but can you imagine if Glorfindel joined the fellowship instead of Merry and Pippin, and in Moria they accidentally manages to disturb the balrog anyway and Glorfindel goes like:
Glorfindel’s battle with the balrog is hella heroic, I’m sure we all agree. But so were many of the deeds performed in the First Age. Many good and valiant people did incredible things in horrific circumstances – Glorfindel’s bestie Ecthelion also duelled a(n even tougher) balrog to the death during Gondolin’s fall. So why is Glorfindel so fucking special? Why did he get sent back?
He didn’t.
Some blond dude rocks up claiming he’s the Lord of the House of the Golden Flower and who’s gonna gainsay him? The real Glorfindel fell with his city which was, we must remember, famously isolationist. Of the survivors of Gondolin, many died when Sirion was sacked, during the War of Wrath, and the sinking of Beleriand. Of those survivors, many accepted the pardon of the Valar and returned to the West. Of those that stayed, there was that nastiness in Eregion that culminated in the Battle of the Last Alliance and a massive loss of Elven life. Who’s left to identify him?
Elrond, for all that he’s elvenwise and the descendant of Turgon and Idril, has nothing but stories to go on. Galadriel might remember the real Glorfindel from the Helcaraxë but even if she did, I’m not she and this Glorfimposter ever meet. We don’t know Erestor and Lindir’s histories and Gildor Inglorion is even more suspicious than Glorfindel. Gandalf must, surely, know who he really is, but Gandalf fucking loves not telling people shit for their own good, you know he’s in on it and laughing behind his beard.
So who is he really? The Glofimposter is undeniably mighty and an elf come out of the West. Who do we know that’s blond, hella powerful, has a grudge against Sauron, loves the shit out of mortals, and has, explicitly, been released from the Halls of Mandos (despite there supposedly being no way of knowing this)?
It’s Finrod, returned to sate his manlust. He’s assumed a false identity to avoid an awkward reunion with his sister.
A little comic about What If Glorfindel had been at Pelennor.
I imagine he was very proud of the way his prophecy was fulfilled and that when he went to Gondor (Probably for Aragorn’s wedding) He and Eowyn hit it off immediately
Found something interesting in HoME: The Peoples of Middle earth. In Tolkien’s last writings he says of Glorfindel, after writing that he after his rebirth dwelt with the Maiar in Valinor: “To these he had now become almost an equal. for though he was an incarnate (to whom a bodily form had not made or chosen by himself was necessary) his spiritual power had been greatly enhanced by his self-sacrifice.”
I thought it was interesting that Tolkien mentions him almost being equal to the maia, when he kind of indirectly says in his letters that Galadriel isn’t close to Gandalf in power (in regards to who could challenge Sauron with the ring). Perhaps even more interesting is that self-sacrifice apparently enhances your spiritual power. One would imagine Finrod Felagund being pretty damn mighty in his reincarnated form then.
Another thing to add is that it seems like elven reincarnations means a loss of spiritual power? Since Tolkien here feels the need to state that “despite being an incarnate” Glorfindel still gained spiritual power because of his deeds. One would assume elves who lived normal lives reappeared as “lesser” than they used to be.
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