Away from the Sea, Aldarion finds little peace or joy; away from the podcast, Alan is just fine, thank you very much. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we reach the halfway mark in our 10-episode run through the walking billboard for premarital counseling that is Aldarion and Erendis from Unfinished Tales. Aldarion wants to build Erendis a big, shiny boat because he doesn’t listen; Erendis proves she’s the bigger person (give her time, folks, she’ll catch up); and the Elves bring amazing gifts as always. We interview a real pinball wizard, consider the Dunlendings in a whole new light, and talk about new titles for these episodes. Also, Sara endures Alan’s singing yet again.

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Erendis’ mom gives her some pretty questionable relationship advice; Alan and Sara give you a pretty questionable podcast episode. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we near the halfway point of our 10-part series on Aldarion and Erendis from Unfinished Tales. Aldarion tells Erendis to try to see it his way, but Erendis reminds him life is very short, and there’s no time; the stars of this rom-com finally get betrothed; and Meneldur gives his wayward son some hard truths. We talk about Tolkien’s incredible ability to write two sides to a debate, discuss the importance of contentment and agree that once you’re 300, you’re too old for wheelbarrows at dawn. Also, we spot a Temu Elendilmir.

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Aldarion runs headlong into contentment and doesn’t even recognize it; Alan and Sara run headlong into more bad jokes and don’t particularly care. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we find ourselves moving swiftly through our 10-part series on Aldarion and Erendis from Unfinished Tales. Meneldur takes Aldarion’s cell phone, turns off the Wi-Fi, and stops giving him in allowance; Erendis’ name might be a little on the nose, but we’re sure it will have no effect whatsoever on every single day of her life; and Valandil accidentally puts his foot in his mouth. We offer relationship advice, dive deep into a discussion of duty and desire, and wonder about the differences between Tar-Red Flag and Tar-Restraining Order. Also, Alan fights his self-control and loses baaaadly.

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Erendis arrives at a very important party, and is caught by Aldarion’s beauty and splendor of bearing; that never happens to Alan or Sara. Join The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we continue our 10-part dive into the story of Aldarion and Erendis from Unfinished Tales. Queen Almarian drops a hint that Aldarion just can’t catch, Meneldur has wisdom for his son — even if he ignores it, and Aldarion can’t stop looking at Erendis as he sails away… before too long, he’ll fall in love with her. We math out the age gap relationship, discover Erendis’ connection to Tuor and Huor, and decide that this day, we sail. Also, Sara is in open rebellion.

The Muster at Marquette link: https://youtu.be/QC-JkWDq7dk

Don’t forget to join the Oral History Project at https://www.marquette.edu/library/archives/Mss/JRRT/fandomoh.php

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Tolkien writes about the difficulty of relating the legendarium without “explanatory digressions”; Alan and Sara realize the PPP has a new subtitle. Join The Man of the West and the Shieldmaiden of Rohan as we begin — hold on to your headphones — a ten-part series on the story of Aldarion and Erendis, as the PPP begins its season-long look at Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth. Meneldur is a humble and wise king; Vëantur gives his grandson a ticket to ride; and Aldarion starts his cult of personality early on. We wonder if Tolkien would ever have been satisfied with The Silmarillion, challenge listeners to put “ready to mirth” on their dating profiles, and discover that what we’ve got here is failure to communicate. Also, Alan sings too much.

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Join us all in the Common Room here at The Prancing Pony Podcast as The Man of the West and The Shieldmaiden of Rohan answer listener questions again in our 32nd Questions After Nightfall! Sara welcomes you all to her Galadriel TED Talk, and we discuss the deep matters of loss in Tolkien and learning life lessons in the legendarium. But it’s not all serious: members of the Fellowship in a rock band, Aulë’s mistakes with Dwarven reproduction, and a strutting Glorfindel lighten the mood. Also, Sara admits she’s not funny — when will Alan do the same?

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The Lord of the Mark returns for a special episode to help get Season 10 of The Prancing Pony Podcast underway, as we chat with Dan Falconer and Leonard Ellis from Wētā Workshop! From Falconer’s early days on the first Peter Jackson films to Ellis’ upcoming sculpt of Cirith Ungol, our conversation centers on all things Middle-earth. We learn the real meaning of the acronym CAD, find that even the people who make these things don’t have room on their shelves for all of them, and officially put a visit to Wētā Workshop on our bucket lists!

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Alan and James sit down with fellow Tolkien-nerd and lead writer for Wētā Workshop's new game, Tales of the Shire. We discuss the depth of world-building by Tolkien and how to reflect that in a game set in the Shire, and celebrate the appearance of familiar names and places in the game. Darren tells us about an unbelievable meeting in Oxford, compares the Silmarillion to a dehydrated feast, and we all wonder about the lost company of Hobbit archers! Also, food is love, and we agree.

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Tolkien believes that his method of translation-by-sense “perhaps needs some defence”; Alan and James know their method of podcasting requires a lot of defense. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we misplace our Babel fish in the second half of Appendix F from The Lord of the Rings, on translation. Tolkien speaks to the reader directly, gives us a fantastic analogy with Arthur and Camelot, and provides comic relief in the form of Hobbit names. We wonder how ‘amused’ Denethor really was, realize that someone just wasn’t Goodenough, and speculate about Dwarvish interpolation again. Also, Odo from DS9 gets a mention.

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The Elves speak in a more gracious and antique style; James thinks there’s an old joke in there somewhere. Join The Man of the West and The Sage of the South as we begin our two-episode exploration of Appendix F to The Lord of the Rings, and the languages of Middle-earth take center stage. Pengoloð shows up again, someone is trying to gloss over Thingol’s linguistic genocide, and Galadriel has her scribes everywhere. We discuss Tolkien’s gripe with translations a week early, give another shout-out to Círdan and wonder (but not for long) about Entish pillow talk. Also, Weber bread makes an unexpected appearance.

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