Why You Shouldn't Skip this Chapter of The Lord of the Rings

[@miaththered]

People skip this chapter? The chapter where they died in the tutorial without the "unessential character that rambles for no reason"? Like, I cannot stress that enough; they were barely out of the Shire when they were almost bodied.

[@GirlNextGondor]

*Repeatedly* almost bodied 😂after a chapter's worth of hyping themselves up, no less

[@miaththered]

Exactly! @@GirlNextGondor

[@slappy8941]

I consider this chapter to be a litmus test to determine whether someone is a true Tolkien fan, or just a filthy casual.

[@shlomoishtov7617]

Or a 40 year fan, who is just tired of reading it... I skip it. It's fluff.

[@hughmann9568]

​@@shlomoishtov7617 ok buddy ok. "fluff" means no merit not worth reading. As a "40 year fan" you think you would know better. At least have a solid reasoning. Such as. I don't like that part. It's boring or uninteresting. Don't try to pretend it isn't important for tone and pace.

[@NoMercy8008]

I have been binging through literally 75% of your channel in the last two days or so, listening while playing some games, and i intend to listen through the remaining videos shortly. So obviously, i am really really enjoying them! ^-^ I love that your content is not just about explaining, but mostly focused on interpretation, connotation and expansion, if you will, digging deeper into the lore and the writing itself 💛 There is quite obviously a lot of insight to be gained, and you can never gain too much Tolkien insight, i'd say :D Thank you so so much, i deeply appreciate it ❤ ALL the best ^-^

[@GirlNextGondor]

Thank you so much for the feedback! Scratching the surface and going one step beyond the 'lore' itself to find the insights it can offer is one of my main goals, so I'm really glad to hear you've been enjoying that aspect! 🥰

[@lulubelle4850]

All this plus thank you for not using announcer speak.

[@markus-hermannkoch1740]

6:03 Beautiful painting, taking a mighty cool shot at the question, why Sauron's image is taken as a cat's eye!

[@piotrczubryt1111]

An echo of Tevildo The Prince of Cats

[@piotrczubryt1111]

Well, Tolkien's dream world was quite private and not created to please the mass public. This world has its own logic and refined composition. It was generous that Tolkien was willing to share it with others. Take it or leave it.

[@markus-hermannkoch1740]

At any rate, that Merry Fellow^{tm}, is not incapable of hostility. Still shivering from when he mopped that dusty floor with the old Barrow Wight: "Get out, you old Wight! Vanish in the sunlight! Shrivel like the cold mist, like the winds go wailing, Out into the barren lands far beyond the mountains! Come never here again! Leave your barrow empty! Lost and forgotten be, darker than the darkness, Where gates stand for ever shut, till the world is mended." No mercy or chance of redemption for that old soul, who, presumably, had been enslaved by the Witch King of Angmar more than a thousand years past. No 'there is still poor Smeagol inside'. Instead, pure destruction.

[@Enerdhil]

Great point. Tom spoke with authority and had power greater than that of Sauron's Ring. So who is he?🤔

[@DonMeaker]

Cold be hand, and heart, and bone, And cold be sleep that is under stone....

[@ahennessy7998]

Bombadil is the GOAT who inadvertently killed tbe witch king

[@dw1419]

It was all part of Eru’s plan :)

[@PorkSword_actual]

He knew.

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

Thou shall not skip any chapter, any song or any poem , under threat of losing a trove of deep storytelling.

[@Minicheche250]

I listened to them on audible ( andy serkis version) and im so glad i did, his voice was soo fitting for immersion especially the old forest

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

@@Minicheche250 I've listened some Tolkien poems with Christopher Lee's voice.

[@beatleblev]

So...starting at "Many Meetings" is right out? Oops.

[@dontgivetwothwips3615]

I skip the poems and songs; can’t stand them. The characters always give a summary of the song before and/or after that gives the gist of what’s being sung about. I also dont like musicals

[@David_Fellner]

@@dontgivetwothwips3615 That's fair. When I first read the books I skipped most of the songs and poems too. Over time I've gained an appreciation for them, with Éomer's "Now for wrath" song being one of my favorite passages. . . That said, Sam's troll song still does nothing but annoy me.

[@beatleblev]

At some point in my college readings of LotR (maybe iteration 6-8?) I realized that the Hobbits are making increasingly poor decisions. After their stay at Tom's house, you forgot to mention that they camped in the spooky graveyard. That is teenagers in a horror movie stupidity. I blamed the Ring. Pre 1409 TA I suppose there would be no harm in sleeping with the ancestors on an Arnorian camping trip, but it's a hard pass in 3018 TA. The Ring is also suspect in coaxing Frodo to abandon his best buddy butler and his cousins to the wights complete with forethought on what we were going to tell Gandalf. Amid the natural world hostility and the Ring following its programming to get back to Sauron, we get good old Master Tom. If Gandalf is Sauron's opposite, Tom is his contrast. For Tom the One IS the "last of rings' and a 'fancy' while on the other hand, no one is more rightly ensnared by the One Ring than its maker. Tom is the Master of himself and from there he is able to master the world around him. In contrast, Sauron Masters others, but not himself. Instead, he has spent himself, into an externalized object and became its slave as well as its lord.

