"It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: someone has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them. I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are evil. But I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam."
The final installment of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy is fantastic. I absolutely loved the pacing here, the buildup and the excitement. The change is palpable and every page brings you closer to it, closer to the war and to the end of the Third Age and, with it, the end of the world as the characters - and thus the reader - have known it.
The first part, once again, is dedicated to the Company, where we see Gandalf urging Shadowfax to hurry because everything is at stake. With him is Pippin, who has touched the palantir at the end of the second book. Headed to Gondor, they see its beacons are lit and a shadow passes over them. Sauron has sent a Ringwraith to Orthanc because he believes Pippin to have the ring, hence the mad dash away from it. When they get to Minas Tirith, a city that to Pippin looks as if it was "carven by giants out of the bones of the earth" Gandalf doesn't receive a warm welcome from the Steward of Gondor, Denethor. He knows about the death of his son Boromir and wanting to somehow pay off his life debt, Pippin pledges himself to Gondor. (If you remember, Boromir died trying to save Merry and Pippin from the Orcs.) Here we find out that the blood of Westernesse, of Numenor, flows through Denethor and Faramir's veins, yet it did not in Boromir whom his father loved best. He was only interested in legends and battles and wished to achieve his own glory; he was weak and selfish. His brother Faramir, on the other hand, is a wise, learned man who nonetheless was ferocious in battle despite being gentle, thus less reckless than Boromir, and who was beloved by all the Guard of Gondor. Denethor sends Faramir to Osgiliath, which has been taken over by Orcs, and he comes back seemingly dead. Only then does the Steward realize he loves his son and, wanting to save himself, he builds a pyre for the two of them. Stopped by Gandalf, with Pippin's intervention, Denethor dies and Faramir is saved. Throughout all this, Minas Tirith prepares for battle for the Orcs will attack soon.
Back in Rohan, Aragorn and Pippin watch Shadowfax go. Aragorn knows that his road will take him to Minas Tirith but is unsure of which road that is. Soon, though, thirty of the Dunedain, his fellow Rangers, join him, along with Elrond's sons Elladan and Elrohir, and bring two gifts: one is something that Arwen wrought is secret, something that represents hope; the other is advice - to seek the Paths of the Dead if he is in a haste. Having been made an esquire of Rohan, Merry rides off with the Rohirrim and then notices how older Aragorn suddenly looks, as if a great burden had been placed upon him. Strider looked into the palantir the night before and revealed himself to Sauron. Deciding to take the Paths of the Dead, he goes off with his kin, accompanied by Legolas and Gimli as well. Though Eowyn tries to stop him from going, Aragorn says he must and if he were allowed to follow his heart, he'd be in Rivendell, thus putting a stop to her fantasies.
"I am no warrior at all and dislike any thought of battle; but waiting on the edge of one I can't escape is worst of all."
The Battle of the Pelennor Fields is raging. Gondor is desperate but then the shadows move and sun slips through the cracks, the wind changes and hope is restored somewhat. King Theoden rides up with the Rohirrim and they immediately join the thick of the battle. The Witch King of Angmar, the Lord of the Nazgul, is killed by the joined efforts of Eowyn and Merry. At the same time, Aragorn is in the South, freeing ships from Southerners with the help of his undead army, and sailing up Anduin with Arwen's banner flying. He comes to the Fields with many men, carrying the reforged sword Anduril and the star of Elendil on his brow. He and Eomer finally join in battle and win, though many of their kinsmen are slayed. In the cover of night Aragorn goes inside the city to help heal the wounded for the hands of the king are healing. There he helps Merry and Eowyn as well. We have a great bit of insight from Legolas here, who notes that everyone that meets Aragorn grows to love him. He'd also seen how fierce he is in battle and it startled him for it registered how terrifying he'd be if he was in possession of the One ring; he says it is no wonder Mordor fears him so much.
Wanting now to give a better chance to Sam and Frodo, and draw Sauron's attention away from his lands, the Counil in Gondor decides to attack. They will draw the Dark Lord's attention and forces to the main gate by attacking them first. On their ride through Ithilien, they loudly proclaim that King Elessar has come to claim the land, though no answer could be heard from Mordor. Finally, at the gate, they are greeted by the Mouth of Sauron, a creature that was once a Man but evil had rotted it so much i doesn't even remember its own name anymore. He shows Gandalf Frodo's mithril shirt, as well as Sam's sword and a gray cloak of Lorien; his proposal is for them to surrender and serve the Dark Lord. When he is refused, the armies of Mordor attack - Merry kills a troll but is hit on the head in the swarm and loses consciousness. This is where the first part ends.
Frodo and Sam's adventures are, thankfully, shorter this time around, and much more interesting. Gathering every last bit of his courage, Sam enters the Orc stronghold where Frodo was taken. The Orcs themselves have helped him much by arguing amongst themselves and killing almost everyone there. He puts the ring on and sneaks into the attic where Frodo is laying, stripped of his clothes. Sam rummages the Orc corpses laying around and gets enough equipment for the two of them to dress up as Orcs and pass as unnoticeably as possible through the wastelands of Mordor. They have to hide again because the forces are gathering toward the gate. They're hungry and thirsty and Frodo's strength and hope are waning fast for the ring is draining him of it. At one moment they notice the wind is changing and that Sauron is not having it his way. A shirt cry pierces the air - the Lord of the Nazgul is dead. Still, a gloom covers Mordor and the sliver of hope leaves Frodo quickly.
