Exploring Tolkien

Get the Exploring Tolkien App to listen to every episode, a Tolkien calendar, the latest news, and member exclusives!

In this episode, we explore an incredibly rare event in Tolkien’s legendarium: a formal Elven trial. We examine King Thingol’s judgment of Túrin after the death of Saeros, uncovering how law, evidence, and mercy operate in Doriath. We also look at:

How Mablung’s testimony and Nellas’s surprise appearance shifted the king’s verdict.

The evolution of Thingol’s character since his harsh treatment of Beren.

Túrin’s growing list of titles and his first official toll.

Why The Rings of Power repeating “the very” over 30 times highlights poor writing.

In our extended episode (available for members who’ve downloaded the Exploring Tolkien app and at https://theonering.com/members), we get into:

User comments on Beleg’s sword choice

Son of Mowen vs Son of Húrin

Why writers like Damon Lindelof fundamentally misunderstand how to adapt source material — particularly when it comes to what fans ACTUALLY want.

🔗 Episode Links

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The Children of Húrin

The Story of Kullervo

The Silmarillion

Unfinished Tales

🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast

Subscribe on Apple

Subscribe on Spotify

Get the Exploring Tolkien App

Get the Extended Podcast

🔍 If You Like Tolkien

The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)

The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)

The Silmarillion

The Children of Húrin

The Atlas of Middle-earth

Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat

Get the Exploring Tolkien App to listen to every episode, a Tolkien calendar, the latest news, and member exclusives! Túrin Turambar in Doriath transitions from Thingol’s foster son to a hunted outlaw. Does the fatal insult from Saeros, Túrin’s explosive reaction, and the brutal, naked chase through the woods change his destiny forever? Or is this Morgoth’s curse at work? We also discuss:

The litany of imprudent choices as Túrin (and others) ignore the advice of those around them.

The stark contrast between how Elves and Men process grief, maturity, and the passage of time.

Saeros’s unprovoked ambush in the woods and his ultimate, fatal leap into the rocky stream. Is Mablung to blame?

In our extended episode (available for members who’ve downloaded the Exploring Tolkien app and at https://theonering.com/members), we get into:

Maybe the Orcs DID actually write poetry (in the Hobbit)?

Does the Balrog ACTUALLY speak?

Maybe Rings of Power’s Nazgnagols are right?

🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member using our Exploring Tolkien app, or  become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month). 🔗 Episode Links Get the Exploring Tolkien App! The Children of Húrin The Story of Kullervo The Silmarillion Unfinished Tales 🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast Subscribe on Apple Subscribe on Spotify Get the Exploring Tolkien App Get the Extended Podcast 🔍 If You Like Tolkien The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook) The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book) The Silmarillion The Children of Húrin The Atlas of Middle-earth Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat

Get the Exploring Tolkien App to listen to every episode, a Tolkien calendar, the latest news, and member exclusives!

Is The Rings of Power Season 3 course-correcting—or just running out the clock? In this episode, we wade through two weeks of Comic-Con news and leaks, catching all the ways Amazon’s show is retooling, rewriting, and ruining Tolkien’s world. From the much-maligned Harfoots’ quiet removal to a new class of “Nazgnagol” proto-wraiths and the baffling “Balrog teaches Sauron” rumor, we break down what’s actually changing (and what’s still totally bonkers).

We also look at:

The accelerated release schedule and what it means for viewers (and podcasters)

The “dismal retreat” – showrunners’ subtle admissions about failed seasons

The orc who writes poetry and the continued humanizing of evil that breaks Tolkien’s world

Galadriel’s love triangle with Sauron and Celeborn—officially confirmed. Good lord.

How the focus on spectacle and “member berries” misses Tolkien’s core themes

In our extended episode (available for members at https://theonering.com/members), we dig into:

Why blurring good and evil undermines Tolkien’s moral universe

🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month) or download the app!

