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Podcast: Exploring Tolkien
Episode: 151. Eagles Didn't Win the Battle - The Hobbit #36
Description: Three dwarves lost and a shape-shifting berserking bear unleashed—the aftermath of the Battle of the Five Armies reconciles Bilbo to Thorin and gives us a completely different Elvenking than what you saw in the movies. In this episode, we dig into Tolkien’s penultimate chapter, “The Return Journey,” unpacking the emotional aftermath and story-shaping consequences of the war that changed Middle-earth.
We also explore:
Why Beorn’s sudden intervention was more than just another “eagle rescue”—and what Tolkien draws from the real definition of berserkers”.
Thorin’s final moments and his transformation from gold-obsessed king to the Dwarf wh...