Father & Son - Thranduil & Legolas

Fathers and Sons. The ever enduring tale of traditional versus contemporary. Of remembering to hold on, but also learning to let go. No two characters get that right in the Middle-Earth saga like King Thranduil of Mirkwood and his youngest son, Prince Legolas. In some ways they're very similar, but in most ways they're polar opposites. Thranduil is seen as a cold hearted and broken king who cares nothing for the world. Unlike his son who boldly faces any danger and enemy to protect the world. Both have loss a great deal and both deal with their losses very differently. They love deeply and passionately. They show great pride in their noble legacy and disdain for the evils that infiltrate Middle-Earth. Their differences bring out the best and the worst in each other. A father who loves his son, but he must let him go. A son honors his father by fighting for the redemption of his people and his family. 

When The Fellowship of The Ring premiered in 2001, Orlando Bloom took the world by storm with his portrayal as the immortally beautiful and immensely lethal wood-elf Legolas. 12 years later, he returned as Legolas for the prequel series, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and was joined by Lee Pace who took on the difficult role of Thranduil; Legolas' arrogant and enigmatic father and King of his woodland realm, Mirkwood. Legolas who has always been seen as the epitome of loyalty and strength is now contrasted against his father, whose coldness and bitterness makes it hard to believe that these two are related. Especially when you compare the Legolas from the original trilogy to Thranduil from The Hobbit trilogy.

• While Legolas is usually content in modest clothes and remaining in the background, Thranduil is extroverted and over the top in his appearance and attitude. 

• Legolas is willing to listen to the opposing argument. Thranduil loves the sound of his own voice. 

• Legolas enjoys exploring and seeing the world. Thranduil has cut himself off from the world.

• In spite of their feuding with the dwarves, Legolas is civil with them. Thranduil openly flaunts his prejudice.

• Legolas knows when to step aside and let others take control. Thranduil will step on anyone to get what he wants.

• When Legolas gets into a fight with someone, he is still humble enough to ask forgiveness. Forgiveness is a foreign concept to Thranduil.

In a nutshell, Legolas is one of the most decent characters in the whole Lord of The Rings trilogy, both books and movies. Thranduil really had no character development in the books. So it was left to the films to really create a dimensional character that was completely opposite from the noble elves we're use to seeing; and instead present an elf that was selfish, arrogant and has no regard for others. 

The was also a strange Elf clad in green and brown, Legolas, a messenger from his father, Thranduil, the King of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood. 

And so is the introduction of Legolas. While Legolas has few lines in the first book (and film as well) he more than makes up with his battle and survival skills. Calm, clear minded as well as swift and deadly, Legolas doesn't really come into character until the second book. After Lothlorien and the breaking of the Fellowship, Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn become the three hunters, determined to rescue Merry and Pippin. It's during this small space of time that Legolas becomes more than the warrior, but also the counselor and friend. 

After generations of ill will and disdain between the elves and dwarves, Legolas and Gimli have begun to construct a friendship that will become legendary. As the series goes on we see Legolas' obvious affections towards the Hobbits and their clear adoration of him. Legolas is always at Aragorn's side, ready for his command. He never falters or complains. He supports those in authority with complete respect and dignity. 

Legolas goes from being the quiet stoic warrior to a very warm and generous friend due to his role in the Fellowship. He may not always be up front, but he is always by his friend's side. It is really Legolas' humble attitude that has always surprised me. For all his strengths and talents, Legolas willingly submits himself to the authority of Men who have always been seen as inferior to the rest of Middle-Earth. This scene really sums up who Legolas is as both the warrior and the friend.

