Discussion of The Two Towers, Book Four, Chapter Ten

Join Cam and Maggie for the grand finale of The Two Towers! Viking King Samwise finally gets his day in the sun, and we couldn't be happier. Cam has a new priori-incantatum-style theory about Sam being the last man standing from the original fellowship, and he thinks he's spotted the ghosts of Sam's past companions hidden throughout this chapter. We also look at Sam's experience putting on the Ring for the first time, and Maggie has a startling realization that might upset the whole magical hierarchy of Middle-earth. We ask each other some provocative questions too, including: Is Sauron a bad leader? Why does Sam narrate his thoughts in this chapter? (or is he talking to Frodo?) Will Frodo come back as Frodo the White? Is Shelob stronger than Smaug? As a special treat to our listeners, we actually have answers to most of these questions.

In our Second Breakfast, we play devil's advocate and reconsider one of our most confident positions – that loyalty to the source material is an essential part of successful book-to-movie adaptations. We discuss great counterexamples like Annihilation and The Shining before using a more historical angle to try to understand fandom and the vital role of storytelling in human evolution. From soap operas to religious texts, we have always had incredibly strong feelings about the stories we choose to invest in. This segment features more Al Pacino references than you would expect.

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