Did Frodo Fail?

Today we discuss the complex morality of the Lord of the Rings, the importance of mercy and the unheroic heroism of Frodo.
Support me on Patreon: patreon.com/us...
Follow me on Instagram: / jess_of_the_shire
For Channel/Collaboration Inquiries: [e-mail]
For Paid Sponsorships/Integrations: [e-mail]
Music by Epidemic Sound. Check out my referral link here: share.epidemic...

[@pendragon2012]

Frodo is actually one of my favorite characters in all of literature. He sacrificed his moral, mental, physical and spiritual well-being to save everyone. Thanks for not forgetting as so many do--the only reason Gollum was there to "save the day" was because Frodo had spared him at the beginning. Sam wanted to kill him. Great video as always, Jess! :-)

[@TransRoofKorean]

That great, unforgettable Moria conversation with Gandalf... a big part of it boils down to "it's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it". And you don't necessarily know it's you, but you think it might be. It's gotta be someone, someone's gotta bear that burden, so you choose to pick it up yourself. Tolkien would think God preordained it, and even as you're climbing Mount Doom Frodo and Sam would think it's them, but interestingly enough, it isn't. It was Gollum all along! ^_^

[@mastathrash5609]

Exactly, dude went through the real world equivalent of being given hard drugs, getting addicted to said drugs while traveling through trials and tribulations on top of that, to destroy said drugs in the heart of the drug den as it consumes him....😅 With his sober friend and an addict whom the drug has already destroyed (Smeagol). But without Sam... Sam really is a true bro. I don't know if Frodo would have made it to mount doom without Sam.

[@Ringslover]

What was the 1930s equivalent of oxycodone? People in emergency rooms who were prescribed oxycodone and didn't have a choice. They were given the drug. However, most drug users choose to be part of that culture and to take the drugs of their own free will.

[@pendragon2012]

@@Ringslover I think the drugs analogy is kind of weak and takes us far afield. The Ring represents Power and Power corrupts. It corrupted Frodo.

[@crtune]

@@Ringslover Back then, the main analgesic (pain killer) was morphene. By then it was very well understood it was highly addictive, and thus patients were monitored and pushed to withdraw use of the painkiller as soon as possible.

[@adamstevens5518]

“Fail” can be used in two senses, either general/ overall, or specific. In the specific sense, Frodo could only fail at something he himself either said he would do, or was trying to do. We assume that he was trying to destroy the ring, as that was the overall mission, but what he said was that he would take the ring to Mordor. Did Frodo ever have the thought that he himself would throw the ring into the fire? Does it matter? Is failure dependent on the pov? Ultimately it’s the questions themselves that are the interesting thing.

[@TheFatesLieutenant]

Yep!

[@jamessalter6592]

it is wonderful to see the clear passion you have for this material in your facial expressions when telling the story, you clearly love this story. Amazing work.

[@ananyasharma9506]

I always felt that frodo's mission was to go as far as his will takes him, like Elrond says in Rivendell (at least in the books, i dont rmr what exactky he says in the movies). Yea, he failed to destroy the ring, but that wasn't his mission. He was meant to go as far as he humanely (hobbitly?) possible and he did just that.

[@Xanman64-p6q]

Frodo took the ring for himself, thus falling into darkness. It is why he had to leave Middle Earth. Sure, the ring was destroyed, but it was in spite of him not because of him. Sparing Gollum could have just as easily blown up in their faces as help them, so that is kinda a wash. Becoming the dark lord himself, even for a second, is definitely a failure state and explains the ending.

[@Elloreetom]

You are such a good story teller! When can we look forward to your original stories?

[@Pingwn]

It is not often that a hero is truly as ordinary as Frodo. Most "mundane" (everyman) heroes either become or turn out to be special. But while his humility is extraordinary, he has no special powers, he is not strong and he isn't especially wise. He was able to hold the ring for that long merely because of his humility and pity. And there is something very special about seeing how neither power nor wits but mercy and being humble being celebrated, even, maybe even because, if he couldn't resist evil indefinitely.

[@Skeletongentleman7808]

Bilbo’s pity saved middle earth

[@sectureverothoughtcriminal7734]

Frodo was struggling against the Rings influence, where many others would have given in and allowed the Ring to control them. He failed in not destroying the ring, Gollum saved the day by accident.

[@MoviesWithDad]

The "failure" of Frodo was success for Tolkien. It makes the story realistic and relatable, unexpected, and complex.

[@OneTrueNobody]

It does help, of course, that we get to see multiple examples of Frodo's courage and heroism within the books, so that we get the full layered view of it. It's murkier in the Peter Jackson films. A lot of Frodo's best book moments are tied to events that got trimmed down or cut entirely for the sake of fitting the formulaic considerations of a feature-film, so Frodo ends up feeling a bit more like a passenger than a participant there. But I've noticed, in the modern fandom, that character portrayals in the films hold a lot of sway over the collective consciousness. Even in fanfiction, for example, authors who have clearly read the books and are drawing elements from them seem to treat film characterization as the default over the books. Frodo is not the only character who gets somewhat undersold in the fandom because of that.

