Vg'f fb evqvphybhf vg npghnyyl znxrf zr n ovg zber flzcngurgvp gb Tybesvaqry whfg orphnfr V srry fbeel sbe uvz. :P

Flight to the Ford, AKA “Shit gets realer than it has ever been before.” This is definitely my favorite in the first part of the book. Peril! Frodo’s dark magic wound! Black rider chase! Cliffhanger ending!

Rira gubhtu V’z sberire fnq gung Sebqb’f erfphre vf Tybesvaqry naq abg Nejra, naq V guvax guvf frpgvba jnf bar bs gur orfg va gur ragver gevybtl nf vg jnf qbar sbe gur zbivr, V’yy nqzvg gung gur punfr jnf fgvyy cerggl vagrafr.

Frodo figuring out that Sam wrote the poem is a little moment I love because it hints at how close those two are becoming. Nyfb: “Ur’yy raq hc orpbzvat n jvmneq- be n jneevbe!” Uzz, sberfunqbjvat zhpu?

"You will have neither the Ring, nor me!" BAMF Frodo!

WORD.

Gehr fgbel: jura V jnf svefg ernqvat guvf obbx (ng ntr 11, nsgre jngpuvat gur zbivr n srj gvzrf), jura V tbg gb guvf puncgre naq Tybesvaqry nccrnerq, zl ernpgvba jnf "Jub gur uryy vf guvf thl? Jurer vf NEJRA?" V jnf fb qvfthfgrq gung V tnir hc ba gur obbx evtug gurer. Lbh unir gb haqrefgnaq gung gur Syvtug gb gur Sbeq fprar jnf zl nofbyhgr snibevgr sebz gur SBGE zbivr naq jung tbg zr ubbxrq ba gur frevrf. V'ir nyjnlf orra n yvggyr nagnatbavfgvp gbjneqf Tybesvaqry sbe ab bgure ernfba guna gung ur "fgbyr" Nejra'f ovt zbzrag.

Fb onfvpnyyl, gunax lbh zbivr jevgref sbe znxvat gung punatr.

So, I’m probably going to regret this, since I have way too much to do to spend hours of the week watching TV and more hours on the internet, but I decided I missed this blog, and that I would watch along with Mark starting with season 2. And this morning my season 2 DVD’s arrived, so I guess I’m in!

These first few episodes are more of a refresher to my memory, as I’ve seen through episode 6. I also know how the season ends- long story short, I came across the last two episodes on TV one night, and I was hella confused but also hella intrigued. So I’m most interested to see what the heck will happen in between.

I suppose it is still here, as the two got pretty damn close to kissing one another before that fucking vampire cockblocked the shit out of them.

Fucking vampires, going around cockblocking people all the time. Big pains in the neck.

So yeah, this was a really great season opener. It’s great how they dealt with Buffy’s trauma from the season finale so realistically. And I like how truly nasty she becomes in the process of pushing people away, and that there are very real consequences for that, but I never felt like it unsympathetic towards her taking into account the fact that she died.

If there comes a point in your life where Cordelia Chase comes to you and tells you that you need to stop being rude, you’ve probably gone to far.

I’m still not the biggest Cordelia fan, but she’s growing on me, and moments like that are among the reasons why.

“You know, being stalked isn’t really a big turn-on for girls.” I knew this line from the Buffy vs. Edward video, which I watched before I had seen a single episode of Buffy. It's nice to see it in context, even if I still think it's more suitable to Edward than Angel.

I’m sure this has been answered, but why wasn’t the Master’s skeleton destroyed along with the rest of him? Whatever, I enjoyed Buffy’s cathartic smashing it so much that I’ll let it slide.

I love the Prancing Pony. I love Bree. I love any place in Middle Earth where more than one species lives together without it being a big deal, and the sort of joint society that the Bree-men and Bree-hobbits have created.

I LOL'ed every time I saw BARLIMAN BUTTERBUR. That name has to be in all caps from now on, or it will be a severe disapointment.

I love how Frodo’s plan to make sure Pippin doesn’t give them away backfires in the most spectacular way possible.

Oh, and I love how Tolkien says about the song that “only a few stanzas are remembered now”, and then throws in a few stanzas of The Cat and the Fiddle. So it’s like we’ve been singing an abridged version and Tolkien unearthed the "original" in his research.

Oh, hi Strider! You mysterious stranger, you. So mysterious and stranger-y. :P

Yes! I’m finally caught up on reviews, but I have to comment on this chapter. It’s such a nice respite from the tension and darkness of the previous chapters, and we get to see how close the four hobbits really are.

Even though I feel for Frodo, since I’ve been in the position of thinking I’m keeping a secret only to find out I’m being incredibly obvious, I always get a kick out of him flailing while the others just nonchalantly reveal how they knew everything all along. That was brilliant on Tolkien’s part, because not only does it save us Frodo explaining a lot of information we already know, but it shows just how brave and loyal Sam, Merry, and Pippin are. <3 Yeah, huge hobbit quartet fan here.

Also, you’re right, they have a song for absolutely everything.

Fellowship of the Ring! OMGYAY! Break out the party hats and noisemakers! I completely forgot this was going up today, so it’s like a surprise gift. :D

I love your previous knowledge, Mark. Legolas being made out of LEGOs, LOL. Also, it’s funny because I don’t watch Fringe but whenever I see previews I think John Noble should be his character from the movies.

There's so much to love about Bilbo here. “I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve” and his trick with the ring, and all the ironic gifts later. Kind of dick moves, true, but all awesome.

V trg gung gur evat vf nznmvat naq nalbar jbhyq or eryhpgnag gb tvir vg hc, ohg Ovyob ng bar cbvag pnyyf vg ZL CERPVBHF. hz jung ner lbh qbvat Ovyob.

Ununun. V jbaqre vs ur erzrzoref Tbyyhz pnyyvat vg gung ng nyy. Vg’f orra fb ybat ur zvtug unir sbetbggra. Bu, guvf vf tbvat gb or sha gb jngpu.

Prediction: you are not even remotely prepared.

I watched season one and a few episodes of season two of this show about a year ago before I… kind of lost interest. It’s not a bad show by any means, and there was a lot I liked about it (moar women being badass and saving themselves and the men plz ty.) It was due to a combination of Hype Backlash and, like you, not really having much interest in vampires. Since then I keep meaning to give it another try and I’ll often watch an episode when I come across one on TV, and as a result I’ve spoiled myself for a few major plot points. BUT. I’m hopeful that the magic of the Mark Does Stuff effect will give me the motivation I need to sit down and watch where I left off and soon I will be sucked into the Buffy love! Better late than never, right?

One thing I know for sure I love? The characters. I swear, I would watch an entire series of Williow and Giles hanging out in the library and talking about books and geeky stuff. (Why wasn’t this spin-off made?) Xander alternates between funny and sympathetic and annoying. The only characters I really don’t like are Cordelia and Angel.

It’s kind of a brilliant moment because…look, this shit came out in 1997. And it had a young women basically telling a man who’s bigger than her to sit the hell down and let her take of shit her own way.

This. I also liked that Jesse was the member of the group to be the victim- not that I hated Jesse or anything, but because it's a common trope for a girl on a group of friends to be the one put in danger that the others have to go rescue.

I didn’t buy that everybody in the club just being in denial the next day. COME ON. Then again, this isn’t meant to be a terribly realistic show. I mean... VAMPIRES. I guess I can let dubious crowd psychology slide.

Sorry you missed it. :(

Now that I've seen it all I have to agree.