The Hobbit: This Character Was Completely Misrepresented

gamerant.com:

The Master of Lake Town, iconically played by Stephen Fry, is possibly one of the most despicable figures portrayed across Peter Jackson’s film adaptations, of either the Lord of the Rings, or The Hobbit. Alongside his leeching servant Alfrid, the Master of Lake Town represents all the worst traits found in the race of men, which is only made more obvious by his stark contrast to Bard, the hero who shoots the dragon.

During the making of The Hobbit films, the team put in a lot of effort into making the Master of Lake Town a slovenly, overweight, sleazy, cowardly, and above all, greedy character. From his two strands of hair that hang limply over his forehead, to his lavish fabrics stained and sewn into clothes that are obviously too tight for him, the Master is a character for audiences to despise from the offset. He sits in his decadent home eating delicacies (albeit lambs bollocks) whilst his people starve and suffer, and are denied even the rights to fish in order to feed themselves and their families. He invents laws on a whim to suit whatever his current agenda is, and he relies on Alfrid to do his dirty work for him, whether because he can’t be bothered to actually govern the town, or because he is too spineless to enforce the rules he makes in person is hard to tell.

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When Thorin and his band of dwarves arrive in the water-side village, having just escaped from Mirkwood in barrels down the river, the Master instantly panders to them, and rushes to give them everything they need, not because he wants to help a group of weary travelers, but because he sees it as an opportunity to line his own pocket, and share in the wealth that once poured forth from the