Council of Elrond

In The Lord of the Rings, the Council of Elrond is convened by Elrond to discuss the matter of the One Ring. It ends with the decision to form the Fellowship of the Ring and to take the Ring to Mordor and destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom. It is considered a pivotal moment in the history of Middle-earth. Therefore, it is frequently crashed by Mary Sues.

The Book
Elrond calls for a council early on 25 October, the day after Frodo recovers and awakens after his ordeal crossing the Bruinen. Other messengers with tidings concerning the matter of the One Ring of Power are also present and are called to attend the council, but it was not arranged ahead of time.

In order of appearance, those attending the council are:


 * Frodo Baggins
 * Samwise Gamgee, who tags along uninvited
 * Gandalf the Grey
 * Bilbo Baggins
 * Elrond
 * Glorfindel, a powerful Elf-lord
 * Glóin of the Dwarves, representative of Dáin, King under the Mountain
 * Aragorn
 * Gimli son of Glóin
 * Erestor, chief of Elrond's household counsellors
 * Several unnamed counsellors
 * Galdor of the Grey Havens, on errand from Círdan the Shipwright
 * Legolas, Elf of Mirkwood and son of Thranduil, King of the Wood-Elves.
 * Boromir son of Denethor the Steward of Gondor

Many things are discussed, and not all of them are told explicitly. Glóin speaks of evil messengers that came to the Lonely Mountain and Dale, promising a great reward for the capture of the hobbit who stole 'a little ring, the least of rings' from Sauron. Elrond, Bilbo, Frodo and Gandalf relate the full story of the One Ring from the forging of the first Rings of Power to the One's arrival in Rivendell. Boromir speaks of the plight of Gondor and relates the dream he and his brother shared. Legolas speaks of the sad news that Gollum escaped captivity (after Aragorn had gone to great lengths to capture the creature), and by putting the pieces together, they all figure out that Gollum must have spilled his information to the Dark Lord. Gandalf talks about the betrayal of Saruman and his imprisonment in Orthanc. Finally, when all has been thoroughly discussed, the decision to cast the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom is made – and with the ringing of the noon-bell, Frodo volunteers to do it.

The final decision of how many and exactly who should accompany Frodo as the titular Fellowship of the Ring is not made until nearly two months later, when all of Elrond's scouts return from their errand of determining the fate of the Black Riders.

Interestingly, Tom Bombadil is mentioned as a possible bearer of the One Ring... but this is determined to be a very bad idea.

The Movie

 * Elrond: Nine companions. So be it. *music crescendo* You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring.
 * Pippin: Great! Where are we going?

In the movie, this is an important scene that occurs right after we learn that Frodo has healed from the wounds he sustained at Weathertop. In it, the audience is introduced to Boromir, Aragorn's true identity, Legolas, and Gimli. Frodo here also volunteers to take the Ring to Mordor. Sam, Merry, and Pippin refuse to let him do it alone.

The tone and spirit of the book is well kept in this scene, but notable is the script itself, which is shamelessly copied, and often original (and terrible) lines are inserted for a Mary Sue's presence rather than simply writing it properly from an original point of view. There is one common line that is especially awful:


 * Aragorn: You have my sword.
 * Legolas: And you have my bow.Figwit.jpeg
 * Gimli: And my ax!
 * Mary Sue: And my magic wand/knives/spear/rapier/gun/vuvuzela!
 * Boromir: *has just gotten cut off*

There are several extras present at the Council set, and most of them are not mentioned by name nor bear any importance other than as background characters. One of them, Figwit, is named and actually maintains cult status as a real, fleshed-out character. Possibly because an Israeli fangirl saw his face in the background and was enraptured by his beauty, much to the amusement of the film staff – who actually gave him a line in a later movie.

In Badfic
Because many Mary Sues (especially Tenth Walker Mary Sues) are inserted in Rivendell so as to join the Fellowship, and because this council forms the Fellowship in the first place, it is not uncommon to see a Mary Sue attending this meeting. This is very peculiar because Frodo's own friend Sam Gamgee was not allowed to attend, yet bears far more importance in the world than a self-insert who does not even come from Middle-earth in the first place. Sometimes, in the case of an Elf Mary Sue, she is 'qualified' to sit in due to her renowned deeds in whatever-she-picked-as-an-excuse. Usually follows the movie version... if not a direct lift from the movie script itself. That is, if the Mary Sue even has the quality to copy and paste.