Discussion of The Hobbit, Chapter Eighteen

Join Maggie and Cam for a melancholy meditation on hollow victories, tragic deaths, and the outcome of the Battle of the Five Armies! We continue our discussion about Gandalf's transcendent magical meddling and consider the final resting places of his favorite puppets – Thorin and Bilbo. This episode explores binaries within characters and Tolkien's unparalleled power of suggestion – this chapter is eight pages long and we spend two hours parsing its many hints about characters' inner turmoil. Cam draws two to three hundred comparisons to Doctor Faustus.

During our Second Breakfast, Cam notices that this chapter contains a line that spoils all of Game of Thrones. Maggie asks a question about audiobooks vs. print books that provokes a discussion about interpretations and critical reading.

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