Episode 75 Summary

Tony Meade

Active Member
SESSION 75

Moonrise over Weathertop:
  • This is a moment where the narrator interjects more strongly than before, suggesting that the hobbits may have seen a rock on the hilltop. If it were Frodo, he would know better, of course.
  • The purpose of this interjection is to put the reader in the place of the hobbits, and to share their experience, giving voice to the thoughts of the hobbits as they happen.
  • If Frodo is voicing doubt, it is probably him trying to reassure himself against the danger.
  • It’s possible that they really are seeing a rock against the sky, but in their state of fear, and in the knowledge of the proximity of the Black Riders, they are also probably jumpy.
  • This also shows that the Ringwraiths are attacking now. Their power of fear is beginning to affect the hobbits, and this begins as soon as Strider stops speaking.
  • Strider has probably kept the Riders off for quite a while, as the hobbit stretch as if they had been still for a long time, and the first thing they notice is the rising moon.
  • Note: The Weathertop scene in the film is much more of an action scene, and the attack is much more physical, but the spiritual battle that occurs is difficult to depict onscreen. The Ringwraiths’ power is fear, not using swords, but it that doesn’t translate well to a visual medium.
  • Much like in Crickhollow, they are investing their target with an increasing pressure of fear.
Aragorn appears in the moonlight:
  • The image of Strider with shining eyes and deep voice is an early glance at the real Aragorn underneath. Up until now, we have seen his cultivated rascal appearance as Strider.
  • Even in Bree, Aragorn revealed himself as an Elf-friend and a friend of Gandalf, who knows a lot of lore and is well-travelled, but the hobbits would expect this having known Bilbo.
  • Note: When Frodo wakes up in Rivendell, even then he is surprised to learn that Aragorn is one of the people of the old kings, and Aragorn does not reveal that he is the heir until the Council.
  • The eagerness in Strider’s face follows his talking about Lúthien’s line. He is speaking of his own inheritance and personal history, including his relationship with Arwen.
  • Note: We will come to understand that his and Arwen’s descent from Lúthien, and his descent from the kings of Númenor, will all come together when he becomes king and marries Arwen.
  • Is the fading of the stars in the moonrise connected with the appearance of the Ringwraiths? When Gildor’s folk appeared and drove off the Black Rider, it was at the start of the starlight.
  • Symbolically, this may be related to the first rising of the Moon, after the Elves had only lived under starlight in the First Age. This was at the end of Tom Bombadil’s vision of ancient peace.
  • This isn’t truly moonrise, as the Moon has been up for hours, but now rising over Weathertop.
  • The stars on a black background is part of the symbol of the Dúnedain, and we get a glimpse of that with Aragorn framed against the dark, starry sky. This is another glimpse of the past.
  • The choice of the word “crown” seems portentous to use of the top of the hill in this context.
The story as a shield:
  • Was the story protecting the hobbits, and did the Ringwraiths wait until it ended to attack?
  • The fact that they have surrounded the camp and have not moved in is part of their attack, and not necessarily that they are being delayed by the power of the story.
  • What this might show is that their attack using fear has been ineffective so far, due to the story. Only when the story ends, the attack begins to affect them.
  • It seems unlikely that the Ringwraiths just happened to appear at the moment the story ended. There seems to be good evidence that Strider already knew they were there.
  • It seems more likely that the Ringwraiths have already been attacking, but that up until now, Aragorn has been winning that battle, using the story. Hope has been winning over despair.
  • Strider was very careful about which story to tell, and this was the one he chose to tell.
  • There is power in Strider’s song, like the power in the songs of Bombadil or Old Man Willow.
  • Note: There is a parallel to the passage in Ephesians 6 in which Paul speaks of battles, not against physical enemies, but against dark spiritual forces and their effects on people.
Fear falls on the dell:
  • Strider’s watching the moonlight intently is a tell that there is more to see there than the hobbits can see, and that he is letting on. He generally plays things close to the vest.
  • Why does Strider have the hobbits pick up burning sticks to resist the Ringwraiths? This doesn’t seem to be a way to damage the Ringwraiths, but they do fear it, especially the light.
  • This battle will not come down to physical blows with weapons. Only Frodo and the Witch-king will draw and use weapons. The hobbits also have swords, but don’t use them.
  • The fire is mostly used to make the hobbits feel braver, which will strengthen them for the spiritual battle to come. The flaming brands are not to strike the Ringwraiths.
  • Sam’s report shows that he is sensible as always. He was not willing to stay out among the fear.
  • Strider has no doubts about what is happening and doesn’t try to convince himself otherwise.
  • Frodo seems to be in a panicked hope that they are not being attacked, which explains his question. He is attempting to rationalize away his fear of the wraiths.
  • This kind of rationalization is usually associated with the effects of the Ring, which is interesting.
  • Merry has proven his taste for adventure here, as he has shown in Bree, by staying to look for the Ringwraiths and coming back to report on what he saw in the moonlight.
  • Frodo wants to be strong and positive, but he is fooling himself in a way that Strider doesn’t.
  • Why didn’t Strider keep telling stories if it was working? This tactic seems to only to be able delay the approach of the Ringwraiths, though the attack was inevitable.
  • As we see in Crickhollow, there is a two-phase attack by the Ringwraiths, and the story could only hold back the Ringwraiths for the first phase before the direct attack.
  • Gandalf chose to fight using fire instead of speech, but he was alone when the attack came.
(continued below)
 

