Bree

Season 8 Episode 4 – Strider

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Minas Tirith

  • Boromir and Faramir have a dream – ‘Seek for the sword that was broken’

The Old Forest

  • Tom sends the hobbits in the direction of the Barrow Downs.

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Barrow Downs

  • They walk through the fog-covered downs, to where they think they see the end.
  • Frodo sees the exit and rushes ahead, when he turns back he finds his friends gone, with cries in the distance.
  • Frodo hurries back until he finds a barrow. An icy hand grabs him and knocks him out.

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Isengard

  • Gandalf sees the eagles flying nearby. He raises his staff and emits a bright light. Gwaihir notices him and flies to his aid.

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Barrow Downs

  • Frodo awakens in a barrow. He hears a voice chanting and sees his friends lying next to him. A hand comes reaching for them and Frodo slashes at it with his dagger.

Ted_Nasmith_-_Under_the_Spell_of_the_Barrow-wight

  • Frodo remembers the song Tom taught them and sings it. A voice answers his call. Tom smashes open the barrow and dispels the wight.
  • From the barrow’s treasure Tom takes a brooch and gives the four hobbits a Westernesse dagger each. He accompanies them to the exit then sends them to Bree.

Hobbiton

  • Gandalf speaks with the Gaffer, who tells him Frodo has already left and that black riders had been searching the area. Gandalf hurries to Bree.

Bree

  • A hooded figure watches the hobbits enter Bree.
  • Frodo asks for Gandalf at the Prancing Pony, but he is not there. Merry rests in the room while the other three drink in the hall.

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  • Barliman points Strider, the hooded figure, out to Frodo. Strider makes some comments that intrigues Frodo.
  • Frodo notices Pippin about to tell of Bilbo’s Ring. Frodo starts singing to distract them but falls and the Ring slips on his finger, astounding the people with his disappearance.

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  • Frodo reappears in the corner and hurriedly takes Sam and Pippin back to the room, where Strider appears.
  • Strider tells them of the black riders and that Bree is not safe. Barliman comes to the room with a letter from Gandalf. Gandalf explains that Strider is to be trusted, his real name being Aragorn.
  • Merry, out on a walk, encounters a black rider. He hurries to tell the others.
  • Aragorn leaves pillow decoys in the beds and takes the hobbits down to the parlour.

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Crickhollow

  • The black riders raid Crickhollow. Fatty flees.

First Appearances – Boromir, Faramir, Barliman Butterbur, Nob, Bob, Harry Goatleaf

Adapted from chapters ‘Fog on the Barrow Downs’, ‘At the Sign of the Prancing Pony’, ‘Strider’ and ‘The Council of Elrond’ and Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings.

Pictures

  • Strider in the Prancing Pony – Peter Xavier Price
  • Fog on the Barrow Downs – Paul Raymond Gregory
  • The Barrow-Wight – John Howe
  • Gandalf Escapes Upon Gwaihir – Ted Nasmith
  • Under the Spell of the Barrow-Wight – Ted Nasmith
  • At the Sign of the Prancing Pony – Ted Nasmith
  • At the Prancing Pony – Alan Lee
  • Nazgul at Bree – Greg and Tim Hildebrandt

Season 8 Episode 5 – A Knife in the Dark

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Mirkwood

  • An orc pack attacks Thranduil’s Realm. Gollum escapes.
  • Thranduil sends Legolas to Rivendell with news of the escape.

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Bree

  • Black riders destroy the hobbits’ room.
  • Sam finds the ponies missing. They buy a malnourished pony from Bill Ferny.
  • Aragorn leads the hobbits away from Bree, with the town watching.

Midgewater Marshes

  • Aragorn strays from the road and takes the hobbits through the marshes.

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Bree

  • Gandalf comes to Bree. He berates Barliman for not sending the letter on. He leaves again.

Weathertop

  • Gandalf rides to Weathertop. He sees no sign of the hobbits, but is ambushed by the black riders.

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Midgewater Marshes

  • Frodo sees bright lightning and flashes of light in the distance. Aragorn says it appears to be coming from Weathertop.

Weathertop

  • The next day Aragorn and the hobbits arrive at Weathertop. They find a camp and runes on the top, leading them to suspect Gandalf was there.
  • They camp on the side of the hill, where Aragorn tells stories of Luthien.
  • Black riders invade the clearing. Frodo puts on the Ring and gets stabbed in the shoulder. Aragorn drives off the Ringwraiths with fire.

