The Departure of Boromir [Two Towers, Ch.1]

Discussion of The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter One Join Cam and Maggie for the curious beginning to Two Towers. This is the shortest LOTR chapter yet, and the first one to focus in on just a few members of the fellowship. (All Hail the Three Hunters: Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli!) The new narrative structure expands each of these characters, especially Aragorn, who starts to feel like a hybrid of the curious Bilbo we knew in The Hobbit and Geralt from The Witcher. We discuss Boromir’s death and debate the respectability of his send-off. Is his waterfall funeral practical or indulgent? Why does so much of the action in this chapter occur off-page? We also work through the latest muddy navigation of free will in Middle-earth and try to figure out if Aragorn has Gandalf’s blessing in his decision to rescue Merry and Pippin (instead of Frodo and Sam!) In our Second Breakfast, we turn once again to Christopher Tolkien’s The History of The Lord of the Rings, this time for some extremely helpful, explicit rules about the magic of the Ring and exactly what powers it would grant to Sauron. Maggie then leads us into a discussion about fantasy adaptations where we consider the lineage, echoes, and diversions between the Peter Jackson LOTR movies and the HBO Game of Thrones show. Specifically, we consider the first season of GOT and Fellowship to better understand each story’s handling of death, mentors, and divergent storylines. Follow us on Instagram: @secondbreakfastpod Send us your feedback and theories: [email protected] Check out our illustrated YouTube clips page: https://bit.ly/2OT6RP3