[Keeper of Dol Guldur]

Hi.

It's been a while.

Almost a year actually, since I last logged onto The Barrow Downs.

But I'm back, and with that I've got a short list of evidence pointing toward something I've been thinking about for like five years now, but which I only ever thought about when reading LOTR, which I haven't done in some time.

I'm of the opinion that Legolas is in fact the drunken warden from the Hobbit - OR the elf who came downstairs and got drunk with him.

I'll list why I think this.

1. Legolas expressed keen interest in Saruman's wine when Merry & Pippin were offering provender from the store house. You'd have to be pretty into wine to ... skip your king's big dinner party and get drunk in a stock room near the jail cells. (Sure, the argument can be made that many of the Mirkwood elves were fond of wine, rather than beer).

2. Legolas was in charge of prisoners in the halls of the Elf King in Mirkwood. Need proof? He personally recounted feeling pity for Gollum being locked in a cell, and letting Gollum out for walks and letting Gollum climb the tree to the Council of Elrond.

3. More proof? Gloin's mad comment about "you were not so kind to US" was aimed specifically at Legolas. He didn't say "your King showed less kindness to us". Familiarity? Oh heck yes. Even if Legolas wasn't the warden himself, if he was the other guy, the warden's friend ... he may still have been one of the elves who locked the 13 Dwarves up.

4. More proof after that? As the elf in error, Gollum escaped on his watch, hence he felt personally obligated to go break the news to Gandalf himself.

So anyway, my theory has evidence to back it up ... and though it's hard to specifically tie Legolas down as the very warden Bilbo completely played for a fool, it's got good support. And if you buy into it ... it definitely adds another slant to the already interesting elf prince.

Thanks.