What Would Have Happened if Samwise Chose to Stay with Frodo in Cirith Ungol?

I’ve discussed the concepts of Amdir and Estel, the two kinds of hope in Tolkien’s world, and how they play out differently for different characters in The Lord of the Rings (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_Kye-0DOac&pp=ygUYdG9sa2llbiBsb3JlIGFtZGlyIGVzdGVs), but Aragorn is a great example of how a character can grow from one to the other. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Xero Shoes (affiliate link): https://xeroshoes.com/go/TolkienGeek Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9(If link is expired contact me attolkienloremaster@gmail.com and I’ll send a fresh invite link).

4 Sep 202337min

Smith of Wootton Major is one of the most fascinating stories Tolkien ever wrote, which seems to have tremendous depth despite its brevity and simplicity. On a recent reread I noticed that its autobiographical elements were much more pronounced than I previously realized. Prior video on Smith of Wootton Major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyzNBaaHZqY&pp=ygUjdG9sa2llbiBsb3JlIHNtaXRoIG9mIHdvb3R0b24gbWFqb3I%3D On Fairy Stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnMG5HhKK50&pp=ygUddG9sa2llbiBsb3JlIG9uIGZhaXJ5IHN0b3JpZXM%3D On Fairy Stories 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqYeBmw4ORY&pp=ygUddG9sa2llbiBsb3JlIG9uIGZhaXJ5IHN0b3JpZXM%3D Telcontar Theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUPVcdWYNaE&pp=ygUhdG9sa2llbiBsb3JlIGFyYWdvcm4ncyBkZXNjZW5kYW50 Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Xero Shoes (affiliate link): https://xeroshoes.com/go/TolkienGeek Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9(If link is expired contact me attolkienloremaster@gmail.com and I’ll send a fresh invite link).

28 Aug 202331min

The story of Tal-Elmar, reproduced in The Peoples of Middle-Earth by Christopher Tolkien, promised a story of dreams, adventure, and possibly some of the most explicit exploration of the ideas of race/ethnicity in any of Tolkien’s works. Unfortunately, as with so many of Tolkien’s barely-begun stories, we can only guess at what might have been. For more on the Druedain, check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-8iqpLCNZI&pp=ygUVdG9sa2llbiBsb3JlIGRydWVkYWlu My video on The Lost Road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYQ2ft3r8iA&pp=ygURdG9sa2llbiBsb3N0IHJvYWQ%3D My video on The Notion Club Papers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Esdaet7Ivq0&pp=ygUTdG9sa2llbiBub3Rpb24gY2x1Yg%3D%3D Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Xero Shoes (affiliate link): https://xeroshoes.com/go/TolkienGeek Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9(If link is expired contact me attolkienloremaster@gmail.com and I’ll send a fresh invite link).

21 Aug 202330min

The Battle of Five Armies, made by the creators of The War of the Ring (my review of which is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knXfPlC6-KA&pp=ygUud2FyIG9mIHRoZSByaW5nIGJvYXJkIGdhbWUgcmV2aWV3IHRvbGtpZW4gbG9yZQ%3D%3D), is a highly tactical war game similar to but also unlike its predecessor. How does it shape up? Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at tolkienloremaster@gmail.com and I’ll send a fresh invite link).

31 Juli 202353min

In my recent video on the Tale of Adanel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcOISb-59rw&pp=ygUTdGFsZSBvZiBhZGFuZWwgZmFsbA%3D%3D) I discussed how Morgoth seems to have taken a very different approach to dealing with Men as compared with Elves, but why would his strategy change? Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at tolkienloremaster@gmail.com and I’ll send a fresh invite link).

5 Juni 202320min

Galadriel makes a big deal of Celeborn’s wisdom in The Lord of the Rings, but we actually get almost no examples of it and are left wondering what makes him so impressive. Could it be Galadriel’s real reason for thinking him wise is highly personal? My video on Galadriel’s various backstories is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8c33_qTQ_E&t=25s&pp=ygUZY2hhcmFjdGVyIHN0dWR5IGdhbGFkcmllbA%3D%3D Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at tolkienloremaster@gmail.com and I’ll send a fresh invite link).

1 Juni 202310min

00:00 Intro 02:44 Game Overview 06:53 Mechanics and Gameplay 38:58 Likes and Dislikes 52:39 Theming and Lore Apologies to my brother (check out his channel over at https://www.youtube.com/@strategywizard for board game reviews, unboxing, etc.) for taking so long to finally play this game that he got me [inaudible] ago, but now I’ve finally played it and I can give my breakdown of the mechanics, what I like and dislike about the game, and how well it captures the essence of Tolkien’s world. For more info on the game: Fantasy Flight’s page for the game is here: https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2019/1/11/the-lord-of-the-rings-journeys-in-middle-earth/ For a downloadable copy of the basic rules, go here: https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/74/c1/74c1ee20-a2d2-407f-93da-e6c2a4b25529/journeys_in_middle-earth_learn_to_play.pdf For a downloadable copy of the Rules Reference, go here: https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/01/a0/01a0c9f7-4427-4113-9406-f53d6bde2ff5/journeys_in_middle-earth_rules_reference.pdf So I was incorrect about Watch It Played but also not totally off. He didn’t do a video on the game on his channel (https://www.youtube.com/@WatchItPlayed), but he DID appear on BoardGameGeek.com’s channel for their “game night” series here: https://youtu.be/bBk_jSE4Bf8. The video is a full playthrough of the first adventure with explanations along the way so it gives a lot of the same information but obviously contains spoilers for the first adventure. Similarly, the Dice Tower channel had a live play session here: https://www.youtube.com/live/JVh0M-fSWqo?feature=share. It doesn’t do as much detailed explanations of the rules and mechanics but it’s for the first adventure of an expansion campaign, so the spoilers won’t be as significant unless you know you’re going to get that expansion soon. If you just want a brief run-down of how to play, I recommend this video: https://youtu.be/1VROBMSSBfc Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at tolkienloremaster@gmail.com and I’ll send a fresh invite link).

29 Maj 20231h 12min

A subscriber recently shared a possible plot hole that someone else brought up: How could the minstrel who sings of Frodo of the Nine Fingers at the Field of Cormallen know Frodo and Sam’s story past when they left Faramir? I think there are three possible explanations. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Discord server invite link: https://discord.gg/EVKynAj2m9 (If link is expired contact me at tolkienloremaster@gmail.com and I’ll send a fresh invite link).

25 Maj 202311min