Beutlin wrote:Once more, I have to disagree.
I know from first-hand experience that people can say pretty irrational things in extreme situations. And not just the usual idiots do that. Dwalin pretty much says “I thought we lost our burglar” the moment the danger has passed. Thorin, feeling the need to say something, and still full of adrenalin, must project his shock/anger for nearly having died onto Bilbo – whom he does not like anyway and who nearly got him killed a couple of moments ago. I do not consider that cartoonish. It is Thorin’s pride which leads him to attack Bilbo – one of Thorin’s greatest flaws and by any means a weakness of many historical kings and princes.
Again, I agree that the rationale works for the character
in general. But the context is very, very important here. Yes, I have heard prideful people say irrationally mean things in the heat of the moment. But in this case, we had dwarves and a hobbit riding on the knees of a mountain-sized humanoid!
That's very, very different than, say, my brother-in-law getting angry at me because I was driving his car, and someone ran a red light and side-swiped the rear. That's understandable, d1ckish behavior.
But "He's been lost ever since he left home!" because he almost falls after being slammed against a mountain by another mountain? It just strains suspension of disbelief beyond the limits.
The
whole scenario serves to make it silly, not just Thorin's reaction. It is the three near-deaths (as you point out), the fact that they were running along the knees of a giant, the fact that they all escape unscathed, and the collective preposterous-ness of it all, that all conspires to make Thorin's line seem incredibly clumsy.
On the other hand, I perfectly understood Thorin's rationale for being annoyed with Bilbo after the troll fight (when he says "no thanks to your burglar" to Gandalf). Bilbo got himself into trouble, through his attempt at stealing back the ponies, and it almost endangered all their lives.
But in that case, the scenario, though fantastical, was still plausible. And while Thorin comes across as ungrateful, the line rings truer than the one in the Misty Mountains.
In short, your rationale makes a lot of sense in terms of the broad sketch of Thorin's film character. But the ridiculous circumstances make it, IMO, just a sloppy attempt at amping up the conflict.
IMO.
ETA: I also just watched it again, and agree with yov. It does indeed come across as a calculated statement.