The scouring of the shire is thematically critical to the actual message of the book in my opinion. Evil spreads everywhere, there are no safe havens and "you can't go home again" after you've seen the world for what it is.

One of my favorite things in LoTR is Sam's moment of temptation by the Ring. This is something Gandalf and Galadriel, basically demi-gods, and Aragorn the great hero of the Age are terrified to go near much less put on and when it tempts Sam with visions of being the Great Gardener? He basically laughs

To note, Tolkien was a former soldier and his writing of the War and taking away the sense grandiosity allows him to focus more on his theme. His theme of the small acts of good pushing back evil is evident when following our Hobbits, despite their size they carry out a colossal mission. The return to the Shire is very much accurate, having met several veterans, a soldier who returns from war does not come back to their same home...everything changes. To me this book is the best ending to any series, thank you for your review.

Why I think Eowyn and Faramir make sense together: First of all, Eowyn’s feelings for Aragorn: Aragorn reminds Eowyn of ancient kings of her realm. He appears out of nowhere and saves her uncle, her country and its people from an evil power. She recognises in Aragorn the same honour and wisdom that is attributed to the lords of old. I think that she is more fascinated with the ideas Aragorn represents than with the man himself. Secondly, Eowyn’s love for Faramir is more genuine than what she feels for Aragorn. She meets Faramir at the perfect time: they both been through a lot and their journeys lead them up to this moment. They are both wounded after the battle and have to heal. They just lost their loved ones. Moreover, up to this point they lived their lives feeling the constant need to prove themselves as they are both overshadowed by others. Eowyn is able to connect with Faramir and they are more or less evenly matched.

The eagles are an example of 'eucatastrophe' (a word Tolkien coined, and a theme that shows up repeatedly in his stories). It's the opposite of a catastrophe; a moment of unlooked for joy in the face of despair, unexpected and unasked for, and possibly never repeated again. Frodo and Sam were willing to give their lives to achieve their mission. The accomplished it, had settled down to die, and were granted a moment of grace by Iluvatar, who sent the eagles to save them, giving them a chance to live in the world they saved. I know a lot of people find their rescue to be hokey, or wonder why the eagles didn't just fly everyone to Mordor in the first place, but I love that unexpected rescue. They gave everything for the sake of Middle-earth, and the powers that be gave them life in return.

And so ends one of the greatest trilogies in the world

Faramir is one of my favorite side characters in the Lord of the Rings. Even though his character changes drastically between the books and the movies, I love how tragic yet incredible his story is. At first, I also thought it was odd who he ended up marrying, but over time their relationship just seemed to make sense to me. Opposites sometimes do attract, a trope Tolkien did beautifully.

I know you skip songs and poems but after one has read the silmarillion it's interesting to realize that at about half of the songs they sing in LOTR are about stories from the Silmarillion. Everytime I recognized one in my first post Silmarillion reread it just blew my mind. First time I actually enjoyed the songs.

Gimli is the first and only dwarf to see the undying lands, that's really a interesting tale wish I read it.

I love the Scouring of the Shire. It’s heavily influenced by Tolkien’s experiences in WWI. It really illustrates the trouble combat veterans have in returning to civilian life. I also love in the appendix you see Legolas and Gimli go to the undying lands together.

The return to the Shire for me was a fantastic way for the reader to see how the hobbits changed. When held against Aragorn, Gandalf, etc. it's difficult to see their strength. But against the hobbits back home and the thugs who are bullying them around, you see how strong their journey has made them when they made short work of the invaders.

Love the review. I would like to support Eowyn’s transition in interest to Faramir, though, which you found dissatisfying. The shield maiden of Rohan clearly had a massive crush on Aragorn at first sight, and while he was gracious to her, it was not reciprocated. He was tall, dark, and handsome. Confidence and a spirit of command just rolled out of him. Any red blooded woman should have been attracted to him, and over the course of the story, Eowyn was the first and only woman to be even close to his equal. It was just a crush, though. Despite Theodin’s (partially politically motivated) encouragement, she never really knew Aragorn. When Eowyn the Wraith-Slayer convalesced in the House of Healing, she met a man with a more subtle, but no less noble heart, and actually learned who he was on a personal level. It happens “off screen,” which contributes to the dissatisfaction, but it is a genuinely good match that makes sense, and deserves shipment. Or is it “to be shipped?” I’m bad at slang.

When i listen to your reviews i can't help but be mesmerized by the passion you send through your words. You genuinely love what you read :) and the listener feels it. When you spoke about Sam and the scene where he carries Frodo, I couldn't help but get emotional. You are doing a great job! Keep up the good work!

I just cried through your whole review. Guess this is a sign I finally need to reread the books after... 20 years.

As for Gimli well, water is wet, the sky is up and Dwarves are grouchy

I think Gollum/Smeagol is the most important character in the entire Lord of the Rings from a purely storytelling perspective (not a plot perspective) I think Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, even Sauron, all of them, if they were removed or altered, the story would still work to some extent, but removing seeing first hand what the Ring can do to a person like Smeagol, and seeing the dichotomy of good Smeagol versus evil Gollum is thematically the most important character arc for Tolkien's overall story.

I think the rescue by the Eagle is meant to be a reward for their struggle. It was a small extension of grace to Sam and Frodo for accomplishing the task set before them. It was rest at last. Otherwise, how do they survive?

