Alan and Shaun finish their time in Minas Tirith waiting for Bergil to decide whether to take Pippin’s lunch money. Hard, bold, and wicked, Pippin can’t choose between ‘Prince of the Halflings’ and ‘Devil of a Hobbit’; Minas Tirith orders its troops from a catalog, and we offer up a sidebar on the Thain of the Shire. We take some time to see what’s going on with the rest of the Fellowship, and spend a bit of time on WW2 blackouts. Finally, Shaun and Alan agree on something: 29 isn’t really old.

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Alan and Shaun continue their extended visit to Minas Tirith, spending most of their time with a fellow named Beregond. Pippin asks good questions, the man of Gondor gives good answers, and we give big sidebars on the history of Osgiliath and the origin story of the Corsairs of Umbar. A very special guest (to Alan, at any rate) brings back Questions Before Bedtime, and we debate Aragorn’s ability to disguise himself. Finally, we find out what Pippin and the Black Knight have in common.

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Shaun Gunner of The Tolkien Society begins his service to the PPP, just as Pippin begins his service to Denethor in what is clearly an unacceptable analogy. Gandalf reminds the Steward what it means to really be a steward, Pippin seeks a little validation for his choice, and we meet a valiant man of Gondor. The Lord of the Mark returns for a tasty, and hilariously inappropriate, Philology Faire, and Pippin enjoys a picnic with a view. Finally, Alan agrees to stop booing the Norman Invasion — eventually.

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Alan and Corey tread carefully as they walk with Pippin and Gandalf into the Hall of Kings to meet the Steward. We watch as Denethor plays a rhetorical game with Gandalf, weep as we remember Boromir, and smile as Pippin shocks both old men by offering his sword to the grumpier of the two. More time is spent on the palantíri, and we say farewell to The Tolkien Professor. Finally, we discuss how “or the world end” is either an unnecessary redundancy, or a great addition to wedding vows!

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Alan and Corey continue their journey towards Minas Tirith, riding with Gandalf and Pippin on the wings of the storm. We study the architecture of the White City, do maths, and begin the inevitable comparisons between Denethor and Théoden - even before we meet the Steward of Gondor. The Lord of the Mark makes the first of his guest appearances - and there was much rejoicing, and questionable jokes. Finally, what does the Tower of Ecthelion have in common with the Swamp Castle?

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Alan and Corey introduce Book Five, and with no time to wallow in the mire, journey with Gandalf and Pippin towards Minas Tirith, as the beacons try to set the night on fire. Pippin is scared of the moon, the beacon fires, and the dragons - especially the dragons. It turns out Strong Bad might just be a hobbit. Oh, and Alan manages to leave Corey speechless, so there’s a reason to come back.

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Alan welcomes The Tolkien Professor himself, Corey Olsen, to the Prancing Pony - just in time for us both to join our listeners in the common-room for our latest Q&A episode! We discuss the choices made by Elrond and Elros, whether the Three Hunters would have made good ultramarathoners, how artwork and film impacts our reading imagination, and much more. Oh, and Túrin and Nienor because we can't always be happy.

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The time has come for Shawn to drink the cup of parting, but not before we take a moment to celebrate his time in the Common Room! We look back on how this thing got started in the first place, talk about some of the amazing guests that have joined us, honor our community of listeners, and commemorate six years of friendship, hard work, learning, and laughter. Alan shares his exciting plans for this season of the PPP (think “all-star co-hosts”), and Shawn gives an unexpected answer to one last mailbag question. Farewell now, Lord of the Mark! Ride to good fortune, and ride back soon to our welcome!

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Real hobbits arrive at the Prancing Pony, as Alan and Shawn welcome Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan (better known as Pippin and Merry) for our season finale! We talk about their time working on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies, their new podcast The Friendship Onion, and everything in between. They digress along with us on friendship, favorite podcasts, tinned oysters, cowboy hats, and a lot more. All this plus hilarious stories from their many years as friends, and experienced advice for the cast of Amazon’s The Rings of Power series. Warning: some mature language.

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Sam desperately tries to get through the blocked passage while the Orc captains — oblivious that their eaves are being dropped — continue complaining about their bosses (side note: we’re seriously creeped out by the fact that the Nazgûl actually give Orc officers the creeps). But when one of the captains reveals some new information, Sam suddenly realizes that getting to Frodo is more urgent than he thought. All this, plus Orc dialogue delivered with increasingly sore throats, a long sidebar on the moral code of Orcs, and an excerpt from our recent interview on the Rings of Power Wrap-up podcast with dialect coach Leith McPherson.

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