049 - Fire, Fear, and the Fall of Hope in "The Siege of Gondor"

This week we discuss book 5, chapter 4: The Siege of Gondor from "The Return of the King". The walls of Minas Tirith are tested, Denethor fully loses the plot, Faramir gets sent into a nightmare, and the Witch-king arrives at the gate like Middle-earth’s final boss. Conversation Topics Pippin’s first day in the Tower Guard and his uneasy place inside Minas Tirith Faramir’s return, his encounter with Frodo and Sam, and Denethor’s fury over the Ring Gandalf trying to piece together Frodo’s fate, Aragorn’s Palantír move, and Mordor’s timing The fall of Osgiliath, Faramir’s doomed retreat, and the rescue by Prince Imrahil and the Swan Knights Denethor’s collapse, his grief over Faramir, and the horrifying funeral pyre plan Grond, the Witch-king, and Gandalf’s stand at the broken gate Shadowfax, Rohan’s horns, flaming bananas foster, and the chapter’s massive cliffhanger Timestamps 00:00 Welcome back for “The Siege of Gondor” 08:30 Faramir flees Nazgûl, and Gandalf rides out 15:28 Gandalf pieces together Mordor’s attack timing 23:07 Gandalf returns as Faramir holds the rear 30:25 Mordor surrounds Minas Tirith with fire 38:26 Pippin discovers Denethor’s funeral pyre plan 43:05 The Witch-king faces Gandalf before Rohan arrives 49:42 Pippin sees Faramir’s nobility and sorrow 56:26 Denethor, Boromir, Faramir, and the Ring 1:05:26 The crew considers Denethor’s possible Palantír 1:13:22 The Witch-king terrifies, but Shadowfax stands firm 1:18:46 Food for Thought brings flaming bananas foster Today's "Food For Thought": The Flames of Gondor The amount of fire in this chapter was brutal. So of course, I had to use fire in my treat! Right? During the episode, I sort of followed this recipe: https://kitchen-catastrophe.com/kitch... It failed because I tried to leave out the alcohol for RJ, spoon out her portion, and then add the alcohol for the rest. I think you need the alcohol to get the right consistency for the sauce. ---------------------------------------------------- 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...)