Evangeline Lilly has begun an ongoing series of twitter chats with fans about Tauriel. Here are some of her interesting responses to today’s #TaurielTrivia. TORn Staffers Justin and Demosthenes add their observations to her answers to fans’ questions.
Pre-emptive warning: there is a little bit of spoiler discussion.
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#TaurielTrivia — Evangeline Lilly’s answers… and a bit of speculation
#TaurielTrivia: The biggest thing that differentiates #Tauriel from most of the male characters in @TheHobbitMovie is her selflessness.
— EL (@EvangelineLilly) August 12, 2013
Justin: This is a curious quote. Does Tauriel have a hand in breaking dwarves out of bond? Here she is in the trailer walking in front of jail-like bars.
Demosthenes: The theory that Tauriel gives either direct assistance to Bilbo, or turns a blind eye to the break-out, is not a new one. It is, if I recall derived from the lines in Sindarin that she spoke to EW on a red carpet a good 18 months ago. I think the most obvious, confirmed example of this selflessness though is her line in the trailer: “It is our fight”, which displays a certain level of empathy for the plight of outsiders, and a conflict between duty to Thranduil as his Captain of Guards and the feeling that “we’re all in this together”. I wonder if this “selflessness” is a product of her comparative youth — that she doesn’t bear the griefs of ages that seem to wear down the ability of Tolkien’s Noldor in particular, to remain a force the world. Now that’s an interesting thought.
#TaurielTrivia: #Tauriel is like a #caracal. pic.twitter.com/YIg2Gz7J7Y
— EL (@EvangelineLilly) August 12, 2013
Justin: What is a Caracal? Commonly known as the Desert Lynx, it’s a Southwest Asian/North African feline known for living a solitary life.
Demosthenes: Apparently they are also fiercely territorial. Pair this with the rude invasion of Thorin & Company into the Thranduil’s woodland feasts, and you could end up with powder-keg situation. Course, you have to reconcile the fact that what we’ve seen so far shows no feasts, but more indicates that the Company stumbles upon the elves while fleeing or fighting the spiders. Hmmmm.
#TaurielTrivia: Yes! #Tauriel will speak to #dwarves in @TheHobbitMovie!
— EL (@EvangelineLilly) August 12, 2013
#TaurielTrivia: I can not say if #Tauriel will meet the magnetic #ThorinOakenshield#underpenaltyofdeath — EL (@EvangelineLilly) August 12, 2013
Justin: Rumours are one of the “hot dwarves” falls in love at the site of Tauriel — maybe its Thorin?
Demosthenes: As Captain of Guards, Tauriel would logically have access to all cells in Thranduil’s dungeons — even the deepest ones. She might not be the direct jailer for Thorin, or any of the dwarves, but she must have some sort of oversight and access. Who else would escort Thorin & Company to and from Thranduil’s sight? I think EL is just messing with us here.
2013#TaurielTrivia: I knew that #Tauriel would be controversial, but I trusted Peter completely. He did not let me down as an actor or as a fan. — EL (@EvangelineLilly) August 12, 2013
Demosthenes: I’m going to be controversial, here. I would have much preferred to see three or five Tauriel-style characters than just one. It’s a lot of pressure — and a lot of skeptical fan focus (a portion of which is poorly disguised sexism) — on a single pair of shoulders. Don’t be half-hearted — go all-out and distribute the risk. Admittedly, if Lilly pulls it off, all the kudos is hers, but if it goes all Pete Tong then she’ll be the first to cop the blame when maybe we ought to be staring daggers at the writers.
#TaurielTrivia: #Tauriel‘s best quality is her selfless desire for justice. This makes her a true #hero.
— EL (@EvangelineLilly) August 12, 2013
Justin: What would a woodland elf desire justice for?
Demosthenes: Those who desire justice have often been wronged. At least, that’s how popular culture seems to play it. That’s not a very selfless thing, though, in the sense of being altruistic and performed solely out of a desire to help others. The repeat mention indicates this seems to be a key characteristic of the Tauriel character, though. How this trait develops in a society where Thranduil can leave the Dwarves of Erebor to hot, hot, fiery Smaug-roasting is a bit of a conundrum that will require some strong, convincing writing to logically resolve. By which I mean that Mr. I-Love-All-The-Jewels is obviously not her role model. So who is?
#TaurielTrivia: #Tauriel is a young elf – only about 300yrs old. Anyone who quotes me otherwise is misquoting me. 😉
— EL (@EvangelineLilly) August 12, 2013
#TaurielTrivia: Yes @JulieCGaillot, #Tauriel will be a part of the journey until the #BOFA!
— EL (@EvangelineLilly) August 12, 2013
Justin: Keyword: “UNTIL” not “through”
Demosthenes: Oh ho! More fuel for the glorious death in battle theory — I’ve been a not-so-secret supporter of this one for a while. It’s the big fight! Who will Kili save? His uncle Thorin, or his crazy crush Tauriel? “Nooooooooo!” Despair! He fails to save either and then gets arrowed by an orc. Or maybe it will be the other way round with Tauriel fighting to save a defenseless Kili and Thorin. That would give Tauriel more agency, and would be an interesting reversal of the terrible gender-role typecasting that Hollywood is ridiculously prone to in big-budget movies. Oh, and Fili gets squashed by a falling eagle. Anyway, it’ll all be very tragic. So don’t forget the box of tissues for TABA.
#TaurielTrivia: Tauriel is a bit of a #workaholic! But, what she does in her free time will be revealed in #HobbitDOS
— EL (@EvangelineLilly) August 12, 2013
Demosthenes: I think I’m supposed to have a too-clever-by-half joke comment here, but frankly I’ve got nothing. Sky-diving off the backs of giant eagles? Am I close?
Calisuri: My guess is something along the lines of being an expert marksmen, etc. Shooting an apple off the head of a dwarf 300 yards away.
The crazy theories of staffers Justin and Demosthenes are entirely their own and do not necessarily represent the views of TheOneRing.net, or of other staffers.
