I was watching LOTR with friends the other day and someone pointed out that a major reason film!Elrond is upset about Arwen being in love with Aragorn is because of Elrond's own broken relationship with Isildur.
In the films Isildur and Elrond are kind of set up as....a broken failed parallel to Aragorn and Arwen?
Arwen reassures Aragorn that "he is Isildur's heir, not Isildur himself," and "is not bound to his fate"-- but Elrond disagrees, confident that Aragorn will be just like Isildur.
Film!Elrond is so certain that trusting in mankind is a mistake that will only lead Arwen to misery because he once trusted in mankind, and the man he trusted ended up failing him. His ally from the line of Elendil ended up falling to the power of the Ring and dying; he believes Aragorn may do the same thing. He doesn't just want to save Arwen's life and keep his daughter by his side; he wants to prevent Arwen from experiencing the same betrayal/heartbreak he experienced.
Film!Elrond is very stoic and unsentimental, but there are all these hints at Elrond and Isildur's past relationship throughout the series. Everyone likes to make the joke "why didn't Elrond just toss Isildur into the fire?" but to me the answer is, partially, because he cared about Isildur. They were allies who fought side-by-side. After describing what happened in Mount Doom all those years ago, Elrond tells Gandalf that "It should've ended that day, but evil was allowed to endure." And I think it's interesting that he goes into passive voice for a moment, instead of saying that Isildur specifically allowed to evil to endure--because he's also blaming himself for allowing evil to endure, blaming his own failure to be harsh with Isildur and take the Ring from him by force. He's regretting that he was merciful and didn't "just toss Isildur into the fire."
His complicated emotions about Isildur also appear again in the Two Towers. After insisting that Arwen needs to give up Aragorn as a lost cause and travel into the West, Elrond has a conversation with Galadriel where she guilt-trips him for abandoning Middle Earth/mankind. When she asks him "do we let them stand alone?" Elrond walks into the study, and spends a long moment looking at his mural of Isildur.
He then, in the film's canon, agrees to send military support to one of Isildur's descendants."I don't care about Isildur anymore, men are weak," Elrond says, standing in front of his elaborate mural of Isildur and his shrine dedicated to Isildur's sword.
And yes this is all, again, a drastic departure from his characterization in the book-- most of the Aragorn-Arwen-Elrond stuff in the films is a drastic departure from the book. The films radically alter their dynamics, including eliminating stuff like Elrond being Aragorn's adopted father and all the "their bloodlines are related" stuff and etc etc etc etc etc.
But honestly, now that I see it, this interpretation makes the film!Elrond-Arwen dynamic engaging in a way I hadn't recognized before?
In some ways it puts Isildur into the role that Elrond's mortal brother Elros played for him in the books, because Elros is cut from the films entirely. Isildur is the reason film!Elrond knows what it's like to have some kind of close relationship with a mortal and then watch them die. When Elrond angrily speaks about the folly of trusting men, or insists to Arwen that Aragorn "is not coming back" so she should just get over him, he's speaking from experience--he's projecting his own weird failed broken betrayal-ridden Thing with Isildur onto Arwen and Aragorn.
And in this context, his hopeless monologue about how Arwen will regret staying by Aragorn's side also feels like it's partially from his own experience. "If Sauron is defeated, and Aragorn is made king, and all that you hope for comes true, you will still have to taste the bitterness of mortality." When he fought three thousand years ago Sauron was defeated, and Isildur did become King, and yet...
TL;DR : Film!Elrond had a nasty kind-of breakup with a mortal man 3000 years ago and instead of dealing with it he decided "Men Are trash Weak" and began projecting all of his drama onto Arwen
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Ride 742: Sudden death match!!
Pag 1
1: Woah, Danchiku, oh-
And Sugimoto-san too!?
2: They passed us so quickly!! Such high pace!!
Huh!?
They're doing some sort of serious race!?
3: I get it
4: I can feel it
5: This guy....!!
Pag 2
1: He's not giving up at all!!
Pag 3
3: Earlier, at the line, I thought I had won this race
I thought he was far behind me and would cross the line with his head hanging down
4: And yet....
Pag 4
1: He caught up to me....!!
2: The preliminary of this race was already done on the “second day”!!
3: That time, the result
5: was a draw!!