[@crtune]

Well put and very succinct. I'd only add that this assessment still is true no matter how deeply one delves into LOTR lore. And the book has wonderful sections such as Jess pointed to, which show very crucial and unusual ideas about how this all came out.

[@donwalker8292]

In my opinion, Frodo did fail because he succumbed to the lure of the ring. But it wasn’t random. Not too much earlier, Frodo, through the bring, or the ring, through Frodo, declared to Gollum “Begone! If you touch me again, you shall yourself be cast into the fires of doom” or something close to that. The last failure was that of Gollum, when he bit the ring off of Frodo’s hand. But that too was foreordained.

[@jimluebke3869]

@@OneTrueNobody It's a pity they have to cut the Barrow-Downs. You miss Frodo shining brightest in the darkness there. “There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow. Frodo was neither very fat nor very timid; indeed, though he did not know it, Bilbo (and Gandalf) had thought him the best hobbit in the Shire. He thought he had come to the end of his adventure, and a terrible end, but the thought hardened him.”

[@JeanMacgregor-ln6lr]

@@MoviesWithDad This is very true - and ties in with the post author's evaluation I'd say. Tolkien even tackled Post Traumatic Stress Disorder with Frodo's inability to fit back home - such an important part of the experience of war. Vastly more mature than the curt "happily ever after" trope.

[@bjiornbjiorn]

Getting in early. Technically, all he agreed to do at the Council of Elrond was to "take the Ring to Mordor". Now that job he did flawlessly 😂

[@BananaWasTaken]

Technically he failed that too. Sam was the one who took the ring into Mordor. (Although you could argue that taking it to the boundary of Mordor counts as taking it to Mordor)

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

That's a good point!

[@_daboi]

He obeyed the letter of the agreement, if not the spirit. XD

[@satana8157]

@@BananaWasTaken Sam was in his crew. So it counts.

[@somedandy7694]

In the movie, yes. In the book he is charged explicitly with taking the Ring to the Cracks of Doom, never to lay it aside nor give it to anyone else, save in great need.

[@DamonNomad82]

One theory a former girlfriend and I, both lifelong Tolkien fans, discussed was that Frodo's breaking point from the temptation of the Ring and the physical toll of the long, difficult and dangerous journey, actually happened slightly before the point that he stood at Sammath Naur and had only to open his hand and let the Ring drop to succeed in his quest; a seemingly very simple but actually impossible task. Instead, according to the theory, Frodo's breaking point came at the moment he first used the Ring for his own purposes and invoked its power and doom (not to be confused with merely putting the Ring on in desperate circumstances such as escaping from Boromir, for example). This happened when Gollum attacked Frodo and Sam on the path to Sammath Naur. Frodo, understandably infuriated and driven past endurance by the unexpected additional hardship and danger of Gollum's sudden attack, took up the power of the Ring to place a geis on Gollum: "If you ever touch me again, you shall yourself be cast into the fires of doom!" Sam witnessed the manifestation of power in Frodo when he made this pronouncement, and Frodo's words ultimately came true. Gollum attacked Frodo again shortly afterward and came under the curse Frodo had put on him.

[@Phantasia_Workshop]

According to Tolkien: only Sam could get Frodo to Mount Doom, only Frodo could get the Ring to Mount Doom, and only Gollum could get the Ring away from Frodo. It was then that Eru reached down and gently nudged Gollum (and the Ring) off the ledge

[@peterk2735]

I used to think that, but these days, I don’t see Eru “nudging” Gollum. What Eru did was subtly influence the events that led Frodo, Sam and Gollum to Mount Doom, after that it was their personalities that determined what happened. The only time I think he intervened in the Third Age was when he brought Gandalf back. Gandalf himself says that a higher power than the Valar brought him back at the darkest time.

[@Phantasia_Workshop]

@@peterk2735 True, but Tolkien himself stated in one of his letters that it was Eru

[@peterk2735]

@@Phantasia_Workshop I think I know which letter you mean, the one where he says “Another Power” took over. But again, it took over because all the pieces were in place. Last time Eru intervened directly he sank Numenor, destroyed Sauron and pulled Valinor out of the physical realm. Clearly, if he wanted to banish Sauron, he could do it effortlessly. So I think this time around, he manipulated events so that the fate of the Ring was not preordained, but that Frodo and Gollum would be there at the precipice and the “nudge” was simply guiding them to a place where they could exercise their free will, granted the Ring overpowered them, but it also self-destructed. If Eru wasn’t a thing, this “other power” would simply be called destiny. PS. My 2 cents, I totally understand your POV and accept it’s probably correct 😄

[@satana8157]

It's a huge misconception that I've seen people thing Eru shoved Gollum down. When Tolkien says Eru intervened he means that he set some paths that lead to that moment. The reason Gollum fell is actually quite simple. Frodo made Gollum swear on the ring that he doesn't hurt him. Later on mount doom when Gollum attacks him, Frodo threatens him that if you touch me again I'll make you throw yourself down. Which is what happens. Gollum bits his finger off, and the rings carries out Frodo's "curse" so to speak. Basically, ring destroys itself, because of the oath, and will of Frodo.