🔗 Episode Links

Get the Exploring Tolkien App!

The Children of Húrin

The Story of Kullervo

The Silmarillion

Unfinished Tales

🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast

Subscribe on Apple

Subscribe on Spotify

Get the Exploring Tolkien App

Get the Extended Podcast

🔍 If You Like Tolkien

The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)

The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)

The Silmarillion

The Children of Húrin

The Atlas of Middle-earth

Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat

Get the Exploring Tolkien App to listen to every episode, a Tolkien calendar, the latest news, and member exclusives!

Is Morwen heroic, tragic, or just stubborn to a fault? We’re on to chapter 4 of The Children of Húrin, exploring how pride, fate, and Morgoths curses shape the next generation after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. We unpack why Morwen refuses help, howt fate and free work in tandem, and how Túrin’s story is already marked by sorrow and legacy.

We also discuss:

Whether Morwen’s choices are shaped by pride or the curse of Morgoth—or both

Why Tolkien spends so much time on the theme of charity and nobility in hard times

The meaning of the Helm of Hador and why Thingol reveres it

Sador’s role as a substitute father and teacher for Túrin when Morwen won’t speak

In our extended episode (available for members who’ve downloaded the Exploring Tolkien app and at https://theonering.com/members), we get into:

Andy Serkis’s defense of The Hunt for Gollum’s casting and the use of AI on set

First glimpses of the new Gandalf in The Rings of Power—and what we make of it

How modern adaptations handle mythology, diversity, and audience immersion

Tolkienian pride—from Morwen to modern filmmakers

🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member using our Exploring Tolkien app, or  become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month).

🔗 Episode Links

Get the Exploring Tolkien App!

The Children of Húrin

The Story of Kullervo

The Silmarillion

Unfinished Tales

🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast

Subscribe on Apple

Subscribe on Spotify

Get the Exploring Tolkien App

Get the Extended Podcast

🔍 If You Like Tolkien

The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)

The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)

The Silmarillion

The Children of Húrin

The Atlas of Middle-earth

Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat

Get the Exploring Tolkien App to listen to every episode, a Tolkien calendar, the latest news, and member exclusives!

Is evil REALLY in control? Tolkien pursues this in this chapter–for the first and only time Morgoth reveals himself in a long discussion… and the results are….? We dissect this showdown on a hill of bones and discover why it is unlike anything else in Tolkien’s works, what it reveals about free will, evil, and despair, and how Húrin’s stubborn defiance sets the stage for all the tragedy to follow.

We also cover:

Brandon Sanderson’s “five ingredients” for epic fantasy

The real meaning behind Morgoth’s boasts about fate and power

Where Tolkien slips myth, theology, and “eucatastrophe” right into the dialogue

Free will or predestination… is there an answer here?

In our extended episode (available via our Exploring Tolkien App or for our site’s members–), we go deeper on:

Did Tolkien “ruin” fantasy by setting too high a bar? Why so much modern fantasy struggles in his shadow

How much control did Morgoth really have over Húrin (and Turin)?

More listener questions: the flame from Fingon’s helm, the Doom of Mandos, and the limits of fantasy as a genre

🎉 To get the extended episode, become a member using our Exploring Tolkien app, or  become a member at https://theonering.com/members ($4/mo and free for the 1st month).

Image Credit: The Words of Húrin and Morgoth by Alan Lee

🔗 Episode Links

Get the Exploring Tolkien App!

The Children of Húrin

The Story of Kullervo

The Silmarillion

Unfinished Tales

🎧 Subscribe to our Podcast

Subscribe on Apple

Subscribe on Spotify

Get the Exploring Tolkien App

Get the Extended Podcast

🔍 If You Like Tolkien

The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (audiobook)

The Expanded Letters of JRR Tolkien (book)

The Silmarillion

The Children of Húrin

The Atlas of Middle-earth

Make Tolkien Great Again – Tengwar Hat