Helm’s Deep [Two Towers, Ch.7]

Discussion of The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter Seven

Join Cam and Maggie for one of Tolkien’s greatest battles. There’s action and fire and terror in these pages, but it’s striking how much Tolkien keeps the emphasis on his characters. He is absolutely in his groove here – there’s so much to talk about. There are some fascinating echoes back to dead and absent characters [Boromir, Gollum, the Black Riders, Gandalf the Grey] and a sense of weaponized juxtaposition that sees Tolkien making grand points about hopelessness and war through his architecture descriptions. Some of the echoes are broken, or twisted, such that the reader notices the stark differences between two characters, or the concerning evolution of an old friend [Cam still doesn’t think Gandalf the White is really Gandalf!] We also consider Théoden’s trustworthiness, and the nobility of his last charge against the orcs. Was he preparing for a heroic death, or did the wizard already have his finger on the scales?

In our Second Breakfast, we discuss the evolution of short films into feature-length movies, and wonder what scene from LOTR would be the most provocative, exciting, and representative short film. Of course, this discussion lets us talk about horror movies, including: Saw and Sinister. Oh and earlier we lovingly point out all of the moments and turns of phrase within Helm’s Deep that show up later in Game of Thrones.

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