Hey there, I am probably being terribly predictive but… for the characters ask game: How about our dear Haldir?
Thank you so much and have a lovely new week! 😁
I love sharing an affection for Haldir together so thanks for asking about him! ♥️
First Impression: I’ve always loved the way that he mixes strength and softness. He’s a marchwarden, and obviously a very capable one, and he has a military bearing in terms of following proper procedure, etc. But he’s also the source of one of the most beautiful and poetic quotes in the entire legendarium (to me) about there being so much beauty and love in the world despite the encroaching tide of peril. (This is Book Haldir; obvs my first impression of Movie Haldir was 👀)
Impression Now: My impression of him hasn’t really changed with time! I still love him and I still love the same things about him!
Favorite Moment: The moment when he’s talking to Merry about the dangers of the world and gives the quote referenced above. It’s always been one of my favorite quotes, and I’ve only looked at it more and more often in recent years for reasons that I think are obvious.
Story Idea: Haldir seems to be one of the more worldly of Lórien’s elves – he speaks Westron, unlike his brothers, and presumably he’s picked that up from having seen more of the outside lands than others. So I’d be really curious to explore more of his time out in that wider world. Where he went, what he did, who he met, etc.
Unpopular Opinion: I don’t know, maybe just thinking he’s worth noticing! He flies way under the radar as a character, especially if you don’t include the movie version.
Favorite Relationship: Rumil and Orophin, his brothers! They’re really the ONLY relationship we know he has, but I love that they patrol together and like to imagine the three of them hanging out in the trees, protecting their borders, having long conversations at night when they’re sitting around together – that seems really sweet to me.
Favorite Headcanon: Haldir did not go to Helm’s Deep as Peter Jackson would have us believe, but he *was* in Lórien when Dol Guldur attacked repeatedly in early March of TA 3019. So as guard of the borders, I imagine him to be a major hero of those battles, as well as Lórien’s subsequent assault on Dol Guldur, and he was a personal witness to Galadriel throwing down the tower there!