[@AquaStockYT]

Spoken like a true voluntaryist. I wonder what kind of philosophy J.R.R. Tolkien believed in~ hey whawhuwhawayayait a minute!

[@solharv7817]

Love this channel because you discuss The Lord of the Rings as actual works of literature and analyse its storytelling and themes, rather than just treating it like a lore wiki page

[@internetenjoyer1044]

yeah a lot of channels treat Lord of the Rings like it's some cheap pulp franchise with an extended universe to mine for cool lore factoids. if you're not getting the lore from the medium itself you're losing out on the aesthetic experience

[@yomamma.ismydaddy216]

I feel ya that’s why I appreciated “Tolkien lore”s channel so much when I found him, he’s always exploring ideas based directly on the text itself

[@GirlNextGondor]

His videos are excellent. 😊

[@Enerdhil]

​@@yomamma.ismydaddy216 Yes. Joshua and Lexi are two of the best. Throw in Steven of The Red Book and you have a perfect deep dive triumvirate.👍😁

[@yomamma.ismydaddy216]

@@Enerdhil and the two dudes that have ‘the one ring’ channel have also clearly read and re-read the books and especially the silmarillion many many times and they have some great insights, really don’t understand why their channel isn’t more popular, probably bc they do very little watering down so their discussions can be very dense

[@alexshadowfax1119]

Wait, people skip chapters when reading Lord of the Rings?

[@Strideo1]

Only the most impatient and depraved of readers would do such a thing.

[@a5cent]

If I ever have legislative power, this will become a criminal offense ;-)

[@keithbass1094]

I don’t know how they do that !

[@Enerdhil]

Lazy and/or unimaginative readers, I suppose.

[@larsskogh7562]

Tic toc brain do that 😜

[@jonhartz2136]

Fatty Lumpkin is second only to Cthulhu as regards Eldritch horrors.

[@valaraukar_595]

The way I CACKLED! 😂

[@richtomchuk1584]

Farmer Maggot: Do I mean nothing to you?!

[@gabrielblanchard3921]

no wonder the barrow-wight ran away from him, really

[@Strideo1]

I always loved the part where the hobbits settle down to sleep in Tom's house and Frodo has his dream. I can't exactly explain why but something about the coziness and safety of Tom's home on the edge of the spooky Barrow Downs and the hostile Old Forrest feels special.

[@anarchorepublican5954]

because...during the most fearful and direst of times...there is always rest and comfort for those that dwell in the House of olde TOM...

[@michaelr.grimmer6660]

Gandalf explained later that even if they gave the ring to Tom, Sauron would burn the entire world down just to find it. So it would do them no good even though he can’t be influenced by it. This speaks volumes about the age and abilities Tom has, always wondered exactly who Tom is, and where he came from.

[@mattmccartney5996]

I'm the exact opposite. I only read the old forest chapter. Sure I don't know what happened to the ring, but I'm sure everything worked out in the end. It always does. p.s. Old Man Willow was innocent. p.p.s. Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger was one of the blue wizards.

[@GirlNextGondor]

#estel-pilled

[@robingile4301]

Fatty was a Blue Wizard? Excellent, thank you!

[@Hero_Of_Old]

​@@GirlNextGondorlmao

[@Valdagast]

The wilderness is not nice in Tolkien. The landscape of Middle-Earth is alive, and it is not overly fond of humans (or other Incarnates). Tolkien has an amazing feel for the beauty and dangers of the wild.

[@obxwave]

I was eight years old when I first read LOTR…in 1975…Fog on the Barrow Downs was possibly the most ominous and terrifying thing I’d ever read.

[@docopoper]

Tom Bombadil reminds me of when I've been watching the news too much and am getting drawn into thinking about the forces for and against my worldview of how to make the world better. And then I encounter somebody who isn't politically engaged at all. And being in their presence makes me happy, takes the stress off my shoulders and makes me remember how much more there is to life. That's not to say that we can all be Tom Bombadil all the time. But it's far too easy to forget especially in the modern world that there is value in not fighting and instead taking time to just be.

[@s3p4kner]

The trees would be a bit narky wouldn't they, given one of the hobbits is carrying the greater part of an evil that would burn the world just to mould the ashes.

[@GirlNextGondor]

I had not considered that the trees might be reacting simply to the Ring's presence, but given that the works of Sauron tend to have... industrial results, it makes perfect sense.

[@EriktheRed2023]

I never felt the Old Forest or Bombadil were abrupt, incongruent, or anything like that. Maybe because the first time I heard the story, I was about eight or nine, and my dad was reading it to the whole family. I had not yet absorbed enough story-stuff to see how Tolkien was playing with expectations. But even these days, I still seem to see parallels to other stories. It's not unusual for a Germanic or Viking protagonist to gain a sword from entering a haunted barrow. Sigmund regains the sword given to him by Odin when he is buried alive. Or the protagonist gets a weapon or special knowledge by going to someone like a dwarf, who lives outside society and has their own agenda and special skills. But Tolkien, of course, puts his own spin on it, making it more 'modern' and naturalistic, in addition to putting it firmly within his subcreated world.

