Tolkien with Friends

In this episode, we welcome Haley (aka @haleydegagne on TikTok) to discuss the chapter "Fire and Water" and the corresponding section of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. Our discussion includes: - Smaug's attack on Lake-town - Bard's expanded role in the films - The return of the talking thrush! - And much more!

In this episode, we’re excited to welcome back one of our favorite people, Nic aka Fornost42, for kind of a special episode. We say “special,” because this chapter is effectively not in the movie. So join Andie and Nic as they dive into the chapter “Not at Home.”

Kali and Andie welcome Miranda (aka @exlibrismir) to the podcast and welcome back Emily (aka @silmaremily) to discuss every second of "Eldest," the fourth episode of season two of Rings of Power. In this episode, we discuss: Who the standout characters are so far this season Several moments taken directly from the Lord of the Rings books How Andie would have improved the Barrow-wight scene...

In this episode, Andie, Kelly (aka The Middle Page) and Kaia Kay continue their discussion of the first three episodes of season two of Amazon's The Rings of Power. They avoided spoilers in part one, but now they are covering the rest of their thoughts about the opening episodes of season two. Don't forget to follow Kelly: https://www.instagram.com/themiddlepage/ https://www.tiktok.com/@th...

In this special episode, Andie is joined by friends Kelly (aka The Middle Page) and Kaia Kay to discuss the first three episodes of season two of Amazon's The Rings of Power. Andie and Kelly recorded this while sick and Kaia dealt with our coughing and stuffy noses so we could get our thoughts out while they were still fresh. We talk a little bit about our thoughts on season one before diving...

Hi there! In this short bonus episode, Kali and Andie check in to give a few updates about Tolkien with Friends, such as: Why it has taken so long to release these Hobbit episodes What's next for the podcast How we get by with a little help from our friends More soon!

We’re excited to be welcoming back Myla to help us finish the extended edition of “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and to discuss Chapter 12: Inside Information. In this episode, we discuss: Andie's gripes about "The Desolation of Smaug” Bilbo's approach to entering Erebor in the book vs the movie Smaug, obviously Thorin's "dragon sickness" and more! Be sure to follow...

In this episode, Andie and Kali cover the chapter, "On the Doorstep," and it's comparable section of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. This covers the point from when Thorin, Bilbo and company – more or less in the movie’s case – leave Lake-town to the moment when Thorin opens the secret door on the side of the mountain. The discussion includes: Wait – how do we pronounce the dwarves...

In this episode, we discuss the chapter “A Warm Welcome” – and about 30 minutes of “The Desolation of Smaug” from the time Bard shows up until most of the dwarves leave Lake-town. Our discussion includes: How Bilbo's "luck" guides the adventure Lake-town's portrayal in the movies vs. the book The prophecy on the return of the Durin’s Folk to Erebor Tauriel as a moral compass Be sur...

Andie and Kali are joined by their friend Kari, aka @ EstarGuarsTia, to talk about the chapter, “Barrels Out of Bond," and all the chaos that ensues during this section of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. In this episode, we discuss: Wood-elves and their love of the stars Tauriel as a character How Bilbo helps Thorin and Company escape from Thranduil's fortress The insanity behind THAT...

Andie and Kali welcome designer and Tolkien collector, Myla (aka @MylaMalinalda) to the podcast to discuss the eighth chapter of the Hobbit, "Flies and Spiders," as well as the corresponding scenes from Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug." In this episode, we cover: How Mirkwood is described in the book vs what we see in the movie What we learn about wood-elve...

In this episode of Tolkien with Friends, we're joined by Mary Clay Watt of That's What I'm Tolkien About, to discuss the chapter "Queer Lodgings" and the beginning of Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug." Our conversation includes: Thorin and Gandalf's "chance" meeting in Bree Our frustration with the pacing in the Hobbit movies (like, p...

After our unplanned hiatus, we are back with more of The Hobbit! In this episode, we are joined again by our friends Chris and Carlos of the Swolhirrim to help us cover the chapter "Out of the Frying Pan into the Fire" and the end of the movie, "An Unexpected Journey." We discuss: Bilbo's reunion with Gandalf and the dwarves after finding the Ring Wargs in the book vs the movie...

