A Commander of Legions

The Movie: Azog is blocked from his pursuit of Thorin by Beorn, who stands vigil over the long hall. Another warg-rider, who we later learn is Bolg, arrives to relay a message: Azog has been summoned back to Dol Guldur by Sauron. Deep within the heart of the fortress, Azog has a conversation with a massive, amorphous shadow. It demands that Azog lead his armies, and to stop focusing his attentions on a single dwarf. Unwilling to let Thorin off the hook, but also unwilling to defy his master, Azog summons Bolg and appoints him leader of the pack hunting Thorin's Company.

"Ew, gross. Can't we just kill them?"

The Book: No such scene exists. Bolg, not Azog, is the leader of the goblin/warg legions.

My Opinion: I'll save my analysis on Sauron's current status for a later post (and that one's gonna be messy as hell). I'm happy that they're bringing in Bolg, but I'm not sure about the way he's been used in this movie. Frankly, I feel like they're just replacing one evil orc with another. Yeah, they're both cool looking and all, but what does this mean for Bilbo and Thorin? Is one orc more dangerous than the other? And while it may be best to reserve judgment until the third movie, I got a problem with Azog being appointed the leader of Sauron's army. That's Bolg's job. If Peter Jackson wanted a new character to personally hunt Thorin, that's cool. But why demote Bolg from his leadership role so that Azog - who's not even in the damn books! - can have it? It's another pointless change.