How It Shoud've Ended....

Second Position: Omer Atif of class A2S1

Ever feel that, that movie you've just watched isn't all that you expected it to be? You've probably wanted to close the television or leave the cinema. This was my situation with the Hobbit`s final installment: The battle of the five armies. Based on the book, the highly exaggerated series of films unfortunately went over the bar with this one.

Let me give you a very brief summary of the whole series so you don't get confused in any part of my alternate ending. You see, the story takes place in a land called Middle Earth which is exactly the same as the Earth itself except filled with everything you've dreamed or had nightmares of when you were little. Tall pointy eared elves, small greedy and furious dwarfs (well not that angry), giant walking trees who converse with each other and even talking dragons. So here it goes. In the past, under a huge mountain called Erebor, there was a mighty dwarf kingdom. The dwarves had a huge stockpile of gold, so huge that you would be flabbergasted at the unbelievable amount. That and the arkenstone (the birthright stone of the dwarves), which corrupted the mind of the king. The huge pile of gold caught the attention of the greedy dragon “Smaug” who wanted the mountain for himself and in doing so killed almost every dwarf in the kingdom and the people of a nearby city of Dale. The remaining dwarves were vulnerable and encountered the fierce race of Orcs due to which they grew even fewer in number. The remaining few fortunately had the heir to the king, Thorin. The remaining dwarves then took the guidance of Gandalf, a powerful wizard. He led them to Bilbo, a hobbit, because they wanted the burglar to steal the arkenstone and that “he had more to him than they knew”, according to Gandalf. A quest led them back to the mountain, along with two warrior elves, Legolas and Tauriel. Along the way Bilbo caught hold of a magical ring that made him invisible. The dwarves and the hobbit found a secret door to enter Erebor. Bilbo stole the arkenstone from the dragon and the dwarves. Fought the dragon but it flew away and went to burn the nearby lake town of Esgaroth, which was populated by the survivors of Dale, to demonstrate a show of power. 

Here is my vision of the ending. As the ranger of the town, Bard, prepped his bow to shoot the special long and heavy black arrow, which was apparently made only to kill dragons, from a tower, Smaug looked at him with hate. As he leaped and flew towards him, the ranger shot the arrow. Smaug saw the projectile and tried to dodge it but it gashed his flesh and did not skewer all the way through. Smaug was weakened but not defeated. He flew off into the sky and soon faded away. Smaug went to the leader of the Orcs, Azog, with whom he made a deal. Azog wanted Thorin and Smaug wanted the mountain hence, they formed a pact.

 The men and women who survived honored the ranger Bard and made him their leader. In order to rebuild their livelihood they sought Thorin, who had taken back the Lonely Mountain, and wanted the gold he promised them earlier. The elven king wanted his stolen jewels back from the Lonely Mountain, which were the heirloom of his people, and so he was eager to wage war if Thorin refused. The ranger went to talk to Thorin but the thought of the arkenstone and the sight of the gold corrupted Thorin`s mind so he turned him back. Gandalf was busy thinking of a peaceful solution with his council with the king and Bard when Bilbo came after having escaped from the mountain after sneaking past the dwarves with the arkenstone. He thought an exchange would be a solution. The next morning, Gandalf stepped forward with Bilbo to the gates of the mountains where Thorin was. Behind them was the combined army of men and elves. Bilbo approached Thorin and with uneasiness, told Thorin that they had the stone and an exchange was necessary. Thorin was infuriated and almost waged war with the thought that they stole his birthright stone but then Gandalf said, “Smaug is still alive Thorin”. Thorin thought this was a joke but then he saw an army of orcs as well as goblins in the distance and a vague black spot in the sky. He knew it. It was Smaug. He widened his eyes in disbelief. He knew that they were almost dead. His companions told him to come to his senses but he just stood there confused. It was in that moment that Gandalf screamed Thorin`s name and just like waking up from a dream, Thorin came to his senses. He agreed with the exchange and offered a brief allegiance with the people of Esgaroth and the elves in fighting the orcs, goblins and Smaug. They accepted the offer and on went the elves and the people of Esgaroth to fight. The Dwarves blew their horn and then came their kin from the east. Gandalf and Bilbo stood back, for any assistance in guarding Esgaroth. Gandalf soon took sight of a butterfly close by him and chanted a weird language and sent it away.

It was a fierce battle full of gore and bloodshed. In the midst of that battle was Azog and Thorin but Thorin was losing badly. The Orcs were winning and dwarves and elves were getting fewer by the number. Smaug was setting everything ablaze so there was no room of retreat from fear of the dragon. With a swipe of the sword and a kick to the chest Azog threw Thorin to the ground. It seemed like the end of the battle when the eagles came. Giant eagles with sharp talons and huge wings flew around the battlefield and fought the enemy as well as the dragon. The eagles were standing they’re ground against the enemy. They were all flummoxed at the sight and Azog forgot about Thorin. Thorin picked up his sword and killed the Orc leader. Smaug crashed in the gates of the mountain in an attempt to retreat but got stuck under a bunch of falling rocks. The battle went on for a few more hours until the enemy was defeated. The dwarves came back to the mountain to finish off Smaug. They saw that the arrow that had gashed him was still there so all at once, they took hold of the arrow and began to further puncture in, in order to finish him off but at the last moment Smaug used his claws to grab hold of Thorin. “Finish him off! Now is your final chance to avenge our kin” is what Thorin shouted. The dwarves were confused at this sight and Smaug was beginning to regain his strength. Thorin took out his sword and flung it at Smaug`s eye. With an unsettling clamour, he let go of Thorin and the dwarves used all their strength to push the arrow and kill Smaug at last. There was dead silence which was a signal of victory.

With this the battle was over, all exchanges were made and allegiances finished and the arkenstone was given to Gandalf for keeping it safe and away from the dwarves so that their minds remain free of corruption. Bilbo bid his farewells and tried to hold in his tears but failed. Before he went home he told them, “If any of you want to visit anytime, my house is open, tea is at four and do not bother knocking”. He went back to his home, the shire, with the aid of Gandalf. Along the way Gandalf told Bilbo that he knew about the magical ring all along and that it held great significance. “You must keep the ring safe and a secret Bilbo” Gandalf said. When Bilbo reached home, everybody was selling his possessions until he showed himself and proved that he did exist. Then he finally settled himself and stayed in his little hobbit home for a very long time.

Edited by: Rida Manzar