The Lord of the Rings Read Along - Final Part

My response to this week's instalment of The Lord of the Rings Read-Along. I have to be honest though and say that I'm not currently reading any part of The Lord Of The Rings, although I've read the whole thing many times before. The whole thing is being hosted over at Little Red Reviewer and Geek Daddy.

The final questions are:

1. What do you think Gandalf was going to speak with Tom Bombadil about?
   That, I think is going to be one of the unsolved mysteries of The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps the news of the destruction of the Ring (and all of the Rings of Power). Maybe something to do with the Barrow-Downs? After all, the wights there were believed to have been introduced by the Witch-King of Angmar, so maybe Sauron's destruction would have had an effect on them. Perhaps, it's just that Gandalf now has the time for a nice long chat - after all he did say that where Bombadil was a moss-gatherer, where he himself was a rolling stone. Presumably, now he no longer has a task to do, Gandalf can now just sit and relax - and who better to do it with. Especially given some of the theories I've heard about Bombadil.
2. What did you think of the two weddings? Do you think Eowyn will eventually find happiness with Faramir?
   I thought they were really nice, and I certainly hope she does, although I'm not sure how well the two know each other at the point where they married. Really it was just the period of time they were in the Houses of Healing that the got to know each other, so only a few week. Still, historically that kind of thing was pretty common, so it hopefully will work out.
3. What did you think of their meeting with Saruman on the road home?  I was half expecting someone to just kill Saruman.
   It's been so long now, that I don't remember my first reaction to the meeting with Saruman, but I have to say now that it makes for a wonderful tension builder.
4. Holy Cow I was not expecting the scouring of the shire.  If this is your first time reading, were you surprised? And if this isn't your first time reading, does the shock get a little easier to swallow on re-read?
   Kind of, as you know it's going to happen. I think it's a horrible thing to have happened, but at the same time, it's kind of needed. There's no way that the hobbits would have been understood or appreciated without it, as sad as that sounds. I also wonder if there was any other way to really get the Shire to reconnect with the outside world as it were.
5. What did you think of the very end, of the departure of the Havens?
   Incredibly beautiful and sad. Every time I read it I get a lump in my throat, and if I'm listening to in in the BBC radio play, I often end up with tears in my eyes. Of course, some of that could be the inclusion of the poem Bilbo's Last Song, which has become one of my favourite pieces of Tolkien's poetry.
6. Characters are supposed to change and develop during a story, right?  Who changed more, Sam or Frodo?
   This is a hard one to answer, but I'm going to say Frodo. He's just been through so many things that have left their mark on him - the Morgul-Knife, torture, Shelob's bite, even losing the Ring, that there's not much left - and there's nothing really tying him to the Shire any more. And yet, I feel like I should say Sam, as he evolved from a servant, to someone who's respected as a leader. I really don't know which to say, so I'm going to say they both changed equally, though in different ways.

This really has been lots of fun to participate in. Thanks Andrea for inviting me along for the ride.