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Join Cam and Maggie for a spirited discussion of Théoden and Wormtongue! The Meat and Potatoes Detective Agency (Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli) invade the house of the Rohan in this gorgeous, provocative new chapter. But then Gandalf sort of ruins things and resolves all of the new characters’ storylines in like a paragraph each. We consider Gandalf the White’s status as a Middle-earth cheat code, and wonder what a slow-burn version of this sequence could have looked like. Maggie notices Frodo in absentia and walks us through some of the many quiet nods back to his quest in this chapter. Cam argues that Théoden’s new brand of isolationism reveals something damning about everyone else’s suspicious selfishness (hint: everything is about aesthetics!)

In our Second Breakfast, Cam digs deep into sequels. We’ve all heard of the sophomore slump, but what is it that can elevate a follow-up project beyond the original work? He breaks successful sequels into three categories, cleverly brands this phenomenon “the sophomore bump,” and makes a sweeping claim about The Lord of the Rings! Maggie brings things back to horror and we have a fun old time chatting about franchises and studio meddling and artistic freedom.

Send us your feedback and theories: secondbreakfastpod@gmail.com

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Discussion of The Two Towers, Book Three, Chapter Six