[@EriktheRed2023]

/slaps like button "Old Algorithm, eh? Naught more than that?"

[@GirlNextGondor]

GirlNextGondor is a lass, not a fellow Bright blue the logo is, and her text is yellow....

[@mikeMakhno]

I may be weird, but the Old Forest has always been one of my favourite bits.

[@robingile4301]

Tom Bombadil is wonderful and Goldenberry is so much glorious grandness too. Fatty Lumpkin is a treasure. Any one who does not appreciate this is a little sad. Then there is the sword Merry carries....

[@joshuacooley1417]

I think one reason a lot of people don't care for Tom and the Old Forest is that they read primarily for plot. C.S. Lewis wrote a paper called "The Kappa Element in Romance" in which he spoke about a hidden or cryptic aspect of stories that he felt was essential. It is something like the atmosphere of the story. It is like setting, but it is not simply reducible to the setting. If you think of the setting becoming a feeling that the story evokes, that might be something like it. He referred to this as the "kappa" element because kappa was the first letter of the Greek word for cryptic or hidden. I bring that up because I think Tolkien shared Lewis' view on that topic. In this view plot is less important than the qualitative atmosphere of the story. In this view, setting is more than simply where the story takes place, it is a key element in the reader's experience of the story. I think this view is also expressed in Tolkien's essay, On Fairy Stories where he makes the point that fairy stories are not those which have fairies in them, but rather those that involve the realm of Faerie. This to me seems to be making a similar point, that it is neither the plot nor the content that specifically makes a story a Faerie Story, but rather the setting, or perhaps more accurately the qualitative atmosphere of the Realm of Faerie.

[@mjlamey1066]

God dammit it's too much content, it's coming too fast. BABE! WAKE. UP. *shakes bed vigorously*

[@GirlNextGondor]

I've made it my mission to cure Babe's narcolepsy

[@mjlamey1066]

​@@GirlNextGondor the Dagor Dagorath and babe waking up: will they ever happen? Are they even canon? Could they even be the same event? Only time will tell.

[@TolkienLorePodcast]

I’ve never had a problem with these chapters, maybe because I was young and VERY uncritical when I first read LOTR, but even now that I’m older and wiser you still managed to shed even more light on how much character development happens in these chapters.

[@Rakhamon]

I've always been a huge fan of the Old Forest part. Never understood why some people dislike Tom Bombadil. Something I thought a lot about after your Ainulindale video is how well Tom's "powers" fit in with the idea of Middle-Earth as a subcreation of song. "His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster." Tom sings, which is a perfect encapsulation of the nature of his "power" as part of the great themes of Middle-Earth. Another good one!

[@adventussaxonum448]

As someone who grew up in the shadow of downs with bronze age barrows on them, and next to a large, dark wood, I loved these chapters.

[@Captain_Insano_nomercy]

England?

[@Ancientreapers]

I always viewed Tom as the opposite being to Ungoliant.

[@GirlNextGondor]

It is perhaps notable that, while Spooky Woods appears to be the preferred habitat of Ungoliant's spawn, there's no sign or mention of spiders in Tom's neck of the woods.... 😂

[@Enerdhil]

​@@GirlNextGondor Maybe Tom couldn't rhyme the word "spider" with anything and decided to keep them a secret.🕷️🕸️🤫

[@zimmerwald1915]

​@@EnerdhilI refuse to believe Tom couldn't have come up with "attercop" or something like it.

[@Enerdhil]

@@zimmerwald1915 🎼 Hey stop. 🎶Attercop. 🎵Ring-a-ding my hearty. 🤔🎶

[@andytorres2395]

The Old Forest and Barrow Downs are my favorite part in the novels.

[@tiltskillet7085]

Are you saying it's all down hill from there? :P

[@markus-hermannkoch1740]

A good runner up. My personal favorite scene is when Gandalf heals Théoden King.

[@joseraulcapablanca8564]

This was as ever good stuff GNG. This chapter is a wonderful transition, especiialy for the fan of the Hobbit, as i was when i first read it more than fifty years ago, the Hobbit is a book for children, i then was becoimng grown up as does the story in LotR. the frustration of their attempts to move forward seem almost to reflect Tolkiens frustration with the same, though this famously came much later in the story. i honestly believe that Bombadil is wheter the professor was aware of it a reflection of the author, more particularly the author as analogised in Leaf by Niggle. Thanks and keep up the good work.

[@williamhealey1223]

I read this series when I was a boy. I believe it was 1980. What you are describing is now called High Fantasy. But what it was when it was written was an example of masterful storytelling. The first true masterpiece of world building done by a literary man. Few authors of any true note prior to him invested such massive amounts of time into what then was a relatively "frivolous" type of literary field in the eyes of academia at the time. He invented languages and cultures and religions. Things now taken for granted in fantasy today took him a lifetime (more) to compile. And don't forget this was there may have been a (world) war happening somewhere... maybe... Just saying. I'm glad that there are still readers that can see past the more superficial aspects of good tale and into the heart of masterly written and many layered fantasy classic. Enjoy your reading.

