The Wandering Trail: Episode One

Hey wanderers, and welcome to our brand-new podcast! As part of our episode notes, we've created this "Wandering Trail." Think of this as our little guide to the most wonderfully strange corners of Middle-earth, showing you where you can read additional details and further get lost in the texts.

Listen to Episode 1 Now

In our first episode, we had a blast diving into some of our favorite bits of Tolkien lore. If you listened and thought, "Wait, what'd they just say?", this guide's got your back.

The Riddle of Tom Bombadil

The original and eldest, Tom Bombadil, is probably the ultimate enigma. He’s not in the movies (so if you were confused, you’re not wrong!), but he’s a cheerful and memorable character in the early chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring. From his origin, to his blue coat and yellow boots and the One Ring's inability to affect him, Tom sparks a ton of questions.

• Where to find him: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Book 1, Chapter 6: The Old Forest, and Chapter 7: In the House of Tom Bombadil).

• For a deeper dive: The History of Middle-earth, Volume I: The Book of Lost Tales, Part One (Chapter 2: The Coming of the Elves and the Making of Valinor) and The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien.

  
  

The Wrath of the Huorns

We all love the wise and elderly Ents, but what about their angry, creepy cousins? The Huorns are trees whose hearts are still wild and wood-like, and they are not to be trifled with. We talked about how they’re basically the physical embodiment of the forest’s rage and why they're so terrifying.

• Where to find them: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Book 3, Chapter 7: Helm's Deep).

• For a deeper dive: Unfinished Tales (Part 2, Chapter 4: The Ents and the Huorns).

  
  

The Great Mystery of the Entwives

Where did they go?! We got a little sad thinking about the Entwives—a heartbreaking, unresolved mystery in Tolkien's work. We talked about how the Ents are still longing for their lost partners, who were more interested in gardening and tending fields than in their wild forests.

• Where to find them: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Book 3, Chapter 4: Treebeard, where he sings a song of his search) and The Return of the King (Appendix A: The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen).

  
  

The Terrifying Tale of Ungoliant

Did you know there's a creature so terrifying it made the ultimate villain, Morgoth, scream in terror? We dove into the story of Ungoliant, the primordial spider of pure darkness and Shelob's powerful ancestor. Her insatiable hunger for light and her epic battle with Morgoth is one of the most wild and intense moments in the First Age.

• Where to find her: The Silmarillion (Chapter 9: Of the Flight of the Noldor).

• For a deeper dive: The Hobbit (Chapter 8: Flies and Spiders, which introduces her descendants, the spiders of Mirkwood).

We hope you loved getting lost with us on this first journey! The quest has just begun, and we've got a lot more weird stuff to explore.

Don't forget to subscribe to Beyond the Brandywine on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube at @BeyondTheBrandywine.