051 - "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" is Peak Tolkien

This week we discuss book 5, chapter 6: The Battle of the Pelennor Fields from "The Return of the King". After a five-month hiatus (and one new baby later), the Fellowship of Fools returns to tackle one of Tolkien’s greatest chapters. The Battle of the Pelennor Fields delivers everything: Théoden’s heroic charge, Éowyn’s unforgettable stand against the Witch-king, Merry’s unlikely heroics, Aragorn’s dramatic arrival, and enough battlefield twists to keep everyone guessing. The crew also debates Tolkien’s writing choices, uncovers hidden callbacks dating back to Tom Bombadil, and wrestles with one very controversial ending. Conversation Topics Returning after five months and welcoming the newest member of the Fellowship Théoden’s legendary charge and the Rohirrim’s arrival Éowyn and Merry fulfill the Witch-king’s prophecy Théoden’s final moments and Éomer’s rise as King Aragorn’s arrival and the turning of the battle Tolkien’s long-term storytelling pays off with Merry’s Barrow-blade Timestamps 00:00 Welcome back after a five-month break 02:10 Recapping The Ride of the Rohirrim 04:25 The Witch-king faces the Riders of Rohan 06:05 Théoden’s charge changes the battle 12:00 Théoden falls beneath Snowmane 15:20 Éowyn reveals her identity 20:15 Merry strikes the Witch-king 22:05 Éowyn defeats the Lord of the Nazgûl 24:15 Théoden’s final words 31:00 Éomer becomes King of Rohan 38:05 Aragorn arrives with the Black Fleet 43:45 Tolkien’s hidden payoff with Merry’s Barrow-blade 58:30 Discussing Tolkien’s historical influences and language 01:03:30 Arwen’s banner and the return of hope 01:07:20 Food for Thought 01:14:35 Birthday cake Today's "Food for Thought": The Cake of the Pelennor Fields In honor of Chris's birthday and inability to look at a map, this week I made him a birthday cake in the shape of Minas Tirith plus the Pelennor Fields. You can use any cake and frosting recipe that you want. It helps if the cake is on the denser side with some structure so you can cut it up. I used buttermilk chocolate cake, chocolate frosting as filling, and vanilla American buttercream for the outside decorations. Make two 8" round cakes and cool. Cut one cake in half and fill with frosting, then spread a thin crumb coat of buttercream on top. Chill in the fridge for 30 min. Cut the second cake in half and find 6 differently sized round cutters. I got creative with cups, shot glasses, pill bottles, etc. Cut out 6 circles. The largest one should be no bigger than 1/4 of the 8" cake. Stack the cutouts with chocolate frosting in between each layer. I used a kebab skewer to keep it upright. Chill in the fridge for 30 min. Mix up some buttercream colors: I used green, gray, blue, and black. Pull up a map of Pelennor Field and decorate the bottom layer to look like it using green grass and some gray roads. The side of the cake got some blue where the river would be and large gray bricks around the rest of it to represent the Rammas Echor. Pipe some ship silhouettes on the river section to look like pirate ships! Place the Minas Tirith tower at the intersection of the roads on the edge of the cake, and push the skewer into the bottom layer to keep everything from falling. Decorate the tower with small bricks and a house on the top layer. A silver candle can become the tallest point of the tower. Place candles all around the Field to represent the fires set by the Morgul armies. ---------------------------------------------------- Thanks for watching! If you enjoyed todays episode, give us a like and subscribe and share this video with someone who likes The Lord of the Rings. Content Warning: Explicit Support the pod on Youtube! @FoolofaTookPodcast Instagram: (  / foolofatookpodcast  ) TikTok: (  / foolofatookpodcast  ) Original music for the show composed by Chris Newhard Got a question? Email us [email protected] Follow the fools on IG: Chris (  / chrisnewhard  ) Robbie Jean (  / robbiejean815  ) Pat (  / rolling.seas2023  ) Laura (  / kennylaura525  ) Listen on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...) Listen on Spotify Link (https://open.spotify.com/show/0e3myYq...)