Hello, and welcome to the NataCast podcast, the podcast that usually goes through a Song of Ice and Fire,

one chapter a week, but not here. I'm one of your hosts Emmett, also known as Poor Quentin. My co-host,

Jeff, also known as Brendan Beefish, is taking a couple months off the podcast for work.

Soon as he's back, we'll jump right back in with the weekly Song of Ice and Fire podcast with Sansa 3 in a Storm of Swords. In the meantime, I'm going to be doing a series of

episodes, some on my own, some with guest hosts, including picking up right where I left off last

time Jeff was away with J.R.R. Tolkien's, the Lord of the Rings. Last week, we covered book

four, chapter two of the Lord of the Rings, the passage of the marshes.

This week we're going into Book 4, Chapter 3.

The Black Gate is closed.

In the previous chapter, Gollum led Frodo and Sam towards Mordor, their dread growing

with every step.

They've heard unholy shrieks overhead,

seen the outline of a flying ring wraith against the moon, and walked through the barren

wasteland that marks the beginning of the Dark Lord's domain. Now, at last, they have arrived at

the entranceway to Mordor proper, the Black Gate. Our heroes have to figure out a way inside. How's that

going to go? Well, the chapter title gives it away. The Black Gate is closed. You could say that

ruins the suspense, but this chapter isn't about suspense so much as an overwhelming sense of

doom from the title on down. It's about what is virtually an impossible

task and all the choices and consequences that go into dealing with an impossible task. It's a no-win

situation, and so is logistically intriguing, as well as eschatologically terrifying. As the chapter

starts, Tolkien tells us that their journey to Mordor is over.

It's a bitter irony.

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