[@portlandtwowheels1872]

@@satana8157 Yeah, I've read and heard all that as well. Then...at the end of the day...I remember it's just a story. Either way (or many ways) it's an amazing story regardless of the author's answer

[@mistermysh1660]

Even though he failed to cast the ring into the fire himself, he nonetheless succeeded by cursing Gollum to the fire if he should ever try to take it again, thus accomplishing his goal in a roundabout way as Gollum then plunged into the Cracks of Doom after reclaiming it.

[@pastel.persephone5879]

Whoa I never noticed that parallel before!

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

That's an excellent catch

[@stephicath]

I was going to comment on that often overlooked scene: "If you touch me ever again you shall yourself be thrown in the crack of doom". The Ring trapped itself.

[@Ringslover]

stephi, I suppose someday someone will write a concordance to go along with the text of Rings and then we can look up the quote we desire. I believe that more than once various characters noted that oft evil is done in by evil

[@TheFatesLieutenant]

I agree 100% - Frodo (and the members of the Fellowship itself) served the purpose(s) set before them - If one believes Frodo was "personally" responsible for the actual, physical destruction of the ring "himself", then, Yes, he failed - though my thoughts align with yours - No, he did not fail in his purpose within the saga - one can't do everything oneself (as Sam said, in a rather different context, "Well, one can't be everywhere at once...") but, as a team, in a sense, one can, and Frodo was integral in getting the Ring to the Cracks of Doom (the main task laid on him by Elrond) and Gollum, fulfilling his desire, finished the destruction.

[@GreyPilgrim_Mithrandir]

Frodo did fail, yes. As anybody else would have failed. The ring was more powerful than he was and it would not allow itself to be destroyed. The only thing more powerful than the ring was Eru and he succeeded in destroying the ring, seemingly by chance but ultimately by his will. However, Frodo was the perfect and ultimate ring-bearer, humble enough and strong willed enough to carry it. Frodo offered it willingly to both Gandalf and Galadriel - who both refused the offer and succeeded in overcoming their own tests by doing so. Frodo also refused to turn it over to Boromir, Faramir, Sam and Smeagol demonstrating the wisdom and strength required in his task. Ultimately Frodo is the hero, and worthy of our admiration and praise, but he definitely failed in this mission. Another great video, Jess. Thank you so much.

[@kryptonianguest1903]

The ring was also destroyed by its own evil. The harm it did to Gollum created the situation that Eru used to destroy it.

[@bigcat4117]

The ring is addictive as crack to a drug addict

[@earlofdoncaster5018]

Correct me if I am wrong here: One of the powers of the Ring is that it is impossible for the bearer to intentionally destroy it, with the exceptions of the Valar and Bombadil. Therefore Frodo's task was flat out impossible. I assume the Council of Elrond did not know this because sending the Ring to Mordor was just handing it over to Sauron.

[@earlofdoncaster5018]

@@kryptonianguest1903 As far as I know the only intervention if Eru in LotR is the resurrection of Gandalf.

[@kryptonianguest1903]

@@earlofdoncaster5018 In one of his letters, Tolkien mentioned that Eru nudged Gollum off the ledge to punish him for breaking his oath.

[@karlarden6260]

I think he did exactly what Eru decreed, “nor can any alter the music in my despite for he that attempteth shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful which he himself hath not imagined.” But this topic is great 👍

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Perfect quote for this conversation!

[@beatleblev]

This quote is, for me, the core of the Legendarium that everything else revolves around. There are those who believe Eru and stay in harmony with the Music, acting as sub-creators of wonder, and then there are those who have been convinced by their own hubris that no one can improve on their art, and those who willfully misinterpret Eru's statement of fact as a challenge.

[@Ringslover]

Karla, it has been a while since I last read the silmarillion. Please tell me if there was one exception to the song of creation and it's inability to be changed by the creatures of Arda. I seem to recall that ppl could add to or take from the Song . Am I correct in this memory?

[@goingnowherefast217]

@@Ringslover Look up Jess's video on Tolkien's Magical Music from 2 years ago. She talks about the music of creation and how Morgoth tried to ruin it (without ultimate success, however).

[@abrahamedelstein4806]

That's a thing that never sat right with me in the film, the Ring was Gollum's to destroy, it was like the whole point, the reason why Bilbo and Frodo spared him. And the poetic justice that the Ring should be destroyed, albeit unintentionally by its most tormented victim.

[@timonikkinen9578]

Frodo carried the weight no one else could. He saw how it corrupted himself, he saw how it corrupted the ring wraiths and he saw how it started to corrupt members of the council. He knew the weight of it and because he did not wish it on anyone else, he chose to carry the ring. He chose to sacrifice himself for others, all the way back in Rivendell.

