LOTR book 5: The Return of the King
Rohan rides to Gondor's aid — and Gondor's own Steward has already given up.In this episode, Dan and Alex walk through Book V of The Lord of the Rings (the first half of The Return of the King), tracing Pippin's oath to Denethor and Merry's to Théoden, Aragorn's challenge to Sauron in the palantír and his ride down the Paths of the Dead, the siege of Minas Tirith, the pyre, the charge of the Rohirrim onto the Pelennor, and the feint at the Black Gate.Along the way: amdir and estel, Tolkien's two words for hope, and why Aragorn was raised under the second one as a name; Denethor and Faramir as the same mind turned to opposite uses, and what logic becomes when it isn't aimed at virtue; the Paths of the Dead as a study in decisiveness, with Gimli bargaining himself all the way to the rear of the company; Théoden's deliberately unglorious death and the shame he says he has escaped; the palantír as a machine for telling the truth in exactly the place it will do the most harm; and Éowyn, who wins everything she rode to the Pelennor for and finds it doesn't satisfy her.They also touch on Lewis on the sorrows of all the world arriving every morning, the Oyarsa's diagnosis of Weston in Out of the Silent Planet, Puddleglum against the Green Witch, Ghân-buri-Ghân and the trust that plain speech buys in a single conversation, a recording of Tolkien himself reading the charge of the Rohirrim, and what it means that the hands of the king are the hands of a healer.The last stretch is the one Alex spends the whole episode talking himself into: whether Éowyn's arc is a story about a woman escaping her role, or a story about a soul refusing its allotment, and what that reading asks of men and women now.Next episode: Book VI of The Lord of the Rings, the second half of The Return of the King.Got comments, criticism, or corrections? Email or send a voice memo to [email protected].Timestamps00:00 — Intro00:04 — Housekeeping: listener mail on Lewis, Tolkien, pleasure and suffering00:07 — Obliquity: why happiness has to be a byproduct00:09 — Arwen, Éowyn, and how a good story commandeers your sympathies00:14 — Book V summary00:17 — Themes: what is greatness, and the traditions of our fathers00:21 — Lewis on vulnerability and on the sorrows of all the world00:24 — Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and going to bed with death00:26 — Break / The Theo Show00:29 — Pippin as our way in, and Tolkien's digressions00:32 — Merry among the Rohirrim: conspicuously not useful00:35 — Denethor and Faramir: logic without virtue00:38 — Pippin and Bergil: talking to children as peers00:41 — Aragorn and the palantír: identity and what it's for00:43 — The Paths of the Dead: decisiveness, and Gimli at the rear00:49 — Ghân-buri-Ghân and the trust of plain speech00:52 — Everyone you meet has their own epic00:54 — "It's all just...": labels, and Saruman of Many Colours00:58 — Morning counsels are best01:02 — Break / Losing Like a Winner01:04 — Tolkien reads the charge of the Rohirrim 01:08 — The joy of battle and the right use of truth01:12 — Amdir and estel: the Athrabeth01:17 — The Ring of Barahir01:19 — Stewardship that looks backward01:21 — The hands of the king are the hands of a healer01:24 — Théoden's unglorious death01:30 — The palantír, half-truths, and the modern news01:33 — Which way, Western woman?01:39 — Allotment, family, and speaking in ideals01:46 — Outro
