By-The-Bywater: A Podcast about All Things J.R.R. Tolkien

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Jared’s choice of topic: the Valar. For a legendarium that is clearly monotheistic at base, down to the opening lines of The Silmarillion essentially being a variant of the Book of Genesis, Tolkien’s creation – and account of creation – has a class of similarly immortal beings present from the beginning as well, and while you can call them a version of angels, in many ways they are absolutely not like such beings as theologically understood. Indeed, for all that they are termed as ‘the Powers’ in Arda, much of what we know about them seems to derive from the limits of their power or their inability to comprehend deeper truths – a question that Tolkien himself felt needed explaining at a certain point. What does it say that Varda aka Elbereth is regarded by the Elves with more reverence and love than her partner Manwë? Why is it that beings with an essentially plastic form of existence, not bound by physical form, take on certain specific forms and identities even before the Children of Ilúvatar first awoke in Middle-earth? Is there something to be said for the fact that so much of what the Valar do over time turns more and more into outsourcing of a kind? What’s with the moment of bemusing domestic snark between Aüle and Yavanna like it’s a sitcom? And – separate from all this, but it took up half the episode – what do the three of us think about all the news and trailer and more about a certain Amazon series that finally dropped? Oh, we have thoughts… Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. Nienna really does have a lot to feel sad about the more time goes on… Thanks, Princess Quill! The teaser trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, if for some odd reason you haven’t seen it yet. (The initial Jackson Fellowship of the Ring teaser trailer if you’d like to compare, plus the overall three movie teaser.) The various character posters are kinda scattered over the LOTR on Prime Twitter account. Not one, not two, but three Vanity Fair stories! They say…a lot. And yet. The Origo Gentis Langobardorum, with the women-with-beards story. The new news about the anime The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim film. TheOneRing.net’s case for the mûmakil hanging around in Rohan. The initial Variety report and follow-up regarding the rumored plan of Saul Zaentz’s company selling their adaptation rights. Our episode on the Rankin-Bass Hobbit, if you missed it last year! The Valar, in sum. Our The Nature of Middle-earth episode. The book really does give us a lot more to think about the Valar. (Separately, regarding Manwë’s emissaries, our eagles episode.) Support By-The-Bywater on Patreon.

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Oriana’s choice of topic: the Shire. The homeland of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and many of Middle-earth’s hobbits in general, and the entry point for nearly every reader to Tolkien’s imaginative geographical and creative landscape, the Shire often seems like an idyllic and nostalgic English utopia, an untroubled land where the beer is good, the family trees are all spelled out carefully and there’s not much to worry about aside from the occasional wolf or Orc raid over the centuries. Yet Tolkien himself said he didn’t view it as a utopia, and both as sociopolitical organization and as physical location, the Shire has more going on with it than might be seen at first glance, even by some of its most well-known inhabitants. What is the sense of history among the hobbits of the Shire, and how do they regard their land and their sense of who they are? What does the Shire being a seemingly safe place truly reveal when the Scouring is necessary at the end of the grand story? Who are the authorities, if there are any, that keep this seeming anarchist fantasy going as a functioning concern, and does that cover monetary issues as well? And is that the only linguistically blessed fox in the Shire, much less Middle-earth as a whole? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. A party of special magnificence indeed. Amazon’s title announcement video – FINALLY. (And yes we know there’s more but that happened after recording this episode – next time!) TheOneRing.net got some behind the scenes shots from the creation of said video, pretty cool. The formal Haggerty Museum of Art announcement about the “J. R. R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript” exhibition in Milwaukee, running from August 19 to December 12. Douglas Trumbull is rather well known in the field. The Shire: a basic overview. Some of our relevant past episodes on the Scouring of the Shire and Sam Gamgee. Karen Wynn Fonstad’s Shire map, as with all her work, is very great. (Pick up The Atlas of Middle-earth if you haven’t.) What is utopia? Everywhere and nowhere…well, nowhere, really. Golf is canon! English gardens are indeed a thing. Asterix rules, the end. The specific volume in question – and here’s the lawn joke. Merry England, or rather an overview of the stereotype. A recent article on Tolkien and satire in the context of the Shire. Air traffic controller memes! The Worlds of J. R. R. Tolkien by John Garth – well worth picking up. Here’s the Birmingham map mentioned – Sarehole is location 1. Britton Hill – Florida’s highest point. (In contrast Ned climbed Mount Marcy once.) Who doesn’t love a Shire fox? Watership Down and The Plague Dogs, both very good reads and often harrowing movies. The feast with Gildor at Woodhall as depicted by Alan Lee. Lovely Crickhollow. Support By-The-Bywater and our network on Patreon!

