Asking the Wrong Questions

Publicity still for Lego Rivendell 'You have done well to come,' said Elrond. 'You will hear today all that you need in order to understand the purposes of the Enemy. There is naught that you can do, other than to resist, with hope or without it. But you do not stand alone. You will learn that your trouble is but part of the trouble of all the western world. The Ring! What shall we do with the Ring, the least of rings, the trifle that Sauron fancies? That is the doom that we must deem.' In today's chapter, we encounter perhaps the most fantastical turn of plot in the whole of The Lord of the Rings : a group of powerful people gather together for a meeting on an important topic; speak for hours without pause for rest or refreshment; give long, detailed presentations with only minimal interruption; and come to a mostly unanimous conclusion about the scope of the problem and the steps they will undertake to solve it. And all before breaking for lunch. It's a long c...

"Rivendell" by J.R.R. Tolkien 'I hear all kinds of news, from over the Mountains, and out of the South, but hardly anything from the Shire. I heard about the Ring, of course. Gandalf has been here often. Not that he has told me a great deal, he has become closer than ever these last few years. The Dúnadan has told me more. Fancy that ring of mine causing such a disturbance! It is a pity that Gandalf did not find out more sooner. I could have brought the thing here myself long ago without so much trouble. I have thought several times of going back to Hobbiton for it; but I am getting old, and they would not let me: Gandalf and Elrond, I mean. They seemed to think that the Enemy was looking high and low for me, and would make mincemeat of me, if he caught me tottering about in the Wild.' The second book of The Fellowship of the Ring opens with Frodo waking up in Rivendell and reuniting with Gandalf and his friends. Though some plot-relevant conversation occurs—Gandalf ...