What LOTR character would you be? | Patreon Q&A October 2026

Episode Overview

Richard Lewis returns for a long-overdue Patreon Q&A, opening with a glass of wine and an ad read before working through a backlog of questions. The wide-ranging solo episode covers esports, pop culture, politics, and personal reflections.

Twitch, Co-Streaming, and Esports

Lewis isn’t bothered by suggestive or niche streams as long as viewers can choose age-restricted content. He jokes that Twitch has always been a personality platform, with games as the “thin connective cloth.”

He argues that co-streams can bring new viewers into esports and give exhausted streamers a break, though he criticizes co-streamers who contribute little beyond repeating “no chance.”

On competitive Counter-Strike, Lewis says the “Hooxi line” has been surpassed by the “karrigan line,” after a Major-winning performance he describes as even worse statistically.

Sports and Saudi Investment

Lewis doubts Saudi Arabia’s sports spending will keep expanding indefinitely, pointing to projects that may have failed to gain lasting cultural influence. He also calls the Saudi Royal Rumble a diminished product, citing empty seats and restrictions on women’s wrestling.

Asked to choose among boxing’s Four Kings, he picks Roberto Durán for his toughness, power, and heart, and calls Durán–Leonard the classic matchup.

Sci-Fi, Games, and Piracy

If he could make one fictional alien species real, Lewis would choose the Autobots: “They’re all good guys.” He would rather not risk bringing home a more ambiguous species.

On piracy, he likes the idea of spaces that challenge the status quo, while making clear he isn’t celebrating violent crime. His fondness for iconoclasm also comes through in his answer about MMORPGs: World of Warcraft’s repetitive quests never hooked him. He compares collecting chicken claws in-game to having once killed chickens for a real-life job, and wonders why anyone would choose that grind for fun.

Writing and Star Wars

Asked what career he might have chosen instead of journalism, Lewis says he once dreamed of writing fiction. He laments burning out and losing the ease with which he used to produce articles and stories, while still taking pride in his past work.

On Andor, he concedes it may be better written than the original Star Wars trilogy, but says franchise fatigue stopped him from watching it. He compares returning to Star Wars to drinking vodka after a terrible hangover and argues the series should tell fresh stories beyond the Empire, Jedi, and familiar plotlines.

Art, Sponsorships, and Media Ownership

Lewis says game artists may resent corporate tie-ins, but sponsorships pay for the work. He recalls E-League segments where he and Counter-Strike players shot at Arby’s sandwiches, joking that the brand paid millions and he did the job.

He also defends physical media: streaming catalogs can vanish, while discs preserve films and games. Digital updates, meanwhile, can change or remove things people value.

Hypotheticals and Music

Asked what movie role might suit him, Lewis jokes that his looks and build would likely make him a character actor. He then praises James Gandolfini’s charisma and performance in The Sopranos.

For a hated enemy stranded with music, Lewis proposes inflicting albums he dislikes, including Metallica’s St. Anger and music by Imagine Dragons. He describes Imagine Dragons as “a drop of Linkin Park’s blood” in an ocean of Coldplay.

Lewis also suspects Oak Island probably contains something buried, if only because enough digging eventually turns up something. He’d want a clone only as an unconscious source of replacement organs, since a conscious clone would make the idea grotesquely unethical. If he named a planet, he’d call it Richard Lewis, with a few deliberately silly “Richard” wordplay variations.

The Lord of the Rings Answer

Asked which Lord of the Rings character he would be, Lewis chooses Saruman. He’s fascinated by the character’s unrealized potential: rather than become Sauron’s subordinate or waste his strength fighting the Ents, Saruman could have built an army and taken on Sauron himself.

Lewis connects this idea to his fondness for the Middle-earth: The Wizards card game, which let players explore alternate versions of the story.

Politics

In British politics, Lewis speculates about scandals involving Andy Burnham and Manchester City, and mocks the chaos around a proposed early-release policy. He also imagines Tony Blair as a Bernie Sanders-like candidate in the 2016 Democratic primaries.

People Discussed

Richard Lewis is the only on-camera speaker in the subtitles. Public figures discussed include Roberto Durán, Sugar Ray Leonard, James Gandolfini, Andy Burnham, Keir Starmer, Tony Blair, karrigan, and HooXi.