Tony Meade
Active Member
SESSION 228
To escape the notice of unfriendly eyes:
To escape the notice of unfriendly eyes:
- Which side of the River are they on as they head south? It seems as though they have not crossed the Ford but have stayed on the east side of the River, where the lands are empty.
- The land is probably compared to folded cloths and is a description of the mountains’ foothills.
- Note: In The Hobbit, this land is described as being cut with deep ravines, so it matches here.
- The paths mentioned are not intentionally made by the people of Rivendell but occur naturally.
- These paths are still traveled occasionally, and there is traffic between Rivendell and Lothlórien.
- At this point in the journey, their travel plan is quite clear and concrete, and also well-scouted.
- This seems to be an agreement among everyone in this first stage of the journey, but open-ended. The biggest issue at this point is where they will cross the Mountains among the options.
- While the Anduin plain that they would encounter if they crossed earlier, this would also likely be anticipated, and as they have before, they have eschewed the obvious way for the unlikelier.
- The harder path is the better path, as it adds to their ability to keep their journey a secret.
- Note: It’s important that at this point the Company are not yet up against any time constraints. This will continue to be the case going forward until they create those constraints later on. This reverses the usual “villains act, heroes react” trope, as Sauron must react to them, and the destruction of the Ring would have the same effect on Sauron even if he had won the war.
- Who are the spies of Sauron? They have been mentioned since Gandalf talked about them in Bag End, though it is still unclear if these are birds and beasts, and if they are specific kinds.
- It’s possible that spies might be identifiable by the fact that they would stand out as strange to that country, though how these spies are both recruited and how they report back is unclear.
- Just as black horses are raised and trained in Mordor, this could be the same for other beasts.
- They must be identifiable, if it is known that they have not often been seen in this country.
- Note: Just like crows, vultures are often associated with Sauron’s service, through the earlier drafts of The Lord of the Rings. The fell beasts were originally intended to be giant vultures. Also, there is a clear effect of the Shadow over animals it falls upon, such as the influence of Sauron on the animals of Mirkwood. This seems to be vague in order to set up the crebain and wolves.
- Gandalf and Aragorn have different functions as leaders, with Aragorn as their guide through the land and Gandalf as their overall guide and protector through the perils of Middle-earth.
- Note: In the film, Frodo is set out as the leader of the quest and leaning on Gandalf’s advice.
- There is no question that Gandalf is the leader of this expedition, though the quest is Frodo’s.
- Note: Legolas is mentioned due to his eyesight, but this a rare occurrence that he is described at all. The character’s importance is inflated in the films versus his role in book, where Tolkien said that he was the one who accomplished the least among the nine members of the Company. He is also the first and only elf with whom a significant amount of time is spent by the narrators.
- Legolas’ eyesight is not only with sharp but is also strong. Boromir doesn’t play a large role yet.