We're heading back into Christopher Tolkien's History of Middle-earth once again this week for some fascinating insights into JRRT's creative struggles with Book Five. Denethor's cruelty was carefully calculated at every turn, and Gandalf became more of an active player in the story in each successive draft. Cam also finds some precedent for his "eyeball" theory from last week, and we learn more about the magical visions that haunt Tolkien's heroes.

Then we work our way through some of your feedback, covering topics like the role of the artist, the difficult intersection of storytelling and theology, and the many forms that hope takes in Sam and Frodo's journey to Mount Doom. There's also a great bit about how scary and formidable Aragorn is, even to Sauron!

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