Alfrid Lickspittle

"Oi, you! Pointy hat! Yes, you. We don't want no tramps, beggars nor vagabonds around here. We've got enough trouble without the likes of you. Off you go, on your horse."

- Alfrid Lickspittle to Gandalf the Grey in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Alfrid Lickspittle was a Man of Lake-town, a servant to the Master of Laketown, in TA 2941. And later he assisted Bard during The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies



The Hobbit film trilogy
Alfrid is a character in The Hobbit film series. The character was referred to in the novel The Hobbit, at the end of Chapter 10 as one of the Master's counselors but not by name. Tolkien doesn’t name any of the counselors, so Peter Jackson called him Alfrid Lickspittle. He is played by actor Ryan Gage in the second and third films. In the trilogy, Alfrid advises the Master in matters of diplomacy, trade and the defense of Lake-town.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
In TA 2941, Alfrid stopped Bard the Bowman from entering Lake-town with barrels filled with fish (which was to hide Thorin and Company in order to smuggle them into the town) as he was not allowed to fill the barrels and ordered Braga and the guards to empty them into the lake. Bard then reminded Alfrid that food was scarce and threatened him if the citizens heard that the Master was dumping fish in the lake then a rebellion would start, causing Alfrid to immediately order the guards to stop and allow him to pass. He later threatened Bard that the Master was watching him and knows where he lived, but Bard replied that it was a small town, so everyone knew where everyone lived.

Later on, Alfrid warns the Master about Bard's rebellious attitude against him, and is ordered to send spies to watch his house. He was later present when the Dwarves were caught stealing weapons and persuading the Master if they take back the Lonely Mountain and slay the dragon Smaug the town will have their share of the treasure. The Master reluctantly agrees, only to just have his greedy hands on the share, and Alfrid felt the same way. Later, when Bard told his son Bain to hide the Black Arrow to use it later when the dragon arrives, Alfrid helps the guards by tripping Bard with the assistance of the Master knocking him unconscious with a wooden plank they then lock him away in the prison.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Just as Smaug starts attacking the town, Alfrid, the Master and some of the Master's guards attempt to flee the city by a small boat which they fill with as much gold as they can without bothering to help any of the other citizens of Lake-town. As they are just setting off Alfrid realizes that they have too much gold on the boat and he advises the Master to drop something off the boat. The Master agrees, but because he is so greedy and wants to keep all of his gold he pushes Alfrid off instead. This was actually fortunate for Alfrid since shortly after he is pushed off Smaug is killed and he lands on the boat, crushing the Master and his guards and killing them.

The next morning Alfrid swims to the shore screaming and pleading for help, but he is given none, this annoys Alfrid so he tells everyone that in the absence of the Master he is the one in charge of Laketown, the people then attack him and try to kill him but Bard stops them and tells them to let him live, saying that there has been enough blood spilled already and that there will be no need for more. During their journey to the mountain Alfrid reluctantly does whatever Bard tells him to do but he continues to be cruel to the other people of Laketown. When the group first reach the mountain they camp out in the ruins of Dale. Gandalf then shows up and Alfrid is rude to him and tells him to leave but then Bard lets him in. During the night Bard puts Alfrid on watch duty and he falls asleep and fails to do his job since an army of Wood-elves arrive at the mountain. Later when Bilbo Baggins gives Bard and Thranduil the Arkanstone, Gandalf tells Alfrid to take Bilbo to his room and make sure he doesn't sneak away, but unfortunately the next morning when Alfrid comes in with Bilbo's breakfast he finds that he had escaped.

During The Battle of the Five Armies, Alfrid insists to Bard that he should escort the elderly, the wounded and the women and the children to safety in an act of cowardice since he didn't want to fight, but Bard refuses and gives him a sword. This annoys Alfrid so he dresses up like an elderly woman and goes with them. Later towards the end of the battle, the women decide to help the men with the battle, but Alfrid, still dressed as an old lady, refuses. Then Alfrid's hood flies off and they all see who he really is, the people of Laketown are furious at Alfrid and call him a coward, he then sees a large pot full of money and decides to make a run for it, so he grabs the pot and runs away, but on his way out he is confronted by a Ogre who knocks him over causing the pot to smash, but just as the ogre was about to kill him, Bard kills it just in time, saving Alfrid's life.

Alfrid does not even seem thankful to Bard who calls him a coward, Alfrid then stuffs the money down his corset and runs away. He later hides in a catapult attached to a dead Troll, watching as Gandalf confronts another Troll unsuccessfully trying to use his staff's power. However, one of Alfrid's coins slips off his corset and falls on the catapult lever. The coin acts as counterweight, throwing Alfrid inside the troll's mouth. Both Alfrid and the troll are asphyxiated, unadvertently saving Gandalf.

Personality
At heart, Alfrid is described to be a power-hungry, egomaniacal, narcissistic and opportunistic sycophant, and his counsel could not always be relied upon to serve anyone other than himself. He will cling on to anything that will benefit him, and provide him with power over others. He has an extremely arrogant habit of demanding respect which he hasn't even come close to earning. Alfrid is instinctively hypocritical and self-serving, shown by the fact that to start with he was abusive, vindictive and antagonistic against Bard, but after Smaug's death and the people viewed Bard as a hero, Alfrid grovelled at his feet and bragged, incorrectly, that he had always admired Bard and viewed him as a great man. He is extremely disliked by the townspeople because he is so cruel and snobby towards them, and when Laketown is destroyed they do not hesitate to try and turn their anger on him.

Trivia

 * Alfrid's appearance and personality is similar to that of Grima Wormtongue. Both are cowards, and hide behind those with authority (Bard, Master of Laketown, Saruman).

Appearances

 * The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug‎ (First appearance)
 * The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
 * LEGO The Hobbit: The Video Game

External link


Alfrid