From what I remember the ending of the book is different that what you described. Sam accompanies Frodo to the Grey Havens, and then returns home to his wife - and the book ends there. Did I miss something?

Eowyn wasn't truly in love with Aragorn. She had a crush. She admired how noble and lordly he was, but I don't think it was ever truly love. She hardly knew the guy. Whereas for Faramir, the two of them met while recovering from horrible wounds and surviving trauma, and got to know each other as they healed. I think it's easy to believe that she ends up truly falling in love with Faramir after getting to know him and relating to him.

Watching you talk about this story with so much emotion, passion and joy makes me so happy - not just because it’s great that you love these books, but because it’s so amazing that Tolkien’s legacy is able to live on through people like you. This story just makes me so happy and sad, and...and emotional! I personally love Eowyn and Faramir and their relationship, because I think it’s very important that Aragorn isn’t the only good human character in the story - characters like Eowyn and Faramir feel like the future of Middle-earth, and a very promising future at that. And I also just find it adorable that they met while they were both recovering from very different injuries, and came together because of their pain but found love. I love Legolas and Gimli and their relationship! Their banter is so charming and sweet. What do you think of Galadriel? She’s always been my favorite character, especially when you look at her story in the Silmarillion too.

Okay, I'm confused. It's been a while since I last read it, but I'm pretty sure that the book I read doesn't really end with Frodo and Sam going off on another adventure, after having outlived everyone. Sure, they go on a (relatively short) journey together, but that's only a few years after the scouring of the Shire. Hardly anybody has died yet, and Sam has one (or maybe 2) young children at that point. Then at the end of that short journey Frodo and Bilbo go on, but Sam isn't ready to go on that journey yet and returns home to Bag End. The book makes it clear that Frodo never really recovers from the events of the story and although he still loves the Shire he isn't able to continue there. Sam, on the other hand, while broken-hearted to have Frodo go on without him and willing to go with him right away, is easily convinced by Frodo that he still has too much of a life to live in the Shire and needs to go back to his wife and children. Now, there's a hint that some day Sam will be ready to follow after Frodo and that as a ring bearer (even though only for a very short time) he is entitled to do so. I believe in the appendices we see that eventually he does outlive his wife, and with his children grown and well established with families of their own he does follow after Frodo. But Frodo had been gone for many years at that point.

Thank you for describing how much more satisfying it is for Aragorn in the books, vs the movie version. It's an important difference.

Warning, impromptu essay on Eowyn follows... Is Eowyn in love with Aragorn in the book? Or is that an assumption from the films that the book doesn't explicitly denounce? I think the (two towers) presents her admiration of him without anything that is necessarily romantic. If you wish to see that there (and I won't say it's a wrong reading per se), then what hint there is of it merely adds to the despairing nature of her character since he is already spoken for. I don't get any idea of her pining for him. She begs him not to take the paths of the dead because he is a great warrior whose sword is wanted among the Rohirrim, whose moral is lessened by his absence beyond (to their thinking) hope of return. She is a shield maiden, who admires marshal prowess for its own sake, and whose thought is consumed by the military culture of her people. She fails to see the value of peace time jobs in time of war. Now, it's been ages since I read the houses of healing, but off the top of my head... her journey to war takes her melancholy disposition to a depth of despair only available to fantasy authors, and her healing takes the form of her finding joy outside of combat. Faramir is her opposite: a military man who finds no joy in war, but fights, and fights well, because he must. His joy is in the peacetime delights of Ithilien. The end of the war approaches, and the shield maiden's arc completes by her finding a peacetime role fitting for her.

It’s nice to see you liked the long time we get to spend with the characters after the war. It shows the consequences and aftermath of war. Like the longer setup in the beginning, this story benefits so much from the elaborated ending (the Scouring of the Shire, Frodo’s inability to be healed in this world etc.). And it is indeed satisfying to see Aragorn becoming king after a lifetime of preparation and gruelling work. The books and appendices give us a much more detailed background of the Kingdom of Arnor, the Rangers and his hard labours. I personally like that he was well prepared and ready to become king, with the seemingly impossible tasks he had to complete on his journey. It makes sense he was well prepared and determined to safe his people and fulfil his destiny as well as his personal goals. As a long-time fan, I have three little additions. Concerning the eagles, I think the background information, mainly their association with the Valar and the nature of their limited interference in the world, we get in the Silmarillion, recontextualizes their appearance. I can’t quite put myself back into a position of someone who has just read the Lord of the rings and none of the other material, but I would probably view them less favourably, without knowing their intricate backstory. Concerning Eowyn, as others have already pointed out, it was more admiration and the opportunity to escape her constrained position than true love on Eowyns part. I think when I first read the books many years ago, I also thought the relationship with Faramir was abrupt and had no significant basis. I also doesn’t help that this story is rather short (like so many things, I wish it could have been longer, but you can’t have a book with 10000 pages). But I found myself appreciating the nuances with every reread. Their outlooks on life and their circumstances change drastically; Eowyn wished for glory and death in battle but was denied this opportunity because of her gender. She also did not see any worth in the “womanly” tasks she had to do. Faramir is the opposite. He had a gentle disposition and would have liked to lead a live of peace and scholarship. His father heavily disapproved of this gentle nature and always compared him negatively to his brother. Furthermore, he was forced to live the live of a warrior, because of the time he was born in. After the war, he gets to forge the peace with the new king and lead the live he wanted. Eowyn got to defy her role as a woman and made her heroic and crucial contribution to the war, but at first, she could not see beyond the battlefield. When she met Faramir, she learned the worth and importance of the healing arts, of restoring and nurturing, peace and leading a fulfilling live. And this doesn’t mean she was “finally happy because she gave up the blade and got married like a good woman should”. Tolkien strongly suggests the superiority of healing and learning, regardless of gender. Concerning Frodo and Sam’s ending. I think it has a lot more nuance with every reread. Frodo’s was wounded so deeply by the ring, that he was unable to go back and enjoy the live of the Shire as he used to and only stayed there for two year after the destruction of the ring, so everyone else outlived him. This makes his sacrifice all the more tragic. As a ring-bearer, he was unable to be healed in Middle-earth and was granted passage to Valinor together with Bilbo to be healed there. It is my understanding, even if it is not explicitly stated in the book, that both probably died after a short time in Valinor. Firstly because Bilbo’s live was already extended pretty far and Frodo’s grievous wounds. Secondly, because mortals are not meant to live there and their spirits are meant to pass beyond the world. Sam led a long live and while his wife Rosie died first, all of his children, as well as Merry and Pippin outlived him. Sam as a ring-bearer also went to Valinor, but it is unlikely he met Frodo again. At least not in Arda.

