Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter Nine

Join Cam and Maggie for another doozie of a chapter. We're both head over heels in love with Strider, and more convinced than ever that this book is just Prisoner of Azkaban. Dementors were one thing, and prophecies too, but now Strider is exactly the same sort of cool uncle as Sirius Black was! (rip) This chapter is all about Maggie's seen and unseen theory. The only image is fire and darkness, and it all gets weaponized into a beautiful power struggle between Strider and Frodo – you can guess whose side we're on there. Cam continues to argue for Aragorn's telepathy powers and about halfway through the episode, ole Rattlesnake Maggie whips out a theory about narrators that could change our entire reading of LOTR. Gandalf returns to the story, but Maggie's theory puts him in his place and moves right along. She breaks down the funky little poem included at the end of Gandalf's letter and Cam does his level best to discuss runes. We also wonder if Frodo is classist and there's some very serious mustache discussion at the start of the episode.

In our Second Breakfast segment, Cam lays out a bunch of additional information about the 4K LOTR editions, and we discuss the importance and impact of "color grading" in a visual medium like movies. With this new information, we tackle subjects like visual consistency and the power of special effects. This spirals into debates about paperback v. hardcover, matte v. glossy, and all the other incredibly important ephemeral details that shape our consumption of stories before we read the first word. Reference points include True Detective, The Haunting of Hill House, and the work of The White Stripes.

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