Haldir is an Elf from Lothlórien, a guardian of the wood in the service of Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. He is the one who encounters the Fellowship when they arrive in the wood, and brings them to Caras Galadhon, the capital of Lothlórien. He comes across as a little arrogant, being not in the least impressed by the companions, but immediately recognizes Legolas as one of his own kin. Attentive viewers will also have noticed him in the line of Elves giving cloaks to the members of the Fellowship before they leave Lothlórien.
So far, so good.

Haldir makes an unexpected come-back in ‘The Two Towers’, where he leads the Elvish warriors sent by Elrond at Galadriel’s request. They come to the aid of the Men of Rohan at the Battle of Helm’s Deep, to honour the old alliance of Elendil and Gil-galad at the Battle of the… Last Alliance. Note that it’s the ‘last’ alliance.
Anyway, said captain climbs onto the battlements and quite heroically glares at his foes, until Aragorn sounds the retreat and Haldir doesn’t make it in time. Alas! He is taken out with one blow to the back and dies in Aragorn’s arms.
Not so good.

All in all, Haldir is a quite controversial character: there are those who like him, those who do not like him, those who think he was fine in ‘Fellowship of the Ring’ but should have stayed away from Helm’s Deep, those who think it was great to see him appear in full glittering outfit looking all smug and smiling creepily at poor old Théoden, those who think it was great that he died (for various reason, obviously), those who want to kill Peter Jackson for letting him die, those who write fanfiction stories about his miraculous return from the Halls of Mandos and of course those who think he’ll make a cameo appearance in the Extended Edition of Return of the King. Personally, I prefer Éomer, but at least Haldir has given us fans, both of the books and the movies, a lot to discuss, think and dream about.

by Figwit

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