This series is such a rewarding read!

The eagles didn't bother me because it's a fantasy setting and they basically serve as messengers of the gods who weren't going to directly intervene in the fight against Sauron because it was time for the people of Middle-earth to solve their own problems but nevertheless were willing to save Frodo and Sam after their heroic struggle. I agree 100 percent with everything else you said. Showing the damage that Frodo suffered and how he could never really be healed from it is one of the best portrayals of the effects of war ever done in fiction.

OKAY FINE! I'll reread TLOTR again! Don't know how many repeats this will make, lost count long ago (for instance, when the movies came out, I reread the trilogy before seeing each one). But seeing your joy in rereading it makes me want to experience that again. Thanks, Merphy.

I loved LOTR as a child. When I grew up I became addicted to heroin and lotr to on a whole new meaning. The ring was the drug I was trying to quit, and like Frodo, at the very bitter end I still needed someone to take it from me. Now, I'm ten years clean and one of these books is constantly open on my bed. I could go on and on about different moments but I will end with this one; where there's life, there's hope.

Always a pleasure to watch you talk LOTR!

I've only watched the movies ... so your description of the ending was interesting to hear. I'm glad you enjoyed your reread of it.

The moment gandalf tells Sam that he brought Merry and Pippin because he knew he would be alone on his journey back to the Shire made me cry so much. I don't really cry reading, I am usually really detached, but man! That one hit hard.

Something I think you forgot to mention in you video The cleansing of the Shire wasn't lead by Frodo and Sam. They're essentially tired of fighting. It's Merry and Pippin who did it. And it was amazing to see how they turned from these carefree Hobbits, sometimes even loads, to leaders and war heroes

I think the Eowyn part is actually pretty solidly achieved. Faramir is her balance. She has witnessed her whole life be one of despair and familial desolation. Her King/Uncle has just tragically died, her perceived love in Aragorn was absolutely crushed, and she did not achieve the famed death in battle. All that being after the loss of her parents, the struggle for her kingdom, etc. So then, she is healing from battle and along comes Faramir, who is ever the glass-half-full kind of guy. He points out that despair is temporary and there will be joy ahead. This changes the mental paradigm in her head. So he changes her and becomes a relief from her former life and beacon to better days. This is also part of what makes Faramir such a fantastic character as well.

I really love the ending of this series. I had the feeling of total fullfillment with the conclusion, the hobbits getting back to the Shire etc., exploring how their lifes settle after the main events was really good. I feel like very little was left unsaid or unseen and I appreciate it very much

The Rob Inglis readings of the trilogy are awesome - and he sings most of the songs as well.

i was a bit puzzled by your description of the ending and so i checked my copy and it is like the ending is in the movies. Frodo boards the ship in the Grey Havens and Sam stays in the shire with his family.

I hope you read Aragorn and Arwen’s story in Appendix A. Tolkien chose not to put it in the text because it was not hobbitcentric (viewed by or told to the hobbits). But it’s important to Aragorn’s story and beautifully done. The movies, which were not hobbitcentric, incorporated much of Appendix A.

I love the joy that comes through when you talk about these books. I've recently started my own reread of this series after far too long. I read a bunch of Tolkien's letters and in my reread I'm really seeing how Tolkien's experiences in WWI and his thoughts about the world and war really get worked into the story (I know Tolkien scholars have massive debates over whether it's an allegory, blah blah blah). I keep coming back to what Tolkien wrote in 1944 in a letter to his son stationed with the Air Force in WWII, "For we are attempting to conquer Sauron with the Ring. And we shall (it seems) succeed. But the penalty is, as you will know, to breed new Saurons, and slowly turn Men and Elves into Orcs. Not that in real life things are as clear cut as in a story, and we started out with a great many Orcs on our side ..... Well, there you are: a hobbit amongst the Urukhai. Keep up your hobbitry in heart, and think that all stories feel like that when you are in them. You are inside a very great story!"

