Skip to main content

tolkiens legendarium - Does Shelob have a human form?


I watched a trailer for Shadow of War this morning and in it we see a human woman who, it turns out, is Shelob. I've only read the LOTR trilogy and, as far as I recall, we never see her appear as a human.


Do we ever see Shelob take human form in any other work by Tolkien? The Silmarillion maybe? Can she even do that?



Is this just for the benefit of the game?



Answer



The idea behind the creators of the game with Shelob's human form was:



  1. Because a talking spider would've been strange,

  2. They had Shelob interact with Sauron and assume she was this divine god-like spirit that was equal to Sauron,

  3. To "weave the fate" of Thalion in the same way Galadriel guided Frodo, and to do that as a spider would be confusing..


This is all covered in this video interview1 with the VP as well as the actress for Shelob.


Although they claim to have read to works, and have looked into the works, they have still taken liberties with the character. As is well known in the games, the majority of it is non-canon with many non-canon portrayals of characters and creatures. This was taken further with Shelob as they wanted to have this mythical character that is believed to weave the fate of Middle-earth as it is their opinion that (para-phrased) "Shelob is to thank for the destruction of the Ring"



Onto why Shelob can't take human form. As established in this answer here that Shelob is not a Maia but at best something similar to the spirits called to Middle-earth by Yavanna or Manwë. Neither of which are able to take human form. Shelob therefore, canonically, cannot take human form


Another reason why this form of Shelob is just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, Shelob is not a force for good, her only intention is to live in the darkness and eat. She has no intention of helping the good and captured Frodo purely for eating purposes. Her role in the books is another obstacle for Frodo to have to get past and a way to show Sam as a hero of sorts.


1





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more

game of thrones - Is Syrio Forel dead?

In the episode 'The Pointy End' (Season 1 Episode 8) when Arya runs from the Lannister guards you hear the sound of a sword being dropped (around 4:56): [embedded content] After that neither Syrio or Ser Meryn Trant is never mentioned or seen in the show again, except when Arya mentions to the Hound that Ser Meryn Trant killed Syrio. Is there any mention in the books that Syrio actually dies?
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Difference between elves and dwarves blacksmithing in the Lord of the Rings

Both the elves and the dwarves were famous for their metal work in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but what is the difference between what they made, and which one had the better skill of making amours and swords? Answer James Christopher's answer sums up the second part of your question well, but as to the difference in what they made, a little more detail is needed. Once the Elves learned to forge with steel, the shape of the sword changed, now being able to take on the form of a great broadsword or a light and agile curved sword. Additionally, they took great pride in decorating their swords. As we see in the Lord of the Rings , some swords like Sting had magical properties such as glowing blue when orcs are near. As far as the use of Mithril, lotr.wikia has two contradictory passages: Thus, Elven blades became renowned as great weapons, capable of performing deeds beyond the skill of their handlers and were even more glorious when the use of Mithril was allowed to the Elves. ...
Post a Comment
Read more