Welcome! Here we build Middle-earth Lego sets and have fun doing it. If you want to know about me or the blog, read the About page. If you are looking for a particular character, set, etc, check the Tags page. I try to tag everything very thoroughly! Also go to the tags page if you want to read something chronologically - I have links to the chrono version. If you have a question unanswered by any of the above (for me or the Legos), feel free to ask.
*Fellowship theme plays dramatically in the distance*
11 years ago I made this post which is the most popular post I've ever made in my entire life on any social media ever (even stolen and reposted by Pinterest, random Facebook pages, AND Buzzfeed back in the day!). So I decided to recreate it now that I have the full Fellowship, my own place, and it's Caradhras weather out there today.
Even though I no longer update it, my Building Bag End blog was a really fun project and I have so many fond memories of The Hobbit fandom at the time, so doing a little Lego photography really made me smile.
Given the nonexistent activity levels of this blog, you probably already know what I’m going to say, and yes, I am going to officially call this blog closed.
There’s a few factors involved but the big ones are 1. I’m basically creatively burnt out on this thing and I feel it’s run its course and 2. when I started this blog I was unemployed; now I work full time, and I simply don’t have the time to devote to it anymore at the level I would want. I’ve waffled a lot on making it “official” (and I’m sorry it took so long for me to say anything) but the thing is, although I still enjoy dabbling in a bit of Lego photography now and then, it’s just not the big passion it has been for me anymore. I’m going to make sure the tag page is up to date at least, so that anyone who wants to browse can do so with ease.
The response to this blog was above and beyond anything I ever could have imagined and I enjoyed running it so, so much. Thank you for sticking with me and reading all this time. Namarie, and may the stars shine ever on your faces!
I got to see it last night! And it was SO GOOD. So I thought you might like to know what’s in it. Along with my opinions because I am incapable of shutting up.
First I’ll note it’s rated R because there’s more bloody/gory violence - a lot more beheadings, mostly. It’s not anything more extreme than in past LotR/Hobbit films, imo - it’s black blood (because orcs) and not too excessive (the Dwarves don’t go all Kill Bill or anything). But I figured you might want a head’s up if you’re squeamish about that sort of thing.
The rest under the cut in case you’re avoiding spoilers.
1. An additional few seconds of Smaug vs. Bard - Smaug sees him roof running and chases him briefly. No additional lines, unfortunately.
2. More context to Gandalf and Galadriel vs Sauron and Disposable Orc #12! The orc is trying to get Narya from Gandalf, demanding to know where the three Elven rings are on behalf of Sauron, and nearly chops his finger off before Galadriel arrives, gives a hella badass speech, and disintegrates his orcish ass. Scene proceeds as normal, with no explanation as to why Galadriel, the most powerful Elf in Middle-earth, was so affected by Sauron’s life-draining power when Elrond and Saruman were fine, and she fires up Nenya and punts Sauron back into Mordor.
3. When Radagast takes Gandalf back to Rhosgobel, he gives Gandalf his own staff, saying Gandalf will need it more (and that it’s fiddly at times), thus explaining why Gandalf was fully staffed for the rest of the film.
4. There is an extra shot of the Elf Army alllllll over the stairs of Dale and everything after Alfrid declares he had an uneventful watch, making it even more hilarious (imo at least, I know I didn’t mind the Alfrid stuff as much as everyone else seemed to, so ymmv).
5. There’s an extra scene before Bilbo climbs out of Erebor to try and stop the brewing war - a lovely moment between Bofur and Bilbo, because Bofur sees Bilbo tying the rope in preparation for his departure. Bofur points out they’re probably going to die, and no one would blame anyone for wanting to be gone. He points out Bombur has the next watch (a nice detail from the book) and will take a while to wake, very pointedly. Bilbo says, equally pointedly, that he will see Bofur tomorrow. It’s one of my favorite additions tbh, because I love Bofur and Bilbo’s friendship and it’s just such a sweet moment, as well as echoing their scene in AUJ where Bilbo almost left the Company.
6. After Bilbo is nearly murdered by Thorin and climbs down, Thorin waffles some more and bitches about being forced to actually help the people he set a dragon on, and is wearing down and seems almost about to agree to Bard’s terms when Dain arrives and then Thorin declares WAR ON, YO.
7. When facing off Dain and Thranduil taunt each other some more (no mention of elderberries, but Dain calls Thranduil a princess which made the whole theater howl with laughter). The Elves and Dwarves then actually fight - the Elves fire a volley that gets knocked out by these giant spinny bolt things that then land among the Elvish forces. (Dain calls them tiddly-winks or the like, also earning a laugh from the audience - his extra lines made him more fun and likeable imo, where he was a pretty minimally sketched character in the unextended version). The Elves and Dwarves even face off blade to blade for a minute before Azog and his giant worms crash the party, and the whole scene adds a lot more tension/emotion to when the Elves and Dwarves finally team up to fight the orcs.
