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J.R.R. Tolkien sings 'Troll Sat Alone On His Seat Of Stone'

Hey, all you Ringers!

Here, JRR Tolkien sings Sam's song about the old troll, in The Fellowship of the Ring.

Isn't it great?!

Independence Day

To all my fellow Americans,

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!

Remember to thank God today for the United States of America!

(Maybe sing the national anthem.) : )

God bless America!

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 11: Return of the... White Witch?

"Peter dear... I've missed you."

Yeah, I'll bet. When you've been frozen for the past 13 centuries, I'll bet you miss even your old enemies.

Nikabrik has a suggestion for Caspian, and at this point, Caspian is willing to hear him out. At first. Until a Hag and a Werewolf appear. They're what make this scene unsuitable for young viewers - my younger siblings covered at this point.

Caspian and Nikabrik in the heart of Aslan's How

When the Hag uses the broken wand to summon the White Witch, a wall of ice springs up, hiding our view of the wall behind. One drop of human blood will free her. Jadis quickly hypnotizes a frightened Caspian, and Peter comes charging in with Trumpkin, Edmund, and Lucy. While Peter tries to stop Caspian, the others fight Nikabrik, the Hag, and the Werewolf. We finally get to see Lucy use her knife.

"Peter dear… I have missed you. Come, just one drop. You know you can't do this alone."

Yeah, I'd say that Jadis is pretty desperate, wouldn't you say? Wouldn't you be desperate, too? I mean, come on - 1300 years!

The wall of ice shatters.

But then she begins to dissolve, and the ice shatters and falls. Behind is none other than... Edmund. He finally defeats the White Witch! At this point, I felt like cheering him on!

Edmund's only words are very dry, referencing to Peter's earlier fight in the station: "I know. You had it sorted."

And behind Edmund, once again visible is the wall. And the carving of Aslan on it.

Coming Next: Returning to what you used to believe in.

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 10: Aftermath

Peter's guilt

Lucy: What happened?

Peter: Ask him.

Susan: Peter.

Caspian: Me? You could have called it off. There was still time.

Peter: No there wasn't thanks to you. If you'd kept to the plan, those soldiers might be alive right now.

Caspian: And, if you'd just stayed here like I suggested, they definitely would be!

Peter: You called us, remember?

Caspian: My first mistake.

Peter: No. Your first mistake was thinking you could lead these people.

Caspian: Hey! I am not the one who abandoned Narnia.

Peter: You invaded Narnia. You have no more right to it than Miraz does! You, him, your father… Narnia's better off without the lot of you!

Peter feels the full weight of his guilt, and tries to take it out on Caspian. Edmund stops the two from going literally at each other's throats.

Lucy then heals Trumpkin with her cordial.

Trumpkin: Thank you, my dear little friend.

At one point, Glenstorm's wife looks at him with a questioning face, and he gives her a sad look. The lady centaur lowers her head.

Peter's grief, guilt, and anger... Caspian's anger and indignation... the grief of all the Narnians...

This scene continues the poignant sorrow of the last scene's ending with the deaths of the trapped Narnians.


Thanks to NarniaWeb for making a transcript available. It's not completely accurate, but I'll be referencing it from now on. Also, all the images I post here all come from NarniaWeb's Prince Caspian gallery.

Coming Next: Grief + Mistakes = The White Witch?

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 9: The Night Raid

Warning: Major Spoilers!!

And the description at the end may not be for younger readers.

Watch to see part of the raid at the beginning! (Note: this trailer has Japanese subtitles.)

Edmund is the signalman for the night raid on the Telmarine castle. The signal-light? His flashlight, of course! A bit of modern warfare inserted into Narnia in a rather humorous way... But more on that later.

He, Peter, Susan, Caspian, and Trumpkin all fly in on gryphons. Peter, Susan, and Caspian get into the castle through Dr. Cornelius's window. Caspian breaks the doctor out of jail, and Cornelius makes the mistake of hinting that Miraz killed Caspian's father. Almost from the very beginning, things go wrong, and it is only the beginning.

Caspian bursts into Miraz's bedroom, demanding to know the truth about his father's death.

Prunaprismia: I thought you said he died in his sleep.
Miraz: Well, that part was true.

While Caspian holds his sword to Miraz's throat, Prunaprismia aims a crossbow at the prince. Then Peter and Susan burst in.

Miraz: This used to be a private room.

