Episode 70 Summary

[Tony Meade]

SESSION 70

On Bilbo’s translation of the Gil-galad poem:

• Bilbo uses the lowercase “shadows” here whereas the Elves use the uppercase “Shadows” in the Ring verse. This shows a different perspective upon the idea of the Shadow.
• There is also an echo within Bilbo’s Road poem of the Gil-galad poem, in the “And whither then? I cannot say.” This is an expression of the mystery of mortality.
• For Men, it is a mystery where they go when they die, but this is not a mystery for the Elves.
• The Gil-galad poem, as translated by Bilbo, is a Shire-centric poem for hobbits by hobbits. Bilbo knows the lore about the fate of Elves after death, but most hobbits wouldn’t know that.
• The two lines point to the fact that wherever Gil-galad has gone is a mystery to hobbits, mostly because it is inaccessible and strange to mortals. The West is somewhere they cannot go.
• Mortal death is well-known to the Hobbits and Men, as it is something that they see every day, but Elvish death is more mysterious because it is so rare among immortals.
• The idea of Faerie is marvelous, and something that the Hobbits cannot imagine.
• This is echoed in the Road poem, as the end of the Road is given this same mysterious end.
• The two ideas are merged in Bilbo’s mind, as the world of adventure, from the point of view of the Hobbits, is a shadow of Faerie and they mysterious West.
• Unbeknownst to Bilbo or Frodo, his adventure will actually end in leaving the Shire for the West.
• This all points to a vague idea of those things that lie outside of mundane hobbit experience.
• When thinking of Bilbo’s version of the Road poem, he has “eager” feet, so this is a teaching poem and reflects his own eagerness for adventure.
• In Frodo’s version of the poem, he has “weary” feet, which reflects his differing perspective.

A ring with a view:

• The hobbit perspective describes the land as “featureless”, but this is because the land is unknown to them, but Strider would recognize much more as he knows it better.
• The capitalization of “Mountains” point to the idea that these are THE mountains in the Hobbit imagination. The Misty Mountains loom large in their legends and stories.
• Note: This is an echo of Bilbo’s first view of the mountains in The Hobbit, and he has told this story to the younger generation of the hobbits many times.
• The description of the high peaks evokes a mythic element often associated with mountains.
• For Bilbo, having never seen mountains, was more interested in them just as mountains, but the stories that the younger hobbits have heard have made these mythic in their minds.
• Note: Merry in particular will say that he had always loved stories about mountains.

Looking for signs on the hilltop:

• What was Strider looking for from this view, from a practical perspective? He is probably not hoping to see the Black Riders, though that is what happens, and it is a mistake.
• He will be worried about giving away their position by exposing himself on the top of the hill, so it wasn’t scouting for the Black Riders can’t have been the point.
• He also doesn’t seem to be scouting for other enemies or planning their route. The enemies are unlikely to be in any numbers, and he already knows the lands very well.
• Strider does want to see what happened on the top of the hill, after seeing the lights from afar.
• Since fire and lights were being used, Gandalf is the most likely source of this in a fight. Strider wants to know the outcome of that fight, and to know what happened afterwards.
• He had hoped since Bree to meet Gandalf at Weathertop, as he guesses Gandalf’s movements.
• He no longer has hope of meeting Gandalf post-battle, but Strider needs to know the outcome.
• Merry mistakenly thinks that they are either there for the view or as a campsite. He also seems to miss all the signs of the battle, missing them as signs of Gandalf.
• Strider begins to think aloud for the benefit of the hobbits, explaining the clues as he finds them.
• The primary question that Strider has is whether or not Gandalf is still alive after the battle. The hobbits don’t seem to question if Gandalf survived, so Strider doesn’t voice his question.
• Was the marked stone the best way for Gandalf to leave a message, as it would be hard to find? Gandalf is pressed for time, and he can be sure that Strider will notice the rock.
• The real risk with the rock is that his sign may not be understood when it is found. The primary message of the rock is that Gandalf survived and left this sign after the fight was over.
• The white rock on top of the blackened rocks allegorically shows that the good triumphed.
• Since the rock escaped the charring, it’s meant to show that it was moved and set there on purpose. It would not have taken long to make after the battle before leaving himself.
• The shallow carving shows that it was done in haste and without the proper tools.
• Is Strider having doubts, or is he encouraging the hobbits to think this through on their own?
• This is a teaching moment for the hobbits, and Merry’s blindness to the signs shows its needed.
• Strider usually hedges his conclusions, though he is willing to act confidently on them.