[@Simone-bc2fo]

I really can't stand readers who underplay Frodo. He is a tortured soul. He succeeds where others would fail simply because of his selflessness and understated bravery. Not all heroes are machos swinging swords.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

I get it. He's a complicated hero to handle, but I think he grows on a lot of people over time.

[@Simone-bc2fo]

@Jess_of_the_Shire i think for some people a fragile hero is precisely the perfect hero to cheer for and identify with. The Lord of the Rings would be a much flatter and less interesting story with a more conventional, warrior-type protagonist at the forefront.

[@sebastianevangelista4921]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire I can't help but think of the tips that Hello Future Me made on writing Paragon Heroes (let me know if they don't hold up to scrutiny): 1. Paragons might be right, likable, and get things done, but these characters tend to work better when it’s difficult or costly to keep choosing good. It can create obstacles, damage relationships, and create dilemmas. 2. It’s important to explore how paragons feel even if they don’t struggle over what’s right or wrong. Alternatively, they might evolve and change in ways which don’t affect their core values and beliefs. 3. Being a paragon does not mean they can’t be reckless, stupid, or blind to how others view things. It might mean others sacrifice their lives for them or they miss more subtle evils. They may be wrong entirely. 4. Paragons change characters around them. They can often see through a ‘Lie’ others believe about themselves or the world, urge them in the right direction, or warn them of the path they’re going down. 5. The paragon’s death can be symbolically and narratively instrumental. It leaves the surrounding characters to either take up after them or find a new way forward. 6. Reactive scenes with paragons will often focus more on their reaction, while the dilemma and decision beats focus more on the characters around them. 7. It can be interesting to place the paragon in a position where there is either no obvious good option or where all options are bad.

[@JohnnyWednesday]

Like a child growing up without Spongebob.

[@EuTrabalhoParaSagres510]

Also, Gollum swore by the ring, on pain of death to serve frodo in destruction of the Ring. I think this should be mentioned as it definitely plaid a part in his final plunge👌

[@charlesfinnigan3904]

yeah and that put a power in play that might not have been there otherwise!

[@philkugler2429]

Also, Frodo basically cursed Gollum on Mount Doom. "If you touch me again, you yourself shall be cast into the fires" or something like that.

[@hariman7727]

@@philkugler2429 I don't think that was Frodo, or it wasn't ONLY Frodo who put that curse on Gollum: I believe that the One Ring spoke through Frodo to put that curse on Gollum, causing Evil's own selfishness and pride to undo itself in the end in spite of being able to dominate Frodo.

[@MemineAussi]

Frodo didn't fail in his task. He was meant to get the Ring to the Crack of Doom. Sam was meant to get Frodo to the Crack of Doom. And Gollum was meant to put the Ring into the Crack of Doom. All 3 did their part in destroying the Ring.

[@sarahs1132]

Exactly. Well.said.

[@ariwl1]

It's funny as the stated quest of the ring-bearer seems pretty straightforward: take the ring to a specifically dangerous place and throw it into the fire where it will be unmade. But the better your understanding of the ring the more you realize what an utterly doomed quest it always was. Yes, per Tolkien, Frodo did fail to destroy the ring himself, but the nature of the ring was such that neither he nor anyone else could have ever succeeded in the first place. There might have been other people in Middle Earth who could have taken the ring as far as Frodo, but there are none who could have taken that one more step and deliberately thrown it away. The ring's will was always to return to Sauron, and nothing could intentionally override that as (nearly) all creatures of Middle Earth were fated to succumb to its vile whispers eventually. So we can't blame Frodo for failing in the end because he had effectively lost what little control he had. So in the end when Gollum breaks his oath that he made on the ring to Frodo it creates the opportunity for it be destroyed, because in a world like Middle Earth where words truly have power, broken promises demand recompense. So in the end perhaps the only greater will than that of the ring was of the very world itself.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

I do love how simply the idea is presented at first. I think it's part of Tolkien's larger efforts to reinvigorate older myths--to show how it would realistically work to try and destroy evil

[@ariwl1]

@@Jess_of_the_Shire It's practically presented like a side quest in a modern video game. At face value there's really nothing complex about the quest, but there's an enormous catch that no one truly understands until right up until the end.

[@jimstock2054]

As I have been reading lotr over and over for 45 years. It has been good to see how I see Frodo differently over the years and how his sacrifice seems all the greater as a 55 year old than reading it as a 10 year old.

[@dennisweber2886]

I always thought that the Ring destroyed itself by keeping Gollum to his pledge to serve the master of the Ring. Frodo declared himself master, Gollum bit him, and the ring betrayed him to his doom. Evil oft mars evil. Crazy amounts of foreshadowing throughout that book.

[@edithengel2284]

I love that book, but the foreboding is laid on a little thickly.

[@vtorious9102]

The Ring unaliving itself to hold Gollum to a high moral standard is quite out of character not gonna lie

[@davidsachs4883]

A hero who never wavers is less interesting than one who wavers. Red badge of courage is a great story because our protagonist flees in fear, but later faces his fear successfully.