8. There’s some extra footage of Azog sending out trolls to smash up the Dwarves’ war machines (before Azog has his forces start attacking Dale). I think there’s also a few extra fighting shots of Thranduil and Dain, but I would have to check the original version to be sure.
9. After Hilda-Bianca declares the women should stand and fight as well, there are some extra shots of her and her forces fighting orcs.
10. More of the rest of the Company fighting and it was wonderful! Bofur, Bifur, and Bombur work as a team, as do Ori, Dori, and Nori, and it’s great (they toss an axe around full circle and everything). Bofur also gains control of a troll (a la Legolas later on), and it’s pretty awesome, and pretty ridiculous. (I love ridiculous action scenes, so ymmv.)
11. When Thorin declares he is going to take out Azog, Dain protests he’ll never make it. Instead of mounting a goat, the GOAT CHARIOT OF THE TRAILER appears, fully loaded with Dwalin, Balin, Fili, and Kili. Thorin rides his goat and the others take the chariot, which is also armed with a giant crossbow thing. The four take the chariot through the battle (this is where a lot of the R-rated gore comes in - like the spikes on the wheels are decapitating ten orcs at a time and it is AWESOME). The shot of the chariot on ice is in here because they end up on the frozen river, with trolls breaking the ice and sloshing around, and Bofur comes to the rescue with his troll in a continuation of the delightfully ridiculous battle sequences I know and love. The chariot flounders though, being too heavy, and Balin commands the others to take the goats and go on, despite Dwalin’s protests in a nice brotherly moment. Fili bravely clambers onto the goat harnesses and helps unhitch them all, and the three ride on without Balin - who stays in the chariot and MOWS DOWN ORCS WITH THE CROSSBOW LIKE IT’S A MACHINE GUN, OMG. And then says “I’m too old for this” because Balin is just too awesome.
12. Extra Alfrid scene - but fear not, his involvement is short. He hides in a catapult to try and evade a troll pursuing him. Gandalf engages the troll but his staff, true to Radagast’s warning, refuses to work and blow up the troll and Gandalf is forced to evade the troll about five hundred times. Finally, a gold coin falls out of Alfrid’s slip, lands on the launching mechanism, and he is launched straight into the troll’s mouth and kills it (after Gandalf finally gets the staff to work), and all the gold coins slide out.
13. Bifur gets the axe in his head out during the battle - by headbutting an orc. Bofur and Bombur then use Bombur’s weight to separate the two and kill the orc. Bombur then brings the axe piece back to Bifur and SAYS A LINE, which I can’t remember on account of the fact that I was squealing aloud with delight (if you were in the theater with me, I apologize). Bifur then says something that I can’t even remember if it was in Khuzdul or Westron English because I was still overcome with delight.
14. The inevitable extra Legolas scene: he is hanging upside down on his bat, takes out his knives and slices through about three hundred orcs. (It’s the moment you saw in the EE trailer and then probably commented “For Eru’s sake, not more of this.”)
15. Fili, Kili, and Thorin’s deaths remain unaltered. (I know there was a lot of speculation about that, so I’m pointing it out specifically.)
16. There’s a little extra of Legolas fighting Bolg, where he stabs his knife straight through Bolg’s hand and Bolg continues fighting with it still there.
17. A little extra footage of Beorn shredding orcs after OPERATION BEAR DROP.
18. THE FUNERAL WE ALL KNEW WAS COMING, AND IT IS SO SAD. SO SAD. Hilariously, the shot starts with just Kili and Thorin and pans out to show Fili as well in an almost meta commentary on how Fili keeps mysteriously not getting attention from the camera or script. Thorin has Orcrist and the Arkenstone, as in the book. There are then long, lingering shots of all the Dwarves looking at their beloved Durins and being SAD and it is heartbreaking AND THEN BILBO LOOKS AT THORIN AND ALMOST BREAKS DOWN AND I DID BREAK DOWN BECAUSE I CANNOT HANDLE BILBO BEING SAD, HE IS SO KINDHEARTED AND HEROIC AND HE NEVER DESERVES TO BE SAD. Gandalf says “Long live the King!” and we see Dain wearing the raven crown Thorin had cast away back in the Hall of Let’s Drown A Dragon In Gold That’s A Great Idea That Cannot Possibly Go Wrong.19. That’s it. Bard is denied a coronation, and we never see if Thranduil gets the gems of Lasgalen, which are two things that should not have been left out, imo. (I wanted to see Bilbo give Thranduil the gems of Lasgalen, in another effort to mend the Dwarf/Elf relations and repay Thranduil for the food and wine he (presumably) took, and as a reference to the silver necklace he gives Thranduil in the book. Also, Bard being hot in kingly gear a la Aragorn.)20. The Last Goodbye is still heartbreaking. You know, in case you were in doubt.Feel free to chime in if you think I missed anything!
I said I’d be back mid-September, so here I am! Not gonna lie, I still feel rather stumped creatively, but I am a lady of my word so I return nonetheless. My goal for now is going to be a new post about every two weeks.
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