History Fridge / TheHobbit

* Tolkien, unsurprisingly, knew exactly what he was doing when he picked the sign for Gandalf to put on Bilbo's door. The sign is the Norse rune Fehu, which in Norse mysticism stands for possessions won or earned, luck, a sign of hope and plenty, and success. In short, all the things that the Dwarves hope for in their adventure. The sign reversed refers to a loss of personal property, greed, and discord--in other words, a short summary of the fall of the Dwarf kingdom. It also refers to poverty (which the Dwarfs are in) and dullness/cowardice (which Gandalf wants to jolt Bilbo out of). In Middle-Earth, it matches the letter G -- G for Gandalf.

* Also from the book (crossing over with ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', supposing Bilbo still remembers the incident with the spiders in Mirkwood well, how do you suppose he reacted when/if he eventually found out about the incident with Shelob? Imagining [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath what would have happened]] if Sam hadn't been so stubborn, or if he'd been less lucky, would be horrifying for anyone, but Bilbo is Frodo's adoptive father and Sam's BenevolentBoss.

** There's also a slightly more prosaic reason in the fact that Bilbo was on his adventure for a little over a year, at least according to the book's version of events. Not everything in his larder would have lasted that long without spoiling or getting eaten by mice, so it may have been a subtle way for Tolkein to imply Bilbo was going to be away from home for quite awhile.

* In ''Film/TheHobbitAnUnexpectedJourney'' Thranduil's army appearance in the Prologue seems forced: did he just march his entire army to help, only to turn around on the mere sight of the Dragon? How did he learn of the impending Dragon attack to be able to assemble and march his host so swiftly? And if he did not intend to help at all, why bring the army in thf first place? Then, ''Film/TheHobbitTheBattleOfTheFiveArmies'' puts it into perspective: he always intended to reclaim what he deemed rightfully his from the Dwarves by force, he just choose the timing poorly and had the misfortunate to arrive just behind the rampaging Dragon. Helping the refugees was never in question, but since the treasures were lost, there was no point in attacking them either.

* Wife's keepsake or not, Thranduil's obsession with the white gems to the point of abandoning the Dwarves completely and later jailing Thorin and company6 over them shows an obsessive streak that in his case at least highlights how Thranduil is NotSoDifferent from the Dwarves his so despises.

* Elephants, which are migratory animals, form protective circles around their young when faced with danger, much like the dwarves did in Rivendell. The fact that the dwarves instinctively use this tactic really drives home the point of Bilbo's speech about how the dwarves are used to not belonging anywhere.

* Elrond spends the movie in a much better mood compared to ''LOTR''. Not only is it because the world's fate isn't at stake: his daughter is spending time in Lothlórien and Aragorn is only ten - he doesn't have to deal with those complicated family issues yet!

* In the film, Thrór is described as succumbing to a "sickness" over his longing for gold, and it is stated that his desire for more and more wealth is what drew Smaug to Erebor. Now, consider the back story to ''LOTR'': The Seven Rings of the Dwarves were captured and corrupted by Sauron, who then presented them to the kings (Dúrin's Folk dispute Sauron ever had his ring, of course, but it's left ambiguous by Tolkien). However, Sauron discovered that because the dwarves were specifically made to be resistant to evil by Aulë, he couldn't directly control or corrupt them the way he could use the Nine against men (another bit of brilliance in the film version of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'': this is the one thing that makes it plausible if ''anyone'' could try to break the Ring by himself, it would be Gimli). What did Sauron do instead? He twisted the Rings themselves so that while the dwarves could indeed use them to build their fortunes, that it would also lead to the destruction of their kingdoms. Thrór possessed the Ring of Dúrin. His madness for gold, which led him to accumulate such a large hoard it drew Smaug's attention, is the result of his Ring's corruption. And [[FromBadToWorse it gets even better from there]]. It's implied that, since Thrór's son was mysteriously absent at the time of his death, Thorin inherited Thrór's Ring of Power in his father's stead. This Ring could have been used to twist Thorin's darker characteristics against him - his anger and thirst for vengeance at the loss of his home and the dwindling of his family are the easiest targets for him. Now, when Thorin [[LetsGetDangerous gets his danger face on]] and attacks Azog from out of the burning tree near the end of the film, listen carefully to the music that plays. It's the Nazgûl leitmotif from the ''LOTR'' films. And we see that Thorin's rage drives him to make an unwise attack that surely would have got him killed if Bilbo hadn't interfered. The logic follows that Sauron is using Thorin's Ring to manipulate him into getting himself killed - thus eliminating a powerful ally who might have been of great help to the good guys in the coming War of the Ring. And, if you've read the book, you can see that this tactic ''works''. Not only is Thorin going to be killed, but Fíli and Kíli, his nephews and the only heirs of his line, die defending him. [[FridgeHorror Let that sink in a bit]]. Sauron truly earned his MagnificentBastard stripes.
** Except Thorin didn't have the ring. It was lost in Dol Guldur when it was taken finger and all from Thráin.