Susan aims for Prunaprismia, who aims for Caspian, who points his sword at Miraz! Miraz more or less admits that he killed his own brother, and offers Caspian a choice: kill him and be a "true Telmarine king" (my words, not his), or leave and be a coward. Prunaprismia and Susan shoot at the same time: Prunaprismia's arrow grazes Caspian's arm, and Miraz escapes.

Peter is angry with Caspian for not sticking with the plan, and Susan says that they need to call the attack off, that it's too late. If only they had.



Reepicheep and two of his mice "commandoes" infiltrate, and go to the wheel that raises the portcullis (iron gate) of the castle. They see a sleeping cat and tie its legs together. A Telmarine comes in and sees the bound cat. Reepicheep dangles overhead and forestalls the observation "You are a mouse" by saying, "Yes! I'm a mouse." Reepicheep kills the guard, and the mice come to the wheel. Trumpkin joins them.

Reepicheep: We were expecting someone... taller.
Trumpkin: You're one to talk.
Reepicheep: (almost laughing) Was there supposed to be irony in that?

Trumpkin and the mice struggle to lift the portcullis, while Peter, Susan, and Caspian rush to lower the drawbridge with the Telmarine army on their backs. But both groups manage, just as...

Edmund drops his flashlight when he should be signaling the Narnians to come into the castle! A Telmarine picks it up and starts playing with the light. The Narnians see the light flashing crazily, and Nikabrik voices what they're all wondering:

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Edmund retrieves the flashlight, however, and signals for the Narnians to attack.

Susan: (to Peter, sarcastic) Who are you doing this for??
(The teens turn and charge at the Telmarines.)
Peter: FOR NARNIA!!

A marked change for Peter since the first movie, when he cries: "For Narnia, and for Aslan!"

But the Narnians no longer have their only advantage, the element of surprise. Eventually, Miraz orders his crossbowmen to fire into the melee, killing Telmarines and Narnians alike. Peter calls the retreat, and as the Telmarines lower the portcullis as the Narnians try to escape. One Minotaur holds the gate up while the other go through. Glenstorm lifts Susan up onto his back, and they, Peter, Caspian, Cornelius, Trumpkin, Nikabrik, etc. run through. But the Telmarines shoot down the Minotaur holding up the gate, and the Narnians who didn't make it out are trapped inside.

The most heartbreaking moment of the film... Peter stops and sees the Narnians crowded at the gate, unable to break out. The Narnians on the other side of the drawbridge call out to him, as the drawbridge lifts. But before Peter's horse makes the jump to the other side, he still looks and knows that the trapped Narnians are dying because of him.

Edmund is the last to leave, on the back of the gryphon he rode in on. They fly over the courtyard, where the battle had been fought. It is as deathly silent as the bodies lying there. Every last Narnian at the gate has been shot down.


Coming next: the aftermath of a massacre.

Journey through Narnia - Prince Caspian Part 8: Telmarine Intrigue

Quick note before I get started:
I've gotten sporadic in my posts, and I'm sorry. I'll try to do this at least twice a week still, but I have a lot going on right now. Summer is the busiest time of year for me. Today's post is short, but the next one is about the castle raid, and that one is going to be long. So please, just bear with me.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS!!

Lord Sopespian isn't very happy, and you can't really blame him. Lord Miraz keeps grabbing up more and more power, and so many seats in the Telmarine Council are empty, due to Miraz's plots.

Sopespian works on bringing General Glozelle into his own conspiracy against Miraz. Glozelle is reluctant at first... until an incident at the Fords of Beruna.

Miraz has had a crew of men building a wide bridge across the Fords of Beruna to cross into Old Narnian territory. The way that you get to see the construction, and the way that the men are chopping down trees at the sight for building is reminiscent (for me) of Isengard in The Lord of the Rings films. I could almost hear the Isengard theme.

Reepicheep apparently led a night raid on the Telmarine supplies. Two regiments worth of armor and weapons gone (although my brother isn't sure that we ever even see the Narnians using the gear). On one supply wagon is a message:

You were right to fear the woods.

- X [Caspian the Tenth]

Miraz is quietly furious about the loss, and he hits Glozelle on the face with a sword hilt. It was a bad move, because Glozelle capitulates now to Sopespian's side.

Now that he can pin the Narnian "uprising" on Caspian - a "renagade" prince - Miraz takes the throne by law. The ceremony scene is subtly chilling.

The Coronation

The film has now become a shade darker.

Coming Next: A Good Plan Gone Wrong