A Knife in the Dark [Fellowship of the Ring, Ch.11]

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter Eleven Join Cam and Maggie for a holiday extravaganza? I don’t know. We’ve got a fun little seasonal skit at the start of the episode. Maggie’s secret talent is her Linus impression – but hey, the episode is good too! Strider continues to ruthlessly alpha Frodo, and this time he throws some shade at Gandalf too. This is the most cinematic chapter we’ve ever read – tons of combat, multiple cuts away from the hobbits, and magic absolutely everywhere. Cam breaks down the explosive finale between Frodo and the Black Riders and its severe implications for LOTR’s navigation of free will and God. His whole opinion on the Ring has changed, and Maggie is totally vindicated just thrilled! They work together to break down the image of fire as enlightenment and Tolkien’s statements about knowledge / the value of the written word in Middle-earth. There are also some fun new developments regarding Gandalf’s spy army of birds, a few unexpected echoes of the long absent Bilbo Baggins, Esquire., and a healthy dollop of slasher references. Fellowship is and remains a horror movie. In our Second Breakfast segment, Maggie draws some alarming parallels between the fantasy genre and romance stories! We discuss the value of low-brow entertainment v. High Brow Art and the stupidity of value judgments and “guilty pleasures” – all while Maggie desperately tries to avoid actually naming the romance books she’s been reading. Cam vehemently defends The Lake House and appears to suggest that the Regency era and medieval times are the same thing. Have an observation, comment, or theory on this episode? Email us at [email protected] Follow us on Instagram @secondbreakfastpod