6: So it would be better to have a more precise result, wouldn't it
We'll decide it with this lap!! The rules are simple: the starting point line is 4km from here, the one who crosses it first wins!!
7: And then the loser shouldn't “surpass” the winner anymore!! Sugimoto-san!!
Pag 5
1: Imaizumi-san too!!
2: …. yeah
It's better to make it clear with a proper race like this
3: So you have no regrets....!!
4: Let's go!!
5: Crush him, Danchiku!!
Pag 6
2: At the same time....!!
Ah.... “at the same time” again!?
3: Seriously!?
Are you being for real, Sadatoki!?
Pag 7
1: You're just seeing things as you wish they were,since he's your brother!!
Oon!! No that's not it, on!!
It's true, Kaburagi, I saw it too
2: They arrived at the same time, Sugimoto stretched at the last moment
3: Kawada!!
It's “san”!!
4: Are you an accomplice too!!
What are you talkin abut
5: A- amazing, Sugimoto-kun
6: Amazing!!
Pag 8
1: “Amazing”, huh, Onoda
2: Imaizumi-kun....
Pfui
3: You thought Sugimoto would win? ….This race
Huh
4: You didn't think he would, that's why when we heard the results you could say “amazing”
Ah!!
5: I'm- I'm sorry Sugimoto-kun!! I didn't believe in you, even though you worked so hard....!!
Who are you yelling at
6: Me too
Pag 9
2: During these past four days.... Sugimoto worked hard, but, after their race on the second day and after seeing how remarkably stronger Danchiku has gotten
3: When they decided to do another race, I thought Sugimoto would definitely lose
4: Then, when the time came
5: If you lose, you feel better if you gave it your all, so
6: “So you have no regrets”
7: I said that
But
8: He turned it around
Sugimoto really is amazing
Pag 10
1: Even with no one believing in him, with only his own strength, he snatched a “draw” against Danchiku!!
Pag 11
1: Keep going!! Let's keep going with the race, Danchiku!!
2: Even though he's having such an hard time, he's still following me!!
3: Since earlier I've increased the pace many times
4: Garuaaa
Even if I tear him off
Pag 12
1: Every time
2: While saying
3: “Kuaa kuaa”
“Kuaa kuaa”
5: Kuaaa-
6: Kuaaaaaaa
He catches up to me
Pag 13
2: You keep following me....
3: No....
4: You're the one who said “please follow me”, Danchiku
Pag 14
1: Garuaaa!!
2: Ahhhh
Don't make fun of me, there's no way!!
3: Aaaaaaaa
4: Hiigaruaaaa!!
There's no way I'll lose!!
Pag 15
1: To Sugimoto-san!!
4: I was careless – I was careless and that's why he caught up to me!! The second time too!!
I won't be careless this time!!
Pag 16
1: Ill take a plunge firmly, throw my handles, and cross the line
2: At full throttle!!
The last curve!!
3: He's not following me anymore!! He's....
Pag 17
1: He's here!!
Cough cough
2: Kuaaaa
We're entering the final sprint!!
3: Dammit, this guy is gonna stretch from here!!
4: Hiigaruaaaaa!!
Take a plunge!!
5: Take a plunge!!
Pag 18
1: Throw your handles!!
Pag 19
1: Wooooah!!
No... wait, even now....
2: It's a draw!!
Ya!!
On!!
Woah
3: Dammit, what happened, Danchiku what are you doin!!
You should be much stronger..... should....
Pag 20
1: Don't tell me.... that Sugimoto-san.... is strong too!?
2: You.... you mean it's a draw for the third time!!
How long will they keep going, at this pace it won't ever end!!
3: …. no
5: It's a shame, but there's no time left...
6: This lap is the last
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What kind of specimens do you do research on?
[Cyan is surprised to see another new face in her laboratory.]
"Oh- uhm- people are interested in my work-? Besides Captain Black and the med bay crew, I suppose. Well!"
[She turns from her work table and gestures to her current specimen display wall. She can't help the little smile of pride and quiet excitement.]
"I'm a biologist, so I adore the study of living organisms! I do have a fondness for aquatic and ignitic life, but I have a collection of a large variety of specimens, plants included. My job here at HQ is to document as much info as I can on alien organics, and find if there's any useful applications for husbandry and farming of various species!"
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