I for one like the eagles (not really the band so much, but that part of the story). Tolkien didn't consider them and similar storytelling devices as deus ex machina, but rather as eucatastrophe, a word he created to mean a sudden turn from bad to good. It's really, really, really worth looking into his essay On Fairy Stories to get a better understanding of his mindset on storytelling, especially as a Christian. Anyway, it makes me really happy how much you love his stuff. Sam is the best forever.

LOTR is one of my absolute favourite fictional worlds. I was raised with it; it defined my childhood. I used to write fanfictions about myself running around with the characters (before I even knew what fanfiction WAS), which led to me writing my own fantasy novels that I someday hope to share with the world. If I can ever make one person feel a FRACTION of what Tolkien made me feel, I'll die happy.

I'm afraid you've mixed up some things: Gimli told Legolas about the glittering Caves at Helms Deep where he had to take refuge during the battle. Legolas was so amazed by the nature of his description that they made a bargain: Legolas will visit the glittering caves with him on the return journey if he afterwards travels through Fangorn forest with him. Gimli disliked the thought of travelling Fangorn because he was (by right) afraid of this wood. That's why he was so grudgy Sam did not journey with Frodo into Valinor on first hand. Frodo had to go because he was mentally no longer able to live on in Middle Earth. Sam on the other hand returned home to his family but was heartbroken by the leaving of Frodo. Only when his wife died 70 years later he went to the Grey Havens and because he was a ringbearer as well (even though a really short time) he was allowed to go on a ship into the west. There he could take healment from the ring and spend his last days with Frodo. Frodo, Sam and Bilbo where not immortal when they lived in the west but they lived longer and without suffering both physical and mental

Great review! And now I want to re-read LotR!! My poor TBR pile is suffering neglect. After the disappointing end to what had been a strong start for 'Dracula' (3-part series that was on tv in UK on New Years Day), I'm re-reading Dracula instead of what I'd planned on reading 😁 I am so, so happy you love The Silmarillion!!! That's my favourite in the LotR world and I hardly come across anyone who likes it. Will be keeping an eye out for that review 😊 Joy ❤

The passion and enthusiasm that you demonstrate in this review is wonderful. It was an emotional, visceral recap that even made me choke up a bit! Thanks Merphy

Your delight is infectious

I love how Tolkien uses a lot of "ands" (like really a lot). Especially in battles. It makes them feel mythological. Those "ands" are perfect for reading out loud, like if you were narrating The Iliad to an audience in other times. I'll give you an example (beware, this is long): Éomer let blow the horns to rally all men to his banner that could come thither; for he thought to make a great shield-wall at the last, and stand, and fight there on foot till all fell, and do deeds of song on the fields of Pelennor, though no man should be left in the West to remember the last King of the Mark. So he rode to a green hillock and there set his banner, and the White Horse ran rippling in the wind. 𝘖𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵, 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺'𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘯, 𝘴𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦'𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨: 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘶𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭! These staves he spoke, yet he laughed as he said them. For once more lust of battle was on him; and he was still unscathed, and he was young, and he was king: the lord of a fell people. And lo! even as he laughed at despair he looked out again on the black ships, and he lifted up his sword to defy them. And then wonder took him, and a great joy; and he cast his sword up in the sunlight and sang as he caught it. And all eyes followed his gaze, and behold! upon the foremost ship a great standard broke, and the wind displayed it as she turned towards the Harlond. There flowered a White Tree, and that was for Gondor; but Seven Stars were about it, and a high crown above it, the signs of Elendil that no lord had borne for years beyond count. And the stars flamed in the sunlight, for they were wrought of gems by Arwen daughter of Elrond; and the crown was bright in the morning, for it was wrought of mithril and gold. Thus came Aragorn son of Arathorn, Elessar, Isildur’s heir, out of the Paths of the Dead, borne upon a wind from the Sea to the kingdom of Gondor; and the mirth of the Rohirrim was a torrent of laughter and a flashing of swords, and the joy and wonder of the City was a music of trumpets and a ringing of bells. But the hosts of Mordor were seized with bewilderment, and a great wizardry it seemed to them that their own ships should be filled with their foes; and a black dread fell on them, knowing that the tides of fate had turned against them and their doom was at hand. East rode the knights of Dol Amroth driving the enemy before them: troll-men and Variags and orcs that hated the sunlight. South strode Éomer and men fled before his face, and they were caught between the hammer and the anvil. For now men leaped from the ships to the quays of the Harlond and swept north like a storm. There came Legolas, and Gimli wielding his axe, and Halbarad with the standard, and Elladan and Elrohir with stars on their brow, and the dour-handed Dúnedain, Rangers of the North, leading a great valour of the folk of Lebennin and Lamedon and the fiefs of the South. But before all went Aragorn with the Flame of the West, Andúril like a new fire kindled, Narsil re-forged as deadly as of old: and upon his brow was the Star of Elendil.

