Lord Of The Rings: 10 Persistent Plot Holes FINALLY Debunked

The Claim: If Lórien could send a battalion of Elves to Helm’s Deep, why couldn’t they send forces to Minas Tirith? In fact, if Elves are Middle-Earth’s noblest beings, and its premier warriors, why don’t they fight, well, everywhere?

This is a plot-hole that originates with the movies, because in the books no Elves marched to Helm’s Deep. Even so, it is still a good question, to which the answer is simple: They were already fighting battles elsewhere; battles every bit as important.

We know that there are only three Elven strongholds left in Middle-Earth: Rivendell, Lórien, and Thranduil’s realm in Mirkwood. As per the events detailed in the books regarding the war in the north, we learn that Elrond, Galadriel and Thranduil had their hands full with Sauron’s forces at Dol Guldur.

Without the Elves to contain them these forces could easily have marched south, tying down the forces of Rohan and leaving Gondor to fight the Battle of the Pelennor Fields alone, inevitably leading to the fall of Minas Tirith, and with it, all of Middle-Earth.

So, while their contribution might have been off-stage, the Elves were neither cowardly nor callous.