[@supermanprime6758]

Frodo got the ring to where it needed to be when Eru stepped in and gave a tiny shove.

[@seed_drill7135]

I still think it would have been more satisfactory and less Deus et Machina, to have Sam bean Gollum with a 🪨, knocking him off the ledge.

[@DisorderedArray]

Frodo did also spare Gollum. Mercy was rewarded.

[@crtune]

I'm thinking that Tolkien would have said something not unlike this. The quote seems to say regular living beings always can be defeated by consummate evil (all are sinners?). He does not say the fight against evil is futile, instead his great trilogy appears to be all about a great fight against evil. It's such a rich tale that we also get view of how ring bearers become enslaved to the thing. We also see the great nobility of the several (Gandalf, Galadriel, Aragorn, Faramir) who choose to avoid contact with the ring.

[@crtune]

Deus Ex Machina was what the awkward quick solution of an intervention by a higher power was called (common in Greek plays). Here the plot and underlying philosophy are so rich, that this is more like an integral part of "getting it" when you read about Middle Earth, it's nature and characters per the author's philosophy. Frodo wound up being able to be corrupted even though he could resist as well as any, but there is still the same larger world and its workings that were mentioned off and on through the many thousands of pages. "You were meant to have the ring". Sam being caught spying and sent with Frodo, etc. Hitting Gollum with one of those Hobbit "well placed hit with a rock" would likely be a go to approach for modern folk, but entirely repugnant to Tolkien. In fact the entire work would have been written drastically differently by someone who enjoyed that sort of solution.

[@Raggmopp-xl7yf]

Shove? No, no, no - just a wee nudge.

[@hendilman]

Frodo had succeeded as a friend and a hero when he stood up at the Council of Elrond and volunteered to carry the Ring to Mordor, knowing it's effects firsthand. After hearing from Elrond and Gandalf about the nature of the Ring, nobody was volunteering. The plan then was for all 9 to help Frodo get to Mordor, Boromir only broke when the Company had reached the crossroads where it was either Mordor or Gondor.

[@30110CKs]

Boromir always intended to return to Minas Tirith, the only question was would he go alone.

[@toncek9981]

Frodo was a hero, whether Tolkien intended it or not. Free people of Middle Earth never doubt this and neither do I. Sure, his deeds were not flashy cavalry charge nor the last stand against the armies of Sauron, but his quest into Mordor with the One ring on his neck was no doubt the bravest thing anyone ever does in the story.

[@rayquinn1974]

Hiya, Jess. I love what you do, so thank you for all the unseen/unsung work that goes into just getting one of these videos out. Peace!

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Thank you so much!

[@thtadthtshldntbe]

excellent video. On the failure thing. Its quite possible to give it everything you have and still fail. In fact IIRC in one of Tolkien's letters he comments that despite Sam, Frodo and the entire Fellowship, the entire effort to destroy the Ring failing, they had given not only their all but all that was human possible to give. And so because there was nothing humanly possible and because they have given all their efforts to do, that was why essentially a miracle, even if it is in its specificity undetailed occurred and Eru intervened to ensure the destruction of the Ring.

[@paulbarnett5528]

Sauron made it impossible to destroy the Ring. Frodo takes it farther than anyone else could have expected. But in the end, he failed.

[@MrARock001]

It's interesting to consider that perhaps to Gandalf, and maybe Galadriel and Elrond and a few others with foresight, it was expected that Frodo would fail to resist the Ring's power in the end. Their hope was that he would get far enough, close enough, that when he finally failed, their goal could still be achieved in spite of it. If so, then there's an added level of tragedy to Frodo's appointment as the Ring Bearer, because, unbeknownst to him, his task isn't just to bear the Ring and endure its temptations as long as he can, his task is to endure the failure of his last scraps of strength, and to be "split in two" in a way that none of the wise ones can ever heal. His living with his failure could arguably be a much higher cost than his time actually bearing the Ring.

[@croydthoth]

As far as Gandalf is concerned, I don't think there's any "perhaps" about it: Gandalf had already seen that Frodo couldn't throw the Ring into his hearth fire at Bag End. Your analysis of Gandalf's and Elrond's hope is spot on, I would say. Of course it could have worked out a bit better for Frodo: Gollum might have grabbed the Ring *before* Frodo decided to claim it for himself, thus saving him from that failure. But that wouldn't have been as good a story.

[@leftcoaster67]

He failed, but the odds were against him against the corruption of the one ring. In the end Gollum and Frodo were tied to the ring. Gollum's triumph was also Middle Earth's. Frodo was damaged by the Ringwraith which he never fully recovered. And lost a finger out of it. But was broken. Not a hero in the traditional sense. But someone who sacrifices everything for the greater good is just as brave, and just as heroic even in failure.

