Recent content by Tidwald Bridge-Talker

And to clarify further, that quest they are being mustered for will be hard, it will cost lives and cause suffering and pain but from that will come redemption, hope and beauty. I don’t think this is simply all a matter of too much could go wrong with a ring-bearer travelling west being...

Thanks for posting this, I tend to agree with this sentiment. I know I’m not alone in sometimes forgetting that the council being present is already somewhat of an intervention on behalf of greater powers. And in that light I see this question much in the way you do. Had Elrond sent out...

1. We can see his mind wanders, that is enough, the fate of the The Ring demands something more of who it would be entrusted to. 2. Exactly my point, your sense of Tom remembering all things, is not so simple a declaration. And his predisposition is to recognise to the personal, the beautiful...

Tom, in this passage, very literally forgets the needs of his guests. It demonstrates that he can get carried away with other things. Its a small enough thing, yes, but it shows us how inconstant he can be. If the memory was stirred, that implies it is coming to him in the moment. Not that he...

I tend to agree, I think the squirrel talk also harks back to the ‘kind as Christmas’ Elrond from The Hobbit. Now Elrond has definitely evolved in what Tolkien writes here, but he’s not so far removed that he’s become a different character entirely. And his memories do give the sense that he’s a...

You keep reverting to this position that there is no evidence for what Gandalf says. And I have to say I’m a little confused. People keep offering suggestions but you just seem to want to claim that Gandalf’s assertion is flatly incorrect. Consistently in this thread we have a trail of...

And just as an addendum, I’m glad you brought up the brooch because I think its so interesting when it comes to this discussion of the Ring. “He chose for himself from the pile a brooch set with blue stones, many shaded like flax-flowers or the wings of blue butterflies. He looked long at it...

Haha you’re right, Gandalf might indeed be doing a number on me. But I wouldn’t be so quick to read it as simply as the old wizard making up a story out of whole grey cloth, again, I think there’s truth there even if through the hyperbolic ‘all the free peoples’ call. The evidence for this...

Very interesting, I can definitely see the idea that Gandalf has a motive going into the discussion. And that perhaps he is warping the truth a little to get the council onto the right track. I have to admit, I sometimes forget Gandalf’s wiliness in my estimation of his character. But I also...

That’s exactly the passage I was thinking of Rachel, but I know we’re a long, long way away from it, so I didn’t want to delve that far. But I think that’s a big part of what I’m leaning towards. Sam also has a vision of mastery over the lands, but the second part of his thought-process there...

[My apologies if I make any mistakes or commit any faux pas in this post. I’ve been an attentive listener to the podcast since commencement but this is my first time putting a response down proper, feel free to provide guidance if this breaks any rules or guidelines, unstated or otherwise.]...