** Thorin also had a younger brother who was killed at Azanulbizar. There may be a bit of ReplacementGoldfish for Frerin as well, as Did's sons are the only children any of them had.

** She's using her Vial, that will have been given to Sam in ''LOTR'', to combat the Necromancer. It holds the a bit of light of the North Star which is a Simaril which was made from the Two Trees. Brilliant that it is the only effective thing against the Necromancer. Brilliant that it she doesn't half to use her Elvin Ring, still keeping it hidden from Sauron. And [[LiteralMetaphor Brilliant literally.]]

* The scene in which Thorin takes up the oak branch and cuts off Azog's arm is visually quite similar to the scene when Isildur takes up his father's sword and cuts off Sauron's finger. This may turn out to be significant later on.
** Possibly; Thorin falls to the gold sickness just as Isildur was seduced by the One Ring's power.

* As much a TearJerker as it is, Kíli/Tauriel doesn't cheapen the relationship Legolas and Gimli has in the LotR trilogy - simply because it doesn't work out. If anything, it serves as a precedent for Legolas/Gimli - that yes, elves and dwarves can fall in love/have a lifelong bond.

* Thorin, Fíli, and Kíli look less dwarvish than the rest of the dwarves, being closer to a human appearance. Why, you ask? [[spoiler: Because the film makers want the audience to like them as much as they like Bilbo and Gandalf, aspiring to make their deaths at the Battle of the Five Armies more dramatic. It's easier to relate to human-looking characters.]]
** Alternately, they don't look like humans, they look like ''Hobbits''. All the other dwarves look more like caricatures, because Bilbo didn't get to know them as well. And remember, The Hobbit is supposed to be Bilbo's story of the events that transpired, filtered through his memory and possibly embellished a little. Or maybe it's a combination of both.

* The "last light on the Durin's Day" has been changed from sunlight in the book to moonlight in the movie. But the Moon doesn't have any light on its own, so the light of the Moon is indeed the last light of the Sun reflecting from it.
** Also, the writing on the map that shows this condition for finding the door is hidden by moon runes, which are only revealed by a certain moonlight in a certain time of the year. It makes sense that the people that made the door and hid the conditions to finding the door on the map would tie finding the door to the moon as well.

* There are mentions of how there are a number of glimpses of Thorin's deep affection for his nephews, Fíli and Kíli, in the films. Now, if you read Tolkien's anthropology notes on dwarves, it follows: because male dwarves outnumber females 3 to 1 (and many choose never to marry, just to make it worse), then even before the fall of their Kingdom, the vast majority of male dwarves never married or had children. For this reason, it follows that uncles would have great emotional attachment to their nephews and nieces.

* Thorin, Fíli, and Kíli look less dwarvish than the rest of the dwarves, being closer to a human appearence. Why, you ask? [[spoiler: Because the film makers want the audience to like them as much as they like Bilbo and Gandalf, aspiring to make their deaths at the Battle of the Five Armies more dramatic. It's easier to relate to human-looking characters.]]

* Why are their far more instances of unrealistic physics than the original ''LOTR'' trilogy and several subplots that were invented for the film, such as the love story? Because much like his recitation of the troll scene in ''Fellowship'', Bilbo's book is meant for children and so he's [[UnreliableNarrator purposefully embellishing parts]] of the story to make them more exciting. This would also tie with how Tolkien retconned the scene where Bilbo wins the Ring from Gollum in the first edition of ''The Hobbit'', having Gandalf explain it away in ''LOTR'' as a lie Bilbo made up under the influence of the Ring.

%% If it's a film, rather than a book, Fridge issue, please put it on the appropriate fridge page, which may not be this one.