Orthanc
34
MENTIONS
22
EPISODES
13
PODCASTS
Search complete. 34 mentions across 22 episodes found for "Orthanc".
Sep 13, 2026
ColeHOST
And the miniatures, the bigatures that they did.
ColeHOST
Like I think one of the towers, Orthanc, was a miniature, but it was still like seven meters tall.
JayHOST
Oh, wow.
JayHOST
Yeah.
Paul CleworthHOST
He settled it in a note in February 1954.
Paul CleworthHOST
The two towers are Orthanc, that's the tower of a wizard called Saruman, who was supposed to be on their side and has changed sides, and Minas Morgul, the fortress of the Ringwraiths, which guards the secret way into Mordor.
Paul CleworthHOST
And this is where you can see exactly why that middle volume annoyed Tolkien so much.
Paul CleworthHOST
Inside those covers, he tells the story in two entirely separate halves.
RobertHOST
But then Saruman came, adopting the name Sharky.
RobertHOST
Treebeard had released him from his house arrest in Orthanc, and he had headed up there as he already had links to the area, and probably had heard about Lotho's coup.
RobertHOST
He took over and doubled down on the industrialisation and brutality.
RobertHOST
Before we get to the Four Hobbits' return, it's worth noting that there were some scuffles and small battles before that.
Nishanth SelvalingamHOST
You would throw the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom and the whole thing would come crashing down.
Nishanth SelvalingamHOST
The entire power of Orthanc with all of its financial institutions and all of its like insurance schemes and all of its civilizational projects, it would all come crashing down the moment any single individual or any group of individuals just decided not to like buy into monopoly money anymore, not to play into the values and systems that for so long we've taken refuge in because they were handed down dutifully by those who came before us, who unquestioningly themselves received it from those who came before them.
Nishanth SelvalingamHOST
And what good has it done us? So that's the idea.
Nishanth SelvalingamHOST
We come to spiritual life.
RobertHOST
The outcome of that was that Sauron knew that the Ring was abroad, in Rivendell, and now the wise would decide what to do with it.
RobertHOST
Then, on the 6th of March, 3019, Aragorn showed himself to Sauron through the Orthanc stone.
RobertHOST
He convinced Sauron that he was coming for him, and Sauron assumed that he had the ring.
RobertHOST
So Sauron, always wanting to be on the front foot, acted swiftly.
Medi VolpeGUEST
You will not survive if you stay here.
Medi VolpeGUEST
If you come with us, yeah? if you yield your keys to Orthanc and your staff, come down, come back, come back to the side of the angels, come back to the right side.
Medi VolpeGUEST
Once you were on this side, come back.
Medi VolpeGUEST
Will you come down, he says.
JaredHOST
Yeah, the
WillHOST
Palantir of Orthanc and...
JaredHOST
There's one that's named after the Eye of Sauron from Lord of the Rings to...
WillHOST
Palantir.
speaker_2HOST
His connection to the natural world provides a vital intelligence network and a physical safety net for the rest of the Order.
speaker_1HOST
Because it is his established relationship with Gwaihir the Windlord, the Great Eagle, that ultimately saves Gandalf from his imprisonment on the pinnacle of Orthanc.
speaker_2HOST
Exactly.
speaker_2HOST
Radagast's magic is the magic of deep resonant harmony with the environment.
6 MINS LATER
speaker_1HOST
He blankets the region in a web of surveillance, using flocks of Krebane.
speaker_1HOST
He basically becomes a localized panopticon, observing and controlling everything within his radius.
speaker_2HOST
He isolates himself in his Tower of Orthanc, surrounded by his machines and his manipulated soldiers, attempting to out Sauron Sauron.
speaker_1HOST
Because he believes that the only way to defeat a machine of domination is to build a better machine.
speaker_4HOST
Right.
speaker_4HOST
Because he isn't tied down to a specific territory like Saruman is in Orthanc.
speaker_4HOST
Gandalf can connect the dots across vast distances and timelines.
speaker_1HOST
He's basically acting as an intelligence gatherer for centuries.
11 MINS LATER
speaker_4HOST
Saruman is militarizing Isengard and the timeline for Sauron's assault is drastically accelerated.
speaker_1HOST
It is a worst case scenario.
speaker_4HOST
Gandalf's attempt to gather critical intelligence results in his indefinite imprisonment atop Orthanc.
speaker_1HOST
The psychological pressure of those two months in captivity must have been absolutely suffocating.
RobertHOST
Then there are the Huons.
RobertHOST
Tolkien never gives us an accurate count for the Ents and Huons, but there are clearly enough to eliminate the defenders of Orthanc and take out the retreating Orcs at the Battle of the Hornburg.
RobertHOST
Your guess is as good as mine on that, but a forest full? And after all that, Theoden, once more in control of all his forces but after many had been lost in battle, decides how many he can spare to help Gondor.
RobertHOST
This is what he thinks.
12 more episodes mention Orthanc.
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