Episode 155 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 155

The Gollum conspiracy unmasked:

• Note: It’s possible that Tolkien did not work out the details of the plot to rescue Gollum, but he was also likely to have done this in an earlier draft and left out the details in his final version. It’s unlikely that Tolkien didn’t retcon this material later, at least in his own notes, to make it work.
• Is it more likely that Gollum’s escape occurred though chance or conspiracy? Conspiracy seems more likely, and Legolas seems to take this for granted, though he can’t explain the means.
• Since Gollum will ultimately become an instrument of Providence in destroying the Ring, it’s possible that chance played a part in his escape to make that happen, but not wholly.
• For it to have happened by chance, it would not have been in anyone’s plans, including Gollum, which it clearly was. It’s unclear who initiated the conspiracy: Gollum or Sauron.
• Gollum boasted about “new friends”, so it seems possible that he would contact these allies. However, these boasts are in response to the interrogation of Gandalf and used as a threat.
• This doesn’t mean that Gollum would consider Sauron an ally, nor that he would reach out to him. Gollum is under the impression that he escaped Mordor under his own power.
• Gollum may believe that he fooled Sauron, and he is known to be both a liar and solitary, so he may think that he can fool his new captors and escape from them, too.
• While his treatment in Mirkwood is better than in Mordor, he would still want to escape, and he would believe that he could rely on his own cunning to use the orcs’ attack to escape them all.

Sauron’s role in the conspiracy:

• Would Sauron want to initiate this rescue? The date that Gollum is said to escape in “The Tale of Years” is the same day that the Witch-king starts his attack on Gondor, which is conspicuous.
• Note: This addition into the chronology in Appendix B was many years after writing the text of the Council of Elrond, and this seems to be Tolkien highlighting the coincidence retroactively.
• While it’s theoretically possible that it just happened, that Sauron launched attacks on two fronts at the same time, Mirkwood is an unlikely target, unless it was for Gollum’s benefit.
• The attack itself is not a general offensive against Mirkwood, but a specific raid on Gollum’s tree.

Sauron’s motives for the crime:

• If Sauron did initiate this, why? He would wish to kill Gollum if it were about preventing him from revealing important information. It must be related to why he released Gollum initially.
• Why would he allow Gollum to believe he had escaped under his own power, rather than simply release him? Whatever Sauron’s plan is, Gollum’s mistaken belief in his escape is part of it.
• It’s likely that Sauron believes that Gollum will go in search of the Ring, due to his susceptibility to the power within it, which had already caused him to be drawn to Sauron in Mordor.
• Sauron may believe that he can retrieve Gollum, since he’d answered Sauron’s summons once.
• The description of Gollum’s fear of Sauron is more than mere intimidation but seems like a spiritual dread and connection like that used by Morgoth on captives in the First Age.
• Note: It’s possible that Bilbo’s restlessness and desire to the leave the Shire may be related to this summons from Sauron, as the Ring had left its mark on him as well, and this occurred while he still had it. Once he gave the Ring up voluntarily, he seems to have been freed of it, and the overall effect it had on him was much less than on Gollum, due to his relationship with it.
• Sauron would possibly recognize the effects of his Ring on a mortal and would understand Gollum through interrogation well enough to be able to predict what he will do if released.
• Note: Only Frodo will come to understand Gollum and his position better than anyone else, including Sauron, as he is in that same situation, and will see things in him no one else does.
• Had Sauron ordered Gollum directly to find the Ring, its likely that Gollum would be more interested in resisting his will and finding a way to escape and find the Ring on his own.
• Sauron has already learned the names “Shire” and “Baggins”, so he knows that he needs to send out the Nazgûl in search of the Ring, but that requires capturing the bridges into Gondor.
• While the Nazgûl’s search was his primary plan, his understanding of the influence and power of the Ring would lead him to believe that Gollum may have a chance of finding the Ring, too.

