Two Towers..and a partridge in a Pear Tree

Saw Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers on Chrismas day, and since you will see it too there isn't much that needs to be said. Except what anyone familiar with the pseudo-medieval epic quest fantasy trilogy genre already knows: The middle volume of the trilogy is ALL middle. You may experience reversals and betrayals, signs and portents, oaths and battles, despair and renewed hope, but one thing you won't get is an ending. Closure. And since you already know the beginning, the nature of the quest having been revealed in part one, part two almost inevitably ends where it began. Every man, woman, and hobbit, if they have survived this far may be wearier and wiser, but they are still just on the way.

Of course since a quest is supposed to be about the journey, not the destination, maybe the middle is the true heart of the story and the need to wrap it up in part three anti-climactic. We'll see. Actually, I look forward to it.