The Last Homely House

In today's episode, our host begin their review of the third and final installment of the Hobbit triology - The Battle of Five Armies. As usual, they debate the movies strengths and weaknesses. After all this time, is it better or worse than they remember?

In part two of their review of The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug, our host geek out over dragons and evaluate just how non-canonical this movie was. However, is moving beyond the canon a good thing? Listen and find out.

This week, our hosts move on to the second of the Hobbit movies: the Desolation of Smaug. While there are things that they like, the number of criticisms increases. Listen to find out exactly what they are.

Today our hosts continue their review of An Unexpected Journey. This time, they focus on Goblin Town and Riddles in the Dark, as well as out of the frying pan and into the fire. Once again, they talk about their likes and dislikes. As is always the case, they don't always agree.

This summer, our hosts our going back in time and reviewing the Hobbit and LOTR movies. Today, they begin with a review of An Unexpected Journey. What are our likes and dislikes?

Why does everthing connected with Aule seem to go bad? Why did so many of his followers and students turn to evil? What's the problem with Aule? Our hosts wrestle with these and other Aule related questions in today's episode.

Tolkien loved dragons. These creatures played a sizable role in his writings. In today's episode, our hosts explore the origins of dragons. They compare and contrast Tolkien's depiction with ancient mythologies and modern depictions. They also address the question of why we like dragons so much.

Today our hosts continue their discussion of villians in Middle-earth. In this episode, they discuss some of the lesser, yet still powerful beings. These include balrogs, Sauruman, and the Ringwraiths.

What were the characteristics of the villains in MIddle-earth? What did they have in common? What made them different? In today's episode, our hosts discuss the character traits of Melkor and Sauron.

In today's episode, our hosts examine the kinds of qualities that characterize the heroes in Tolkien's writings.

Welcome back, Jon! In today's episode we continue our covnersation about happily ever after. Jon adds his thoughts to the conversation. We also explore the idea of eucatastrophe, as well as good endings versus happy endings. We wrap up with a conversation about heroic traits in Tolkien's writings.

Sadly, Jon couldn't make it today, so Ron and Jasmine had to carry the episode without him (a tall task, indeed). Does Tolkien not like "and they lived happily ever after?" Ron and Jasmine have a conversation about where Tolkien does and doesn't incorporate this motif into his stories. They speculate about possible reasons why Tolkien's stories rarely resolve with a truly happily ever after conclusion. How does this tendency grow out of the "leaf mould" of his life?

Are there Christological characters in Middle-earth? What kind of traits would make them such a character? Which characters fit this category? These are the questions our hosts wrestle with in today's episode.

How well does Aragorn of the movies compare with Aragorn of the books? Ron and Jasmine debate this point in detail. From there, Jon expresses his disappointment with the portrayal of Faramir in the movies.

With the start of the new year, according to the Gondorian calendar, season 2 begins for The Last Homely House. After a brief discussion about the new Gondorian calendar, our hosts discuss their favorite characters from the Lord of the Rings and how well or poorly they were interpreted in the most recent movies.

Season 1 of the Last Homely House: A Tolkien Roundtable has set sail for the uttermost west. Our hosts take time to reflect on their first season of creating a Tolkien podcast. How did they feel going into the podcast at the beginning? What were their favorite episodes? How do they come up with topics week after week? Where do we go from here? These questions and more are answered in today's episode.

Tolkien was not just a brilliant author. He was also a poet and a painter. In today's episode, our hosts discuss Tolkien's poetry and illustrations of Middle-earth.

To what degree did Tolkien's own religious beliefs influence his creation of Middle-earth? Is Middle-earth "Christian" in any sense of the word? What kind of religion, if any, do we see in Middle-earth?

Another Tolkien hot take! Warner Brothers has just announced they will produce multiple Middle-earth movies. What do our hosts think about that? What is Warner Brothers motiviation? How does this compare to other Hollywood franchises? What movies might we want to see? Our hosts answer these and other questions.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote many stories outside of Middle-earth. In today's episode, Jon, Ron, and Jasmine discuss some of these stories. Which are their favorites? What motivated Tolkien to write them? What do we learn about him from these stories?

Happy Valentine's Day from Middle-earth! In today's episode, our hosts explore Tolkien's views on romantic love. First, we explore Ronald and Edith's relationship. Next, we examine various expressions of romantic love (both good and bad) in Middle-earth. As a bonus, our hosts debate who is the "most married person" of the group.

Tolkien introduce Galadriel late in the writing process. Yet, he quickly became fascinated with her character. Over the years, her story evolved and changed. In today's episode, our hosts discuss her origins, her evolution as a character, her relationship with Celeborn, and even a surprise note about another suitor who experienced unrequited love for her.

After "The Wonderful World of Wizards," one of our listeners sent a video of Stephen Colbert talking about Olorin (Gandalf). Jon, Jasmine, and Ron had a lively text debate over Colbert's position on Olorin's Valinorian origin, which led to a further question about what counts as canon. Listen to them debate these issues in today's episode.

What is the power of storytelling? This is the question our hosts explore with a special guest, Kevin DeVries. Kevin talks about his own story while weaving in elements drawn from Tolkien and other writers. He explains how Tolkien's story telling actually tells Tolkien's own story. He then explains how this is true for all of us. We need to understand and tell our own story.

