Rivendell_librarian
Active Member
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2018
- Messages
- 770
Reflection and a Revelation
A time of reflection for our three musketeers, and a startling revelation. No prizes for guessing who Porthos is!. I would say that Legolas is Aramis and Aragorn is Athos though opinions may differ on that. Strider uses his Fenimore Cooper tracking skills to work out a full account of Pippin and Merry's escape from the orcs. He does guess wrongly about how much the orcs knew about the Ring: orcs are more loyal to their commanders (Saruman and Sauron) than he thinks.
Gimli is wary of Fangorn but will follow Legolas who finds it invigorating. Legolas senses a tenseness in Fangorn, apparently at the time of the Entmoot. They soon encounter a mysterious old man in the place Treebeard might call home in the forest. Is it Saruman? In fact, It is a transformed Gandalf: Gandalf the White. Hammond and Scull note that some have seen parallels to the gospel story of the Emmaus Road (Romenna Meeting Report Seotember 22 1985). But isn't there a more obvious parallel: the Transfiguration? A momentary appearance of brilliant white garments and three silenced companions one of whom names him. (NB: Seeing parallels is NOT a claim of allegory before the anti-allegory thought police bring out their verbal truncheons!)
There then follows an exchange of information. Gandalf tells them of Pippin and Merry meeting Treebeard and the musketeers tell Gandalf that Sam went with Frodo towards Mordor. Gandalf has worked out that Sauron knows about the Ring and assumes it will be taken to Minas Tirith to be used in war against him. He also understands that the Ents are "waking up" and will find they are strong. Gandalf also states that the power of Black (Sauron) is mightier than Gandalf the White unless the Ring is destroyed. Saruman's forces will fall on Rohan to prevent them helping Mordor so Gandalf and our three companions must go to Edoras.
Legolas asks the Balrog question and Gandalf finally explains what happened. A titanic fight was followed by a period of timeless darkness and a rescue by the useful Gwaihir the windlord. There was then a brief period of healing in Lorien - in fact Galadriel had ordered Gwaihir to rescue Gandalf. Gimli is now called the Lockbearer by Galadriel (ah that lock of hair he has to explain to Mrs Gimli).
Balrog and water produces a "thing of slime" - a key phrase used in the BBC Christmas Ghost Story: The Treasure of Abbot Thomas. Was the screenwriter a Tolkien fan?
Gandalf whistles and Shadowfax, Hasufel and Arod quickly appear and our heroes ride for Edoras.
Gandalf's resurrection is a controversial deus ex machina not at all liked by George Martin but Tolkien is not a typical fantasy writer even though he did much to establish the genre. Tolkien has larger ambitions than writing page turners.
A more important question is who would you prefer not to meet; a fiery Balrog or a slimy Balrog?
A time of reflection for our three musketeers, and a startling revelation. No prizes for guessing who Porthos is!. I would say that Legolas is Aramis and Aragorn is Athos though opinions may differ on that. Strider uses his Fenimore Cooper tracking skills to work out a full account of Pippin and Merry's escape from the orcs. He does guess wrongly about how much the orcs knew about the Ring: orcs are more loyal to their commanders (Saruman and Sauron) than he thinks.
Gimli is wary of Fangorn but will follow Legolas who finds it invigorating. Legolas senses a tenseness in Fangorn, apparently at the time of the Entmoot. They soon encounter a mysterious old man in the place Treebeard might call home in the forest. Is it Saruman? In fact, It is a transformed Gandalf: Gandalf the White. Hammond and Scull note that some have seen parallels to the gospel story of the Emmaus Road (Romenna Meeting Report Seotember 22 1985). But isn't there a more obvious parallel: the Transfiguration? A momentary appearance of brilliant white garments and three silenced companions one of whom names him. (NB: Seeing parallels is NOT a claim of allegory before the anti-allegory thought police bring out their verbal truncheons!)
There then follows an exchange of information. Gandalf tells them of Pippin and Merry meeting Treebeard and the musketeers tell Gandalf that Sam went with Frodo towards Mordor. Gandalf has worked out that Sauron knows about the Ring and assumes it will be taken to Minas Tirith to be used in war against him. He also understands that the Ents are "waking up" and will find they are strong. Gandalf also states that the power of Black (Sauron) is mightier than Gandalf the White unless the Ring is destroyed. Saruman's forces will fall on Rohan to prevent them helping Mordor so Gandalf and our three companions must go to Edoras.
Legolas asks the Balrog question and Gandalf finally explains what happened. A titanic fight was followed by a period of timeless darkness and a rescue by the useful Gwaihir the windlord. There was then a brief period of healing in Lorien - in fact Galadriel had ordered Gwaihir to rescue Gandalf. Gimli is now called the Lockbearer by Galadriel (ah that lock of hair he has to explain to Mrs Gimli).
Balrog and water produces a "thing of slime" - a key phrase used in the BBC Christmas Ghost Story: The Treasure of Abbot Thomas. Was the screenwriter a Tolkien fan?
Gandalf whistles and Shadowfax, Hasufel and Arod quickly appear and our heroes ride for Edoras.
Gandalf's resurrection is a controversial deus ex machina not at all liked by George Martin but Tolkien is not a typical fantasy writer even though he did much to establish the genre. Tolkien has larger ambitions than writing page turners.
A more important question is who would you prefer not to meet; a fiery Balrog or a slimy Balrog?
