Scouring chapter seems to hold more popularity among the really diehard fans of Tolkien who think he could do no wrong than the casual readers. I liked what Tolkien was trying to convey: the danger is not ended even after the big evil is defeated, even home is not safe. But I dont feel it was executed well. something about it irks me. Perhaps it's Saruman's cartoonish portrayal or it's the Hobbits cracking jokes like Marvel superheroes, throwing bathos here and there or that it comes up too late in the story for me to give a damn.
I was hoping to get an answer from dispassionate readers not the aforementioned diehard fans. Is Scouring of the Shire good/great writing? Can you elaborate why or why not?
I have an idea that Bran becoming king could end up as the bittersweet ending we keep talking about. What if the last twist ends up being that Bran does become king, but that there is a lingering doubt about how he will rule and use his powers.
Would Aragorn’s tax policy have been to kill all the nobles so that the smallfolk were generationally free of levies? And why have all the magic and fantasy elements if ASOIAF is much more actively a political-philosophical tract about how power and wealth corrupts the “good” and “evil” equally?
Our noble heroes have all spent a great deal of time exploring the relationship between humiliation and humility. Are none of those lessons worth bringing into leadership?
Is there no good governance at all? Are there no organizing principles on which a just society can be based?
Furthermore, GRRM has said he enjoyed the dirty soap opera view of history. Why take such a personal and nearly Jamesian approach to storytelling only to jolt the audience with the reminder that life is short and death stalks in on stocking feet.
Because we fucking get that information every day on the news.
Why do we need to experience this trauma on HBO or on the page, to no visible reward, when we could just turn on a news broadcast and see it for true?
tldr: if GRRM endgame was ultimately to remind us all to feel our daily dose of ennui and Hobbesian realism, he should have gone into news not fiction
(Sorry for any bad english)
I'd like to come back to the pics of the new heroes that have been shown at Warhammer Fest :
http://wargameterrain.blogspot.com/2019/05/breaking-games-workshop-middle-earth.html?m=1
I think out of the new heroes, both Ruffians and Hobbits, we can identify a bunch.
First up are the Ruffian heroes. The only named one I can think of is Bill Ferny, an despicable fellow from Bree. Well what do you know, the big guy in the middle, with the bald head, red beard and scared eye, looks a lot like the character Bill Ferny Sr. from the Hobbit Trilogy : https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Bill_Ferny_Sr.
He's one of the two fellows who tries to attack Thorin at the Prancing Pony in the opening scene of Desolation of Smaug.
To me it looks like GW took Bill Ferny Sr's design from the movies for the canon character.
One of the two others is probably Harry Goatleaf, the keeper of the gate in Bree, who joined the Ruffians. Even if they go for his look in the movies, I couldn't tell for sure which of the two left it is (maybe the guy on the right, who seems to have a hood and is more lightly armed than the guy on the left. The guy has a hood on in the movie).
I have no idea who the last Man is, I assume a new original character, but perhaps I'm missing someone from the books or movies. There is an unnamed Bandit chief in the book, maybe that's him.
Now let's move on to the Hobbits. 8 new heroes ! With all the Hobbits we meet in the Shire through the books, I would assume we know most, if not all of these guys already. They are probably all actors of the Scouring of the Shire to some extent.
I'll present my guess in the order of the pictures on the site linked above.
1 : Will Whitfoot, quite obviously. Top hat and fine clothes, plus the medal, point to him being the mayor. He's also described to be a rather fat man, so that fits. The paintjob presents him with white hair and foot hair, so while that's not specificly said in the book it's what comes to mind when hearing his name. The Mayor is also one of the first to oppose Sharku, so makes sense he's a hero for the Scouring of the Shire.
2 : No idea. Looks like a young and and determined fellow. Maybe one of Tolmam Cotton's sons ?
Now, whoever he is, the model is holding a stone, ready to be thrown. Maybe his special rule will allow him and/or other Hob
... keep reading on reddit ➡I'm currently finishing up RotK right now and have gotten to the Scouring of the Shire. It's a re-read so feel free to discuss spoilers if need be.
It feels like this whole narrative is Tolkien really driving home his distaste for communism/socialism as a whole. He talks about "sharers" who do more taking than they do sharing as well as "sheriffs" who are deputized by the dozen. He also alludes to the importance of a well armed populace. With Frodo, Merry, Sam and Pip being the only Hobbits with weapons this really gave them an advantage over the brigands who took over control of the Shire.
But I was wondering if there's any more direct parallels to real world events depicted in this chapter that I'm missing? Was Sharkey supposed to remind us of someone in particular? Grima?
