Waiting for the Ents to make a decision turns out to be an exercise in patience for Merry and Pippin, until Treebeard mercifully excuses them from the proceedings. He leaves them in the company of Quickbeam: a younger, hastier Ent who’s about as hobbitish as they come (admittedly, a low bar). We get to the rocky bottom of the relationship between Ents and Trolls, revisit the marital strife of Aulë and Yavanna, and see the Ents get barking mad about Saruman’s destruction of the forest. Plus, Ent-versions of classic rock songs you never knew you wanted.
Listen to the episode here, or in the player below:
Subscribe to the podcast via:
Comments or questions for Barliman’s Bag:
- Visit us at Facebook or Twitter
- Join our subreddit
- Comment on this blog post
- Email barliman (at) theprancingponypodcast (dot) com
Recommended Reading:
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings (Mariner Books, paperback) “Treebeard”, pp. 471-76
Tolkien, J. R. R. (Christopher Tolkien, ed.) The Silmarillion (Mariner Books, paperback)
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit (Mariner Books, paperback)
Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (Mariner Books, paperback)
One thing I’m surprised hasn’t come up yet is the other instance of the ents going to war, when they helped Beren and the green elves attack the dwarf host who had ransacked Menegroth. It seems contradictory to their characterisation in LotR for them to get involved in a conflict over another people’s revenge and treasure and we’re given no explanation. Are there any more details about this battle in the letters or drafts?