Bombur’s fall into the black water of Mirkwood looks, at first, like one of the stranger comic disasters in The Hobbit. A deer appears during the Company’s difficult crossing, Bombur tumbles into the Enchanted Stream, and almost immediately he falls into an unnatural sleep. The obvious consequence is physical: the others now have to carry … Read more
When Frodo meets Galadriel in Lothlórien, she feels almost impossibly ancient. She remembers the West before the First Age as mortals reckon it, speaks of crossing mountains before the fall of Nargothrond and Gondolin, and carries the authority of someone who has watched entire civilizations disappear. The natural assumption is that somewhere behind this Third … Read more
Faramir has already made one extraordinary concession when he leads Frodo and Sam deeper into Ithilien. He has not killed them. He has not bound them. He has listened to Frodo’s account, judged that the hobbits are more complicated than enemy spies, and increasingly treats them as guests rather than prisoners. Then, just before reaching … Read more
When Túrin reaches Nargothrond, he carries a sword he has every reason to hate. Anglachel is no ordinary weapon. Forged by Eöl from iron that fell from heaven, it is one of the most remarkable blades of the First Age. Yet for Túrin its importance has become brutally personal. It is the sword with which … Read more
When Théoden falls on the Pelennor Fields, Middle-earth suddenly has no shortage of kings. Théoden names Éomer as his successor before he dies. Aragorn is already approaching Minas Tirith with the heirlooms and banner of Elendil’s House. Yet inside Gondor another man quietly becomes the practical authority holding the realm together: Prince Imrahil of Dol … Read more
Bilbo Baggins carries his little Elvish blade through some of the most dangerous places in The Hobbit before he ever gives it a name. He takes it from the trolls’ hoard. He carries it into the Misty Mountains. It shines in the goblin-tunnels. He draws it in the darkness near Gollum. But it is still … Read more
When Pippin looks into the palantír of Orthanc, he sees the terrible power of Sauron’s gaze and nearly brings disaster upon the Fellowship’s plans. Yet the consequence is not what many readers expect. Gandalf does not send him away, punish him, or leave him behind. Instead, the Wizard takes the frightened Hobbit with him to … Read more
The Lonely Mountain holds many secrets, but none more dangerous than the knowledge that someone has entered it. When Bilbo Baggins slips through the hidden door of Erebor and speaks with Smaug, he believes he is only gathering information for Thorin’s company. Yet his riddling conversation with the dragon creates an unexpected consequence: Smaug learns … Read more
Pippin’s greatest battlefield feat is also the moment he becomes convinced that his own story is over. At the Black Gate of Mordor, Peregrin Took—hobbit of the Shire, Guard of the Citadel, and one of the smallest soldiers in the Host of the West—kills the great troll-chief attacking Beregond. It is an extraordinary achievement. But … Read more
Frodo Baggins returns to the Shire alive. The Ring is destroyed. The Nazgûl are gone. Shelob has been escaped, Sauron has fallen, and even the last violence brought into Hobbiton is eventually overcome. Yet Frodo does not simply become well. One of the quietest and most unsettling details in the closing history of the War … Read more