Episode 81 Summary

Tony Meade

Active Member
SESSION 81

Comment on the Nazgûl and Rivendell:
  • Do the Nazgûl know exactly where Rivendell is? The Witch-king would have a general idea from his time as the ruler of Angmar during the wars there.
  • The Nazgûl would certainly know about Rivendell from the wars of Sauron in the Second Age.
  • Rivendell was besieged during the Second Age, but it’s unclear what form that took, as it is not a walled city. It may have had a magical protection around the valley, similar to Melian’s girdle.
Comment on the Nâzgul and the Ringbearer:
  • Were the Nâzgul susceptible to Frodo’s commands while he wore the One Ring? Did Frodo’s invocation of Elbereth do more damage because he was wearing the Ring at the time?
  • Frodo cannot command them, even wearing the Ring, because he hasn’t tried to learn how.
  • Galadriel will explain to Frodo later that he could access all the powers of the One Ring, including dominating others, if he applies his mind in that way, but warns him not to do so.
  • Frodo will later begin to apply his mind that way in threatening and daunting the will of Gollum.
  • At Weathertop, Frodo’s own will is dominated, so that he puts on the Ring against his will.
  • Rather than being commanded, the Ringwraiths are daunted by his resistance to their attack.
  • The power of Elbereth and/or Gildor’s blessing is responding when Frodo calls out Elbereth’s name is not in cooperation with the dominating power of the One Ring, which is Sauron’s.
  • The call to Elbereth is an expression of praise and supplication to her, which is in direct opposition to the assertion and domination of one’s will associated with the One Ring.
Comment on the effectiveness of the Witch-king’s search:
  • Did the Witch-king make any tactical mistakes in the tracking and pursuit of Frodo?
  • Given the scant information available to them, the name Baggins, and the country name of Shire, he seems to have done well to find him in only a few months.
  • The attacks at Crickhollow and on Weathertop should have worked using their usual tactics, and they did not count on being thwarted by hobbits, who were an unknown quantity to them.
  • They were also unknowingly impeded by Gildor and Tom Bombadil, and Aragorn was a surprise.
  • After their rout on Weathertop, the tactics of the Witch-king are valid, but this is also thwarted.
  • The only mistake seems to be allowing four of the Ringwraiths to pursue Gandalf, which divided their numbers, making them weaker when attacking Frodo on Weathertop.
  • However, they pursue Gandalf in order to prevent him from coming back to aid the hobbits.
  • Neither Gandalf nor Aragorn know where the other one is, but the Nâzgul do know the general location of both. Therefore, they can’t allow those two to meet up and join forces.
  • Overall, the Witch-king’s plans are perfectly sound, and his decisions are the best he can make.
  • That the Ringwraith’s fail comes down to incomplete information and unexpected resistance.
  • Given that the Nâzgul do not operate like physical foes, but more as spiritual foes, then the resistance to them is more understandable.
  • The appearance of so many allies to aid the hobbits in this spiritual warfare looks like a plan.
  • In addition to the great people who aid them, the hobbits are aided by the likes of Gaffer Gamgee and Farmer Maggot, who allow the Ringwraiths to miss Frodo by mere minutes.
  • Both the meeting with Tom Bombadil and his sheltering the hobbits, and the meeting with and protection of Strider were unknown variables to the plans of the Ringwraiths.
  • The intervention of the power of Elbereth would be an unexpected defeat.
  • All these intrusions of luck and chance and coincidence seem to point to another power at work.
  • Gildor and Tom Bombadil both hinted heavily that another power was working in their meeting.
  • We should not think less of the power of the Nazgûl here, but more of the power of the Shire and Bree and the hobbits, along with Aragorn and the others who intervene on their behalf.
  • Gandalf will explicitly refer to this later in the Council of Elrond, highlighting the power opposing the Ringwraiths, and spoke of the influence of Providence to Frodo earlier.
  • The near-miss at Bucklebury Ferry seems to be due to an error in assuming that the hobbits would have to cross the river by Brandywine Bridge, and being unaware of the ferry.
  • The fog, the presence of running water, and sheer bad timing allowed the hobbits to escape.
  • Frodo doesn’t feel as though as though he is lucky, but he has been very fortunate so far.
(continued below)
 