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Ned’s choice of topic: Tree and Leaf. Published in 1964 in the UK and the following year in the US, Tree and Leaf was Tolkien’s first major post-Lord of the Rings publication but was itself a republishing of two earlier non-Middle-earth pieces: “On Fairy-Stories,” an essay on the subject revised from a 1939 lecture and 1947 anthology, and “Leaf by Niggle,” a short, explicitly religious story for a Catholic publication in Anthologized and separately published since, they’re at once totally separate but sometimes strangely complementary pieces that serve to illuminate Tolkien’s interests beyond Middle-earth itself, while at the same time often casting reflections back on it or suggesting how dominant his legendarium was to his creative life and beyond. What makes “On Fairy-Stories” key as a way to consider Tolkien’s overall creative aesthetic, even as it contains some of his most dense, allusive prose? How does his framing of fairy-stories as not simply being for children itself lead to other interesting conclusions about not only children but other cultures? What makes “Leaf By Niggle” the closest Tolkien ever got to C.S. Lewis’s fictional approach, but where also does it differ? And how telling is it that once again Tolkien features an idealized friendship – perhaps more – between men in his fiction? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. (Kinda makes Ned think of the cover of Led Zeppelin IV but not really.) Andy Serkis’s readings of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are quite good indeed. The Daily Mail photo story – those are some lovely shots and the story’s cool too. The Tolkien Society photo announcement…and the fallout. Rosamund Pike has her way with a pineapple. Absolutely check out Costa Botes’s behind the scenes documentaries about Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings. Here’s Botes’s own memories about it. As for the films, as noted they’re on the original Blu-ray set and elsewhere but then again it’s weird where they might all turn up. Tree and Leaf, the most current version of same. As noted, the two original pieces are also now available separately with more material: On Fairy-Stories and Leaf By Niggle. Andrew Lang’s impact on the general field of fairy tales and more remains pretty big. (The Andrew Lang Memorial Lectures continue to the present day.) Max Müller’s had his own general scholarly impact too. Our Smith of Wootton Major episode. The ancient Egyptian Tale of Two Brothers. We didn’t mention it in our discussion but Tolkien’s referencing of the sophistication of supposedly ‘primitive’ people has a resonance with the character of Ghân-buri-Ghân – check out our episode on him. If you want more on Carl Jung and how Joseph Campbell built off him, read on. The Juniper Tree, as told by the Grimms. M. R. James – so great. A Thin Ghost presents all the stories plus info on the many adaptations over time, including Mark Gatiss’s recent adaptations for the BBC. R. L. Stine – also so great. The Snowman is there for the reading. Hayao Miyazaki – great great GREAT again. A recent NYT profile, and yes watch Ponyo. And everything else. The Dublin Review, the publication where “Leaf By Niggle” first appeared. So you’re wondering about Purgatory in a Catholic context… CCD aka Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Phantom Thread! Great film. Very not-Tolkien. The Great Divorce, That Hideous Strength, Till We Have Faces, there’s plenty of C. S. Lewis out there. Niggle and Parish, a fraught friendship but with more to it there. Here’s our episode on friendship. Support By-The-Bywater and Megaphonic FM on Patreon.

