desperately needs to keep his people, his city safe.  Minas Tirith literally lies right on the border of Mordor, Boromir's been fighting against the spawn of Mordor probably since he was old enough to understand that the pointy end of a sword is used to kill an orc.  Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the point is, he's been fighting for a really long time what I'm sure seemed like a pointless battle.  So again, the ring, to him, is a means to

turn the tide of the battle in his people's favor.  He fears for his people so it's understandable that he's scared that the fellowship's mission to destroy the ring will fail because if it does, then his people are doomed.  Yes, he has his issues and he struggles with resisting the power of the ring, but overall he's a good man.  He constantly works to protect the hobbits, to help them learn to defend themselves.  He's a noble and honorable man, so when he is dying and he tells Aragorn that he has failed them all, it just breaks my heart because he did not fail.  He knew that what he did was wrong, he acknowledged that and then he went and did everything he could to protect Merry and Pippin, fighting despite wounds that would have killed a lesser man.  His death is tragic for a noble man has fallen, a man who simply wanted to help and protect his people.

"They will look for his coming from the White Tower.  But he will not return.