Here, at least, there indications that some of the collaboration might not have been quite so willing: “ They had words with Harry at West-gate on Monday…He was white and shaking when they left him.” This ties into your classic “men are weak” thing (the Ringwraiths being the most extreme example) that you’ll see in a lot of fantasy fiction, that Tolkien was no stranger to writing. But this confirms something we’ll be seeing a lot of as we go along: Men outside Mordor being very much on Sauron’s side. In the last chapter, we’ve got the feeling that these suspicious Breelanders, the newer ones anyway, might just be ruffians or the like, a loud-mouthed contrast to the more silent Rangers. Maybe it would have been more interesting if he had to, but it might not have followed that the Frodo being more careful about his identity and company would willingly taker Strider on without the assurance of Gandalf.īill Ferny, a Bree native mentioned earlier, gets outright tagged as a bad guy at this point. The decision essentially rests with him, but he won’t have to make it just on gut instinct. That’s just about all the character development we’ll get for the Ring-bearer this time out, as he spends the chapter simply trying to determine whether he can trust Aragorn or not. He’s getting better, but he’s still not being careful enough. Of course, the fact that Strider overheard the conversation outside Bree, the one where Frodo warned the group not to call him Baggins, is a fairly damning indictment of how far Frodo has yet to go. And he’s made his way into their lodgings very easily, only spotted when the hobbits build up the fire. As he himself points out, if he wanted to kill them, he could do it very easily (maybe Pippin would be a good start…). Strider immediately seems like a guy in the know, this being our first confirmation that there is more than one Black Rider, and you get a sense that he knows enough to be very useful to the hobbits. He’s been looking for a Baggins and he’s aware that Black Rider’s have been in the area, and he hands out this information confidently. Strider is the one who jumped over the wall at the beginning of the last chapter. Perhaps Tolkien wrote himself into a hole here, but he makes the best of it, in what is, essentially, “At The Sign Of The Prancing Pony 2: Enter Strider” In fact, it’s too much of a good thing, because we now have to spend a chapter watching a good guy (perhaps the goodest of the good guys) convince the hobbits that not only does he mean them no harm, but he’s their only chance to not die horribly in the days ahead. It definitely seems like their experiences so far have upped their perception of possible danger and that’s only a good thing. But the darkness of the previous chapter, and that sense of dread, is making them more cautious almost immediately. Up to this point, the various figures they have met on their travels – Farmer Maggot, Bombadil, Goldberry, Butterbur – have been helpful personalities. They react suspiciously, as anyone would.
The hobbits are fresh from endangering the very planet they walk on by getting drunk and singing, and get back to their room to find Strider already waiting for them.
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