The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies - 10 Questions We Need Answering

6. Will Tauriel Be Plot Significant?

For all grumbles die-hard Tolkien fans had about Evangeline Lilly's Tauriel for being an entirely original character for the film, she was, for the most part, a strong inclusion. The series has always been light on female heroes (Arwen and ‰owyn's roles were both pumped up in the original trilogy in an attempt to address the balance) and with Legolas taking up the resident arsehole position a genuinely likeable wood elf was much appreciated. Also, her action scenes was pretty damn impressive. Much of the ire was directed at her relationship with dwarve Kíli (thus explaining why he, along with Thorin, are the only two in the company not totally hidden under make-up). Inter-species romance is a very questionable addition to the world and reports that it was dreamt up just before the 2012 reshoots suggest this was a subplot added purely to boost the run-time (because these films have been too short thus far) only further soured the issue. Either way, the romance sub-plot doesn't totally justify her presence. Between her acrobatics and love story, we're still not quite sure what role Tauriel plays in greater events. Jackson went to great pains to create the character, so he must have something for her to do beyond fall for a soon to be dead character, right? If she was just added so there'd be a girl on screen we won't be too impressed.