It just feels like JRRT is putting social commentary on blast as he wraps up his epic (and I love it)
When I finished the finale last night, I got really excited, even though I felt disappointment towards Season 8 of a Game of Thrones. Everything felt wrong to me, but in a suspenseful way. I felt like the episode was setting up a scene like the red wedding, a scene where causes come together and the effect is catastrophe. The reason I was excited was because I think the finale was a darker, GRRM play on the Lord of the Rings, and his Scouring of the Shire hasn’t happened yet.
The biggest thing that made me doubt what I saw was Bran. I’ve always had suspicions that Bran wasn’t just a Stark anymore. Maybe he’s being controlled or just influenced by the CotF, or the Great Other. What was weird to me was that Bran has said multiple times how he doesn’t want anymore, he doesn’t want to be Lord of Winterfell or even the King. Then why did he go to Kings Landing? Why did he tell Jon that he was “exactly where he should have been”? In the finale he alluded to the possibility that a lot of this was orchestrated by him, at the very least that he influenced Jon to Kill Dany and allow a vote for him to become king.
My theory is this: This is GRRM’s ending, but is the ending of the LOTR movies (by that I mean this would be the part where Aragorn becomes King and the movie comes to a close). His dark play on that is to have Bran become King, and everything to be horribly wrong. Bran played the Game of Thrones to put himself at the top. He created the chaos in the seven kingdoms for some mysterious, maleficent reason that I suspect has to deal with the CotF. The small council, assuming Tyrion has lost his touch, is full of inexperienced people assigned to rule the crumbles of the seven kingdoms.
In the books, I suspect this ending happens early on in the final volume, and the rest of the book deals with the true war with the CotF. If that’s the case, I think this finale is brilliant: it (barely) satisfies most character endings and provides some closure, but after the books are released, it will have played the entire show audience into a false sense of security. Bran isn’t a good king, Westeros is on the verge of a more significant collapse, Jon is on the front lines of an incoming war and Sansa is right behind him trying to rule a damaged North. All the characters are lined up for a beautiful ending that, in my opinion, would make a lot more sense than what we saw last night.
On the other hand, maybe I’m in the denial stage of grief.
Hi everybody, I recently moved back to my hometown of Sacramento after a brief stint in LA. About a month ago, I made a post in r/sacramento sharing some cheap flight deals from Sacramento and various airports in the Bay Area. It was pretty well-received, so I've since done a few more. Basically, I know a lot of people, myself included, just want to travel and aren't super picky about where we go. I make these posts for people like us who will go almost anywhere at anytime if the airfare is cheap. I have no plans this afternoon and, to be perfectly honest, I'm trying to keep myself busy after a recent breakup, so I wanted to do what I could to help some of you hopefully find a great deal.
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From LAX:
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27th Day of the Ninth Moon, 493 AC
The Bastion, Seat of the Golden Company
Alyn had dreamed again, the night before.
He was riding a dragon, not being burned by one for once. He remembered feeling its thick, warm scales as they soared through the sky, the bastard feeling like a god as he saw every house, every person, and no one could touch him, or even get to him.
Suddenly, his dragon plunged down, spewing fire the color of silver onto the Kingswood, and Alyn could hear and smell and see all the destruction. The air stank of blood and ash, and people ran for their lives as they screamed in agony.
He awoke as usual, drenched in sweat, and quickly went to the bathtub. His dragon dreams were always bittersweet, as he knew, and had been told by the wizards he'd consulted from the East.
"The Blood of the Dragon is a blessing and a curse, boy", he remembered one saying "The Valyrians dug deep into things mayhaps best left forgotten... you must always beware. Magic is a sword without a hilt, as they say"
Thankfully, the pale bastard had little time for dreams today. He had a job to do, and he had to be quick. This was the last day before the festivities, and everything had to be in order.
He quickly dried himself and put on his uniform of the Golden Company, summoning his squire to put on his plate armor, adorned with his personal sigil: a silver dragon, flying right above the sea. That wouldn't be visible, of course, as he also added the Company's tabard over the armor.
He walked towards the yard, waiting for his soldiers, and the two other acquaintances that he had summoned: Grace Rowan and Daena Velaryon, explaining how he had learned from a group of poachers (who he'd captured with Daena's help) that they were supplying a group of outlaws, and that the very same outlaws would be attacking caravans heading towards the city, taking advantage of the extra influx of people and merchandise due to the celebrations.
Alyn hoped to make a surprise attack on them, and would be greatful for the assistance, if it could be provided. To Grace, he also added that the outlaws were well supplied, and there might be good loot to be shared.
They died in Gondor and across the sea. They would ideally have wanted to be burried with their ancestors in the Shire.
In addition Gimli never returned to stone under the mountain, and Boromir's people did not have a body to entomb.
The immortals Legolas and Gandalf never expected to be burried anywhere, so no loss there.
Even Aragon did not get the funeral he had grown up expecting, having always fled from kingship.
My boi john need it
