The Hobbit: What Makes Bard Such A Heroic Character

gamerant.com:

There are so many elements that go into Tolkien’s works to make them memorable, magical, and still relevant over 50 years later. One of the most significant things that all of his stories have in common is his creation of amazing heroic characters. These are characters that stay with fans, that teach them how to be brave, how to stand up for the people who need it, and how to trust the decisions that your heart knows are right, even when the world seems against them. Characters like Aragorn the humble ranger turned heroic leader, and Samwise the country hobbit turned saviour of the world, are what the Lord of the Rings is all about.

Many fans feel that Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations of The Hobbit fell short in this regard, with a lack of characters that the audience deeply cares about, or even wants to root for. The familiar faces like Gandalf and Galadriel felt fairly unchanged, but the host of new characters in this trilogy didn’t inspire the same passion and unfaltering devotion that many fans experienced with the cast of the original trilogy. However, there were two main exceptions. The first,Bilbo Baggins (played by Martin Freeman), is hardly surprising, as Bilbo is the protagonist of the story, and takes the audience along every step of the way of his first adventure, which really helps people relate to him and his struggles. The second character is Bard, who has a surprising impact in the films, even beyond slaying Smaug.

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Bard has all the traits that it takes to make a great hero. For a start, he is the voice of reason. When all the other characters, including the band of dwarves and the men of Lake Town alike, are blinded by the greed and temptation of the gold that