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Bolg is the secondary antagonist of the novel The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien and also of Peter Jackson's film trilogy. He is the son of Azog the Defiler.
He first appears as one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Master of Laketown) of The Desolation of Smaug, and then returns as the secondary antagonist of The Battle of the Five Armies.
In An Unexpected Journey, Bolg is portrayed by Conan Stevens, who also portrayed Gregor Clegane, as a non-speaking cameo. In The Desolation of Smaug, he is portrayed by Lawrence Makoare who also played The Witch-King of Angmar, Lurtz and Gothmog. In The Battle of the Five Armies, he is portrayed by John Tui.
History[]
In the original book of The Hobbit, Bolg was the son of Azog the Defiler, succeeding him after his death in the Battle of Azanulbizar in TA 2799 by Dain who became Dain Ironfoot. He has resettled in the old refuge in Mount Gundabad after the kingdom of Angmar was abandoned, and apparently ruled goblins of the Misty Mountains from their capital at Mount Gundabad during the Battle of the Five Armies.
Bolg ruled the northern Goblins for about 150 years and led the army of goblins, Wargs and Bats in the Battle of the Five Armies, in which he took his two bodyguards with him. In the battle he fatally wounded Thorin as Fili and Kili died defending him and was later crushed and killed by Beorn, a skin-changer who could turn into a mighty black bear, as a result.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey[]
Bolg appears briefly in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey during the Battle of Azanulbizar, fighting Dwalin and being wounded by him.
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug[]
He first appears in this film as the secondary antagonist. He shows up when his father Azog is summoned to Dol Guldur in service of their master, Bolg is sent by his father to take it from here and lead the orc pack to find and kill Thorin, the hobbit Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarven company. They track the Dwarves to the Elven Kingdom of Mirkwood ruled by Thranduil, where the Dwarves where escaping captive thanks to Bilbo, by riding in floating barrels in the river, using the current to bring them further down river, unaware of the orc's arrival.
Bolg was leading the orcs to an unguarded gate where the Dwarves where headed, but the Elves interfered again trying to stop the Dwarves. Bolg and the orcs then saw no other choice but to reveal themselves to the elves and fight them and the Dwarves. When Bolg noticed dwarf Kili trying to open the gate to help the others escape, Bolg shot him with a poisonous Morgul arrow. When they were about to finish him off, the elf warrior, Tauriel saved Kili's life a second time and Bolg ordered they kill her, giving Kili enough time to struggle his way to lift himself up, pull the lever and open the gate and escaped with his fellow comrades.
Bolg orders the orcs downriver to pursue them, but the dwarves easily fight them off and escape, and are later smuggled into Lake-town, Esgaroth by a bargeman named Bard and make their way to the Lonley Mountain, but they left behind Filli, Bofur, Oin and a wounded Kili where tend to him in Bard's house. Later, Bolg and orcs sneaked into Lake-town, hot on the dwarves' trial, they break into Bard's house and attempt to kill everyone, but Tauriel and Legolas arrived just in time to save them and fought off the orcs. The orcs retreated and Bolg told them to send word to Dol Guldur that the company had reached Erebor.
Legolas pursued Bolg while Tauriel healed Kili with elven magic using the weed that Bofur retrived from the pigs that was about to be eaten by them at the time. Bolg and two orcs fought Legolas while the rest of the orc pack left for Dol Guldur. Legolas cut down the two orcs and after a brawl with Bolg, Bolg fled to Dol Guldur with Legolas in pursuit.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies[]
He returns in the third and final film again as the secondary antagonist. After fleeing from Lake-Town, Bolg is seen meeting Azog and the orc army as they march on the lonely mountain. Azog orders him to travel to Mount Gundabad in the north after he hears that Bolg fought, but did not kill Legolas in Lake-Town. Legolas and Tauriel later witness Bolg leading the orc forces from the fortress at Gundabad towards Erebor.
Bolg arrives at the Battle of the Five Armies during Thorin's final fight with Azog at Raven Hill. He comes across Tauriel, who is looking for Kili the dwarf, and nearly kills her, were it not for the latter's timely intervention. After a struggle Bolg fatally stabs Kili, prompting Tauriel to take him with her over the edge of a cliff. Bolg is about to attack Tauriel as she lies wounded from the fall, but Legolas topples a stone tower across a frozen waterfall and comes forth to face Bolg, saving Tauriel from death.
As Legolas battles Bolg with Orchrist, he sees Thorin about to be slain by an orc atop the waterfall and throws him the sword, killing the orc. He then uses his daggers to fight Bolg as the tower crumbles. After grappling with the orc, he wins the fight by swinging up into his shoulders and stabbing him through the skull with a dagger. Legolas leaps free as the tower crumbles and Bolg falls to his death, being crushed by falling stone from the tower.
Tropes[]
▪The Heavy: He is the most direct and immediate threat to the company for most of The Desolation of Smaug, as Smaug overlaps most of the story arc and directly enters the story in the climax of the film.
Role[]
He appears as the central antagonist of The Desolation of Smaug - behind Smaug (the main antagonist) but ahead of The Master of Laketown (the secondary antagonist), and Alfrid Lickspittle (the tertiary antagonist) (while Sauron is the overarching antagonist). He is also the secondary antagonist of The Battle of the Five Armies.