# Underrated characters



## Jaberg (Feb 14, 2007)

All right folks, who do you think are the characters good 'ole J.R.R. didn't give the proper due to in this masterpiece of genesis and beyond? There are quite a few. I'll start out.

Fingon - This cat traveled alone to Thangorodrim in order to rescue his good buddy Maedros, thus giving the house of Fingolfin the high kingship of the Noldor. He was the first to engage Glaurang when he was set forth from Angband. He also almost defeated Gothmog, but was ultimately defeated by the quintessiential _sucker punch.

_So folks, who do you think Tolkien didn't give the proper props too?


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## UnderTheOath (May 14, 2007)

My friends underrate Turin. It's pathetic really.


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## Confusticated (Sep 17, 2010)

I wouldn't say that the author didn't given props to anyone. If a character is under rated it is by the readers.

I mean I never sat down with JRRT and asked him to measure his appreciation for the characters, so I just don't know.


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## YayGollum (Sep 17, 2010)

Gollum the Hero immediately springs to brain. He was my reason for coming here, in the first place. I didn't know anyone that had read this The Lord Of The Rings story, except for my evil mom lady, and she hadn't read it in a while, at the time. I laid my Gollum is the Hero truth on her, and it didn't really take. I figured that the internet is a place where every personality can be found. Surely, there must be others who saw what was so obvious to myself? But no. And it became my mission to educate people. Gollum, although beloved, in his way, is still plenty underrated. That Tolkien did a good job of portraying his characters. People are always re-reading his stories and finding aspects of characters that they hadn't noticed before. Gollum is more than just the greatest weaselly character of all time.

Also, ah, Quickbeam is pretty underrated.


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## Turgon (Sep 18, 2010)

I'm not sure there is such a thing as an underrated character. This is the internet. If it exists there are fans of it. Everybody has these favourite little characters they like _just because_. I've always liked Hama, no idea why. Rumil in the Book of Lost Tales, totally cool. Balin in the Hobbit, love that guy. Smaug, Imrahil, the Huggins Brothers. I could go on, it's a big list...:*cool:


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## Confusticated (Sep 18, 2010)

Its 'cause Rumil is the coolest dude west of the Sea.:*D


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## Turgon (Sep 18, 2010)

On this we are agreed.

I think we've spent more time discussing BoLT Rumil than any other Tolkien character.

:*up


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## Confusticated (Sep 18, 2010)

We should be darn proud of it too.


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## YayGollum (Sep 18, 2010)

Hmph! What's so great about Rumil? Feanor already proved that he was better. Sure, I suppose that he is not an overly horrible (yet still sickeningly elfy elf) character, but how is he underrated? I know about Rumil, but I see no reason to rate him especially loftily.


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## Confusticated (Sep 18, 2010)

Like Turgon said, it is _just because_.
In the case of Rumil he has the personality, and he makes you laugh. For me, he makes you want to know and converse with regularly and learn things from.

Yet no one other than Turgon and me seems to mention it. So you could say I think he is underrated, but people have their own tastes.


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## YayGollum (Sep 18, 2010)

While in a generous mood, and if someone were to spring the idea on me and not give me time to remember that he is an elf, sure, I can admit that he is okay, but the awesomeness that you describe sounds like plenty of storytelling characters. We like the stories that they tell, and we wish that we could sit around and hear more from the guy, no matter how elfy they are. I appreciate other storytelling characters, but not as much as the cool characters that they talk about. oh well. But he can't be the coolest dude west of the Sea. That's Feanor. Unless, *gasp!* what elven mothers tell their kids isn't true, and Feanor didn't really go to Mandos's thinktank. :*eek: :*rolleyes:


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## Confusticated (Sep 18, 2010)

While Feanor had some admirable qualities, there were counter-balanced with dangerous traits. Feanor is not really a guy I'd want to know personally... And I do not think he has ever been underrated among fans.


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## YayGollum (Sep 18, 2010)

I am merely typing that Rumil is not the greatest guy west of the Sea. Sure, Feanor is not underrated. Rumil could be the greatest underrated guy west of the Sea. Why not? And Feanor can't be gotten to know personally. He's barely a person, too full of epicness to sit down and chat. I don't read books to find people that I'd like to talk to about books. :*rolleyes:


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## Confusticated (Sep 18, 2010)

But I said Rumil is the coolest dude, not the greatest.

Don't read books to find people you'd like to talk to about books?? :*D Nor do I, twas an unexpected consequence. :*up


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## Prince of Cats (Sep 20, 2010)

YayGollum said:


> Also, ah, Quickbeam is pretty underrated.


 
Exactly! We get _plenty_ on even dwarves, what about stories of the Ents?

