The Middle Earth Popularity Cup

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Well, that's it, Beorn has defeated Faramir by 8 votes to 6 (or 7 if I count Legate's vote which technically was late) and by that the first round is concluded.

If it's okay with you I'll hold the start of the second round matches until tomorrow. I'll probably post comments on the first round and some odds before that.

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After a suspenseful fortnight of ups, downs, thrills and frill, the first round of the Middle Earth Popularity Cup is concluded and 32 have become 16. We have seen plenty of heavily favoured heroes bask in glory after a job well done but also a few upsets leading to return trip much earlier than expected for some participants. Of the original nine walkers only five now remain and even Gollum, one of the pre-tournament favourites to win, has been eliminated, along with Merry, Pippin, Legolas and Gimli. So far, this Cup has not been for the vertically challenged: ten Hobbits and Dwarves entered the competition but now only three remain: Frodo, Sam and the unlikely figure of Mim. The yellow boots and questionable poetry of Tom Bombadil will no longer grace the audience, nor will the fiery temper of Fëanor or the wisdom of Faramir. But here, without further ado, are the second round match-ups:

Second Round:

Frodo Baggins (7) vs. Beleg Strongbow (8)
Mim the Petty Dwarf (5) vs. Sauron (10)
Maedhros (10) vs. Glaurung (4)
Boromir(8) vs. Saruman (7)

Gandalf (14) vs. Elrond (1)
Lúthien (4) vs. Galadriel (10)
Aragorn (7) vs. Samwise Gamgee (9)
Túrin Turambar (10) vs. Beorn (7)

Odds for every match-up have also come in from The Betberry Bookmakers as well as odds on the winner of the whole tournament. At present Gandalf is the favourite at 11/2, closely followed by dynamic duo Frodo and Sam at 13/2. The odds on Gandalf’s old chum and fellow wizard Saruman have dropped dramatically after his emphatic first round win against Gollum and is down to 7/1. Aragorn and Boromir round out the top-favoured group and are both at 11/1.

The rest: Turin 20/1; Maedhros 25/1; Galadriel 80/1; Glaurung, Sauron, Elrond 100/1; Beorn 200/1; Lúthien, Beleg 250/1; Mim 1000/1

[Tuor in Gondolin]

Beleg Cuthalion is far more pro-active then the nice
hobbit, granted the Baggins had better luck in choice
of human companions, but since the elf is one of
the more attractive of FA elves and the chief theme
here is popularity:

+ + The strongbow

And look at those odds!

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Frodo Baggins vs. Beleg Strongbow

Frodo had a fairly comfortable passage to the second round, showing The Gaffer who the Master is on Bag's End. Beleg had to work harder, just managing to overcome the stout Farmer Maggot by five votes to four. Frodo is heavily favoured ahead of this contest. Will he march on or can Beleg cause an upset?

As usual the deadline is 12.00 Am tomorrow board-time.

[A Little Green]

++ Beleg

No question. Frodo is nice and all, but for some reason he's never moved me to one way or another. He's somehow a trifle too basic a main character. I don't know what's this thing of mine about main characters, but they never interest me as much as the minor ones do.
Beleg, on the other hand, is one of my all-time favourites and his death I think is one of the most tragic scenes in Tolkien's work. Granted, he's maybe a bit too perfect, but I just love him, his wisdom, his courage, his faithfulness, and the way he dies is so wrong it hurts.

[Aganzir]

++Frodo

When I compare him to Beleg, it's Beleg who doesn't move me that much. I think that is because it can be seen so clearly in the story how Frodo grows up and learns to consider also other people's needs. It's easy to say that other hobbits might have done at least as well as he did, but I wouldn't bet on it. Frodo was both strong-willed enough and capable of adapting quickly to difficult situations.

He started out with Sam as his servant, but can you talk about a servant and a master anymore in the end? Try to remain a good servant as Sam might, Frodo clearly considered him his equal on the later part of the journey.

Think how Frodo treated Lobelia in the beginning. He spoke nastily of her and was mean to the Sackville-Bagginses - and he also left the dishes for Lobelia when setting out to Crickhollow! But in the end he felt pity for her (and Lotho). No wonder Lobelia left him what little property she had. That's something I call adorable.

I'm quoting also my earlier post where I voted Frodo in order to convince those who might still be wavering to vote for him.

I like to compare him to Siddharta Gautama; having lived a happy youth, he went through a lot of suffering to achieve wisdom.
In the beginning he was a simple, ordinary hobbit - just like the Gaffer - but on returning home he had learnt forgiveness, mercy, and peace. When I was little, I found him a bit boring, not a proper hero, when he refused to bear weapons in the end, but now that's one of the most important things why I like him.

Also, a suggestion, skippy. Isn't it a bit unfair that in case of a tie the winner is always the one who got his/her votes first? What about giving some overtime in those cases so that although a new match has already begun, it's still allowed to vote for a contestant of the previous match until one of them gets a vote?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

Originally Posted by A Little Green

He's somehow a trifle too basic a main character. I don't know what's this thing of mine about main characters, but they never interest me as much as the minor ones do.

That's exactly what I think as well and also exactly what I said in the last voting But still, to me, Frodo is a more interesting character, and he is not that horribly uninteresting as many of the main characters happen to be. But also:

Originally Posted by Aganzir

Think how Frodo treated Lobelia in the beginning. He spoke nastily of her and was mean to the Sackville-Bagginses - and he also left the dishes for Lobelia when setting out to Crickhollow! But in the end he felt pity for her (and Lotho). No wonder Lobelia left him what little property she had. That's something I call adorable.

This is wonderful, I say. Yes - the stance of Frodo towards the Sackville-Bagginses when he returns is just something very moving and shows some other, deeper dimension of Frodo and shows indeed, maybe more than anything else (at least more than anything else I can think of right now), the change he went through on his journey.

Yes, no long pondering.

++Frodo

[Groin Redbeard]

No question about it. We get to see Frodo grow on his journey and evolve into a more delightful character, and we share in his struggles that he deals with. One significant change I saw in Frodo at the end of the book was his almost pacifist nature. Frodo was ready to kill Gollum in Moria yet even at the cracks of Doom he does not feel any ill feelings towards Gollum. Same thing when he lets Saruman/Sharku go after he has defiled the Shire. Frodo has transformed into the very impitamy of mercy and is absolutely the strongest, most showing, and best side of Frodo's character.

++Frodo

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Originally Posted by Aganzir

++Frodo
Also, a suggestion, skippy. Isn't it a bit unfair that in case of a tie the winner is always the one who got his/her votes first? What about giving some overtime in those cases so that although a new match has already begun, it's still allowed to vote for a contestant of the previous match until one of them gets a vote?

I actually had that in mind myself but promptly forgot about it. But yeah, let's do it: in case of a tie when the deadline passes anyone may vote again and the first to do so decides the contest in sudden death fashion. I'll add that in the op too.