In today's episode, our hosts address a question submitted by a listener. Why was Gandalf resistent to directly using his powers? To answer this questions, we explore the history and origins of the wizards? Who were they? What was their purpose and commission? Which one's were faithful?

In today's episodes, our hosts discuss a recent rumor that Tom Bombadil will make an appearance in the Rings of Power? Who is Tom Bombadil? How do we feel about his exclusion from the movies? How might he be used in TRoP?

In today's episode, our hosts celebrate and discuss Tolkien's birthday. What kind of Christmas gift would you give him? They also wonder about how different Tolkien would have been, had he been born in the 21st century. After they, they discuss different views of the New Year in the cultures of Middle-earth. How did the priorities and experiences of each culture shape their view of the year and when it began?

Our hosts examine Christmas in Tolkien's writings outside of Middle-earth. We find out that the great author found ways to incorporate Christmas into his writings in a variety of ways.

This week, our hosts look at Christmas through the lens of Middle-earth. Is there anything in Middle-earth that qualifies as Christmas? You'll have to listen to find out.

In today's episode, our hosts review the latest book from the pen of Tolkien, The Fall of Numenor, edited by Brian Sibley. They talk about their likes and dislikes, as well as where the book fits in the literary canon of Tolkien's writings.

In today's episode, the hosts examine the issue of mortality (life and death) in Middle-earth. How did spector of death (or the lack thereof) affect elves, men, and dwarves? The story of Glorfindel and the Balrog became a test case for elven death. The knowledge of, and the fear of, death, shaped the story of Numenor. The consequences of death beyond Middle-earth had a lasting impact on Elrond. Finally, what happened to Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam when they journeyed into the west?

Sadly, Jasmine had to call in sick, so Jon and Ron had to host today's episode without her. We look forward to her return next week. In the mean time, they wrap up their conversation on the Rings of Power after binge watching the entire season. The conversation focuses on the Harfoots, Southlands, and Numenor. Did anything new emerge from watching the season straight through one last time? Listen and find out.

As a final nod to season 1 of the Rings of Power, the hosts binge watched the entire season. Did they notice anything different this time around, knowing as they do how the story and characters played out? Listen and find out.

Continuing last week's discussion, our hosts evaluate The Rings of Power in light of Tolkien's essential elements of fairy-tales: recovery, escape, and consolation. How well did season one do in regard to each of these elements?

Now that season one is in the books, our hosts evaluate the season based on Tolkien's definition of Fairy-stories. In this episode, they examine the definition of Faerie and Fairy-stories. Then, they discuss sub-creation and how well the series lives up to Tolkien's definition.

Our hosts continue their predictions for season 2 of The Rings of Power. What do they think will happen under the mountain, in Lindon and Eregion, and on the road to Rhun? Listen and find out.

Now that season 1 is in the books, our hosts look ahead to season 2 and offer some predictions. This week, they focus on Numenor, Mordor, and the Southlands.

The first season of the Rings of Power has concluded. We learned more about the Stranger, Sauron, and the actual rings of power. Did it conclude well? What do our hosts think of the final episode? Listen to find out.

Did episode 7, "The Eye" go forward or backward? Our hosts have differing opinions. Also, there's some vascilating over whether or not Adar is Sauron. Find out what they think about these topics in today's episode.

Viewers are calling episode 6, "Udun" the best episode of the series so far. What do the hosts think? Hear their review in today's episode. As a bonus, listen to Ron stumble over the term "pyroclastic flow."

Our hosts find themselves both loving and hating this week's episode. What do they love? What do they hate? Listen and find out.

The Last Homely House continues their review of the Rings of Power. Today they discuss "singing to stone." Is this Tolkien-like? What does it say about dwarven culture? There is also some more discussion about Numenorean culture, the identity of Adar, and the continued slow burn of the series.

The hosts provide their review of episode three of the Rings of Power. Is the series improving with each episode? Also, what are some interesting fan theories? The hosts even provide a few of their own.

The Rings of Power have finally dropped! In a special, double episode, our hosts give their review of the first two episodes. What do they like? How well do the characters and stories track with Tolkien's own writings? What about all the new characters and story lines? These questions and more are answered.

Today, the hosts discuss the imminent release of the Rings of Power. They first discuss adaptations of books to the screen and how Tolkien himself felt about them. Next, they examine what we know about the main characters of the new series. Lastly, each shares his or her hopes and fears for this latest dive into Middle-Earth.

How does The Rings of Power fit into Tolkien's mythology? The hosts summarize the three ages of Middle-Earth, then situate TROP in the timeline.

In this episode, the hosts discuss Tolkien's four criteria of fantasy: Sub-Creation, Recovery, Escape, and Consolation. They look at how Tolkien embodied these traits in his writings, then discuss how modern fantasy does or does not embody these characteristics.

In this episode, the hosts examine Tolkien the man. They talk about some significant details about his life and speculate about how his experiences influenced his writings. Several of Tolkien's letters and publications are examined in order to build a more robust profile of the author.

In today's episode, the hosts introduce themselves and talk about their history with Tolkien and his writings.