On this episode, we welcome Minhas (aka @MinhasMorgul) to help us discuss one of our favorite chapters, Riddles in the Dark. For this episode, we focus solely on the riddles scene from Peter Jackson's extended edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and chapter five. While the movie cuts back and forth between the dwarves and Bilbo, we stay with Bilbo and Gollum for the full episode. We d...

In this episode, we are joined once again by Kelly (aka The Middle Page) to discuss chapter four of The Hobbit, “Over Hill and Under Hill,” and the corresponding section of Peter Jackson’s extended edition of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Our conversation includes: ·      Parallels and references to Fellowship of the Ring ·      The differences between the stone giants in the book and the mov...

In this episode, Kali and Andie dive into “A Short Rest,” which is chapter three of The Hobbit, and about 36 minutes of the extended edition of “An Unexpected Journey." This section is really where we start to get into bigger departures from the source material, while also weaving in more from the Appendices. Our discussion includes: The smell of elves — and how the elves act in the movie comp...

This week, @onlyannamaria joins us to discuss Roast Mutton, chapter two of The Hobbit and the corresponding part of "An Unexpected Journey!" In this episode, in addition to having a silly goose time, we discuss: Bilbo's extreme politeness and lack of pocket-handkerchiefs How Bilbo handles the troll situation in the book and the movie The appearance of Radagast the Brown At least one th...

Join us and FanGirlMeegs as we officially kick off season two with the first chapter of The Hobbit and about the first 41 minutes of the extended edition of the movie, “An Unexpected Journey.” In this episode, we discuss: How The Hobbit entered each of our lives How the book is centered around Bilbo while the movie puts a lot of focus on the dwarves and their journey How Bilbo's "Tookishne...

Having just finished the Lord of the Rings and now looking ahead to the Hobbit, we thought this would be a good time to tackle the concept of “canon,” particularly within Tolkien and other fandom spaces. Joined by Chris and Carlos of the Swolhirrim, we discuss canon, or "the official storylines and backstories invented by the creators of television shows, movies, and books," and how we app...

In this episode, we're joined by our friend Anex Wilson to take a look back at all of our favorite moments in both the Lord of the Rings books and movies. We cover a lot of ground in this episode and spend about 2 hours discussing: How Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings works as an adaptation Our favorite moments from each of the three films A few things we would have done differently Our f...

In this episode, we're very excited to be joined by Lauren – yes THE Lauren of Lauren Does Cosplay and In the Reads – to help us close out the Lord of the Rings. We discuss the chapters “Homeward Bound,” “The Scouring of the Shire,” and “The Grey Havens," as well as the very end of the Return of the King film. Our discussion includes: What's been going on in the Shire since our hobbits...

In this episode, we’re excited to welcome back Amber (aka @critiquegeek on TikTok and Instagram) to the podcast. For today’s episode, we’re discussing the chapters “The Steward and the King” and “Many Partings." In the movie, these chapters are essentially reduced to Aragorn’s coronation and a little bit of Frodo narrating – however, several other things happen related to Aragorn becoming king...

We are very excited to welcome our good friend Kelly (aka The Middle Page) to discuss the chapters “ Mount Doom” and “The Field of Cormallen" — which means we finally get to see the destruction of the One Ring and our Fellowship will be reunited again! Now, you may notice that this episode was recorded a while ago (around the time that House of the Dragon was first releasing), but it leads int...

This week, Kali and Andie welcome Sapphire Nyx to the podcast – who does an amazing Mouth of Sauron cosplay! It's very appropriate for this episode because we’re covering the chapters “The Black Gate Opens and “The Land of Shadow.” In this episode, we discuss: The journey from Minas Tirith to the Black Gate Aragorn's decision to let some soldiers go Who is the Mouth of Sauron?? Sam and Fro...

This week, we’re excited to welcome back our good friend, Tim, aka The Bard of Arda on TikTok. In this episode, we are discussing the Houses of Healing and the Last Debate. Topics include: Why is Aragorn in the Houses of Healing? Merry dealing with the death of Theoden Gandalf as a strategist How Aragorn uses the palantir in the book vs the movie Don't forget to follow our lovely co-host, Kali...