Sauron’s means and modus operandi:

• How would Sauron initiate this rescue? This must be related the spies that are mentioned.
• There are Nazgul at Dol Guldur, so they could coordinate this attack and rescue from there.
• Sauron may suspect that Gollum knows more than he revealed under torture, so tracking Gollum after letting him go makes sense. Those spies could let him know of Gollum’s capture.
• Sauron has some means of communication with Dol Guldur, and flying creatures are the most likely option; perhaps birds, or more likely bats given their association with Sauron and Orcs.
• Birds and beasts are mentioned in the service of Sauron, as Gandalf and Aragorn have warned.
• Gollum would want to go to the highest branches to see what he might plan to do, and it is there that he was most likely contacted by one of Sauron’s flying creatures.
• It’s clear that Gollum was imprisoned in Mirkwood for some time since both Gandalf and Aragorn have had time to leave and pursue other tasks since leaving him with the Elves.
• It’s less likely that one of the spiders may have contacted Gollum, especially not the giant spiders, as the Elves hate them and would probably notice if one of them secreted into the area.
• There is a precedent for talking birds, including the crows from around Erebor who can speak the languages of Men. The thrushes can also be understood by those with the knowledge.
• While Gollum might eat a bird before they can talk, they might make several attempts to speak.
• They might send a written message, though there’s more of a chance of interception by the Elves, and there is no evidence that Gollum is literate.
• It’s unclear how Sauron’s spy network operates, as there is no evidence that he can command them at a distance, though he has shown the ability to put forth his mind, such as at Amon Hen.
• The spies in Mirkwood would probably report to Dol Guldur, who would report back to Mordor.
• The models for this system that we have would be the special connections between the ravens and the Dwarves of Erebor, and the thrushes and the line of Girion in Dale.
• These birds and other animal spies have probably been bred for this purpose in Dol Guldur.
• The messages that are sent to Gollum wouldn’t need to be long or complicated for this purpose.

Gollum’s role in the escape:

• It’s most likely that Gollum would try to get away from the attacking Orcs as quickly as possible, including eluding them altogether in the confusion of the battle with the Elves.
• The Orcs would not be under any orders to bring Gollum back with them, as that would defeat the purpose of allowing him to escape from Mordor in the first place.
• Gollum would know that he was being watched once he was contacted by Sauron’s spies, and with his paranoia, he would want to evade those spies immediately.
• Therefore, Gollum would retreat to somewhere close and familiar where he could hide, which is under the Misty Mountains, and that is why he would have ended up in Moria.
• He is still doing what Sauron wanted, even if no longer under surveillance under the mountains.
• How might a bird speak to Gollum without being overheard by the ears of the Wood-elves? They wouldn’t need to be loud, and as they are high up in a tall tree, no words would come through.

The aftermath of the escape:

• It appears Gollum is forced to come along with the Orcs at first, but since evaded them, as his trail started among them. Their path toward Dol Guldur is further evidence of its involvement.
• What skill did the Orcs escape in their trail? The woodcraft of the Elves is superior and would be able to track the pack of Orcs, so Legolas may be referring to Gollum’s trail specifically.
• The captain of this Orc-band may have been ordered to allow Gollum to escape again. Gollum may not have been fooled a second time by this ruse of escape, but he has no alternative.
• Gollum is arrogant, such as about his skill at secrecy, shown by his way of addressing himself.
• Gandalf’s final pronouncement does leave open the possibility of a providential hand in Gollum’s escape, though it shows that Sauron’s evil plans ultimately result in his downfall.
• Note: This all goes back to Eru Ilúvatar’s pronouncement that no one can change the Music in his despite, and that he will take up their evil themes and bring them to a good end.
• Gandalf has already had an inkling from the beginning that Providence was at work with regards to Gollum, and this seems to get stronger along the way, and he is more explicit about it.
• Gandalf was not gentle with Gollum, as he put the fear of fire on him, though he does feel pity for Gollum, and believes that this pity is important, already shown by Bilbo’s pity.
• He also does not seem surprised by the news of Gollum’s escape, and he seems to take it as confirmation of his suspicion that Fate has something else in store for Gollum besides prison.
• Gandalf’s intention for Gollum was to cure him, and he thinks that cure might still be possible elsewhere. Gollum being in prison might have even made a cure less likely than otherwise.
• Aragorn’s reaction was that only evil could come from Gollum’s escape, but Gandalf asserts that though neither Sauron nor Gollum meant any good, this conspiracy may lead to good in the end.

END OF SESSION