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about our collective choice of topic: Peter Jackson’s version of The Fellowship of the Ring. Released twenty years ago this month, there’s simply no question regarding the sheer force of the impact that the first part of the massive effort to create a three-film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings had. It squarely placed the story directly into more mainstream popular culture, transformed the nature of the longtime fandom and appreciation around the books, and became the anchor point of any number of adaptations and interpretations since. But besides fond memories of a suddenly wild and exuberant time, looking back with a more critical but still appreciative eye is useful in acknowledging flaws and curious decisions as well as reflecting once more on just how striking a film it is. What does a wider consideration of that time in history tell us, not least of which was the shattering impact of 9/11 three months prior, as well as being caught in a continuing new wave of sf, comic book and fantasy adaptations? Are all the various casting choices that the team made for the film successful, as well as the adaptational choices themselves? How does the film succeed as a film straight up, and what are its best moments? And is Legolas really a mink stole? (Admit it, you’d love to see it.) [Thanks to Michael Collins from This Is Your Mixtape for editing this episode!] Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. This was exactly what he looked like, no question. Will Poulter, via a larger GQ feature, on why he couldn’t make the Amazon series. No biggie, it happens. The Daily Mail (yeah, we know) story on Christopher Tolkien’s will. We hope everyone was happy and there were no Succession-style shenanigans. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. You KNOW. Stream it if you don’t. (But NOT the remastered version, as we say later in the episode.) Yes, true, a certain first Harry Potter film a month beforehand did cast a shadow… That first web-only featurette from 2000. LOTS of questions resulted among the fans. Then there was the first overall trailer… LordOfTheRings.net isn’t around any more but the Internet Archive turns up things. (TheOneRing.net is eternal.) As for Ain’t It Cool News…never mind. Elijah Wood really was inspired casting, and darn if he didn’t deliver, eyes and all. Ian McKellen, goddamn. Enjoy some diaries. And indeed, Bob Shaye. Thanks for that call. Ah, AOL Time Warner. The ‘pity and mercy’ scene as filmed. So, so necessary. Andrew Lesnie was truly a craftsman and artist, and is much missed. Polygon’s yearlong series on Jackson’s original trilogy is well worth a read, and the horror movie essay is one of the best. The ‘Boromir trains the hobbits’ scene is a delight. (And yes, Ned did a little spoonerism with the names there…) If you want Arwen’s hero moment, come and click here. Cate Blanchett fully arrives in the film and we’re all in awe. The mirror of Galadriel scene, what a moment. “I know what it was you saw…” Saruman summoning the storm is a great film moment, no lie. For more thoughts on Gimli, our dwarves episode. Howard Shore, indeed. And not just him: the piece of music Jared refers to with his memories of cranking the movie up so he could hear it better is “The Passing of the Elves,” a quite lovely number recorded for the film by the Plan 9 sound/music team in NZ. The Aragorn temptation scene. (And the Uruk-hai, which, again, consider our orc episode.) Frodo leaves the Fellowship – it all builds up to this, and it lands. Mission: Recall! Give it an ear! Support By-The-Bywater and our network on Patreon and you can hang out with us in a chill Slack.

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Oriana’s choice of topic: Sam Gamgee. For all that Frodo Baggins is the Ringbearer and makes something close to the ultimate sacrifice for the fate of the world—at least right until the very last moment—it’s Sam, son of Bag-End’s gardener who seems to only join Frodo at first to help take care of a new house in Buckland, who ends up being the key figure in The Lord of the Rings that helps Frodo on the quest and who remains most grounded in the whirlwind of fates surrounding his steps, down to having the book’s last words. Thanks to a variety of notable performance interpretations over the years, especially and most indelibly Sean Astin’s marvelous turn in the Peter Jackson films, he might just be the most warmly regarded character as well even beyond the book readers. What is the full meaning and understanding behind Tolkien’s well-known comment about Sam being a tribute to his batmen during World War I, and who were the batmen and private soldiers in general in that conflict? Does the understandable characterization of Sam as ‘just’ a simple hobbit belie a notable depth evident even from the start of the book, and how did Tolkien conceive of Sam as distinct from hobbits in general? What fully went into Astin’s portrayal of Sam in particular for the films, and how much of it was also something provided by other key creative forces? And what was the American radio production team from 1979 exactly thinking when they cast Lucille Bliss as Sam? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. What can you see on the horizon, indeed. Wanna be like Oriana? Here’s how to apply to the Warner Bros.’ Writers Workshop. A summary of the Lenny Henry radio interview with some key quotes. Willow does have its fanbase, and this planned new series could be good. The Wheel of Time is coming and we await with interest... Dune, yes. We quite like it. (Tolkien himself did not.) Letter 246 to Eileen Elgar, which has a lot of background information on Sam and other characters and their motivations and personalities. You can find plenty of Sean Astin clips of him portraying Sam out there. As for the others? Some samples: Roddy McDowall for Rankin-Bass, Bill Nighy for the BBC, Michael Scholes for Ralph Bakshi and Lucille Bliss for NPR/The Mind’s Eye (skip ahead to 7:15 in that one). The famed Tolkien/Sam Gamgee correspondence. Who knew, indeed? Shakespeare’s rustic characters were something stock, and indeed were often termed ‘clowns’ rather than fools or jesters. Here’s a little more about that. The Marx quote was from the Communist Manifesto, and indeed, ‘the idiocy of rural life.’ Our episode on friendship. More on that hand-holding moment. John Garth’s Tolkien and the Great War is well worth a read. Batmen are a thing, and nothing to do with DC. Sean Astin’s autobiography There And Back Again is a very key read for anyone interested in the Jackson films. There’s RP, there’s Cockney and there’s a whole LOT else. You know the potatoes meme. And you know the Sean Bean meme too. Support By-The-Bywater on Patreon.

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Ned’s choice of topic: The Nature of Middle-earth. The newest official Tolkien book is anything but a cohesive volume, instead being a collection of remaining unpublished writings from the overall Tolkien archive about Middle-earth, written mostly in the late 1950s and late 1960s, with a heavy focus on more philosophical and generally foundational concepts and aspects of Tolkien’s creation. Edited by Carl Hostetter with the full approval of Christopher Tolkien before the latter’s passing, it’s at once detailed scholarship and the source of a variety of new wrinkles and outright surprises concerning Middle-earth. What can be made of the deep discussions of Elvish culture and life, and the literal differences as a species from Men? How did Tolkien address the concept of Elvish reincarnation in particular, and what exactly did that imply in terms of what the Valar could do? What does it mean that Tolkien constantly chose to frame everything from the point of view of referring to ‘scholars’ and authorities rather than simply leaning into his own creative process? And how delightful is it to learn that Númenor was the home of a legendary annual bear dance? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. Besides bears, we learn that Númenor has a lot of cliffs. The California redwood parks are among the best. TheOneRing.net’s summary of the Howard Shore semi-news/demi-rumor/whatever it might be. Star Wars: Visions is a treat. Red X by David Demchuk is the book Jared’s illustrated. Check it out! The Nature of Middle-earth -- order away! Vinyar Tengwar and the E.L.F. info is there for you. Kristine Larsen’s extensive bibliography on her work on Tolkien and astronomy is very well worth the investigation. The Isaac Newton story Ned mentioned is a little more involved than that—here’s a 2014 interview with an author who wrote about Newton’s papers in more detail. Now if you’ve not seen Spirited Away, we do highly recommend it. The Notion Club Papers is too underdiscussed, really. It’s a very interesting, strange effort. Flat-earth Catholics, well...we’ll just link this. (It’s not ‘pro-flat earth,’ rest assured.) Neoplatonism! We understand if you’re already asleep. If you want a little more about the phenomenal world… The Magisterium is VERY much a thing. So let’s talk the Gnostics! Enjoy some more about bear dances in our world. As for Finnish bear cults... You can support By-The-Bywater and all of Megaphonic on Patreon, and thank you if you do!

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Jared’s choice of topic: The Fall of Gondolin. One of the three ‘Great Tales’ that formed the key heart of Tolkien’s earliest work on Middle-earth with the Book of Lost Tales, the story of the hidden Elf refuge that was destroyed in an evening of primal violence after a betrayal remained one of the most powerfully resonant for the rest of Tolkien’s creative life. Referred to in other works and in various mentions over his lifetime, it only surfaced in redacted form with the original 1977 publication of The Silmarillion. Christopher Tolkien’s last published work on his father’s fiction drew together the various forms of the story, including the extensively revised and expanded but frustratingly incomplete revision from the 1950s, into one volume. What might be the weight of this story in particular in terms of how to view the rest of Tolkien’s Middle-earth work that followed? How might Gondolin’s story serve as a way for Tolkien to work through his own feelings of experiencing wanton destruction via his war service? What does the experience of Tuor’s encounter with Ulmo on the shores of the sea in the revised version tell us about not only the perspective of Men viewing the Valar but also what strange undercurrents about Middle-earth’s theology might exist? And how did we end up comparing Idril Celebrindal to Avril Lavigne? (Jared’s still indignant about that one.) Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. It’s a long way to fall in cool waters... Indeed, we all three recommend The Green Knight. We all appreciated this lengthy discussion. Amazon’s tweet announcing when the show would begin, along with THAT image. Which, yes, has been...discussed. (And if you’re wondering why we’re going on about September 22…) Separately, news about the shift from New Zealand to the UK for season two. The Fall of Gondolin as a text is really the place to start, just to compare all the various versions and get a sense of how the story changed and evolved. As always: Tuor is just a guy. (But as Oriana says, rereading the story for this episode provided more insight.) The History of the Hobbit is very much recommended, almost like a distaff entry in the History of Middle-earth series. Perhaps you’ve heard of The Clone Wars. The USS Scamp was the submarine that Ned’s dad and Jared’s grandfather served on together, unknowingly. Small world! The Alan Lee painting showing Turgon’s fall. That’s really good and unsettling all at once. The ‘From each according to his ability’ line is rather well known. Voronwë is a legit interesting character we don’t have enough of The Seven Gates of Gondolin. At least we have the full detail of those! Alan Lee’s take on Tuor and Ulmo. (For contrast, here’s John Howe’s.) Ulmo really does have an intriguing role in the mythology. Watch out for the Actually Guys. Idril is even more of a legit interesting character etc. Were you a Sk8er Boi? Or did you love one? How obvious WAS it? Support By-The-Bywater on Patreon.

