The Withywindle Willow - Wight War Wager

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First off, thank you for your replies. The thread hasn't gotten the response that the Gandalf vs the Witch-King thread has, but more than I thought. And, okay, I admit that the whole idea was predicated on the use of the W character, found in just too many places within the 'Old Forest' chapter to be a coincidence.

That all said, I have to admit to thinking about the issue much more since the initial idea. My wager now is that Old Man Willow would claim all 20 hobbits. Here's why:

• The hobbits have never heard of OMW, and so have not even the sense to fear it. They have heard of Wights, and so have a natural fear of these undead creatures.

• OMW looks like any other willow; the Downs are a special place.

• The willow tree has compatriots - the entire forest conspires against the hobbits to a greater of lesser extent. If the hobbits are within the Old Forest, they are already within the net, and it's just a matter of time before they are drawn down to the Withywindle.

• The Barrow Wight exudes fear. Sheep even have the sense to avoid the Downs (if only something would repel Spammers ). So, given any choice, the hobbits will choose entering the Old Forest over traveling over the Downs. The closer they get to the Downs, the more afraid they become and the more they want to flee.

• With the exception of Sam, all of the hobbits freely sacrifice themselves to the Old Man Willow. If Sam wouldn't have been so sensible, the story would have ended there. In the barrow, Frodo wants to flee, and even considers leaving his friends behind to do so. So it is possible that the hobbits could be caught by either, but some could escape the Wight (only to be caught by OMW).

• The hobbits are caught by the Barrow Wight due to specific conditions. They are caught napping (why they needed rest is anyone's idea) and so get lost in fog. Without stopping, and without the fog, would they have been caught? I'd also note that they rested on the east side of the stone, and nothing good ever comes from the East. Would they have overslept had they chosen a different side (north, south or west)?

So there it is then. For me, Old Man Willow takes all; on that I'll wager.