A Short Cut to Mushrooms [Fellowship of the Ring, Ch.4]

Discussion of The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter Four Join Maggie and Cam as they attempt to outrun the Black Riders, Old Maggot’s dogs, and updates about the election. This chapter is a sneaky one – lots of character development and atmospheric work, but no huge plot revelations. We discuss all of Tolkien’s quiet declarations here, from the changing nature of danger in Middle-earth to the totally restructured “episodic” nature of this adventure. Echoes and pivots persist throughout this chapter. Gandalf is absent, for the first time, but he might still be pulling the strings. All of the hobbits’ allies in this chapter, from the elves to the farmer, have loose ties to the wizard and his magic. We investigate all of these little provocations while dropping even more references to Midsommar, The Evil Dead, and Halloween. We even spot a “literary jump scare,” and Cam continues to insist that Fellowship is a horror movie. Maggie finds everything she loved about Bilbo split between our new hobbits – Frodo, Sam, and Pippin – and we find some more uncomfortable parallels with elements of Harry Potter.  In our Second Breakfast segment, Cam shares some excerpts from a letter Tolkien wrote to W.H. Auden. Tolkien comments on some of our oldest debates about “children’s stories” and the Ring, as well as providing some fascinating insight into the process of expanding the world of The Hobbit and beginning Fellowship. Have an observation, comment, or theory on this episode? Email us at [email protected] Follow us on Instagram @secondbreakfastpod