Welcome to the Lord of the Rings lore cast,

the show that explores the background of Tolkien's amazing world from the very beginning.

When we first started our close look at the Hobbit, one thing I mentioned was about how

this book, this story develops over time, and how it starts off very much as a fairy tale.

A story that you could tell to children,

something with these common fairy tale motifs

in a setting that feels very familiar

to most of the audience who would be reading it.

Rolling hillsides, comfortable homes, a people who are

happy to stay where they are, and don't go off in adventures very much. But by the time we get

to the end of the book, this is a very different story. It's as if it grows up.

Just like Bilbo's understanding of the world, there's a maturing that happens not only to Bilbo,

but to the story itself, and maybe even we as the audience go through this.

This isn't uncommon in coming-of-age stories, but Bilbo here is an adult.

Now, he may be little like a child and naive like a child, but he's an adult.

And we, the readers, are aware, I would think, at least in today's world, of the way fantasy stories work and where this story might go.

But think back to the 1930s.

Were those readers aware of where a story like this, a fairy tale, can lead.

And how do we know that the story is growing up?

Well, there are tonal changes, and the language develops as the story goes on.

The comedy kind of softens.

It isn't as direct as it is at the beginning of the story.

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