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(continued)

The shadows rise over the dell:
  • Is Frodo’s impulse to shout out coming from the Ring? No, as this does not bear the hallmarks of a Ring temptation. Rather, this is a response to the building terror coming from the Ringwraiths.
  • Strider and the hobbits are now experiencing what the Ringwraiths had tried to do to Fatty Bolger in Crickhollow, but he had managed to escape before they reached this point.
  • Even though there is no sound or movement, the attack is now happening, and Frodo feels it.
  • Note: In the Old Forest, Pippin had felt this pressure of the trees and had shouted in response, whereas Frodo sang a song of defiance. Only later at Old Man Willow does Frodo shout out in terror and panic. Now, Frodo is also overcome by the pressure of fear from the Ringwraiths, but it is Strider that had to sing the song of defiance before this.
  • Strider’s command to keep quiet shows that he is somehow aware of what was about to happen, and he knows how bad it would be for them if they shouted.
  • Keeping quiet is not about avoiding the Ringwraiths; it is about not giving in to terror.
  • By being uncertain about the number of shadows as they appear, the narrator brings the reader back into the experience of the hobbits as the Ringwraiths approach.
  • The Ringwraiths all approach at once and from all directions. They are not interested in the element of surprise, because this is not a physical fight, but to induce fear.
  • What is the Witch-king’s plan? They seem to wish to surround the dell until the hobbits are frozen with fear, and then force the Ringbearer to reveal himself so he could be stabbed.
  • The use of the Morgul blade is not an act of combat, but more like a ritual or sacrifice upon a victim. Frodo was to succumb immediately to their power and come with them to Mordor.
  • There is a foreshadowing in the piercing chill in Frodo’s heart. This seems to be coming directly from the Witch-king, in order to get Frodo to yield out of hopelessness and terror.
  • The use of the Morgul blade makes real or physical as the fear in Frodo’s heart.
  • Note: There is a similarity between the tactics of the Nazgul and the Barrow-wights.
  • The darkness of the Ringwraiths is made clear by the fact that they seem “darker than the darkness”, much like Tom Bombadil named the Barrow-wight when he banished it.
  • Note: In the original conception, the Barrow-wights and the Ringwraiths are the same, and those connections remain even after the concept is changed.
  • Frodo as narrator also plays into the foreshadowing of the, as he knows the piercing is coming.
  • Note: The Eye of Sauron is described as appearing as in a hole in the darkness of the night.
  • There is terror in that the hobbits can’t tell how many of them there are, in spite of them being yards away, and that while they have boots that make sound, their hissing breath is audible.
  • The sound of their breathing seems to foreshadow the use of the Black Breath later.
The final attack begins:
  • Merry and Pippin fall to the power of the Ringwraiths, and despite Sam’s faithfulness, it is all he can do to cower and Frodo’s side. This is not a fault in the hobbits, but the power they’re facing.
  • Is the Ring compelling Frodo to put it on, or is this the Ringwraiths? The Ring is clearly involved, as Frodo connects it with the other times that he has been tempted.
  • The rationalization regarding Gandalf’s warning also came up when he was tempted in the Shire, which Frodo is remembering now.
  • The difference between this and the other times is that the temptation is not associated with a rationalization or justification for putting on the Ring, only that he should just do it.
  • In the previous temptations, using the Ring was always a means to an end. Now, putting on the Ring is the end itself, which is much simpler. This is more a compulsion than a temptation.
  • His will seems not to be involved in the decision, rather, will is pushed aside by an outside force.
  • The Ring itself is designed to be a means to an end, so this would be out of character for the Ring to change its tactics or nature to act in this way.
  • This seems to be a spiritual single combat between Frodo and the Witch-king, though each is strengthened by the presence of their companions.
  • The compulsion to make Frodo put on the Ring is used because this is the only way for the Ringwraiths to identify which one of the hobbits is the Ringbearer.
  • The Ring is not involved in this attack, but the Witch-king understands how the Ring works.
  • The Witch-king uses the way that the Ring tempts its bearer to claim it as the means to his end.
  • Note: Sam understands that Frodo is in trouble due to his sensitivity, and also that there is nothing that he can do to help him. This is similar to his realizations when they’re in Mordor. Frodo’s strength is highlighted here. Even though Sam assisted with all of those things, but it always came down to Frodo’s will and choices, which Sam could not change.
  • Note: Later, when Frodo and Sam are near Minas Morgul, there is a repeat of this compulsion to put on the Ring regardless of outcome. This points to the Witch-king’s involvement in both.
  • When this assault begins, Frodo’s terror is swallowed up, which also points to the Witch-king as the source. The Ring would use that fear to rationalize, while the Witch-king simply overrides it.
  • It’s possible that the Witch-king’s and the Ring’s motivations might be at odds in this situation.
  • The Ring ultimately wants to recruit Frodo’s will to claim it for himself, but in this case, Frodo is not claiming it. Rather, he is actively resisting it, but submitting to the Witch-king’s will.
  • It’s important to remember that this whole process only takes a few moments in real time, and Strider is not aware of what is happening as it occurs, though Sam is aware of it.
END OF SESSION
 

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