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Podcast: Exploring Tolkien
Episode: 145. Is the Arkenstone a Silmaril? - The Hobbit #30
Description: Smaug is gone, so the Bilbo and the dwarves… just sit there?! For a couple of days they do–and eventually they reach the treasures. Bilbo, though, makes a choice to REALLY become the burglar when he sees the Arkenstone.
We explore:
The deep lore connection between the Arkenstone and the Silmarils.
Bilbo’s big “burglar” moment—what are the moral implications of his decision to pocket the Arkenstone?
How getting a glimpse of treasure suddenly fills the dwarves with unexpected courage (or maybe just classic dwarvish greed).
Why Tolkien’s details about mithril, ancient armor, enchanted harps...