Gimli son of Gloin arrives at the Council of Elrond distrusting elves. His people and the elves have been in a cold war for centuries — old grudges about treasure, betrayal, and the fundamental incompatibility of immortal beings and mortal ones. When the Fellowship is formed, Gimli and Legolas can barely stand each other. By the end of The Lord of the Rings, Gimli has asked Galadriel — the most powerful elf alive — for a strand of her hair, and Legolas and Gimli are the closest friends in the Fellowship. Tolkien, a man who spent four years in the trenches of World War I watching nationalities slaughter each other, wrote a story where ancient enemies became brothers through shared hardship.

The Body Count Competition Is the Best Running Joke

Gimli and Legolas keep a running count of how many orcs each kills during battles. At Helm's Deep, they shout numbers at each other while fighting for their lives. It is the funniest subplot in the trilogy and also the most revealing: the competition is not about killing. It is about performing for each other — each one wants the other to be impressed. By the time they are counting, they are already friends. The counting is just how they say it.

He Loved an Elf Queen

When Gimli meets Galadriel in Lothlorien, he is so struck by her beauty and kindness that he asks for nothing except a single hair from her golden head. She gives him three. This is, in Tolkien's mythology, an astonishing gift — Feanor, the greatest elf in history, asked Galadriel for her hair three times and was refused each time. A dwarf succeeds where the greatest elf failed, because his request was humble and his admiration was genuine. Gimli is on HoloDream. His axe is sharp and his heart is loyal. He would like you to know that natural caves are superior to anything elves have built.