The Lord of the Rings was written by English high fantasy master J.R.R. Tolkien and released between 1954 and 1955 in three parts, delivering a powerful chapter in “The Council of Elrond” that the movies didn’t fully deliver on. Tolkien’s masterwork appealed to so many through its undeniable moral power, championing nature, autonomy, and hope, even when all seems lost. This was profoundly captured in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, despite their many changes to the book story. “The Council of Elrond” changes are more important than they seem to be at first.
This chapter is the second chapter of book two of the first volume of The Lord of the Rings – The Fellowship of the Ring. In many ways, the тιтle of the book and movie springs from this chapter, which covers the uniting of the Fellowship under Elrond’s roof. Its significance really can’t be understated. All members of the Fellowship of the Ring met at the Council of Elrond and there, started planning to depart Rivendell for their mission. So, changing key parts of this chapter in the movie risked a key book theme, despite it being logical in many ways.
The Lord Of The Rings Movies Change The Council Of Elrond: How It’s Different In The Books
The Fellowship Of The Ring Met Coincidentally In The Book
Despite appearing to meet on purpose in the LotR franchise’s Fellowship of the Ring movie, the members of the Fellowship met partly by coincidence in the book. The movie didn’t necessarily change the canon here. It didn’t dive into deep detail on why each member of the Fellowship was in Rivendell, but not addressing it left viewers to ᴀssume the most obvious reason – that they had all been invited there. This is the natural ᴀssumption regarding any kind of “Council,” as per modern-day councils and meetings.
In The Lord of the Rings movies, Frodo was played by Elijah Wood, Sam was played by Sean Astin, Merry was played by Dominic Monaghan, and Pippin was played by Billy Boyd.
However, Tolkien explored why each member of the Fellowship was in Rivendell at the same time in “The Council of Elrond.” As shown by the movies, the four Hobbits set out from the Shire to keep it safe by removing Lord of the Rings’ One Ring from its bounds. Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, and Pippin Took were instructed by Gandalf to meet him in Rivendell to plot their next move. But Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli were all in Rivendell to deliver separate worrying news from their realms and, in some cases, ask for help.
Why The Fellowship Of The Ring Condenses This Part Of Tolkien’s Story
The Fellowship Of The Ring Movie Had Its Own Agenda
Peter Jackson couldn’t include everything from the book, as The Lord of the Rings movie runtimes were exceptionally long, even with only the core material. Overall, Jackson did a faithful job, including what was most important about the books, and resisting adding a lot of original material, unlike Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Concerning the Second Age, the show was compelled to invent dialogue and character detail that was only scantly available, but the movies were based on a richly detailed novel, so they could’ve gone into more detail on the Council of Elrond.
But they had to make tough decisions about what to cut. They cut the whole Old Forest episode, whereby the Hobbits met Lord of the Rings’ legendary Tom Bombadil and were rescued from Barrow-wights and Old Man Willow by him. They also cut Glorfindel, replacing him with Arwen. Choosing to cut the various rousing speeches from the Council of Elrond meant that the movie could move on from it quickly, leaving a proportionate and suitable amount of time for the other key events. The movie would have had to spend at least another twenty minutes covering the Council in its entirety.
Changing This LOTR Scene Also Changes The Characters’ Motivations
The Lord Of The Rings’ Characters Had Complex Reasons For Being In Rivendell
The “Council of Elrond” described the motivations of Boromir, Legolas, and Gimli in being at Rivendell at the same time, and the movies covered this up. The movie did show that Gandalf had asked the Hobbits to meet him at Rivendell, and that Strider had met the Hobbits at the Prancing Pony and chosen to accompany them for their safety. These character motivations were in the books and preserved by the movie. However, in failing to show Legolas, Boromir, and Gimli’s reasons for being in Rivendell, the movies slightly changed their characters.
Imladris was Sindarin for Rivendell, Sindarin being an Elvish language.
Boromir was in Rivendell to report on Mordor’s attack on Gondor and to untangle the advice given to him and his brother (though more his brother, Faramir) in a dream. The dream advised them to seek Imladris (Rivendell). Tolkien said in Morgoth’s Ring that all foretellings were ósanwe (telepathy) sent from Lord of the Rings’ God or the Valar. This is key to the story overall and also signified Boromir’s bravery and desire to retain power in Gondor. Meanwhile, Legolas and Gimli were also there for the good of their realms and to warn friends of danger.
Giving The Characters A New Purpose For The Council Of Elrond Hurts One Important LOTR Theme
The Lord Of The Rings Had One Key Theme Not Explored As Much In The Movie
“The Council of Elrond” chapter is integral to The Lord of the Rings’ exploration of fate and free will, which occurs over the course of the book. This theme reflects Tolkien’s Catholicism and the thread of spirituality running through the legendarium as a result, whereby the world was a good one, owing, overall, to the presence of a benevolent God. Given the presence of the same kind of omniscient God that existed in Catholicism, there was a plan in Middle-earth – fate. This existed alongside free will because time wasn’t linear for God (Eru Ilúvatar).
More about fate and Eru’s plan for Middle-earth can be read in Morgoth’s Ring, book ten of The History of Middle-earth book series.
Chance meetings like the one of the Council of Elrond and other “coincidences” like Bilbo finding the ring were illustrative of a grander design. This spirituality was a little lost in the movies, sacrificed for action in a Hollywood-style action-adventure. As Elrond himself said, the Fellowship “have come and are here met… by chance as it may seem. Yet it is not so… it is so ordered that we… must now find counsel for the peril of the world.” The Lord of the Rings movie changes slightly alter this meaning, though it makes sense overall.