At one point they are caught by Orcs, thought to be deserters. Their armor helps them not be recognized, though the fast marching of the army leaves the already weakened Frodo on the brink of exhaustion. Thankfully, they manage to escape the Orcs and head toward Mount Doom. On the last leg of their journey nothing was spying on them for all the lands were empty and the Nazgul were busy. Only Gollum still followed silently. Sam, the ever faithful Sam, carries Frodo up the Mountain road and then stays behind to deter Gollum who has reveled himself and wants to take the Precious for himself. Frodo goes on to the mouth of the Mountain and Sam follows. What he finds chills his bones: Frodo standing there, holding the ring and saying he will not just throw it away. Gollum appears and bits his ring finger off - as he dances he falls into the lava and the ring is destroyed. The two friends get to a protruding cliff and watch as Mordor is destroyed all around them, knowing they will not get away and will perishalong with it.
The ending lasts a bit longer here than in the movie, but the Eagles save Frodo and Sam and take them to Ithilien. They go to meet the King and see Strider there. Merry and Pippin are at the table as well, dressed in the Rohan and Gondor livery respectively, and serving their kings. They spend enough time there for all to heal and then head back. The King will enter Minas Tirith on May 1. In the meantime, Faramir and Eowyn get close in the Healing Houses and he professes his love for her. She say she will marry him as soon as she comes back from Rohan, for she wants to bury her uncle properly. Faramir, as the current Steward, leads the ceremony of giving the lordship over to Aragorn. Aragorn is crowned and makes Faramir the Prince of Ithilien. On Midsummer's Eve, the Elves come and Arwen is with them. Elrond gives the new King the scepter of Arnor and the hand of his daughter in marriage. Before everyone departs, Arwen gives Frodo her spot on the ship to the Undying Lands for she has made her choice. Many partings ensue and it's all very bittersweet. It's really sad to watch so many friends say goodbye, knowing that many of them will never see each other again, though everything worked out with the ring.
There is also a story here about the scouring of the Shire, orchestrated by Saruman. The Hobbits have come back from a perilous journey, fought a war to save Middle-earth and wanted to come home to their cozy holes and warm hearths. Instead, they come back to an unrecognizable, destroyed Shire where Saruman enslaved people, tore down trees, destroyed land in his revenge. This ends well too, but it really made me think of how it feels to go off to distant lands to fight battles and then come back home to find the same evil raging. In the end, Frodo sailed to the Undying Lands with the last of the Elves and Gandalf, carrying with them the three rings Sauron forged for the Elven kings. Sam, Merry and Pippin go back to their homes.
"It is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing."
One thing that really bothered me in the books is the lack of Arwen. Hers and Aragorn's love story is the driving force behind the narrative. He works so hard to become a king because Elrond told him his daughter could only marry the King of Gondor and Arnor. This story is relegated to an Appendix in the book, but I truly love how it was all over the movies and how Aragorn never stops thinking about her. He does mention her, saying he'd be with her of he had the luxury of listening to his heart. But I understand that the story is told mainly from the Hobbits' point of view and so Tolkien didn't include much of it in the main narrative
The part with Sam and Frodo wasn't so tedious in this installment probably because their journey to Mordor was almost done so a lot of their chapters were set after the destruction of the ring. Things were finally happening and the pacing was great to get into. I also loved how Tolkien would at times tell us what the other characters were doing at the time (eg. when Sam feels the wind change in Mordor, Aragorn feels the same wind sailing up Anduin, the Rohirrim have just arrived to the Fields.)
I love Eowyn here even more than in the last book. She is a complex human who is unafraid of battle but then in the Houses of the Healing she barely pulls though because she's brokenhearted over Aragorn. Faramir is amazing as well and, though Boromir is ok in the movies and has some great lines (and memes), in the books his younger brother takes the prize. Sorry, I'm not a fan of Boromir. Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn are terrific and their friendship and mutual love is truly aspirational. I love how Legolas and Gimli went on the trips they promised they would take and how they lingered on until Aragorn's death 120 years later - and then Legolas basically smuggled Gimli into the Undying Lands (the only Dwarf there). These two, man!
I'm not sure I need to say more about Merry and Pippin, but I will. They showed remarkable courage in the war and their actions were crucial to its outcome. If they hadn't insisted on going with Frodo, things would have turned out quite differently, and not for the better. I truly love how they remained knights of Gondor and Rohan, and in the Scouring of the Shire they showed such great leadership and strategy. Truly the heroes we didn't deserve.
What else is there to say? I knew how the book would end, and though it can be considered a happy ending it still made me cry. Yup, I cried. Like, ugly, snotty real crying. I felt the loss everyone experienced somehow. Through the three volumes I bonded with these characters so Arwen and Elrond saying goodbye forever hit me. The Fellowship falling apart little by little brought tears and even now, as I type this, I feel pressure behind my eyes. Damn it. Middle-earth as a whole lost Elves and with them much that was magical was gone and the world became ordinary. In the end, Sam lost Frodo, despite them surviving such evil times together.
As I look back, I feel inclined even to forgive Tolkien's writing from the beginning. I'm sure I'll be skipping certain chapters when I re-read this in the future but what I loved was great and even now I feel the need to go back to certain things. But, I suppose I can always watch the movies when I need a fix. Hopefully I won't become one of the purists who bemoan every change from book to screen, though. Anyway, have you read the books? Watched the films? Both? Neither? If you have, which do you prefer?
"If the war is lost, what good will be my hiding in the hills? And if it is won, what grief will it be, even if I fall, spending my last strength?"
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