The Tolkien Lore Podcast

On the surface there are many parallels between the Valar of Tolkien’s Middle-earth and the Greek pantheon, but probe a little deeper and significant differences emerge. This video was requested by one of my Patreon supporters! If you want to have the right to pick a video topic, check out my Patreon link below! Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur .com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Ru...

Continuing my extreme nitpick of Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy, we discuss terrible movie tropes, inexplicable events, and bad character decisions. Apologies for the audio and video issues; I tested the setup before I started but it still came out weird for some reason. If you missed part 1 of this series, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nb4E0TBsrtA Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon...

Minor changes come fast and thick in this section of the movie, and several of them have significant storytelling implications. Miss my first video in this series? Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_1rDzChnJ0 Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur .com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: http...

After his meeting with Denethor, word quickly spreads about Pippin and the local residents get the idea that he is Hobbit royalty and that he was bringing some half-high warriors to aid in the defense, but how exactly did they get this idea? It’s a bit of a funny story. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur .com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee:...

In the first chapter of the Silmarillion, Eru Iluvatar makes it clear that while Melkor may try to disrupt the music with themes of his own, all will ultimately redound to the glory of Iluvatar. Boromir’s death turns out to be a great example of that. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur .com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com...

Cinemasins was off base with a lot of their criticisms so let’s see what we can really find if we decide to be super finicky with our viewing of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy... Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur .com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon:...

For all his faults, Peter Jackson clearly knew the story he was adapting to screen. And superfans know this because they noticed those little details that only a fellow superfan would bother to mention. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur .com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrt...

A viewer asked that I discuss Tolkien-inspired lyrics in Led Zeppelin ongs, so here I go with some bonus material from Rush! Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur .com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https:// www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Xero Shoes (affiliate link)...

Tolkien’s Elvish script is beautiful, but it might seem hard to learn at first glance. It’s actually quite easy if you just take a closer look, and you can customize it as much as you want! Here’s my previous videos “translating” some of the Elvish in Lord of the Rings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tz6PdaQpFo Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur .com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ R...

Once again I explore how modern pop culture intersects with Tolkien in surprising, interesting, and insightful ways, this time through the lens of Pixar’s “Inside Out.” Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https:// playeur .com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https:// www.patreon...

Saruman’s speeches to Gandalf have always struck me as revealing something of Tolkien’s opinion of politicians in modern democratic systems. Sweet-tongued and convincing but willing to sacrifice principle and honesty in pursuit of his goals, he reflects an uncomfortably large number of prominent figures on the modern political scene. Let’s analyze him and see how he matches up. Not familiar with t...

Last week (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXinRWIi1yw&pp=ygUzbG9yZCBvZiB0aGUgcmluZ3MgYm9vayB2IG1vdmllIGdhbmRhbCBkaXNhcHBlYXJhbmNl) I discussed how the changes to how we experience Gandalf’s disappearance and captivity in Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring make sense given the limitations of the medium. A viewer commented that the case was rather the opposite with the Paths of the Dead and...

Normally my book versus movie videos are about the changes in the actual substance of the story being told, but in this case I want to look at HOW the story is told differently because it shows us how adaptation does actually require changes to a story so it better fits the new medium. It’s not too late to get a gorgeous Tolkien calendar: https://shop.mythenauswesternis.de/en Make sure to use disc...

As “The Lord of the Rings” grew in popularity in the U.S., one book publisher took advantage of an odd copyright provision to issue an unauthorized version of the book, and this is the story of what followed. It’s not too late to get a gorgeous Tolkien calendar: https://shop.mythenauswesternis.de/en Make sure to use discount code TOLKIENLOREPOD for 5% off! Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): h...

Merry Christmas, Happy Yule, and Happy New Year! Want a great 2024 Tolkien themed calendar? Get it here: https://shop.mythenauswesternis.de/en Make sure to use discount code TOLKIENLOREPOD for 5% off! Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore...

People often think of fantasy, and particularly Tolkien’s fantasy, as light, fluffy stuff for kids or immature adults, but in these scenes Tolkien shows us that he can write some serious material that isn’t appropriate for everyone. Want that cool calendar I showed off? Get it here: https://shop.mythenauswesternis.de/en Make sure to use discount code TOLKIENLOREPOD for 5% off! Other Links: Playeur...

Last video ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb2SGOGcnIo&pp=ygU-NyBzY2VuZXMgd291bGQgbG92ZSB0byBzZWUgYnV0IHByb2JhYmx5IHNob3VsZG4ndCB0b2xraWVuIGxvcmU%3D ) I talked about scenes that should be really cool if adapted visually, but probably wouldn’t work for one reason or another. This list is about the scenes that have yet to be adapted that actually should be because they’d be AWESOME. Other Link...

Say what you will about visual adaptations of Tolkien, we all would love to see Middle-earth, if we can’t actually visit it. But as amazing at it would be to see Tolkien’s vision brought to life, there are some scenes that are best left as words on a page. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.c...

In light of the recent U.S. celebration of Thanksgiving, it seemed fitting to discuss the parallel cases of hospitality offered to Frodo by Gildor and Faramir, which both give Frodo many reasons to be thankful. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com...

I’ve been critical of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy for almost as long as I’ve had this channel, but I have to give him credit where it’s due—sometimes he completely hits it out of the park on the little things. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twit...

Some have argued that changing Faramir’s character in the movies so that he falls victim to the Ring initially makes more sense, but this overlooks some key insights about how the Ring really works in Tolkien’s world. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twit...

Pardon me while I rant about a certain brand of negative comments. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https:// www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek Xero Shoes (affiliate link): https://xeroshoes.com/go/TolkienGeek Discord server invite...

Recently I was pondering the end of the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, which has always bugged me because of Aragorn’s apparent ignorance of Arwen’s mortality. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized his ignorance actually has a solid basis. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com...

I have a love-hate relationship with Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, with the “hate” half mainly due to changes he made. In this series I’ll explore some of those changes, specifically the ones that render the story somewhat internally incoherent. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@...

I noticed some interesting parallels between Beren and Maedhros, starting with the fact that they both lost a hand, but when looking into it I found that it goes MUCH deeper than that…. Other Links: Playeur (formerly Utreon): https://utreon.com/c/TolkienLorePodcast/ Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore Patreon: https:...