[@siriondil4739]

Oh boy I’m always thrilled to see a new video. The topics are so varied I never know what will be next, love them all.

[@TheBrothersArda]

Never understood the desire to skip any of Tolkien's chapters, as his is a book where every sentence, every chapter is of key importance and is integral in establishing all that happens later on in the book. Can't wait to reach this chapter, with Matt from Dork Lords for our book-club streams.

[@RadicalCaveman]

I never knew there WAS such a desire.

[@er6730]

I tend to skip parts. All the descriptions are too much for me, and also the miserable slog of Sam and Frodo is a tempting one to skip. I like reading Tom Bombadil in a happy bewilderment, although I admit that my eyes tend to slide to the end of his song after a few lines. The whole logistically knotty friend conspiracy is a very essential part of the story and I am sorry it didn't make the movie. I think it's okay to skip ahead. Every time I read it, I can find something new! If I didn't let myself skip pages, I wouldn't read it at all, or perhaps only read it once as a kind of ordeal. Tip for people like me who do want to read the whole book: listen to it as an audio book! That way you can do the ironing while listening to the description of which exact trees grew to the west, which way the river flowed, what the tributaries leading into that river are called, and the exact order of everything, AND not lose your mind with boredom! Plus you've finally done all the ironing. 👍

[@fifi-trixibell1888]

This is my favourite part of the book. It has the best atmosphere.

[@robingile4301]

And Gandalf is going to have a long talk with Bombadil, that would be so fine to hear.

[@MarleyFett]

"bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.'🎶🎵🥰❤️✌️

[@jimbombadill]

I used to think it was a some what anoying sidestep but i come to love it more and more. It gives more layers and growth to the characters and the world. We only scratch on the serfice of what Tom tells them while he is talking to them in his house, and as that it dosnt give the reader as much meat on the bone as the shadow of the past or the councuil of Elrond. The older i get the more i find my favorite chapters in the beggining of the book. Three is company is almost my favorite now, since that is when they meet the elfs for the first time.

[@colindunnigan8621]

One irony that I have is that I while I too have come to enjoy these chapters, I still have trouble is the introduction of Treebeard, which is a not insignificant plot point.

[@jimbombadill]

@@colindunnigan8621 you mean Tom Bombadil ?

[@eluthiccgol4715]

Ooooh watching now!

[@tonybaker1268]

This channel is consistently knocking it out of the park. Gotta be my favorite KZbinr.

[@Jeffrey_Tyler]

I've never seen that quote that was up at the beginning of the video but that is how I always thought of Tom. He shows you that there is so much more to this world than even Gandalf and Elrond know. And that as wise and old as both of them are, even they don't know everything. Or they do know and they aren't willing to divulge that information. Either way it's a sense of mystery that shows the world is way bigger than the scope of the story.

[@johnberner5320]

Fascinating analysis. I've noted that both Fellowship of the Ring chapters dealing with forests, "The Old Forest" and "Lothlorien," are both Chapter Six. In "The Old Forest," the hobbits are drawn to the southeast towards the Withywindle River, a stream associated with Goldberry. This place of maximum enchantment (and danger in the form of Old Man Willow) seems to be Goldberry's origin point. I haven't read The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in a long time but I recall a song or poem about Tom meeting her there. That Goldberry, such a benign character, comes from a mysterious and apparently sinister place indicates to me that the Old Forest is the kind of locale that reacts to the mental and physical viewpoints and actions of those passing through it.

[@shanenolan5625]

Thanks lexi

[@pmcKANE]

The idea of skipping anything makes me uncomfortable.

[@bwrochat7564]

Love your videos, Lexi. You delve into topics at a depth of philosophical thought, reflection, consideration, and analysis that I have only casually navigated as a reader all the while moving in a linear direction to the next chapter. You answer questions, confusion, and curiosities casual readers like me likely dismiss when we finish reading.

[@niyamimbi1179]

thank you! loved the writing on Sam's reaction to the willow "how persistent vegetation can be", and avid horticultural zeal " indeed!

[@GirlNextGondor]

Composed that paragraph while trying to weed my bermuda-grass infested border 😂

[@Enerdhil]

​@@GirlNextGondor Do you live on the fairway of a golf course?😅

[@chables74]

First half Fellowship is peak LOTR

[@backwashjoe7864]

For some reason, reading the comment section while musing about this video, triggered the thought of Goldberry meeting Galadriel, and the diva staring contest that would ensue. :)

[@joannemoore3976]

His songs are stronger songs, and his feet are faster. I really enjoy the Tom chapters and there is a lot of development particularly for Frodo..it is also one of several respites in the story and one of the enchanted places. Great Vid 👍 and I also absolutely love the art work.

