Discussion of The Hobbit, Chapter Ten

Join Maggie and Cam on their weekend getaway to Lake-town. This episode explores the dwarves' relationship with fate and legend, as well as the politics of non-intervention embodied by the Master of Lake-town and the King of the Wood-elves. Songs are weaponized to exploit nostalgia and heroism while quiet greed, calculation, and apathy threaten to derail the dwarves' mission. Cam complicates the idea of "evil creatures" in this world and Maggie defends Tolkien's lengthy nature descriptions.

During our Second Breakfast, Maggie extends her discussion about fate and legend with a comparison to Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles.

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