Reading Gandalf’s message:

• It doesn’t seem as though Strider has just remembered the lights from three days before; rather, he is taking the hobbits through his thought process and helping make the connection.
• Gandalf seems to trust Strider’s interpretations more than Strider may himself, and Strider reads the signs exactly the way that Gandalf intended.
• Taking the hobbits through Gandalf’s message and his interpretations allows the hobbits to trust him further. They get to understand his thinking.
• Strider does not know what the exact outcome of the battle was, but he does know that Gandalf survived and was able to escape from Weathertop.
• There seems to be a separation between Strider’s thoughts and what he says to the hobbits.
• The main takeaways he wants to communicate to the hobbits is that Gandalf was alive, which comforts Frodo, but also that rendezvousing with Gandalf is impossible at this point.
• He doesn’t try to reassure them as to Gandalf’s safety now and simply takes a pragmatic view.
• Strider also doesn’t name the Black Riders here, as he has been encouraging the hobbits. He understands that increasing the hobbits’ fears will empower the Black Riders.
• Strider seems to be planning based on the worst-case scenario, and encourages the hobbits to do the same, and the prepare themselves for the harder journey that is now possible.
• He does want to lift their spirits by telling them what good news he can, as well as lift his own.

Planning the trip to Rivendell:

• Merry seems to have gotten the message of comfort and preparedness, and immediately starts thinking practically about the journey.
• Strider is being gentle with the hobbits in estimating the journey time. He can make it in twelve days on the Road, and his is only allowing two more days with the hobbits in the wild.
• Strider may be underestimating the journey time, but he hedges this by saying it will take “at least” a fortnight, which is perfectly true.
• He is trying to strike a balance between not sugarcoating the truth and not catastrophizing.
• Strider answers Merry’s question in two different ways. In the first instance, he merely talks about the measurable distances, while in the second he answers in terms of time.
• Note: This estimate of fourteen days turns out to be exactly correct and is accomplished by both he and Glorfindel pushing the hobbits exceptionally hard to cover the distance.
• Strider’s twelve days is a kind of reassurance, and by anything longer is a worst-case scenario.

Spotting the Black Riders on the Road:

• Note: Frodo reveals his Baggins side, much like Bilbo in The Hobbit, by wishing for the fire in Bag End. There is an echo of both Bilbo looking back from the Misty Mountains back towards the Shire, and Bilbo on the doorstep of Erebor, looking back across the whole continent. The biggest difference is that Frodo is not feeling divided between desire for home and adventure. His regret is that he has left against his will by fortune and is now exiled forever as far as he knows.
• It’s in Frodo’s moment of bitterness and longing and despair and fear that he sees the Black Riders. Is there a causal relationship between the two? Is there an influence from the Ring?
• The presence of the Black Riders does seem to have an impact on Frodo, and it is Frodo who sees the Riders first. Perhaps his negative thoughts drew them, or they drew forth the thoughts.
• The longing for home doesn’t seem to be Ring-influenced, as the thoughts aren’t about the Ring.
• When the Ring has acted on Frodo, it has not been with thoughts of despair. Instead, it is giving him thoughts about putting his hopes in using the Ring. This is now it ensnares its bearer.
• The Ringwraiths put forth feelings of despair, while the Ring tempts people towards power.
• This is the third time that Strider ends a discussion with an exclamatory phrase.
• The clouds creeping out of the (capitalized) East are presented in a predatory and ominous way.
• The sunset is a perfectly normal event, but when combined with the clouds and the presence of the Black Riders, the setting of the sun and losing the daylight takes on a finality.

END OF SESSION