[@juryrigging]

I've never really seen Tom as out of place. The first time I tried reading LotR I was young and had literally just finished my first reading of the Hobbit. Tom could, in a way, be likened to Beorn and the Old Forest to Mirkwood (though obviously meeting each element in reverse). It was the Barrow-downs that stopped that first read through. Frodo getting lost in the fog felt extremely long back then. I think for me it was the point where the tone really began to shift away from being the Hobbit part 2. I struggled and gave up. Had I waited before delving into ME again it probably wouldn't have been a problem. When I did come back years later I couldn't even pinpoint where I stopped reading, that whole section was shorter than I remembered, and here was old Tom again for one last hurrah before we are brought to the outskirts of a much grander, more sober tale. But more than that, these chapters work in the grand scheme and establish some things (whether consciously by Tolkien or not). Some you mentioned, others you didn't. * It makes no sense going along the road, as there is no way they would not be caught before getting very far without stretching credulity. * In escaping conflict (the Nazgûl) by getting off the road, they needed to get into some other conflict that would not later interfere with the main conflict. * The mention of "tree-men" seen by Sam's cousin Hal, and the trees of the Old Forest being somewhat sentient, anticipate the Ents, making them much less far-fetched by the time you meet them. * Given the requirement for a sidequest as per the first two points, something that would later prove important had to be obtained. From the troll-hoard Bilbo got Sting. From the Barrow-downs come the blades of Westernesse and the means to defeat the WK. * The Barrow-downs also sees their first loss of amenities, long before they expect it and when they have barely even left their own lands: they are forced to wear their warmer clothes before the weather turned because the Barrow-wights stole the ones they were wearing. It's a small point, but I think significant. Unless they had the concept of off-the-peg clothing in Bree, they only had one set of clothes each all the way to Rivendell. * The Old Forest is a danger they "know" but don't truly appreciate. The Barrow-downs was a danger they never would have dreamed of. In both cases disaster was only averted because they were rescued by someone more knowledgeable than they. This gives more weight to Frodo's decision to trust Strider in Bree when it becomes clear Gandalf won't be joining them. For these chapters to work, someone like Tom had to be there. First, the rescuing needed to be by someone who could command Old Man Willow and stand against the Barrow Wight. Perhaps and Elf might have been capable. If Gildor's company had been moved back a few chapters he could have travelled through the Old Forest and dealt with Old Man Willow, or perhaps their been going along the road may have scared off the Wight (despite them being far off), but probably not both, and no Elf would likely have raided the barrow. This leads to the second point, it needed a local with vast knowledge. He knew how to deal with both issues, remained in the area in case they needed further assistance, and knew what to look for in the daggers. He also clarifies the nature of the ring. It seeks mastery, as Sauron wishes to master all the people of Middle Earth. Tom is already master of himself, and over him nothing holds dominion (with the corollary that having no hold over him, he could not hold the ring in his mind to safeguard it, as we learn later). So we see a very clear limit of its power early on in the narrative where it doesn't damage the build up later when the stakes are higher. Those limits are important, because without them Galadriel, Gandalf, and Faramir could not have declined the ring when they had the chance to take it, despite temptation, and Sam would not have been able to return it to Frodo. Each, knowing the danger the ring possessed, took mastery of their desires long enough to reject it. I'm trying to think of any other being in LotR that could fit this role. If he didn't have Tom already there to insert into the lore, he'd have probably come up with something similar. I'm sure there is still more than can be said, but in all I think the Bombadil chapters serve a good purpose.

[@LordCivers]

The entire chapter has the best vibes. I've always felt it was unfairly viewed, i think the Old forest is my favourite place in Middle Earth, a feral and ancient place where you can get truly lost, and i love Tom/Goldberry quietly vibing amidst their hellhole of a forest because they know nothing can get to their all-powerful asses. And the surreal feeling... (the only thing that absolutely irks me is Tom bossing his wife like she's his maid, i mean i know this has been written in the 50s but come on they're fucking deities)

[@stefanlaskowski6660]

I didn't see that at all. Tom obviously loves and respects Goldberg, and she reciprocates that love and respect. I think you're reading too much into it.

[@LordCivers]

@@stefanlaskowski6660 well yes and no. Ofc they love and respect each other, but it isn't mutually exclusive with what i said. Although i admit it isn't as bad as i remembered ; i've just read it to answer you. And sure, "bossing around" is maybe too strong, english isn't my native language 🤷 What i meant is that Goldberry's only role is to tend to the guests and sing. When the hobbits and Tom stay late in the night to speak serious matter (like when Tom asks Frodo to lend him the Ring) she never attends, she goes to bed or is out for her "laundry and autumn cleansing day". And while Tom is revered by his guests for being an ancient, powerful and knowledgeable being, Goldberry is... beautiful, and that's about it. And soothing, but so is Tom too It still is my favourite part of the books tho, and i love the duo more than ever 🤷

[@er6730]

​​​@@LordCiversI agree with you, and especially as a teenager it raised my hackles. Now I'm middle aged, and I think it's mostly that she was uninterested in the ring, even less than Tom. She sees there are guests, she's hospitable and friendly, but she's got her own things to do and is very much of the attitude "don't bother me with trifles". (Possibly she's changing the actual season? I've never quite been sure about that) And of course, it fits with the whole "women aren't companions" vibe. Perhaps Tolkien saw real life the same way, due to a mixture of all-boys boarding school from a very young age, and the war? I think it was very different for people back then. If my son had been sent away at age 8, and after that only saw his mother and sisters (who would have been 3 and 5 when he left) for a few weeks of the year, he'd have a very different idea of what women and girls are like than what he does now.