Also: given how spectacular Ol' Tommy B is I think he deserves a little more attention


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## r.j.c. (Oct 17, 2010)

Fatty Bolger :*D


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## Peeping-Tom (Jan 12, 2011)

The most underrated character, have to be Teleporno (Celeborn)....
You almost never hear of him, and when you do...well then it's Galadriel and Celeborn.
I would love to read more about his doings in the 1st age in Beleriand.


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## Edheldae (Jan 30, 2011)

Elros. 

Elrond's brother. Has the option of elven-eternal life. Chooses mortality and founds a world changing civilization.

Personal details - next to nill. Tutored by one Maedhros, possibly Maglor. Unifies what's left of the 3 houses of the Edain. Turns them into the best sailors the world has ever seen.


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## Alcuin (Jan 31, 2011)

Edheldae said:


> Elros.
> 
> Elrond's brother. Has the option of elven-eternal life. Chooses mortality and founds a world changing civilization.
> 
> Personal details - next to nill. Tutored by one Maedhros, possibly Maglor. Unifies what's left of the 3 houses of the Edain. Turns them into the best sailors the world has ever seen.


Good one. Even his descendants, the Kings of Númenor, the House of Elros, called themselves the Heirs of Eärendil, his father. I wonder if Elrond envied Elros at the end of the Third Age.


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## Nienor (Jan 31, 2011)

I have many favourite characters and I would have to agree that Fingon might deserve a bit more of explanation. And also Elros. It is funny how I got angry with Elrond when I discovered Aragorn was descended from his twin brother, and he still didn't like him.

One thing I have always wondered about how would the stories of the silmarillion come out if Tolkien had had the time to write them properly.


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## Alcuin (Jan 31, 2011)

Nienor said:


> ...It is funny how I got angry with Elrond when I discovered Aragorn was descended from his twin brother, and he still didn't like him.


I don’t want to get this thread onto a tangent, but…

The Northern Dúnedain survived because Elrond and Círdan succored and helped them, particularly Elrond. “The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen” in Appendix A of _Return of the King_ says that after Arathorn died, Elrond raised Aragorn as his own son and loved him dearly. He recognized early on that little Estel (Aragorn) was of all the Dúnedain he had known most like Isildur’s eldest son, Elendur, who of all Elendil’s descendents most resembled Elendil himself. Aragorn’s love for Arwen tore Elrond’s heart: she was “daddy’s girl”. It did not diminish Elrond’s love for Aragorn, though as Elrond put it, “now a shadow lies between us.” As for Aragorn, he loved Elrond as his own father. 

If you look again, at his council, Elrond carefully and skillfully presented Aragorn to Boromir, then quickly backed his foster-son when Boromir questioned his not-too-subtle claim to Crown of Gondor. Elrond encouraged Aragorn, helped him, and prepared him to become the greatest King of the Númenóreans since Elendil himself.

Don’t judge Elrond too harshly. At the end, he may have envied the choice of his brother Elros.


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## Thorin (Feb 1, 2011)

I would say Cirdan.

A casual glance of LoTR would make you think he is like a minor Elf lackey who tends the boats and ships other Elves off to nicer places. Here is the oldest Elf in Middle Earth who was building boats long before even Galadriel and Elrond existed. When all the other Elves were moving West to Valinor and Beleriand, he was settling in Eriador. What a history he must have seen and I'm sure he was part of much more exciting things than the little we read about him.


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## Edheldae (Feb 1, 2011)

Alcuin said:


> Elrond encouraged Aragorn, helped him, and prepared him to become the greatest King of the Númenóreans since Elendil himself.



Good point. I often think it is the ideals we hold close that most motivate us. And in the somewhat chivalric traditions Tolkien wrote within, the book-version of Arwen was a tremendously understated character that motivated one of the primary movers of the War of the Ring. I think Aragorn became much of who he became to prove himself worthy of Arwen. Many of those actions happened before the War. 

I would suspect that Elrond was wise enough to know how love motivates and engenders hope. He allowed the relationship, like allowing Aragorn to attend her at teh Tale Telling, to give Aragorn the hope he would need. He is Estel since he is hope for his people, and also in the sense that he lived his life in hope of a match, a true love, that was far above him.

So add Arwen to the list if we haven't already.


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## Mimzy (Feb 3, 2011)

I wish they wrote more about Finwe's sons and their wives. Also about Finwe's daughters, you hear NOTHING about them.

The romance between Finarfin and Earwen, and Feanor and Nerdanel, that would be fascinating.


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## Parsifal (Feb 5, 2011)

I was just thinking about this dude: Radagast.

I mean comeone, he is one of the two Istari that kept true to their goal, Saruman having Fallen and Allatar and Pallando moving East and South to found their cults.

And what does he get to do? Get mislead by Saruman to lure Gandalf to Orthanc, and then make of for it by sending some birds with a message.

By the way, does it get stated anywhere if Radagast enters the ships to sail back to Valinor? Or does he just hang around the Wood of Greenleaves and become a sort of second Bombadil?


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