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  • Aragorn tries to heal the wound with athelas. He leads the hobbits away from Weathertop.

Troll Shaws

  • Aragorn finds an elfstone in the road. They come upon the stone trolls.

Ford of Bruinen

  • Hearing hooves, they hide. The rider is Glorfindel, of Gondolin. He puts Frodo on his horse and leads them on.

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  • Hearing black riders behind them, Glorfindel calls his horse to carry Frodo across the Ford. At the Ford, Frodo turns back and defies the Ringwraiths. Glorfindel comes up behind them and they begin to cross the river. A rush of water engulfs them.
  • Frodo falls unconscious.

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First Appearance – Bill Ferny

Adapted from chapters ‘A Knife in the Dark’, ‘Flight to the Ford’ and ‘The Council of Elrond’ of The Lord of the Rings.

Pictures

  • Black Rider – John Howe
  • Gollum Flees the Mirkwood Elves – John Howe
  • Fire on Weathertop – Ted Nasmith
  • Midgewater Marshes – Anna Kulisz
  • Against the Shadow – John Howe
  • Glorfindel – Liga Klavina
  • Flight to the Ford – John Howe

Season 10 Episode 9 – The Scouring of the Shire

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Rivendell

  • Bilbo’s 129th birthday is celebrated.
  • Frodo tells Bilbo he must return to the Shire.

Eregion

  • Gandalf and the hobbits pass the Ford of Bruinen and Weathertop. Frodo’s wound aches.

The Prancing Pony

  • They drink at the inn, sharing stories with Barliman and the locals.
  • Nob brings Bill the Pony from the stables.

The Shire

  • The land turns darker as they travel towards The Shire. Gandalf leaves them, heading to the Old Forest.
  • They find the gate closed at the Brandywine. The guards are under orders not to let people in. Merry and Pippin climb the gate and open it. Merry chases off Bill Ferny.

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Frogmorton

  • They head towards Hobbiton, but are arrested at Frogmorton. They laugh this off and continue. Robin Smallburrow explains that rough men came and took over The Shire.

Bywater

  • Six men threaten Frodo, but are chased off by the other hobbits. They claim to answer to ‘Sharkey’.
  • Sam visits Farmer Cotton and Rosie.

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  • Merry rouses the hobbits with the horn of Rohan. They set up barricades.
  • Pippin rides off to gather his relatives.
  • A gang of men attacks the hobbits, but are surrounded and surrender.

A Tolkien illustration by Ted Nasmith

  • Merry spends the night setting up traps and barricades for an ambush.
  • Sam and Frodo talk to the Gaffer and Rosie.
  • In the morning Merry sets archers around the town. Pippin returns with a hundred hobbits.
  • The ruffians walk straight into Merry’s trap. They do not surrender and many are killed.

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  • A few hobbits are killed and the ruffians decide to kill rather than escape. Merry and Pippin charge into them.
  • Seventy men and nineteen hobbits are dead.

Hobbiton

  • Frodo and Sam lead two dozen hobbits into Hobbiton. They see the entire town turned grey, with all the trees cut down.
  • Ted Sandyman gathers all the hobbits left in Hobbiton to follow Frodo
  • Frodo recognises this as Saruman’s work, before they encounter Saruman himself at Bag End.

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  • Saruman orders the hobbits to kill Frodo, but they are not swayed. He attempts to stab Frodo himself and is thwarted by the mithril coat.

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  • Frodo shows mercy to Saruman. Saruman reveals Wormtongue killed Lotho. Wormtongue slits Saruman’s throat and is killed himself by hobbit archers.
  • Saruman’s spirit hovers before being blown away by the West wind.
  • The imprisoned hobbits, including Fatty Bolger and Lobelia, are released.
  • The dead hobbits are buried. A memorial is placed in Bywater.

Deaths – Saruman, Grima Wormtongue, Lotho Sackville-Baggins

Adapted from chapters ‘Homeward Bound’ and ‘The Scouring of the Shire’ of The Lord of the Rings.

Pictures

  • The Shire – John Howe
  • Unwelcome Return – Alan Lee
  • Sam and Rosie Cotton – Ted Nasmith
  • Storming the Bank – Ted Nasmith
  • Scouring of the Shire – discogangsta
  • Saruman – Eric Faure-Brac
  • The Scouring of the Shire – Inger Edelfeldt

Season 7 Episode 1 – In a Hole in the Ground

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Prologue

  • History of the Shire and Hobbits
  • History of Erebor and Smaug

J.R.R._Tolkien_-_The_Hall_at_Bag-End,_Residence_of_B._Baggins_Esquire

The Shire (Third Age Y. 2941)

  • Gandalf introduces himself to Bilbo at Bag End.
  • Bilbo declines Gandalf’s offer of adventure.
  • The next night dwarves arrive in groups to Bilbo’s house for dinner.

