Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie

YouTube Exclusive bonus discussion about last week's chapter, with Maggie's thoughts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cRsQSQrY30 // Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter Eight Join Cam and Maggie for a bittersweet farewell to the elves. Galadriel sings at us more than once, and Boromir continues to whine the whole time. Maggie runs through the elves' gifts to the Company – Cam i...

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter Seven Join Cam for a deep dive into Tolkien's most provocative, magic-heavy chapter yet. Much like Gandalf, Maggie was unavailable this week, but her excellent recap kicks things off and helps us keep track of Middle-earth and all the new elvish names and places. We're treated to some more prejudice against the dwarves, another unsettling ref...

Discussion of  Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter Six Join Cam and Maggie for a brief respite at the luxurious Elvish Resort: Lothlórien! This "downtime" chapter is the most effective yet. It's full of callbacks, meditations, reflections (both literal and figurative), and - blindfolds?? Cam questions Aragorn's leadership skills, and suggests an interesting allegiance pattern for Gollum. Mag...

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter Five Join Cam and Maggie in saying goodbye to Gandalf the Grey. The Balrog has arrived, and with it, Tolkien has delivered his best chapter yet. Fellowship is a horror book again, and Cam is seeing ghosts everywhere. Ballin's last words and echoes of The Hobbit radiate through these pages. Maggie worries about Frodo's prospects as the hero of...

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter Four Join Cam and Maggie in celebration of this exciting, well-rounded hype machine chapter. Tolkien comes back with a bang, rattling off two fascinating drawings, a marathon dwarf song, lots of genuine character development, and even a few flashes of horror! Maggie basks in the presence of "the Gandalf she has always wanted" and Cam mourns p...

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter Three Join Cam and Maggie for a special late-night episode. The whole Fellowship is together now, and we finally get to know some of our new friends! Legolas seems cool, Aragorn remains the Alpha, and Maggie hates Boromir for some reason. We dive into the first fully-fledged adventure of the book, breaking down the sudden evolution of Tolkien...

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring , Book Two, Chapter Two Join Maggie and Cam as they dive headfirst into Tolkien's longest chapter ever! We meet some new core characters, hear a LOT of information and backstory – and are heartily disappointed that this chapter's thrilling action is all secondhand. Cam expresses his frustration at the repeated lack of communication between Middle-earth's factio...

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Chapter One Join Cam and Maggie as they return to the books – and are surprised by some old friends! Gandalf and Bilbo are both back from the dead, even though Cam thinks one of them might be a ghost. Old School Tolkien returns here – Gandalf feels like narrator, we're reminded that Bombur is fat, and Frodo is exceedingly polite. We express our growi...

Discussion of The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring [Extended Edition] We're finally here! Join Cam and Maggie for a spirited discussion of the first half (roughly) of the Fellowship movie (For those following along at home, the first hour and twenty-four minutes). We watched everything through what we've read in the book, and boy is Viggo Mortensen a total babe. He is more Aragorn tha...

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter Twelve Join Cam and Maggie for the grand finale of Fellowship Book One! This chapter has a truly blockbuster ending, and we dig through all the fascinating, provocative details hidden within the confrontation with all nine (!) Black Riders. Strider's telepathy continues to unsettle Cam, and he's got an intriguing follow-up to last week's conversation a...

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter Eleven Join Cam and Maggie for a holiday extravaganza? I don't know. We've got a fun little seasonal skit at the start of the episode. Maggie's secret talent is her Linus impression – but hey, the episode is good too! Strider continues to ruthlessly alpha Frodo, and this time he throws some shade at Gandalf too. This is the most cinematic chapter we've...

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring , Chapter Nine Join Cam and Maggie for another doozie of a chapter. We're both head over heels in love with Strider, and more convinced than ever that this book is just Prisoner of Azkaban. Dementors were one thing, and prophecies too, but now Strider is exactly the same sort of cool uncle as Sirius Black was! (rip) This chapter is all about Maggie's seen and u...

Discussion of Fellowship of the Ring , Chapter Nine Join Cam and Maggie for the best chapter we've read in a Month! The Saga of Tommy Dabomba is officially over, and Tolkien replaces him with the suave and dangerous Strider. Don't worry, we mostly pretend not to know his real name. Maggie calls this chapter a crossroads, and that label becomes the basis for our discussion. Merry and Pippin return...

