317 – Curse Your Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal

Mount Doom threatens to burn the land and boil the sea; Matt threatens more “where there’s a whip” references. Join us as we’re joined by Tom Hillman to talk about his book Pity, Power, and Tolkien’s Ring just in time for said ring to be destroyed in our final episode on the chapter Mount Doom. Sam finally feels pity for Gollum, the Phial of Galadriel’s batteries die, and Frodo thinks he has a better idea for the Ring after all. We discuss the many alternate endings that Tolkien envisioned here, speculate about how quickly the Nazgûl could arrive, and confirm that Santa Claus is Eärendil. Also, Matt coins a new word which is really just an old word.

Recommended Reading


The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of the Lord of the Rings
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Mariner Books, paperback)

The Silmarillion
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Christopher Tolkien, ed.) (Mariner Books, paperback)

The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Mariner Books, paperback)

The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Mariner Books, paperback)

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth 
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Christopher Tolkien, ed.) (Mariner Books, paperback)

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Carpenter, Humphrey ed. (William Morrow, paperback)

The Atlas of Middle-earth
Fonstad, Karen Wynn (Houghton Mifflin, paperback)

The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion
Scull, Christina & Wayne Hammond (William Morrow, hardcover)

Pity, Power, and Tolkien’s Ring
Hillman, Thomas P (Kent State University Press, paperback)

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