The harfoots have the most poorly developed storyline, to the point where they should perhaps have been introduced rather later in the show. They exist to introduce Probably Gandalf to hobbit-like creatures, allow him to regain his memories, and satisfy a general audience’s craving for more hobbity goodness. Although, they are the most uniformly well-acted group of characters, most of them don’t have enough screentime to stand out, so I’m going to talk more about the culture at large than I usually do in these posts.

Harfoots as a whole: I don’t have a problem with the concept of “if you’re not able to travel when it’s time to move on, there isn’t a lot we can do to help you.” I just don’t think the show conveys it in a way that allows us to sympathize with them, possibly because someone at the producer or executive level was overly enamored with Nori’s “rebel” image. We need to see the harfoots living close to the bone. We need to see third-party harfoots (not Nori’s friends or family) being horrified when the old biddy wants to take the family’s wheels, without necessarily being all that okay with Probably Gandalf. We need the remembrance ceremony to be more solemn and less jokey. We need to see that they do care about those left behind, that they just feel unable to help. Basically, you can’t slap a coat of bucolic Shire cuteness on proto-hobbits living the lifestyle implied here, without inducing cognitive dissonance in the audience.

Probably Gandalf: I genuinely like this guy’s performance and could theoretically see myself using him for inspiration if I ever needed a wizard for my books. But why do they have this fit, seemingly middle-aged guy wander around bare-chested and only semi-dressed, while mostly hanging out with a couple of characters who are coded as teenagers? Do we owe this to the same weirdo who thought elf women needed to wear layers and layers of sheer gauzy stuff whenever they weren’t in armor?

Nori: She suffers from the same problem as Rey in Force Awakens in that she comes off as too sweet and charming, unhardened by the tough lifestyle she’s supposedly been living. But she’s very likable and only wears out her welcome when the scripts get too sloppy (the whiplash of alternately trusting and fearing Probably Gandalf, for instance). I have no idea why she’s named Elanor, after a flower associated with the elves and seemingly only used as a name in the Shire after Frodo suggests it for Sam’s daughter.

Poppy: The character’s kind of a nothingburger-just there as a foil for Nori-but the actress does a great job breathing life into her. I wish she were chaperoning Nori and Probably Gandalf as they head east, but maybe the actress had other commitments. Poppy is also the vehicle for the single best thing about the harfoot storyline: