In this episode the Nicks discuss what it's like to be the house guest of the biggest enigma in literary history - as Nick likes to say. Nicholas asks about potentially bad habits of being a house guest, and together they try to uncover some clues about Tom Bombadil and his wife Goldberry - the River Woman's Daughter.

Maps

Map of Middle-earth 

LoTRproject.com interactive map - Caution: spoilers for new readers!

Notes for this episode

Last Time - In the Lord of The Rings:
Frodo, Pippin, Merry, and Sam have reached a safe haven…. Or have they?!  After a dizzying experience in the Old Forest and a harrowing brush with death at the roots of Old Man Willow our hobbits are invited to the home of a strange man who seems to have saved them from danger with mere song.  Who is this “Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo”, and was it mere chance that he happened on them just in the nick of time?  

The Story in this Chapter:

• They are greeted by Goldberry, Frodo is stirred into a sudden outburst of song.
• The hobbits can’t help but SING when they are in the HoTB
• Song is everywhere in the HoTB!  Everywhere.
• They bathe and are treated to an amazing dinner where they all drink sing together.
• Dreams - each of the hobbits has a dream (Except Sam).
• Frodo clearly dreams of a tower that we may or may not have talked about in the prologue series… and an old man with white hair wielding a staff.
• The hobbits are all comforted back into sleep by the words spoken earlier by Tom and/or Goldberry.
• Tom tells stories by speaking and singing -- as he tells them the hobbits lose themselves in his words.
• They learn all about Old Man Willow. They also keep losing him and then catching up with his song/tale.
• Tom tells them he came before. He is “Eldest”.  What could this mean?

Notable Difference(s) from Films:

“Gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning.” is a line given by Treebeard in the films when he describes creatures that come into the woods.  This line here is spoken by Tom when he is telling the Hobbits about the ways of trees.

New Characters:

• Tom Bombadil
• Goldberry

What to Watch for in the Next Chapter:

The Barrows!

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Special thanks to our friend Harry Murrell for the use of his music. Listen to more and subscribe to his channel here.

The Nicks discuss walking in the woods and being scared in real life. The Hobbits come in close contact with the menace of the trees, Old Man Willow, and a stranger called Tom Bombadil.


What Happened Last Time?:

Frodo, Pippin, Merry, Sam, and Fatty Bolger have finally met up in Frodo’s new house at Crickhollow. After a bath, and some supper, the friends talk about what has happened on their journey through the Shire. Frodo, though reluctant, is finally put on the point of telling his friends that he is leaving the Shire altogether, but, as it turns out, he doesn’t have to because they already know a good deal of the story themselves. With Sam gathering information the friends have helped Frodo by conspiring to help him on his journey toward Rivendell. With final preparations in order, a quick night’s sleep is all that separates these Hobbits from their adventure into the Old Forest and beyond.

Where Are We in the Narrative?:

Frodo has finally made it to his home at Crickhollow in his attempt to disguise his departure from the Shire, his mission to take the Ring to Rivendell is about to start. His friends have conspired to help him, which is very welcome to Frodo especially as Gandalf is still conspicuously missing! Though none of them fully understand the dangerous road they are embarking on... they at least have each other.

The Story in this Chapter: 

• Waking up at 4:30 AM is hard to do

• • On the road by 6:00 AM
• Through the Hedge
• • When trees attack
• The menace of the trees
• • With ears to hear
• The Clearing - “Bonfire Glade”
• • Still empty of trees - a safe place?
  • The trees really can move, and the trail on the other side.
  • Can they erase trails or just move them around?
  • • Do created things count differently? Capital ‘P’ Places
• The bald hill
• • Speaking the plan out loud
• All roads lead to Withywindle
• • Down and to the right until you get to the river
  • The Barrow’s effect in the River, and on the forest?
• The Lullaby of Papa Willow
• • Words in the wind
  • Suspicious Sam
• The Revenge of Old Man Willow -or “Get off my roots!”
• • Sam saves the ponies
  • And Frodo
  • OTHER SOURCES: See #1
• Deep rooted laughter -or- Feeling the heat
• • “He’ll squeeze me in two”
• The voice of Tom Bombadil
• • Stops Frodo and Sam in their tracks “...they stopped short as if they had been struck stiff.”
  • Much more to come next time
• An invitation to supper, a lawn, and a brick-lined path.

Other comments or observations:

• A kid teaches us how to make a grass whistle
• LoTRO Tom Bombadil theme
  

Notable Difference(s) from Films:

All of this forest is missing from the movie, the only parts that survive in the extended cuts are lines given to Treebeard and a tree that attacks Merry and Pippin in the same way Old Man Willow does.

Locations/Distance Traveled/Distance apart:

• The Old Forest
• The River Withywindle
• The House of Tom Bombadil

New Characters:

• Old Man Willow
• Tom Bombadil
• Goldberry

Info/History from Other Titles/Sources:

1. The Complete Tolkien Companion 3rd Edition - Entry: “Old Man Willow”
2. More next time from the Letters

What to Watch for in the Next Chapter:

Possibly the strangest creature in all of Middle-earth has just invited the hobbits to his home - what effect will he have on the hobbits, the journey, the Ring?

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Special thanks to our friend Harry Murrell for the use of his music. Listen to more and subscribe to his channel here.