Éowyn didn't really love Aragorn. It was more of a schoolgirl celebrity crush than real love. She didn't really know him beyond his role of future king. They barely spoke to each other. She spent weeks (maybe months) talking to Faramir and then she fell in love with him, the man, not the ideal. On a more meta level, Aragorn represented the ideal of fighting for her country during a time of war. But now the war is over and Faramir represents how she will move on from the war and serve her country by healing it and presiding over a time of peace. That they fall in love in the Houses of Healing is significant. Did you read the appendix? The story of how Aragorn and Arwen fall in love is told in there and it shows that Aragorn and Éowyn was never going to happen.

The Lord of the Rings is a single novel that was published in three volumes, not three novels. That's why Return of the King is a short book with the big battle so early and the return-to-the-Shire section seeming long. If you look at the entire Lord of the Rings as a single novel, the timing/location of the climax makes more sense. One big novel, in three volumes, with 6 "books" (as Tolkien broke up the sections). Great channel, great videos! :)

This entire series is his response to PTSD and losing almost all of his friends (both to combat and war changing people). It's really fascinating to see it through the lens of his life experiences, shared by so many at the time.

Since you like Legolas and Gimli so much, did you know that Legolas actually took Gimli with him to the Undying Lands? Gimli is the only dwarf to go there because of his friendship with Legolas. It is amazing. (You can read about this in the Appendices. I am not sure which one...)

Sam and Frodo are an amazing story, but probably my favorite friendship is still Gimli and Legolas. So powerful that Gimli went to Valinor with Legolas when he takes a boat into the West. Thanks for the review.

My favorite part of the entire books is the end. We see how hard it is to adjust to living in the shire, after having seen and experienced so much. And yes, I love Gimli & Legolas, and Sam is one of the best characters of all time. I have such a soft spot for him (I always associate him with Neville and Luna in my head, don't know why^^ They're just my favorites) I haven't re-read the books since before the second movie came out. I should do it but i have this memory of reading the second book and reading about one part of the broken Fellowship for soooooo long, before finally jumping to another part of it, and then missing the first characters I read about... I know I'm not 13 anymore and I'm more used to reading big, heavy books, but I still have that apprehension.

You are making me want to give these books another chance. I really didn't enjoy them the first time around, but I don't know. Maybe it's just time to try them again.

Today I finished the series 💙 And I want to thank you, Merphy; it was the way you talk about the characters and the story itself that inspired me to read it and I loved it!

I have very contradicting feelings when it comes to LOTR and sadly I don't love it as much as everyone else, but I'll say this: the last chapter of Return of The King is a masterpiece and nothing has ever made me so emotionally devasted the way that chapter did. I couldn't stop crying.

I am reading this trilogy for the first time this year! I added it to “My Merphy List” of books to read this year haha Thanks for this review! I can’t wait to go on this adventure myself!

I read each book right after I saw each movie, and then the silmarillion, and was incredibly obsessed with the whole thing. Your reviews have made me want to reread them! They're on my 2020 tbr and I can't wait!

Return of the king was the first ever movie I saw in cinemas and it's my favorite Lord of the rings book

Thanks for your reviews of LOTR. Your enthusiasm reminded me of just how much I have loved this world. Time to reread. The relationships built by Tolkein are central to the story. Sam and Frodo's is based around the relationship of a British army officer and his batman (servant) in war. Sam is the self-effacing eternally loyal friend and it is fitting that he gets the final words of the story. I love the Legolas/Gimli dynamic. The Elves and Dwarves are basically the Montagues and Capulets of Middle Earth which kind of makes L & G = Romeo and Juliet. Through shared experiences, especially in battle and without losing their essential characterisations they develop a mutual respect and brotherly love which again is rooted in Tolkein's war experiences. In the appendices it is told that when Legolas finally leaves Middle Earth for Valinor, as is the right of the Elves, he is permitted to take Gimli with him, the only Dwarf ever to do so. On Eowyn and Faramir (one of my favourite characters and one that Peter Jackson got sooo wrong). Eowyn's feelings for Aragorn were more of a fangirl's crush. She loved the idea of him, at a time when Wormtongue's whispers had infected her outlook as well as Théoden's. She saw Aragorn as her last and only hope of (reflected) glory. When she was in the House of Healing a couple things had happened. First, she had got her hero moment and boy, what a hero moment it was. Tolkein was mostly all about the boys but damn, Eowyn rocked. "I am no man." It's like in Endgame when Cap picks up Mjolnir. So she has tasted glory directly, she is less driven to attain worth by association and has grown up a lot. Also, she gets to spend some quality time with my boy Faramir and his far more age appropriate goodness. After all, Aragorn is pushing 90 at this time. Eowyn experiences a mature epiphany by choosing Faramir. Anyway, thanks again for your reviews. I am so pleased that you look forward to re-reading LOTR. It just gets better and better. I have just seen a "Similarities between LOTR & HP" video which I will be watching next. should be interesting.

Again, way too late for you to see this comment, but I'll write it anyway. Tolkien was probably the earliest writer in fantasy to deal with what was later known as PTSD. Back then, it was all 'stiff upper lip' and nobody talked about this sort of thing. But although Sam, Pippin and Merry become heroes in the Shire, Frodo doesn't. He was too wounded not just physically but mentally by the Ring (and by the blade of the Nazgul and Shelob's sting), and he never fully recovers. It was predicted very early in the book by Galadriel/Elrond/Gandalf/Arwen. Frodo is granted the grace to go and heal in the land of the Valar (that's where the Elves are all going when they set sail - it's not a 'heaven', it's a real place, but for these purposes, you can think of it that way). And because Sam was, very briely, a ring-bearer, he is given the right to go too.