[@micklumsden3956]

Mercy and Pity were not only shown by Frodo in saving Gollum from the archers under the command of Faramir but also in recruiting Sméagol to “team Frodo”. For the first time in centuries someone had treated Sméagol with compassion and pity - even to the extent of trusting him. Sméagol responded very positively to that - “nice master”. Ultimately Gollum could not be redeemed but I have often wondered how the story would have played out if Sam had been able to show Sméagol more compassion.

[@andresrecchia3600]

I'd like to add that Gollum could have been redeemed. He is at the brink of manifesting genuine love for a sleeping Frodo in the Stairs of Cirith Ungol when Sam wakes up and accuses him of sneaking, and calls him 'old villain'. Two pages earlier, Sam had wondered if Gollum considered himself a hero or a villain. Gollum obviously reacts negatively and his Stinker side gets to hold the reins until the end of the story. Some might have picked up on something: this is the scene in which Frodo tells Sam to "go away" in the movie. Sam pushing Gollum to villainy as the build-up of his climactic understanding for Gollum and display of Pity were made into Gollum successfully manipulating Frodo and pitting him against Sam. I love the movies but I don't really think that they're faithful. In the book, Sam is regretful of his harsh words immediately, of course. Yet he tries to kill Gollum in their face-off in Shelob's cave (and hey, I get him), while the demon-spider deals with Frodo. All of this is the beautiful build-up to him finally understanding and sparing the creature in Mount Doom.

[@12classics39]

It’s clear that Sméagol/Gollum’s mindset, be it through Ring-mental-illness or it being his true (even pre-Ring) nature, is that “they’re mean to me, I’m mean to them; they’re nice to me, I’m nice to them.” However you treat Sméagol/Gollum, you’ll get the same treatment in return. That’s why he’s nasty to Sam and gentler with Frodo.

[@MrARock001]

One thing I've learned to appreciate only lately about the One Ring, often from analyses like these on KZbin from great close-readers like yourself, is that it has one very interesting flaw, which turns out to be its undoing. It's subtle and there's an almost blink-and-you-miss-it moment where it's on full display, but I think it adds to the "character" of the One Ring as a villain. The flaw is that the Ring *must* enforce oaths sworn on it, either to the best of its ability or else by Eru or some other cosmic contract-enforcement power. When Smeagol swears not to betray Frodo, this takes effect, and Frodo mysteriously seems to understand the power of this oath, warning Smeagol that it's dangerous to make such an oath, and even more dangerous to break it. When Gollum does eventually break the oath and betray Frodo, there's almost a desperation in Frodo to prevent the consequences, as though his latent pathos for Smeagol kicks in and he seems determined to save him. But ultimately, the One Ring keeps its promise of retribution against Smeagol for the breaking of the oath, and Smeagol is killed - even though this means the Ring is destroyed itself. It seems that either the Ring itself, or else Eru / Ea / Tolkien is so insistent that oathbreakers must be punished, that even the Ring's self-preservation takes a back seat.

[@Ringslover]

@MrARock001 I very much like your observation. It does lead me to one question. As the Ring's power comes directly from the Sauron, comes to that, its very existence comes directly from Sauron, does that mean in some way Sauron cannot break an oath? More likely, I suspect, it means the Ring had a mind and personality of its own by the end of the journey into Mordor.

[@andresrecchia3600]

​@@Ringslover No one can break an oath. That's why the Army of the Dead exists. In the book, they're called the Oathbreakers. There are other examples. It isn't that the Ring specifically has a thing with oaths, but that Gollum swore the oath by the Ring (what we understand as "in the name of"), so the Ring's power was what enforced the oath. Gollum swore to serve the master of the precious. As long as Frodo was the Ring-bearer, Gollum would have to obey Frodo's command, by a magical-kind of compelling. In disobedience, great tragedy (suffering or even death) would come upon the oathbreaker. Figure the namesake guys (Army of the Dead), doomed to remain impotent ghosts until their oath was fulfilled.

[@EnzoVinZ]

Heroism is when someone sacrifice themselves to save others. Frodo knew he will fail the moment he saw Gollum -- he's looking at what he would become. His failure was not a surprise since it was foreshadowed. He failed the moment Shelob got him -- without Sam, it's game over.

[@williampalmer8052]

Great video, as always. Can't wait to give it a thorough watch when I have the time! Ok, now... There's a reason Frodo is called the Ring Bearer, not the Ring Destroyer. It was never in his power to destroy the ring, and I strongly suspect that even Gandalf knew as much. All he could do was bring it to Mt Doom, and no more could be asked of him. And even that was almost too much. To say Frodo failed is to misunderstand his true role in the story, which is why I imagine Tolkien put the word in quotes. Frodo had no other option but to "fail." To Tolkien, Frodo is like us. We all undertake an arduous journey, confident that we can conquer the ills of the world, and avoid the temptations of evil along the way. But in the end, we all fall short, and only God's grace saves us, if we remain faithful to our cause. Gandalf had no other choice but to trust that Iluvatar would somehow deliver the world from Sauron's evil, as Tolkien trusted God to do the same for this world. For it is beyond the power of any creature to accomplish this.