Discussion of The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter Eight Join Cam and Maggie for (hopefully) the last ever appearance of Tom Bombadil. Oh no wait, Frodo summons him back the second we get rid of him. We struggle through another chapter of nonsense words and third person singing, but this time it is punctuated by bits of action, intriguing symbolism, and – Dementors? Luckily, we just rewatched Priso...

Discussion of The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter Seven Join Cam and Maggie in this unfortunate Thanksgiving extravaganza. This whole chapter is spent trapped in a "penthouse" with unnerving Tolkien supervillain Tommy Dabomba. He really bounces off the walls this time in a surreal assault of singing, third person references, troubling revelations, intriguing red flag plot developments, and unendin...

Discussion of The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter Six Join Maggie and Cam in their irrational hatred and fear of Tom Bombadil. He shows up at just the right time and offers our heroes exactly what they need. It's suspicious – and he speaks in nonsense words and sings about himself in third person. Oh and he might be a wizard, whose convenient little house in the clearing of an evil wood gives Cam...

Discussion of  The Fellowship of the Ring , Chapter Five Join Maggie and Cam for a discussion of Tolkien's restraint and provocations. This chapter is full of callbacks and echoes from The Hobbit, but it also continues to pivot away from many of the patterns and priorities established by that earlier story. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin slow down and catch their breath following their latest escap...

Discussion of  The Fellowship of the Ring , Chapter Four Join Maggie and Cam as they attempt to outrun the Black Riders, Old Maggot's dogs, and updates about the election. This chapter is a sneaky one – lots of character development and atmospheric work, but no huge plot revelations. We discuss all of Tolkien's quiet declarations here, from the changing nature of danger in Middle-earth to the tota...

Cam has some new stories out this week - an original political satire about a moose and a spooky reimagining of an Edgar Allan Poe short story. Listen to the audiobooks here: www.cameronfucile.bandcamp.com And thank you for the support! // Discussion of  The Fellowship of the Ring , Chapter Three Join Maggie and Cam for a spirited discussion about this dangerous, thrilling chapter. A hissing, face...

Discussion of  The Fellowship of the Ring , Chapter Two Join Maggie and Cam for this humdinger of a chapter. We finally learn the rules of the Ring and the history of its movements – from its fiery creation through its whole blood-splattered journey into Bilbo's waistcoat in the Shire. Gandalf takes the reins again as our nearly omniscient narrator to lead us through decades (!!!) of time jumps an...

Discussion of  The Fellowship of the Ring , Chapter One Join Maggie and Cam as they say goodbye to Bilbo and finally meet Frodo! This first chapter of Fellowship is a fascinating riff on the first chapter of The Hobbit. We break down the similarities and differences between the chapters and investigate Tolkien's continued interest in class commentary about the Shire. The narrator is less irreveren...

(Heated) Discussion of Khee Hoon Chan's Polygon article, "Games Need to Return to Black and White Morality" Join Cam and Maggie as they break down a troubling, provocative article related to our last episode and Tolkien's views on allegory and the motivations / ramifications of storytelling. We respond to claims such as "stories are inherently moral" and the idea that "allowing a sense of moral di...

Discussion of  The Fellowship of the Ring , Prologue, Note on the Text, Forward to the Second Edition Join Maggie and Cam as they read through Tolkien's introduction to The Lord of the Rings. For the first and only time, we get to hear Tolkien's opinions and preamble on his own work. We explore the implications of his strong opinions on allegory and self-expressed motivations for telling these sto...

Discussion of Rankin & Bass' The Hobbit Join Maggie and Cam for a psychedelic adventure through time and space and hideous character models. This episode explores the strange animated world of Rankin & Bass' 1977 adaptation of The Hobbit , which blows through the entire book in an hour and fifteen minutes. We discuss (and describe) all of the weird character choices, from the dwarves' visible thro...

Discussion of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies [Extended Edition] Join Maggie and Cam for two hours of praising Martin Freeman. This episode explores Peter Jackson's final Middle-earth movie and its unexpectedly strong acts of interpretation. We discuss the fascinating deviations of tone, scope, and character in this film, including Gandalf's knowledge of Bilbo's Ring, the surreal represe...