The Extra Curricular

The battle of Minas Tirith is getting out of Gandalf's control which leads to a difficult choice for him to make. Either go out in the field and help the riders of Rohan, or follow Pippin to stop Denethor and save Faramir. Katie and Chase lock down this week's new episode where they discuss the evils of nostalgia, knowledge vs wisdom and that Pokemon Go.

This is the song Chase is trying to think of at the beginning of this week's episode:

The Battle of Pelennor Fields is ranging outside of Minas Tirith and what started as a joyful decimation of evil has turned into a desperate onslaught. Dernhelm, Merry and Theoden encounter the Witch King of Angmar and the enemies numbers are growing. Jonathan, Katie and Chase discuss these events along with how incredibly epic this chapter is. 

The Rohirrim march ever closer to Minas Tirith which is still being attacked by the armies of Sauron and is ready to fall. After talking with the men of woods outside of Gondor, Theoden is losing heart in the face of evil. Jonathan, Katie and Chase discuss this short, but epic chapter and the ramp up to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. 

Something stated at the beginning of this episode we will be doing a live Twitch stream of a new show where Chase will be playing through Shadow of Mordor. That starts this Saturday at 6pm EST on our new Twitch channel! 

The siege of Gondor is underway as Denethor reveals his true delusional self and Gandalf and Faramir try to defend the city. Jonathan, Katie and Chase dig in deep and discuss the nature of Denethor's fall and what really kicked off Sauron's war against Middle-Earth on one of longest episodes of Talking Tolkien. 

Rohan is now shrouded in darkness like the rest of Middle-Earth. This serves as an ill omen to the people of Rohan and a reminder that war is coming. Theoden begins his march for Gondor with Merry in tow. Jonathan, Katie and Chase join them as they make their journey and foreshadow the beginning of the end. 

Jonathan, Katie and Chase journey in to the Paths of the Dead with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimili. They venture on to discover a secret weapon that can take down the armies of Mordor. The nature of legends in Middle-Earth and Chase's annual love of Star Trek is also discussed on this week's episode. 

Gandalf and Pippin reach the awe inspiring city of Minas Tirith on this week's new episode which is also our first episode covering the Return of the King. It has been a long time coming, but Jonathan, Katie and Chase are on the final book of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. We hope you enjoy as we discuss Minas Tirith and how cool the name Ecthelion is. 

To round out our discussion on the Two Towers we watched and discussed the 2002 film version. We talk about pacing, jumping genres and how very special Brad Dourif is to Chase. We also get ready for starting the Return of the King next week. 

We reach the final chapter of the Two Towers this week, and it is focused on Sam and the many choices that lie ahead of him. As the last member of the Fellowship marches forward, he realizes that he might not be as alone as he originally thought. Jonathan, Katie and Chase wrap up another Tolkien book and dope fantasy movies.

This week, Sam, Frodo and Gollum dive deep into Shelob's Lair and discover the horrible smells and death that lies within. Jonathan, Katie and Chase join them in the darkness and also discuss their fondness for red onions and turn of the century internet memes. 

*The raw audio from Chase and Katie's mics had a lot of static on it and required a rigorous cleaning process. We fixed it to the best of our abilities, but there are still some audio issues in this week's episode.*