[@jarrodcarver9001]

Great video Lexi! 🙂

[@GirlNextGondor]

Thank you!! 😁

[@j.r.r.tolkee7000]

What sort of self-hating monster would skip Bombadil?

[@winterxgreen3255]

When I read this chapter first as a child I couldn't do it. When I re-read it later on it kind of blew me away and I really enjoyed it. Tom Bombadil is the man.

[@jcreation369]

In full disclosure, whilst I have read the Hobbit multiple times, I have not yet read The Lord of the Rings and my familiarity with the story comes only from movies and youtube videos exploring various aspects of Tolkien's creation. Having said that, this topic is so interesting to me. I've often found that enlightening aspects of a story that bring enrichment to the tale can get lost in the woods (if you'll pardon the pun)of directorial edits. Once I have finished the fictional series I am reading, The Lord of the Rings is on my to read-list!😊 Hopefully, if I find myself falling asleep😴 during this part of the story, the keen insights presented so thoughtfully here will serve to help me wake up😳 and find my way back to the path, maybe worse for the wear, but perhaps a bit wiser for having not skipped this chapter. 👏

[@benjaminbravo5047]

I wish I could like this more than once! Thank you

[@louisebrouillette5580]

Another insightful video. I personally like the chapter, so it was great to hear your thoughts which prods me to look at it more closely. Well done, Lexi!

[@finrod55]

These chapters serve a sort of gate-keeper function: readers who skip, are bored by, or can’t make it through the chapters from Three is Company to Fog on the Barrow Downs, are likely too puerile, impatient, or simply insensitive to beautiful writing to really appreciate LOTR anyway. They should stick with simpler fare.

[@striker8961]

It has occurred to me that even when the filmmakers omitted things, they made careful to cover their asses and include important details that by all accounts they could have skipped, but it shows that they really cared about what they were making. Aragorn giving the hobbits swords instead of Tom is one of those details. As a ranger of the north, presumably those ancient blades wouldn't be beyond his grasp and we can dream that Merry carries it all the way to the Pelenor.

[@willajer]

Well shit, consider me told off. I'll read it next time 😅

[@istari0]

It's far from my favorite chapter but the thought of skipping it ...., well that's just wrong! It's really where you start to get a sense of this being a "real" world with its own history and distinctly different places. It's where the Hobbits really start growing up.

[@Enerdhil]

It is not only skipping Tom Bombadil. It is skipping Old Man Willow, Goldberry, Fatty Lumpkin, the Barrow Wights and those swords that became essential in the story later on, Merry's sword in particular.

[@yomamma.ismydaddy216]

I wish Tolkien had written a bit of Gandalf and bombadil’s long discussion after the ring was destroyed

[@robingile4301]

Eldridge horrors like Fatty Lumpkin! Too priceless.

[@ParameterGrenze]

Tom Bombadil always seemed like a Monthy Python intermission to me: Out of place, weird and vibrant.

[@GirlNextGondor]

No one expects Tom Bombadil! His greatest weapon is surprise -- surprise and rhymes, TWO greatest weapons....

[@eliscanfield3913]

@@GirlNextGondor And almost fanatical devotion Goldberry

[@richtomchuk1584]

Eldritch horrors such as... Fatty Lumpkin 😂

[@bryanmatthews2370]

Disappointing Tom wasn't in the Jackson fellowship, the bakshi fellowship, or the BBC dramatization of fellowship. I think I've only seen Tom bombadil in the fellowship game from way back when

[@patriciofernandez6500]

I play LOTRO. Much respect to the lore you may find.

[@bryanmatthews2370]

Was he in lotro? I haven't played that in ages.

[@patriciofernandez6500]

@@bryanmatthews2370 with cinematics and dungeons and his wife and stuff.

[@scottnolan2833]

Tom -is- outside the tale of the Ring, which is precisely why the chapter is so important. It tells us something very valuable and magical about the world before and after the little affairs of Men and Elves. Tom represents the Eternal.

[@johnkluge3421]

Tom was just a hippie. Tom and Goldberry lived out off the grid, eating and smoking God knows what, and no doubt screwing like rabbits. Of all the characters in Middle Earth, Tom and Goldberry had the best life.

[@GirlNextGondor]

This no doubt is why Gandalf goes to visit him after the fall of Sauron. The wizardly equivalent of 'I'm going to Disneyland' 😆

[@johnkluge3421]

@@GirlNextGondor the poor guy had been stuck in Middle Earth for the entire third age and other than shooting off some fireworks for the Hobbits hadn’t had a single good time.

[@kevinfitzpatrick2695]

Tom Bombadil rules. I don't understand why people don't want to have any fun and whimsy in their fantasy stories! Also, this is an excellent video and analysis :)

[@EricGasz69420]

I always viewed this part of the Fellowship as the “we’re not in Kansas anymore” moment for the Hobbits. Love the comparison between the Old Forest and Lothlórien in their attempts to maintain the status quo and memories of the Eldar Days. I never thought about the similarities between Tom and Galadriel, just two ageless living legends beefing with servants of darkness and babysitting a couple wayward Hobbits! Do you think the Valar knew of Tom Bombadil? Thanks for the videos! They rock!

