Further Lord of the Rings Thoughts

The weather delayed my family’s holiday plans for a day—a bummer, yes, but I made the most of my unexpected free day by fitting in The Two Towers on Christmas Eve. And I mean, come on, it’s The Two Towers. You know what I’m going to say. Helm’s Deep! Frodo, Sam, and Gollum! Gandalf the White! My favorite of the trilogy, which is hardly a hot take, but it’s true all the same.

Last time, I discussed my brain’s weird tendency to somehow underestimate the trilogy when I haven’t watched it in a while. It’s a personal failing and I’m trying to be better. Granted, I really should know better by now. Just looking around my house, I have a myriad of Lord of the Rings-related décor, both homemade (ex: a “SQUAD GOALS” poster with a picture of the four hobbits on Weathertop, a triptych featuring Sam’s beautiful speech from The Two Towers) and bought online (ex: a Bag End bathmat, a “Speak Friend and Enter” welcome mat.) These days, most recipes I make are inspired by one of my many fandoms, because life is short and why not, but Lord of the Rings was the first fandom that sent me running to my kitchen. I started with a recipe blog and moved onto the first cookbook I ever purchased. This world, these books, and these films are a big feature in my life, is what I’m saying.

But right now, in the middle of a slow-burn rewatch (it really will be the new year before I get to The Return of the King,) my brain just lives here. I bought an amazing, comfy Shire sweater that came in the mail while I was watching The Two Towers. And on the days in between movies, when I’ve been busy with work, family, or other commitments, I’ve been tiding myself over with various bits of goodness on YouTube.

It started when I remembered the awesome interview Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd did on Colbert last year, and that led me generally to more Monaghan/Boyd interviews—I love the knowledge they rattle off about their characters in this one!—and more Stephen Colbert stuff, including revisiting the epic rap he put together for the 20^th anniversary of trilogy. As I was cooking in preparation for our family’s Christmas smorgasbord, I watched the Zoom reunion a bunch of the cast (along with Peter Jackson and a few others) did for charity in 2020, hosted by Josh Gad—I laughed at John Rhys-Davies tilting his camera to recreate a memorable moment from Helm’s Deep, and I loved Josh Gad’s stunned reaction when Liv Tyler recited some of her Elvish lines. And then of course, you’ve got the fan videos. I still adore this one for Frodo and Sam.

Let’s close on a few moments from The Two Towers that were my extra-favorites this time around:

·        Gimli’s reactions during their first meeting with Eomer

·        Faramir’s attempt to interrogate Gollum/Smeagol

·        Merry’s distress over the Ents staying out of the fight

·        Followed, shortly, by Pippin getting Treebeard to take them to Isengard

·        “A wizard should know better!”

·        “Samwise the brave”