About Legolas and Gimli after the war of the ring. They are not going to each other’s homes. Gimli, during the siege of helm’s deep, was separated from Aragorn and Legolas and ended up with eomer and others taking refuge in the glittering caves (caverns? I’m sorry I read this in Spanish I’m not sure of the English name) which are a series of caverns at the far end of the fortress. No one lives there but is Rohan’s land, Gimli wanted to go explore and maybe work the stone there. He talked about that place in a way that made Legolas, who was indifferent about the underground, exited about visit the caves and proposed to go with Gimli, if in exchange Gimli, who had an aversion for forests. would accompany Legolas to fangonrn forest (the forest of the ents) for Legolas while searching the hobbits explored but a little portion and wanted to go back there. There no elves or dwarves in either place at the times of this travels. Ents and maybe some humans. Years later Legolas funds a colony of elves in fangorn forest and Gimli one in the caves. The order of the visit was just convenience; the forest was closer than the caves.

This is my favorite book, I find that fellowship while a good book can be quite boring but return of the king never feels that way to me.

Can I just say that these reviews made me want to reread the Lord of the Rings for the first time since I was in high school nearly 10 years ago?

Eowyn's love story isn't that weird. You have a 21st century mindset, and haven't experienced serious war. Look back at WW2, for example, and notice the large number of whirlwind romances and marriages that occurred. Sudden traumatic experiences like war can affect people this way.

So I just binged all 3 of these videos, I'm a recent subscriber and loving everything I'm watching by the way, now that I'm done I want to leave you a comment but it's hard simply because I could literally write you a book on all of my thoughts on the LOTR series. I'll try to keep it as brief as possible though (so hard) I'm biased when it comes to LOTR there is no other way to say it. My Dad introduced me when I was 8 and I'm now 26 and LOTr is the series that I just always go back to. I leave it alone for 18 months or so and then I watch a video and it sucks me back in and I'm obsessed for six months haha. the series is tied up so tightly with who I am in terms of how I view friendship and responsibility and all sorts of other moral stuff. I guess it's very much to me what the Bible is to other people and in times of need I'll go back to it for comfort. The thing I love so much is that as I grow, as I experience life every time I go back, every single time, there's a new perspective that I experience. I feel like in the past I've always related the most to Sam and he's basically my goal post for who I want to be as a friend but the latest time going through the story just a few weeks back was really different. A few years ago I lost the little of what was left of my eyesight. I was born visually impaired but over time it got worse. the 2 or 3 year period leading up to the surgery I had to remove my eye and leave me 100% blind was a very hard period. At this point I could only see through one eye already and the remaining one was on it's way out and it was very painful in the last 6 months or so before my surgery. I think because of that this time around I related so strongly to Frodo. I felt like my experience had given me an insight to a character that I already loved. To go through all of it with Frodo, imagining all the time the burden of the ring growing just like the pain in my eye did before the end, was intensely emotional. I actually didn't shed a tear right until the climax on Mount Doom. Watching Frodo break right at the last moment and then the relief afterwards when it was done was such a bittersweet gut punch that, not for the first time in my life, I just wept as they were saved by the eagles. I know that you said that you didn't like the Eagles and I get it, it's an argument that will haunt me as a tolkien fan all my life haha, but for me once I had my surgery even though I was still in pain due to post surgery it wasn't as intense, not even close, to what I felt before. I healed pretty quickly and in 5 days of the actual surgery there came this morning where I woke up and I felt nothing. I mean that in the most positive way you can imagine. I woke up and I felt completely fine and it was like hitting the brakes on a rollercoaster at the end. It was honestly a bit jarring and it was only really then that I started the journey of being able to look back on what I'd been through, process it and start moving on. I kinda feel like that's what the Eagles are. Carrying on isn't the hard bit, sure what you went through takes it's toll on you, nothing is ever the same again but eeach step is easier and actually comes pretty quickly. I feel like Sam and Frodo just earned a quick solution rather than making them toil backwards. Safe to say I agree with every word you said and it's quite nice to see the series through the eyes of someone who is relatively new. I'm sorry this was so long, I knew it would be but if you've made it this far thanks for your time. Thanks for all the content Mason

First to go on a free trip to middle earth

It looks like a lot of people have already said this, but the long ending is so great because we get to come down from the climax and the heightened emotion of battle and see the lingering trauma of war in the aftermath. The Shire isn't the same anymore - it's not the home Frodo remembers. We get closure, but we also see how BITTERsweet it really is, what the real cost of this war and journey has been.

Merphy, you've read the appendices, right? Because a bunch of them are like the silmarillian and they are a great read. You need to read the appendices.

You might be interested to know the original ending was a flash forward to Sam reading the books to his kids. Tolkien was persuaded to drop this chapter though it was long in his outlines. You can read drafts of it in Sauron Defeated. If you want more Middle-Earth, I would recommend Unfinished Tales.

