Artwork for the Lego Lake-town chase set has been around for a while.
The set, which has just five mini-figs — Bard the Bowman, Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, a Lake-town Guard and the Master of Lake-town — also features several Lake-town buildings, and a boat. I’d forgotten about it entirely until Ringer Sander recently reminded me of the existence of the Lake-town Chase set. Looking over the artwork again, I got thinking about the significance of that boat and exactly what this Lake-town chase might be, and its relation to what we saw in the trailer itself. So, from here on in, we’ll be talking about movie spoilers!
Who’s doing the chasing?
The question uppermost in my mind is, if it’s a chase, then who is doing the chasing? Somewhat stupidly, when the set was announced I assumed it would be orcs and they simply weren’t included so as to not give away a plot twist.
Upon seeing the trailer, I realised what should have clicked in the first place — the dwarves (represented by Thorin in the Lego set), Bilbo and Bard must surely be fleeing the Lake-town guard and the Master of Lake-town. Although there does seem to be an orc invasion of Lake-town (Legolas battles an orc or two in the trailer), this cannot be what the Lego set is based around.
Now, the design and structure of the boat that weaves through small ice floes and the granite columns of some ancient ruin in the trailer is undeniably the same as that of the Lego version. I think putting the two together, we just might be able to conclude that, this scene in the trailer is the Company is fleeing Lake-town. More, Dwalin’s line, “How do we know he won’t betray us?” must refer to their temporary ally Bard… and that Bard has just assisted their escape from Lake-town, and the clutches of the Master of Lake-town.
The character of Bard
But why has Bard allied with the Company?
After all, Bard will have already proven a strident opponent of the Company’s goals. In the trailers he states: “You will awake that beast and destroy us all.” At a different point he says “You have no right to enter that mountain.” to Thorin, a fact the dwarf fiercely disputes. And he also declaims, possibly to a crowd of people: “Fire and ruin. That is what you will bring upon us. He cannot see beyond his own desires!”.
Although Bard, it must be said is not the most optimistic of sorts, he does seem to be quite the Orator. And he is certainly not in favour of what Thorin Oakenshield plans.