[@yorktown99]

The part about Tom Bombadil that was difficult to get my head around is that neither he nor Goldberry appeared to fit anywhere in Tolkien's complex mythology. Their own answers to the hobbits are a mix of the nonsensical and the sublime. While Tom is full of the history of the decline of Arnor, it's almost totally withheld from the reader, just glossed over as fantastic table talk. The Council's discussions in Rivendell treat Tom as an unimportant footnote and simply move on to more pressing matters. A lot of themes and ideas in these chapters come back as the story unfolds, most obviously when Merry & Pippin come to Fangorn Forest, or when the swords taken from the Barrow turn up in Gondor. After the war, Gandalf says that he will have a long talk with Tom, but no clue is given about what.

[@dingo2306]

My brain has the tendency to provide surface level insight for story telling. I did not see Frodo taking the name Underhill as character development, but as a code name for Strider to identify who Frodo is. I also saw Underhill as a call back to the conversation between Bilbo and Smaug in the Hobbit. 😊

[@charlesfenton2063]

One of my fav's to revisit. FANS DO NOT SKIP THESE. Pretentious twats do because they do not actually get it. They are the problem. It is a favourite.

[@emtiger3]

Huzzah! Three cheers for Bombadil!! May he one day NOT be absent in a major dramatic rendering of our great tale! Maybe, even, his own miniseries on Netflix or another major market outlet! Huzzah! One thing I must protest - that Fatty Lumpkin be included in a listing of "Eldritch Horrors?!" If he is, he is the most adorable such horror ever penned. I would further assert that the master of "Eldritch" horror himself could never conceive of such a lovable beast as he wrote of blighted worlds and distant dimensions from his halls in Rhode Island. My protest aside, an excellent video as always, Lexi. I do think you have put to rest the accusations of irrelevancy piled against these three chapters for so many years. Thank-you! Well done! 🙂

[@robingile4301]

Good point with Sam!

[@belliott538]

So much Story and Character Growth occurs between the departure of Bag End and the arrival at Bree… I refuse to contemplate the story Without these pages! The Barrow Blades, or Daggers of Westernesse! As to Tom Bombadil… It’s in his Name… He IS The Bomb!

[@joshuapatrick682]

the end card where smiling elves high five each other at the burning of the Swan Ships of the Teleri is kind of amazing. Everyone is happy except Maehdros who is the only one I can identify because the hair.

[@jameshumphrey2345]

Crackpot hypothesis alert … I wonder if Bombadil’s proximity is related to the fact that Shire hobbits have a mysterious resistance to the allure of the One Ring? The case of Sméagol demonstrates that hobbitkind is not universally incorruptible on first encounter with the Ring. Bombadil, for all his age and lore, is temperamentally more similar to the Shire hobbits than any other creature they meet in the wild, right down to how thoroughly self-governing he is. Meanwhile, the Shire-dwellers are sheltered, easygoing, and just as prone to squabbles and jealousies as any children of Ilúvatar, yet until they get stirred up by a fallen Maia, they show no notable interest in power and domination, which might be why hobbits have that mysterious quality of character that Gandalf recognizes. So does Bombadil, the Eldest, exert invisible influence that even he doesn’t take much notice of? Is he a significant factor in protecting the Shire hobbits from themselves?

[@TwoKnowingRavens]

Even big fans of the books will sometimes say that The Old Forest is unnecessary fluff in the narrative and that it undercuts some of the dread of the power of the one ring. I say that's nonsense. What it shows is that even in a tiny place close to home there are powers from ages past that are unfathomable to most people. It shows very quickly that Middle Earth is not a normal place where evil and goodness take on normal forms always. It's a deeply dangerous and unstable world as long as evil influence remains, because the powers at play are so immense and ancient.

[@markus-hermannkoch1740]

3:57 not sure, if that Underhill business should be overemphasised. At this point, Frodo is driven mostly by fear and Gandalf, who invented that name, while refusing to accept the Ring from Frodo. Frodo took full responsibility at Elrond's Council, where, in a hitherto unheard tone of voice, he uttered the fateful words "I will take the Ring."

[@Ray-lw2rh]

I love that chapter. Tom Bombadil is such an interesting and intriguing character. I always loved the mystery behind him.

[@Mornathel]

I love Tom Bombadil! None of my family is surprised anymore if a randomly bellow “And his boots are yellow!” Or if I end a sentence with “And Goldberry is waiting!” Tom is a breath of fresh air between the flight from the Shire and Barrow Downs to Bree where we get Butterburr and Stider

[@johnries5593]

"Until the Dark Lord lifts his hand...". In the Barrow Wights' incantation, Tolkien made it clear where their allegiance lay.