Beautiful books! Thanks for showing

Merphy Napier ... Where the hell did you read this ending? I just finished it and they only live together for like 2 years before frodo leaves for the grey haven and then sam go back to his family...they dont outlive their family and leave together in my book Im confused... Please elaborate

I know this is an old video, but I wanted to share my looove for Eowyn and Faramir. I agree that there wasn’t enough time to fully flesh out their story and I so wish there was, but I think the chapter that brings them together is completely beautiful. I do think that Eowyn’s infatuation with Aragorn, which is what it was, was slowly dying from his rebuffs and then during her life altering traumatic experience of the battles she went through, was completely forgotten. Then during her time of healing, and the city’s time of healing, she and Faramir found each other and came together during vulnerable situations and were able to heal and grow together. They are one of my favorite couples in literature!

I love these series! I am actually reading the Return of the King right now!

I just finished The Lord of the Rings for the first time about a month ago or less. I am not a fast reader so even though I enjoyed reading it, it was sometimes quite slow and tough to get through. So much of the writing consists of the characters traveling and descriptions of the environment. Then when stuff actually happens it's so brief and sometimes even summarized by a character. But I will say that with all the lengthy descriptions comes a really fleshed out world that I feel like I know decently well. I find that pretty impressive for only reading it once. Tolkien's world building is top notch. Although the maps in the back do help. I was also really excited to move onto other books as I had just gotten a few for my birthday including Mistborn and the first three Wheel of Time books. So that combined with already being familiar with the story from the movies could have magnified my impatience. Overall I'm really glad I read it and I did enjoy it, but I don't see myself reading it again anytime soon.

Cool review/discussion! Have You read "the book thief"...Any of You? I AM currently reading and would love to know your opinions. I'm lovin' it

Samwise Gamgee... The true hero of this story. Fricking legend.

I wish there was a book club or podcast for read through of Tolkien’s work, especially the Silmarillion.

Merphy, earlier you asked for KZfaq channels about Middle Earth, "Hello future me" and "History of Middle Earth" are really interesting. I re-read " The Lord of the Rings" with you and loved you in put.

Partially because of your video on the Two Towers I’m about half way through The Fellowship of the Ring, it’s been 8 years since the last I read it.

In the appendix it is said that Legolas took Gimli to the Undying Lands and that might be most I ever teared up reading a book in my life. I thought it was absolutely beautiful that their friendship was so enduring that a dwarf got to go to what is essentially Elf Heaven. Still absolutely floors me decades after I first read the books.

I believe the second half of the books reflects not just on the aftermath of war, but Tolkien’s experience from it through WW1. Nonetheless, it was a different direction I honestly didn’t see coming. No regrets either.

I like to call everything after Mt. Doom "The Victory Lap." Such an epic story requires a significant cool-down at the end.

Sam is the man as for eagles I’ll accept it since the alternative is they probably die

I have to say, Sam is the truest hero of the whole story in every sense of the word: humble, quiet, loving, loyal but also determined and resilient in the face of horror, destruction and death. Also, Sam loved good stories and actually used the themes of the heroic sagas of the past to encourage Frodo to fulfill his task. Sam wasn’t a dumb gardener but a simple but wise and educated hobbit that fully understood the risks and what’s at stake. It’s not just love, friendship loyalty to Frodo and to his friends that drive him, but also love for his country, their way of life, nature and what’s good about the world. He is NOT trying to be a hero. Heroism and greatness is being thrust upon him because he fully understood that this task, this quest is crucial for the world. He is not following just from a sense of loyalty to his master and in fact I don’t think he is a follower at all. He is leading in various parts of the journey even at the fiery chasm of Mount Doom, ready to finish the task even going against his beloved friend at the end. I have no adequate words to describe Sam’s heroism and importance.

10:23 I don't remember this happening at all.

Absolutely loved the reviews of these wonderful books, Silmarillion next?!...

I think some more ot the fellowship should have died to really show the grim ness of real war. For me I think Legolas or Gimli (symbolyc that one of the old "races" which are reclining anyway after the world is "given to "man" and it would be soo impactful if one of them were taken from each other) and also one of Merry or Pippin (As hobbits are very much a symbol of innosence, and innosence usually die i war). To me that would make the story more effectful and also show that not only bad people die. It just my oppionion on it though.

I'm sick of hearing people complain about the eagles. The fact that Frodo and Sam get saved by the eagles is amazing and justified. The eagles are not beings that can just be commanded to take people from place to place. The eagles saving people is an extremely rare occurrence that may only happen in the most dire of circumstances. It also only happens to people who rightfully deserve it. Like with Sam and Frodo. They just saved the world so they rightfully deserved it. They proved their worth.

It has been so many years since I have read these books. I want to pick them up and re-read them again.

The thing with the eagles is they can finally enter mordor without threat of attack from those rats with wings as smegale would say and ya know Gandalf used all his power to save sam and Frodo.....you can not like it that's fine but i think you need to look at it from another angle. Remember it was Gandalf that put frodo and sam in harms way....even tho he loved that race of pure innocence doubly so for the baggins family!