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Oriana’s choice of topic: the Eagles. Most familiar to Tolkien readers via the lordly and imposing figure of Gwaihir, identified as the Lord of the Eagles in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the Eagles have a recurring role in many of the stories of Middle-earth, acting as emissaries, guardians, intercessors and figures of warning or doom. They serve the Valar, their leader Manwë in particular, but often seem to be following their own particular code of living. However, a recent tweet based off a Polygon article about them in their Lord of the Rings series this year revived an old—and rather tiresome—controversy about whether the Eagles act as a deus ex machina in the plots of the stories—or even more tiresomely, are somehow supposed to be a plot hole. What are the roots of eagles in mythology in general, and how has that impact on the human imagination played out in Tolkien’s legendarium? Do the Eagles even particularly care about what is happening in realms beyond their own, and regard nearly everyone and everything as being of a piece? What do the sudden appearances of Gwaihir’s ancestor Thorondor at various points in the published Silmarillion say about how they function in terms of both being Manwë’s servants and in noting the working out of the Doom of Mandos? And how is it that such lofty, indeed arrogant figures like the Eagles have incredibly sharp senses of humor? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. Would you like to fly, on my beautiful ea-gle… Uh yeah get your shots, the end. That TheOneRing.net spy report. Questions, questions, we have them! Our episode about Orcs. Blue Harvest! Horror beyond imagination! Blue Origin! Also horror beyond imagination! The HarperCollins UK tweet about Andy Serkis’s further audiobook work, with further links. That Foreign Policy piece “Comrades of the Ring” — worth a read! The Eagles! They fly around. That misleading Polygon tweet. They could do better. The Tolkien Gateway summary of Letter 210, Tolkien’s response to the screenwriting treatment created in the late 1950s. “Someone is WRONG on the Internet.” CinemaSins? We hate it. Edmund Wilson’s “Oo, Those Awful Orcs” does not appear to contain any Eagles complaints. Bored of the Rings. It’s very, very of its time. Deus ex machina! It’s a thing. The Peter Jackson Beorn bear bomb. Well, yes, there we go. Eagles in world mythology? You’re darn right it’s a thing. We only know so much about the Sky Father. Superstore! Probably a defining US comedy of the second half of the 2010s. Metro Micro, should you so desire. Ted Naismith’s painting of the cloud eagle in the West as Númenor approaches its doom. Support By-The-Bywater (and Megaphonic FM) on Patreon. Thanks!

