Gimli’s Real Reason for Being in Rivendell Tells Us a Lot About Dwarven History — but the Films Left It Out

When audiences first meet Gimli in The Fellowship of the Ring, he’s introduced at the Council of Elrond as one of the many delegates from Middle-earth’s Free Peoples. With his booming voice, gruff humor, and swinging ax, he quickly becomes a fan favorite. But beneath the surface of his cinematic role lies a much richer, more politically charged backstory — one that Peter Jackson’s films never fully explored.