Thranduil is a different story. He's infinitely more fleshed out in the films than in the originals novels, so I'm just going to do the rest of this post in the movieverse. When we meet Thranduil he has turned his back on the Dwarves of Erabor when they were attacked by Smaug. This act of indifference planted seeds of disdain in the heart of Thorin and his people. However, Thranduil himself has suffered through the death of his wife and being attacked by Smaug himself. Unlike the elves of Rivendell, the Mirkwood and Lorien Elves are more reclusive from the world. And as the outside world begins to unravel into chaos, the more and more Thranduil guards his people and his family

While Legolas is obedient to his father's wishes, even he cannot understand why Thranduil is so hesitant to remained locked away in seclusion. As the movies progress and Thranduil risks losing his son, we begin to see the 'dad' in him emerge. While he has left Mirkwood for his own intentions with Thorin, he also has a mission to get his son back.

It's really when Thranduil meets and befriends Bard that he begins to open his eyes to the outside world and realizes the good he can do. He and Bard are similar in that they are both widowers with children who love and need them. Bard does not have the luxury of hiding away from his problems, he confronts them head on, even if he is doing so alone. Bard's quiet and strong influence begins to have an effect on Thranduil. By the end, Thranduil's heart has been softened (somewhat) and he begins to remember how to love and even to let go. 

Thranduil was not a perfect father nor was Legolas a perfect son. Legolas disobeyed his father's direct orders to go out and defend their own enemies. However, if not for Legolas' defiance, Thranduil would never have been able to truly witness the suffering of the world and the people who are in it. 

While Thranduil gives the appearance of absolute calm, to the point of iciness, deep within he 's angry. He's scared. He's untrusting. He's alone. His wife is dead, his people are cornered and he is without ally or true friend to rely on. All he has is his family and his youngest son that seems to have  suffered the most from his mother's death. 

Thranduil may have gotten a lot of things wrong as a king, but he certainly did some things right as a father. It was not out of malicious intent that he was guarding Legolas from the outside world; it was simply from the paternal fear of losing him. Legolas was the only sanity that Thranduil has and if he loses one more person, one more jewel, one more innocent, than what is the point of his role as a king and leader if he cannot even protect his own family?

As the father has let the son go, the son eventually returns to play an integral part in the redemption of all of Middle-Earth. In the movie Legolas volunteered, but in the book he was selected by Elrond to represent the race of Elves within the Fellowship. And who is one to argue with Elrond? 

Sometimes a quiet strength can be more powerful than any man made weapon. Legolas never sought glory or honor or fame. He simply did his job and executed it to perfection every single time

Legolas' loyalty to the Fellowship, especially to Aragorn and Gimli, is oftentimes overlooked by the other members such as Sam's loyalty to Frodo. Yet, it is second to none. The only time we actually see Legolas angry is when he believes that Aragorn has been killed by a Warg scout. He threatened to shoot Eomer for insulting Gimli. His loyalty truly comes from a place of absolute humility. Maybe because he never knew he would become king (I think he has five older brothers) or that the time of the Elves is coming to an end and he wants the Earth that he loves to be given to the right people. Legolas proves that standing by someone's side is just as important as standing in front. 

The same yet different. Fathers and sons never change. A son loves his father, but one day must leave the shade of his greatness. A father can protect his son from the horrors of the outside world, but how can he truly learn to live? Legolas and Thranduil's relationship as father and son was somewhat of a counter storyline to Arwen and Elrond in the Rings trilogy. Like Thranduil, Elrond is a king, a widower and aware of the end of his people's time in Middle-Earth. Also like Thranduil, he is dealing with a stubborn child who may end up suffering the pains of the human world. And as typical of good dads, they simply want to protect their children. 

At the end of The Hobbit, Thranduil realizes that he can no longer harbor his son. He lets him go, but tasks him with a mission that will takes years to complete. 

Did Thranduil know that this task he set his son on would mold Legolas into becoming the indispensable warrior-elf within the Fellowship? 

That Legolas would play a vital role in ending the greatest evil in Middle-Earth?

 Did Thranduil realize by releasing his son, he would be saving the world that he himself hid from?

Whether he knew it or not, it's clear that in spite of his faults, Thranduil raised an excellent son who knew how to think for himself. Legolas would go down in legend as a friend of the dwarves, a great explorer and forever a warrior prince to all who knew him.