[@akechijubeimitsuhide]

What I love about LotR is how defeating Sauron is a group effort, not just with Frodo, Sam and Gollum, but all the others working together despite earlier conflicts, mistrust or sabotage attempts from Saron, Saruman and their goons. And the characters forge lifelong bonds.

[@tahirravat131]

Beautifully dissected. You really made me realize that he did fail, that it was inevitable, I never thought about the ending so deeply. It makes me imagine the conversations frodo might have had with Gandalf as they go to the Gray Havens, imagine if he apologized to Gandalf that he failed at what he set out to do. The things Gandalf would say... My favorite moment that defines Frodo is at Rivendell during the formation of the fellowship we see everybody arguing over who should take the ring. Moments before Frodo is telling Sam it's time to go home, we did what we set out to do! But they're all arguing and he says "I will take the Ring".. and you see Gandalfs face sink into sadness as he turns to face Frodo, he knows he could never ask Frodo to do anymore than he's already done, but also that he's the only one capable of doing it. Its this epic yet sad moment where you feel almost ashamed that the heroes are incapable of the most important task in the world, we have to completely rely on the bravery of the weak. Such an unfair task to ask anyone to do, yet he volunteers himself. Gah makes me emotional everytime I see it

[@davidsalts]

I like your explanation. I once spoke to a Second World War hero who, after the war, was head of a training department. He said it like this. When he trained the soldiers he tried to prepare them for the hell he had been through. This seemed to work well until he realized that the war had destroyed his own psyche, and now he was inflicting the same damage on the soldiers as he had himself. He realized that it was better, in fact, that the soldier only gets training in the technical skills, but that they can live their lives blissfully ignorant of the dark sides of war as long as there is peace, and then we can only hope they rise to the role if a new war starts in the future. And then he quit as a training officer.

[@heartscapesreiki1496]

This is my favorite of your videos. Yes to all of this. I've walked this same analysis, in mind and heart, as I've thought of Frodo's story. The exquisiteness of LotR hinges on the facts that you document here. Frodo is the best of us, in large part because it is not his indivudual heroism that saves the day. It is the fact that he said yes, the sum of his choices, and the richness of the tapestry of souls he is in community with, that brings us resolution. This, more than anything else, to me is what makes this story so important, so lasting, and so relevant to our time.

[@Proclifo]

There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid hobbit, waiting for some final and desperate danger to make it grow. Frodo was neither very fat nor very timid; indeed, though he did not know it, Bilbo (and Gandalf) had thought him the best hobbit in the Shire.

[@jamespfp]

I like how Frodo is aware of things because of his lucky adoption by Bilbo. It was Bilbo, after all (and as Gandalf points out) who had showed pity to Gollum, and that makes all interactions between Frodo and Gollum later on derivative. If Frodo and Gollum are powerless to resist their desire to possess (and be possessed by) the Ring then at least there are two of them at the end to neatly counterbalance.

[@penultimateh766]

He failed, sure. But he failed in the way that Pharoah failed and Judas failed. He was just an instrument of Eru Iluvatar, and his failure was necessary to bring about the greater good.

[@shibasaurus322]

I think I’d rather compare Pharaoh and Judas to Gollum. They actively chose evil, and despite their actions, God or Eru manage to transform their evil and use it to create a good end.

[@penultimateh766]

@@shibasaurus322 ohh good point.

[@BlameThande]

This is one of the things I feel the Jackson films did get significantly wrong - Gollum should have gone over the edge on his own, by accident, to better link with the point that if Bilbo had not spared his life all those years ago, the world would be doomed because no-one (except Tom Bombadil) can resist the Ring to the end.

[@RoseBaggins]

I understood it as that Frodo was fighting him to get the Ring back. Then, they both fell off accidentally but while Frodo realized the danger and grabbed hold of the ledge, Gollum's focus was the Ring.

[@Sindrijo]

@@RoseBaggins That's how I see it, instead of the ring being destroyed by the hubris of joy it is destroyed by the evil of itself as it affects those whom have worn it.

[@gptiede]

A hero is someone who does what needs to be done for the needs of others, for the sake of 'goodness', without any expectation of reward and in spite of the likeliness of harm or costs to themselves. By this definition, Frodo is most definitely a hero, as are Sam and the rest of the Fellowship. Further, whether or not Frodo himself succeeded (this video convinced me that technically he did not) his quest succeeded, and in the end this is all that mattered. Jess, thank you once again for a wonderful video. You often make me think deeply.

[@jjsnedgehammer]

I think your take on this is pretty spot on. When I first read the Lord Of The Rings, back in the mid 80’s, my take was similar and I had a more favorable view of Gollum’s redemption than most, I think. I felt like at least some small part of him knew he was doing right by taking the ring into the Crack of Doom, almost purposefully as he tumbled in. I’m the sort of writer that believes much of the written word is up for interpretation by the reader. In fact, I always enjoyed hearing what other people thought of my stuff, especially when their thoughts made me want to laugh (not disrespectfully). Perhaps I’m influenced by my upbringing but I do believe the universe ultimately bends toward that which supports life.