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Ned’s choice of topic: The Children of Húrin. The final posthumously published form of one of Tolkien’s original creations from the Book of Lost Tales, the 2007 book, edited and retouched slightly by Christopher Tolkien, The Children of Húrin primarily tells the story of the oldest child, Túrin. One of Tolkien’s most compelling figures, Túrin not merely verges on the antiheroic but at points nonheroic, simultaneously a figure driven by vengeance and justice for his losses and those of his family but ultimately causing the death and destruction of most of what he holds dear—he slays one of Morgoth’s chief lieutenants, the dragon Glaurung, but Glaurung exacts a terrible cost even in death. Is Túrin’s course in life truly the working out of a curse by Morgoth or is it the result of rash actions taken in the face of wiser counsel almost every step of the way? What does it say that it is one of Tolkien’s most vividly physical stories, including various humiliating fates, at one point the threat of rape, and in the end, drawing on one of humanity’s deepest taboos, unwitting incest? For all that various flawed or doomed heterosexual relationships define much of Túrin’s life, what does it say that the deepest connection he feels is to the Elf Beleg, and what does his own tragic death signify? And maybe to end on a lighter note, are those potatoes that the Petty-dwarves are digging up or what? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. Tol Morwen, one of Middle-earth’s loveliest and saddest places. Yes, Ned is a fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race in all its forms. He could go on. The announcement of Warner Bros’s planned anime film, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. Kenji Kamiyama has quite the rep, trust us. And yes, as we talked about in episode 25, plenty of history already with Japanese animators and Tolkien! That Fellowship of Fans Twitter thread with the Amazon contract details. Cross yer fingers... TheOneRing.net’s piece with its best speculation about the whole issue of rights divisions going on about now. The Children of Húrin—and there’s a lot going on. That Tumblr post with Túrin describing himself as the ultimate goth. He would. Kullervo, the Finnish anti-hero that was the general source for Túrin but not the sole one. Tolkien’s translation, created before he created the Book of Lost Tales but only published formally in 2015, is one of his earliest works. It’s a little obvious to mention—and Kullervo’s story overall is closer—but yes, Oedipus Rex is also a key template for the dramatic end of the story. Ned’s old 2007 blog entry on reading The Children of Hurin. Episode 2—and Tuor is still just a guy. Glaurung, Tolkien’s other main dragon creation in Middle-earth...is a piece of work. Is there Turin and Beleg fan art? C’mon, you know the answer. Alan Lee’s illustration from the book of Glaurung approaching Brethil. The Petty-dwarves have their own tangled tale, mostly unknown. Support By-The-Bywater and all the other Megaphonic shows on Patreon. Thanks!

Jared, Oriana and Ned talk about Jared’s choice of topic: Lothlórien. Following the necessary but still disastrous journey through Moria, the Fellowship of the Ring is able to evade pursuing Orcs to journey to this forested Elf realm, itself thousands of years old as an organized society but ruled in recent years by Galadriel and Celeborn. Their experiences there are among the most personal and mysterious of their journey, at once a chance for recuperation but also a stay in a place that is seemingly out of time’s general flow—and, per various comments by Galadriel, increasingly out of time in general. Aragorn firmly rebukes Boromir’s unease at their journey by saying those who visit the land return ‘not unscathed but….unchanged,’ yet the nature of such an experience and the land itself are among the most elusive moments in Tolkien’s work. What does it mean that Tolkien himself, through the narrative personae of the hobbits’ eyes (and, in one memorable sequence, their other senses), seems to reach the limits of descriptive language when outlining Lothlórien? How do the borders function in demarcating Lothlórien from the outside world, and what do those elements suggest about the society that has evolved there? What can be made of the suggestions of ecological and political colonialism at play in the origins of Lothlórien, which Tolkien only explored in more detail after completing The Lord of the Rings? And besides his other seemingly amorphous at best qualities, why is Celeborn terrible at place names? Show Notes. Jared’s doodle. But you’ll have to imagine Nimrodel’s voice yourself. Sergio Agüero does indeed have tengwar on his arm. But Fernando Torres is the real nerd. Lothlorien Apartments! Flets not an option. Charlotte Brändström joins the directing squad for Amazon. This show is never coming out, is it. Ludi Lin isn’t wrong, really. Specifically, the pilot was called Babylon 5: The Gathering, and it was indeed a lot earlier than the full show. Lothlórien indeed. A place, a state of mind, somewhere neither here nor there? Our episode on Galadriel (and Celeboring). The Tolkien zine Ned was talking about is the still-going Beyond Bree. (The one he forgot to discuss further is Vinyar Tengwar.) Peter Jackson and team really did a great job with Caras Galadhon, no lie. And again, all hail Liz Fraser. The earlier Lórien (and yes, the Vala’s name is Irmo). Kievan Rus is an intriguing society for sure, but yes, that origin story seems...convenient. The various Elf kindreds are their own involved tangle, and Silvan Elves and the Sindar and the Noldor did all take different paths… Ned got the forest in Beleriand wrong—that’s Taur-im-Duinath. Maedhros, Amrod and Amras fan art showing off the red hair? Oh it’s there. Eurovision is great, Italy’s winning entry this year was great, but yeah, Ukraine. (And totally separately, Iceland.) Someone is WRONG on the Internet. Mallorns! Or, as Tolkien (and Jared) note, mellyrn. Ecological or environmental colonialism is no joke. Support By-The-Bywater on Patreon. (Thanks!)