[@donaldscholand4617]

If Tom Bombodil and Lady Goldberry were to open a Bed & Breakfast inn, I would gladly risk the peril of the barrow downs or the old forest just to spend a rainy 2 nights and 1 day grooving with them.❤😊

[@brooksrownd2275]

People think it's "Frustrating"? The journey across the Shire, mystery of the Old Forest and the adventure in the Barrow Downs was the BEST part of the entire trilogy for me. The opening adventures go from Shire nostalgia as they start out, to a horror story chase and escape, to encountering the ancient mysteries of the Old Forest and Barrow Downs. The Old Forest is where the story is closest to the heart of what Middle Earth really is, without the destruction and corruption of wars and realms. If not for the ring quest taking them beyond Barrow Downs, this part of the book could have been expanded a bit in to a wonderful adventure story of its own.

[@Nunya_Bidness_53]

Nah, that's the best part of the trilogy and the part I've re-read more times than any other part. I don't see any "narrative frustration". It's meant to contextualize the present conflict within the vast scope of the reality of Arda; the trees and Old Man Willow have been there longer than Sauron and Tom has been around longer than them. His jolly indifference to the Ring underscores this contrast.

[@fiddleback1568]

I like this video.

[@jeremygreenwood1021]

These are my favourite chapters, they set the war into a greater context. Gandalf goes into this at length in Rivendell. Its a pity they were dropped from the film, but they might have required a 4th film to do them justice.

[@larrykuenning5754]

The question of omitting some chapters reminds me of an essay by C.S. Lewis ("On Historicism") treating real-world human history itself as a story and raising the question whether some of its chapters are "dead wood" contributing nothing to the meaning of the whole. If there are stories like that, he says, you can't know whether the story you're reading is one of them until you've read the whole thing; then on later readings you can skip the useless parts. "I always now omit the last book of _War and Peace_," he says (!). I've wondered whether this last sentence was a joke, or an actual brag that he'd read Tolstoy's work _several_ times, skipping the unnecessary chapters on the later readings. But I think Lexi shows here that even after a first reading, one's impression that certain chapters are "dead wood" may still be mistaken. At any rate I don't think I've ever skipped chapters in my many rereadings of Tolkien. (Tolstoy's huge novel, on the other hand, I've only read once. But I thought its last chapters were interesting.) BTW the quote at 0:09 from "Addenda and Corrigenda to The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" (eds Hammond and Scull) is originally from one of Tolkien's letters -- or at least I think I remember it that way, though I've failed to find it there just now. I haven't seen, or even heard of, this particular Hammond and Scull work before this.

[@eryx7307]

I'll admit that that's a rather clever user name... but you'll never convince me that Tom Bombadil is to be trifled with. And I would donate my kidneys (as well as several less mentionable organs) to live in the barrow downs.

[@DarthBop]

The hobbits have three guides in the wilderness, Tom Bombadil, Strider and Gollum. One looks fair and seems fair. One looks foul but seems fair. And, one looks foul and seems foul. There has to be some sort of lesson in that, even if unintended.

[@scottperry7311]

I think you made a good point, one I had not considered before. Old Man Willow, Tom Bomb Bombadil, and the Barrow Wights are a transition of a story that is safe in the shire to a more dangerous world outside. While as an old D&D player I often looked at this part of the books as added adventure or some greater look at the world, it does make sense that it is also a transition, started with the Riders hunt for him in the shire, to a greater understanding of just how the dangerous the world outside the Shire is and the obstacles the hobbits will face. I say obstacles not enemies, mind you. Because some of the greatest allies of the forces of good turn out to be greater expressions of the threats in these chapters. Old Man Willow might have been a mortal threat to the Fellowship, but Treebeard, the Ents and the Fangorn Forest prove to be a powerful force that helps defeat the forces of Saurman. Also while the Borrow Wights of the Borrows Downs may have been mortal enemies of the Fellowship once again, the Oath Breaks, spirts cursed to be bound to the earth for all eternity because the broke their oath until released by the line of the Kings, prove to be a major force in helping to defeat the forces of Sauron at Minas Tirith. While neither of these events defeats Sauron directly they do help the forces of the free people eventually win the war.

[@BillB23]

This is a very nice dive into the legendarium. The frustration continues in the marsh between Bree and Weathertop. Thereafter perils encountered are just that: perilous and not tedious. In the 40 years since I first read the Professor's tales I continue to learn, and you have proved to be a deft teacher. Thank you.

[@johnopalko5223]

I'm sorry, but the concept of skipping _anything_ while reading a masterpiece like this is just foreign to me.

[@jessmith7324]

Yea I beleive it was never included for precisly what you said: its another story outside the story, making it overly complicated for a movie screen like you could have with a book or tv series

[@margaretalbrecht4650]

And yet the elves used wood in many products. And how much wood did it take to keep that fire burning all day and night in the Hall of Fire?

[@YouarethinkinglikeAlbertFish]

I'm heading to Wistman's wood next month, hopefully bump into Old Man Wiilow.

[@jpfischer6003]

"Elrond's dad........ space spider" Well, sure, when you put it that way 😂

[@brianfinch4210]

This is a wonderful exposition of the point of the whole episode. It is not a digression at all. It is a school for the hobbits, where they begin to learn the skills necessary to survive in the wild.

[@ericvanvlandren8987]

Great video - so many good points.

[@markolukic7824]

I never quite understood why people disliked the Old Forest episode since to me it is the most appealing part of the entire trilogy alongside Moria. The magic and mistery just draw you in letting your imagination run wild.