Exploring Tolkien11 Marras 2025

150. Tolkien’s Battle Tactics – The Hobbit #35

Did Tolkien “earn” The Battle of the Five Armies, or is the surprise enough to justify its existence? In this episode, we look at Tolkien’s climactic battle from The Hobbit, comparing how it unfolds on the page to its chaotic portrayal in the extended film edition. How do armies materialize so suddenly, and does Tolkien set the stage well enough for the goblin onslaught?

Check out the Battle of the Five Armies Map!

We also explore:

Tolkien’s battle tactics vs Peter Jackson’s video game tactics.
Why did Bilbo chooses the Elven King’s side?
Trying to make sense of Peter Jackson’s battle map vs Tolkien’s map.
Tolkien’s knowledge of medieval warfare.
Is Thorin’s charge from the gate truly enough to change the tide of battle?

In our extended episode (available for our members) we talk about:

Whether the goblin army’s sudden arrival is really “earned” in the story, or if Tolkien’s plotting gives us room to quibble.
How small additions could have made the battle less sudden—should there have been hints via raven messenger?
Where would a talking Raven fit into The Lord of the Rings.

🔗 Episode Links
The History of The Hobbit
The Annotated Hobbit
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🔍 If You Like Tolkien
The History of The Hobbit
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)
The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)
The Silmarillion
The Children of Hurin
The Atlas of Middle-earth
Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat

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162. Morgoth’s Curse and the Pride of Men : The Children of Húrin #1

We finally return to Tolkien’s First Age for a new deep-dive series on The Children of Húrin, starting with Christopher Tolkien’s introduction. We discuss why Tolkien considered Turin’s tale one of hi...

12 Touko 46min

161. Tolkien’s First Tragic Tale : The Story of Kullervo

The Kalevala is perhaps Tolkien’s earliest inspiration… In this episode, we dig into The Story of Kullervo the tragic Finnish myth (from the Kalevala) that captured Tolkien’s imagination as a young m...

28 Huhti 1h 7min

160. Did Peter Jackson make Saruman too Powerful? : Film Changes #49 and #50

This episode tackles two more changes from Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring—Saruman orchestrating the storm on Caradhras, and the missing warg attack in Hollin. We break down how these adaptatio...

14 Huhti 51min

159. Boromir’s Slippery Slope : Film Change #48 (and Stephen Colbert’s Lord of the Rings movie!?)

In this episode, we examine the insertion of Boromir’s ring-handling scene on the slopes of the Misty Mountains–though it was completely invented, how close was it REALLY to the books? … and THEN we d...

31 Maalis 54min

159. One DOES Simply Walk Into Mordor : Film Changes #46 and #47

In this episode, we dig into two crucial scenes: the iconic formation of the Fellowship and the bridge-side tryst between Aragorn and Arwen. Drawing from both book and film, we examine what’s gained (...

18 Maalis 0s

158. An Interview with Sean Astin (Sam Gamgee)

Here’s another episode in our series of interviews from the December 2, 2003 roundtable discussions! In this interview–just before The Return of the King was released–Sean Astin reflects on wrapping u...

4 Maalis 23min

157. Is this the BEST Change in The Lord of the Rings Films? : Film Changes #44 and #45

Orc pods and Uruk-hai origins: lore-breaking or the best possible changes? In this episode, we dig into Peter Jackson’s “orc pod” scenes and the cinematic invention of Lurtz, the alpha Uruk-hai, We al...

18 Helmi 0s

156. The Cringiest Line in Lord of the Rings : Film Changes #42 and #43

In this episode, we look at two of the most unloved film changes from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: Arwen replacing Glorfindel and making Arwen the only one with power and agency in The Flight to...

3 Helmi 44min