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(continued) Recalling Bilbo’s first serious adventure:
  • Strider has taken the hobbits a little way down the Road before turning aside, though they still are expecting to see the Black Riders on the Road. It is still unexpectedly clear.
  • The adjectives that are given to the landscape, like “sullen” and sombre”, seems to be a projection of the hobbits’ state of mind, and their feeling of the land as unfriendly.
  • Note: Tolkien often likes to assign a personality to the landscape, and to attribute feelings to it.
  • Note: Frodo is in a much better state than he is in the film, where he is nearly comatose and quickly going downhill. Frodo here is ambulatory, conscious, and aware of his surroundings.
  • Moving from the Lone-lands to the Trollshaws is a transition from cheerless to hostile lands.
  • Note: The towers and walls around here are associated with Rhudaur, and in The Hobbit, these ruins were described by Bilbo as though they were built by wicked people, as Rhudaur became.
  • Frodo’s guess that this is the area of Bilbo’s “first serious adventure” shows some of his state of mind, as he is taking the time to reflect on the comparison and contrast between their journeys.
  • Frodo has had serious adventures beginning in the Shire itself, with the Black Riders and his encounter with the Elves and goes from adventure to adventure after that.
  • He seems to be wistful about the stories of Bilbo’s journey as more of a childhood fantasy to follow Bilbo on his adventures, while he has had a much more difficult time so far.
  • The adventure with the trolls was legitimately threatening, but mild compared to Frodo’s own.
  • Even the other hobbits are having a more serious time, with Merry and Pippin being actually eaten by a tree, and their capture by the Barrow-wight.
  • Frodo’s realizing the possibility of seeing the spot of the troll adventure now may seem like a reprieve from his own danger and fear with a little nostalgia, given the contrast with his quest.
The lore of the North Kingdom:
  • Strider seems to take Frodo’s three questions as one question about trolls building the towers, which is the one that he answers “no”.
  • Strider doesn’t use the name of Rhudaur here, but this is to whom he is referring when he describes them as becoming and evil people under the shadow of Angmar.
  • There do not seem to be many books of ancient history in the Shire, and the tales aren’t known there, even though this history during the time of the Shire, though not nearby.
  • Peregrin is referring to what he assumes about Strider as a vagabond wandering in the wilderness when he speaks about learning tales from beasts and birds, and not book-learning.
  • Note: Pippin will later make it into the Red Book, and the appendices, with Arnorian lore.
  • Note: The Shire was colonized after the Arnorian civil wars, but before the final fall of Arnor.
  • Strider gives two answers about where he learned his lore. It would be understandable to learn this in Rivendell, which he did, but he leads with the memories of the heirs of Elendil.
  • This is a very heavy hint about his heritage, though Frodo will not track with the idea that Strider is of the people of the old kings until he gets to Rivendell.
  • The hobbits may take this as if the heirs of Elendil were only the source of his information, which points to the hobbits’ assumptions about the people of the old kings and their view of Strider.
  • Would the hobbits know who the heirs of Elendil are? Frodo seems to know something about them, but they didn’t know who Gil-galad was, so this isn’t common knowledge.
  • Strider did give them his real name in Bree, but he didn’t explicitly declare his true heritage.
  • Even though this was in the poem, it seems that the part about kings didn’t get through.
  • Note: It’s possible that some of this is a later addition by Findegil in Gondor afterwards, especially considering the different tone, and the use of “Peregrin” instead of “Pippin”.
  • Note: Butterbur will reveal these same assumptions about Strider after he becomes king.
Strider and Rivendell:
  • “There my heart is” seems to be a first reference to Arwen, but it’s not clear why he says it.
  • This is a consistent pattern with Strider, in which he drops hints about his past, and so doesn’t say nothing, but without giving them clear information about his true identity.
  • He gives them reasons to understand that he has a much more intimate connection to Rivendell than just an occasional visitor, and that he wishes he could stay there permanently.
  • Strider seems to be reciprocating the hobbits’ trust by confiding a little in them, but this seems to be a small gesture, with the primary purpose of encouraging the hobbits about the journey.
  • Frodo doesn’t only mean to ask about Strider’s ability to find Rivendell, but of his lore’s depth.
  • Note: The use of the word “heart” is interesting, as it is used by Gandalf (and later Galadriel) about their temptations by the Ring. Does Aragorn’s love for Arwen allow him to resist the Ring?
  • Strider underplays his time in Rivendell, as there is a difference between having lived there and having grown up there. This may be to emphasize his distance in time from his childhood there.
  • Strider does try to provide a bit of context to understand him by showing not only the source of his lore and his love for Rivendell, but that there is a reason that he can’t stay there.
  • This is to subtly explain his appearance as a vagabond Ranger, and his travels in the wild. He leaves the hobbits to put all of this together, which they won’t for a while.
  • Strider may also be hedging his revelations about his heritage in the knowledge that he is fallible and perhaps not as great as his forefathers, as well the weight of his times and responsibilities.
  • Note: These doubts are different from the portrayal in the film, in which Aragorn has actively rejected his heritage and any claim on kingship, rather than any doubts about his worthiness. There is a trend in modern cinema of the rejection of power as a virtue.
END OF SESSION
 

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