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  • Gandalf arrives with the last dwarf, Thorin.
  • Gandalf has volunteered Bilbo to be a burglar for Thorin’s quest – to take back Erebor.
  • In the morning the dwarves are gone. Gandalf comes in and takes Bilbo to the dwarves. They set off.

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Bree-land

  • The company passes through Bree-land and Bilbo gets to know the dwarves.
  • Gandalf educates Bilbo on the lands and peoples they pass.

Troll Shaws

  • It begins to rain and Gandalf suddenly disappears.
  • A fire is seen in the distance. Bilbo is sent to investigate.

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  • Bilbo is captured when he tries to take a money purse.
  • The dwarves come in and are captured as well.
  • As the trolls argue, another voice argues another point, which makes the trolls argue more. The sun comes out and turns them to stone. Gandalf reveals himself.

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  • Gandalf and Bilbo release the dwarves.

 

First Appearances – Bilbo Baggins, Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, Fili, Kili, Gloin, Oin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, William, Bert, Tom, Thror, Thrain

Deaths – William, Bert, Tom

Adapted from chapters ‘An Unexpected Party’ and ‘Roast Mutton’ from The Hobbit, ‘The Quest of Erebor’ in Unfinished Tales and Appendix B of Lord of the Rings.

Pictures

  • Once Upon a Time in Hobbiton – Dale Comte
  • The Hall at Bag End, Residence of Bilbo Baggins Esquire – J.R.R. Tolkien
  • An Unexpected Party – John Howe
  • Left Comfort Behind – Suzy Almblad
  • Trolls – Ted Nasmith
  • The Three Trolls are Turned to Stone – J.R.R. Tolkien

Season 7 Episode 3 – Queer Lodgings

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Prologue – Bree

  • Gandalf meets Thorin in Bree. Thorin invites him to his halls in the Blue Mountains.

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Misty Mountains

  • Gandalf and the dwarves argue about Bilbo’s whereabouts.
  • Bilbo finds the dwarves and surprises them.
  • Goblins and wargs chase them down the mountains, led by Bolg.
  • The company climb trees to escape them.

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  • Gwaihir, Lord of Eagles, hears the wargs and swoops down to save the dwarves.

The Eyrie

  • The company is taken back to the Eyrie. From there Gwaihir takes them to the Carrock.

Carrock

  • Gandalf leads them on to Beorn’s house. He informs them he will be leaving soon.

Beorn’s House

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  • Gandalf devises a plan – he will enter first with Bilbo and the other dwarves will come in two at a time.
  • Beorn welcomes Gandalf and is interested in his story. He is not impressed with the dwarves but allows them to stay.
  • Thorin tells Bilbo of Bolg, the son of Azog who killed his grandfather Thror and in turn was killed by Thorin’s cousin Dain.

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  • Beorn serves dinner. As the dwarves sleep he leaves to kill the goblins that have come east.
  • Beorn sends them to Mirkwood with ponies, food and weapons.

Mirkwood

  • Gandalf leaves them on the borders of Mirkwood.
  • The company sets out along the path, becoming disoriented with the darkness, sounds and animals of the forest.
  • They come to the Enchanted River. They manage to pull the boat from the other side and cross the river. Bombur falls in the river, causing him to sleep. They are forced to carry him.
  • Bilbo climbs up a tree to find where they are.
  • Balin sees a light in the distance, they follow it.
  • They find a group of elves feasting. As they step into the light it goes out and the elves disappear.

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  • Bilbo loses his companions. As he sleeps he is attacked by a spider.

First Appearances – Azog (flashback), Dain, Beorn, Gwaihir, Landroval

Adapted from chapters ‘Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire’, ‘Queer Lodgings’ and ‘Flies and Spiders’ of The Hobbit and ‘The Quest of Erebor’ in Unfinished Tales.

Pictures

  • At Beorn’s Hall – Ted Nasmith
  • Gandalf and Thorin at Bree – Ted Nasmith
  • Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire – HeathWind
  • Beorn – Michael Hague
  • Dain and Azog – Liz Danforth
  • Elvish Feast in Mirkwood – ullako