Today we look at the intrigues at Edoras and especially at Wormtongue, Is he justified in his worminess or is he just an irredeemable snake?

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Today we look at Tolkien's less-is-more approach to deep Lovecraftian horror in the case of the Balrog Battle, as recounted by a reborn Gandalf (in The White Rider - The Two Towers Ch V)

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We speculate about the "flat" geologies of Middle Earth and Narnia, and the other oddities and anachronisms therein, including the history of golf.

For more hot takes on this topic of flat earth theory, check out our recent Substack article: https://leescrivner.substack.com/p/settled-science-on-a-flat-earth

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What did the Ents really discuss at the Entmoot? Was Treebeard too "hasty" in attacking the orcs or Saruman. Did he act on impulse before weighing all the evidence? Why do things take so long to say in Entish? Is Treebeard's full name Treebeard Johann Gambolputty de von Ausfern -schplenden -schlitter -crasscrenbon -fried -digger -dangle -dungle -burstein -von -knacker -thrasher -apple -banger -horowitz -ticolensic -grander -knotty -spelltinkle -grandlich -grumblemeyer -spelterwasser -kürstlich -himbleeisen -bahnwagen -gutenabend -bitte -eine -nürnburger -bratwustle -gerspurten -mit -zweimache -luber -hundsfut -gumberaber -shönendanker -kalbsfleisch -mittler -raucher von Hautkopft of Ulm?

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We spend some time with our friendly man-flesh eating orcs. Who has better orcs, Sauron or Saruman? What did Grishnakh know and when did he know it?

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Digging into a relatively uneventful chapter (Riders of Rohan) with lots of necessary stage-setting / exposition for the road ahead. Join us if you have the patience for our tiresome tirelessness.

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Season two of Speculative Tolkienism begins with a discussion of one of Aragorn's most momentous decisions, i.e. to follow Merry and Pippin, and how it aligns with his grand strategy. We speculate about what would have happened had he gone east instead of west.

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Today we conclude our chapter-by-chapter discussion of The Fellowship of the Ring, which almost ends as tragically as it began, with the ring at the bottom of the river Anduin.

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Today we look at Boromir's run-in with Frodo and speculate on what would have happened had Boromir taken the ring.

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We approach the one-year anniversary of Speculative Tolkienism with a longish chillstream floating down The Great River. As we move towards the Fellowship's culminating chapter, we note that Boromir is growing uneasy, and very nosy.

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