This is probably my favorite of both the books and movies. I know a lot of people hate that the movies left out the Scorching of the Shire and while its a shame, I don’t think it ruins it. A while ago, I had a fan comment that the hobbits of the books are WWII veterans: they come home and their skills and sacrifice are honored (via repelling the invaders) and the hobbits of the movies are Vietnam veterans: their sacrifice is wholly ignored. I think that’s a pretty accurate description. But most important, in both versions, home is not the same because THEY are not the same. None of the four Hobbits dies in the Shire, despite their love and connection to it: Frodo goes to Valinor and after Rosie’s death, Sam follows him over the sea. Merry and Pippin are laid to rest beside Aragorn in Gondor. Oh, much as I love Faramir, I agree. Eowyn being with him while making sense and I do suspect they are good for each other seemed a tad forced and out of place. Honestly. I always liked the idea of her and Merry-the movies took that idea and pushed it quite a bit and honestly I don’t mind. But of course, the ending...easily my favorite ending ever written and likely why I am so harsh to bittersweet endings-they are SO hard to do right and I still think Tolkien is the only one that nailed it. There’s loss, there’s pain and there’s the sense of innocence being gone...but there’s still this feeling of hope and endurance. The world is darker and colder but there are still places and people of joy and warmth.

This is a way late comment, but just gotta defend my girl Eowyn. She is morbidly depressed the whole book series(1). She holds on to Aragorn not because she actually loves him, but because he represents all the things she thinks she should be.(2) While Aragorn himself is a great guy, he pities Eowyn in her depression, which is NOT good for Eowyn(3). Faramir, on the other hand, is the person who tells her (in summation): "Don't scorn pity that comes from a gentle heart. Also, I see you and all the things you've done (4)." For someone who has been overlooked her whole life, the reminder that pity, paired with love is actually loving concern, as well as encountering someone who actually doesn't pity her, but see her as a whole person who has done incredible things, it makes total sense that she'd jump from Aragon to Faramir. Basically, I'm just hyper protective of Eowyn and love her. Lovely citations, because the English Major in me will never die. (1)"Yet she was doomed to wait upon an old man, whom she loved as a father, and watch him falling into a mean dishonoured dotage; and her part seemed to her more ignoble than that of the staff he leaned on" OR "When I first looked on her and perceived her unhappiness, it seemed to me that I saw a white flower standing straight and proud, shapely as a lily, and yet knew that it was hard, as if wrought by elf-wrights out of steel. Or was it, maybe, a frost that had turned its sap to ice, and so it stood, bitter-sweet, still fair to see, but stricken, soon to fall and die?" (2)"You desired to have the love of the Lord Aragorn. Because he was high and puissant, and you wished to have renown and glory and to be lifted far above the mean things that crawl on the earth. And as a great captain may to a young soldier he seemed to you admirable. For so he is, a lord among men, the greatest that now is." (3)"But when he gave you only understanding and pity, then you desired to have nothing, unless a brave death in battle" (4) "'Do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart, Éowyn! But I do not offer you my pity. For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the Elven-tongue to tell. And I love you."

I think wirhout the shire you would have a very open ending for the main characters that would not be as satisfying. In the first book you learn that bilbo is almost an outcast from the shire because he left and was never the same, very much like many soldiers experience when coming back from war. For the heros to have returned and the shire to have been completely unaffected by the great war would have left a very tragic result for them where they spent the rest of their lives not as heros but as the village's villains. With them coming back and saving their home their exploits outside and them having grown can be seen as the good thing it is by their friends and family. As Tolkien wrote these before during and after WW2 I wonder how much of that was intentional to try and give some insight to the readers about the boys who went to fight a war and came back men who had seen war.

I reread these every Dec, I feel bad that I never gave them a chance until I’d seen the first movie X

I want to cry watching it. These books make me sooo emotional...

Unlike many other aurhors, Tolkien doesn't just romanticise war, he lived through it, being a lieutenant during WWI. As a soldier myself, it's sometimes hard to read books where the wars are action packed and heroic without having (or seeing) their long term effect on our characters. Seeing how each character was elevated or destroyed by the war made it that much more real for me. The best counterexample of this is Harry Potter. He goes through some shitty stuff, with friends and borderline family members dying but we don't get to see how he was affected by it, he just gets a generic happy ending. That makes the "war" aspect of Harry Potter quite lacking for me. As for Sam, I don't read it as though he wants Frodo to be the hero. I think his motivation is Frodo. Without Frodo, who is he saving jis world for? What is he going on for? Again, feelings that plague soldiers in wars when they experience their comrades dying (or seeming to). With Sam, it's like he wants to get rid of the ring because it's destroying Frodo, and not so much to save the world. That's like a secondary motivation. That is at least the way I view it. Eowyn saw herself in Faramir. I never got a "love" vibe from her to Aragorn. She always fancied his nobility, his destiny to fight, his status. In the healing huts, she met a man who was like her, not patronising her (as Aragorn did on the way to the paths of the dead). Faramir was "held captive" in the infirmary, unable to join the battle.

Bittersweet is definitely the way to describe the ending of the trilogy, I always get that sense as well. Thanks for a great review, Merphy.

Now do the first thee books of Dune. Please. :)

Frodo still goes to the grey havens without Sam at first though, from what i remember reading, before Sam joins him

Are you planning on checking out the other books set in middle earth such as fall of gondolin or the children of hurin

Too bad the quality of storytelling went the other direction with the movies. Fellowship was done so well, and the other two just got messier and messier, and less and less effective. In my opinion, of course.