🏀 Middle-earth March Madness 2025 Round 4 — The Four of Power
Just four remain: who has made it this far, and who will move on to the championship?
Characters from all across Middle-earth have faced off in the first two rounds of Middle-earth March Madness. And what was once a group of 32 contestants has narrowed to the Company of 16 and then again to the Fellowship of the 8!
At long last our journey approaches its final chapter, and the first three ages of Middle-earth Madness have given way to The Four of Power.
Just four characters remain. The winners of today’s matchups go on to the championship!
Before the recap and matchups, here’s a reminder of our schedule for this tournament:
Round 2 (The Company of 16): Tuesday, 3/18
Round 3 (The Fellowship of 8): Friday, 3/21
Tolkien Reading Day GIVEAWAY: Tuesday, 3/25 (here’s how to enter!)
Round 4 (The Four of Power): Today, 3/27
Middle-earth March Madness Championship: Tuesday, 4/1
Before we go on, special shout-out and thank you to Jessi C, Lydia S, Mike S, Mary P, and Janis S, who took advantage of the 25% off FOREVER sale I’m running for Tolkien Reading Day and upgraded to a paid subscription to the Jokien with Tolkien: Extended Edition this week! This newsletter is possible because of supporters like you: thank you!
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“Middle-earth March Madness” — Round 4: The Four of Power
Here is our updated bracket for the fourth round:
Each of the following characters has triumphed over their region. But now they go head-to-head against the other champions. Who will emerge as the One Champion to Rule them all?
Helm vs. Éowyn
The Lord of the Rings vs. The War of the Rohirrim
Éowyn cut Treebeard down to size while Helm sent Hera home to join her brothers, setting up an all-Rohirrim final for The Lord of the Rings and The War of the Rohirrim side of the bracket. Both contests were decided by a margin of 55 to 45: will this be similarly close?
Luthien vs. Galadriel
The Silmarillion vs. The Rings of Power
After Beren lost the upper hand to Luthien and Elendil’s chances of advancing past Galadriel sank beneath the waves, it’s come down to Rings of Power Galadriel versus Luthien from The Silmarillion. Who will emerge as the representative of the Firstborn of Illuvatar in our championship round?
The only thing left following today’s vote is the Middle-earth March Madness Championship!! Look for the results of today’s matchup to hit your inboxes this coming Tuesday, April 1st!
Appendices
LEGO recently announced their latest Lord of the Rings set (and enlisted a familiar face to do so). Watch Sean Astin narrate the introduction of the Shire set!
(At just $270, it will be more affordable than the $500 LEGO Rivendell and Barad-dûr…but that’s still a hefty amount of gold to fork over! I am, of course, accepting these kingly gifts from whichever of you would like to sponsor a review of them haha)
Back in December I joked on Twitter that Ian McKellen would be returning as Gandalf the White in Avengers: Doomsday.
Well, looks like I was half-right! Ian McKellen will be returning, just as Magneto, and joining Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, and more of the original FOX X-Men.
Final plug today for the Extended Edition Tolkien Reading Day sale, which ends tomorrow, March 28th!
Speaking of Tolkien Reading Day, if you haven’t entered the giveaway, do so here:
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I look forward to these every week. 😊 All the choices were easy, thank the Valar!
Honestly appalled that these are the final options lol