At the beginning of the first installment of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, Gandalf arrives with 13 dwarves at Bilbo Baggins’ house. Yet despite the dwarves making a big show to Bilbo about being “at [his] service,” they rudely proceed to eat literally all his food. But could they have had an ulterior motive in mind? Our theory is that Gandalf knew Bilbo would agree to go on the journey, so he told the dwarves to eat all Bilbo’s food, so there’d be none rotting and spoiled when he got back.
Think about this Lord of the Rings fan theory, Gandalf and Bilbo are good friends, so Gandalf probably knew Bilbo would eventually say yes to the adventure.
Gandalf also knows that hobbits love food; throughout the series we’re constantly seeing hobbits’ connection to food (second breakfast with PO-TAY-TOES, anyone?).
Gandalf also knows that dwarves are a hungry bunch.
And the dwarves need Bilbo to help them on their journey.
Our Lord of the Rings theory: Gandalf wants to ensure Bilbo comes on the adventure, so he ‘clears’ all the possible barriers to make Bilbo joining easy, friction-less.
One of the barriers is simply the logistics of prepping for a long journey—what should Bilbo do with all his food before he leaves?
Gandalf takes care of that. The dwarves eat him out of house and home, leaving Bilbo with just one task before he leaves: pack up for the journey.
Here’s the theory all summed up, share it on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, or save it on your phone and text it to your friends:
