The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a masterpiece that I have watched enthusiastically quite a few times. But the finale of the series drives me up the wall every time.
The importance of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy cannot be overestimated. After the unprecedented box-office run of The Fellowship, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, an entire genre was no longer the same. The films were not just a good adaptation. They were THE adaptation. That’s what fantasy had to look like, that was the gold standard against which everything was measured. And whether you were a chess genius or a jock, everyone wanted to live in Middle Earth.
To this day, I regularly treat myself to a Lord of the Rings marathon and enjoy every scene. I love the peaceful Shire, the Autumn Kingdom of Rivendell, the Mines of Moria most of all. The journey through Rohan Steppes, Dead Marshes, the White City and finally Mordor – really everything is perfect. But at the end I completely fly off the handle with rage.
Frodo’s decision in The Lord of the Rings finale makes me extremely angry
Everything is actually great in the finale too: Sauron is destroyed, his kingdom lies in ruins and (new) ashes. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) is king, Arwen (Liv Tyler) stays with him. Rohan and Gondor make up. The people are victorious. And most importantly, Ringbearer Frodo (Elijah Wood) and companion Sam (Sean Astin) survive the brutal journey against all odds and return to the Shire.
At the very end of the third film, Frodo accompanies the Elves on their journey to the Undying Lands, which only the Chosen can enter. And from which there is no return. Sam and the other Hobbit companions stand on the jetty in disbelief, unable to believe their eyes. They feel the same as I do.
Watch the Lord of the Rings scene here:
Frodo should get his act together after 10 hours of The Lord of the Rings
The reason Frodo and the film give for the surprising decision is a tepid whiff. Four years have passed since he was wounded with a Morghul blade, the ex-ring-bearer explains, but the wound has never fully healed. He can never go back, he muses beforehand. He feeds his companion Sam the words “The Shire was saved. But not for me”. This explanation borders on impertinence.
Didn’t Sam, Merry or Pippin suffer any trauma? Sam dragged Frodo through Mordor, after all. But instead of running off with the elves, he starts all over again in the Shire and marries the innkeeper! They all stand like fools at the Grey Havens, holding the shards of their hearts in their hands.
