Gollum is disinclined to acquiesce to Frodo’s request to lead them to Mordor, and he tries to escape when he thinks the hobbits aren’t looking. Sam has thirty ells’ worth of good reasons for Gollum to stay put, but the Elvish rope burns his skin (as of publication, Lothlórien Ropeworks has not issued a recall, and neither Haldir nor “One of Those Folk” could be reached for comment). Finally, Sméagol comes up with a promise that Frodo can trust… for now. All this, plus a closer look at swearing (not that kind) and a Middle-earth/Marvel mashup in the mailbag.

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