The old man is revealed to be an old friend: Gandalf the (Formerly) Grey, returned beyond hope from death in battle with the Balrog of Moria. Danger is all around, not least in Barliman's Bag where we pull a hardball question about the inevitably of...
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...
At Wellinghall, Merry and Pippin learn more about the Ents' hope for the future (in song form!) and get some sleep — horizontally — before leaving in the morning for Entmoot under the protective bough of Treebeard. We call The Council together as we...
After hearing Merry and Pippin's account of their recent adventures, Treebeard starts talking (and doesn't stop) about wizards, ecopolitics, and "the one that got away". Unfortunately, spokesplants for Fimbrethil and the Entwives have not responded...
Merry and Pippin travel deeper into Fangorn Forest with a guided tour (really more of a picked-up-and-carried tour) provided by Treebeard. Soon they arrive at Wellinghall, where he sets them down and offers them jars of some potent drink that we can...
Escaping from mortal danger into deadly peril, Merry and Pippin wander into Fangorn Forest. The place seems more strange than scary, but it's far from welcoming; and an offhand comment by Pippin about almost liking the forest attracts the attention...
Now ringed in by the Rohirrim, the Orcs wait for reinforcements, all the while continuing their civilized parliamentary deliberations. Grishnákh seizes an opportunity — and the prisoners — but Pippin thinks quickly and devises a Tookish (and very...