[@ShamanJeeves]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who views Smeagol's demise as the end of a redemption arc of sorts. Less explicit than Lobelia's, but no less there. We must remember that he was a being of two natures, and there was a longstanding war between the two that had only recently been rekindled. I believe his good side desired the peace of the grave, while his dark side desired only the Ring, and that as he entered the fire his good side was happier than his dark side had been at the recovery of the Ring.

[@cpmf2112]

In the end maybe Eru took pity on Smeagol and let his life finally be over.

[@RIPJimmyA7X]

Did he fail? Yes, as would anyone would've. Thats the whole point, it was an impossible task that he stepped up to and never fell to temptation the entire journey. Thats why Eru stepped in and made Gollum trip

[@Dunybrook]

Fail? I think he succeeded more than almost anyone else in Middle-earth would have. The way he succeeded ultimately was to grant mercy to Gollum while at the same time being humble enough to resist the corruption of the ring. In that he probably was a very unique being.

[@GravesRWFiA]

He didn't fail, he carried the ring to Mt Doom, that was what he was called upon to do.

[@zipadeed00dah]

To put Frodo's and Gollum's actions at the Cracks of Doom into the context of Tolkien's greater legendarium, I see an analogy with the discord of Melkor within the music of the Ainur being overcome by Ilúvatar. Or in a Christian context: all works - good or bad - are futile; only by God's grace can one be saved.

[@avefreetimehaver5154]

This makes sense from the christian persuasion of Tolkien. Man, alone, is helpless against evil. Nobody, as in no one, stands a chance. Only by allowing the higher power working thru them can evil be undone. Only thru Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam's pity and Gollum himself (and everybody else tbh) was the one ring destroyed. Only thru Grace is the common saying they have.

[@JesusIzAPunkRocker]

Pop culture needs more tragic heroes. The implication of the title plays on the unfortunate cultural idea that 'failure' is a despicable act. Or a moral judgement on one's character. But heroes should be allowed to fail - we're only human Frodo did better than most, and gave up more than any mortal in Middle Earth could understand in a selfless act of heroism. He fell short at the bitter end. As anyone would have. The conceit of the One Ring demands that he fails. It is a metaphor for intrinsic flaws in the human condition - the allure of power, wealth, immortality. These things threaten to consume even the most humble and good natured of us, as Frodo proves. Anyone who thinks they could have done better is not being entirely honest with themselves, or hasn't accepted JRRT's message/metaphor IMO.

[@TransRoofKorean]

He is the essence of the good in us that consciously rejects the evil opportunities we have. (Did Tolkien explicitly say that he didn't think of Frodo as a "hero"?) Because I think that Frodo failing in the end was _absolutely necessary_ from a position of Christian theology: like if Jesus could have a moment of doubt on the cross, then Frodo can't possibly do better than that, right? Every person, no matter how *_heroic,_* necessarily has that failing in him, absolutely integral to his person. (I feel like there's an assumption in this video that "heroes are perfect".) That Frodo is a hero who failed in the end seems undeniable in my mind, is what I'm saying. The whole Fellowship, they were all heroes.

[@TransRoofKorean]

(Because I would imagine that to Tolkien, however important it is to recognize we all have that failing inside us... we all have that capacity for heroism in us.)

[@StephenDukenski]

“Evil doesn’t have to pick and choose.” Well said! Tolkien has taught me so much about morality. Evil doesn’t have the same constraints as good. It doesn’t have the same obligations. But, thank Eru, evil is myopic. Unconstrained but myopic-a lidless eye.

[@JR-ld2xx]

I agree with the statement of Frodo being a failure. He's only was a hobbit. Like being a human being. As you stated at the end of the video. Mr. Tolkien's stories are unique to me. He didn't attempt to make the series, boatloads of books. A lot, of authors, seems to me do this. It's too much for me. Mr. Tolkien does have other books, but not like some you talked about. It gives me a headache when characters, and similar story is refurbished.

[@iseslc]

Yes, he 'failed', ultimately. But he did get the One Ring all the way from Bag End to Mount Doom, so that makes it alright in my opinion.

[@ADude-f3z]

Isn’t it ironic that as a culture, more often than not we turn to fictional characters as examples of virtuous fortitude? While in the “real world”, we’re left wondering “Where have all the good folks gone?”…

[@Laurelin70]

Well... kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJ3adYdqe9mHqpIsi=aG-HRGOl9pNqYX-E

[@joaorafaeloliveira1781]

Book Frodo has an elvish nobility that really doesn't translate to the movies, where he is just a guy who suffers a lot.

[@BlameThande]

It doesn't help that they also cut a number of his more heroic moments - helping save the others from the Barrow-wights, stabbing the foot of the cave-troll in Moria, etc.

[@californiumblog]

There is nothing more noble than doing a great deed despite the risk, nay certainty, of failure.

[@johnssmith4005]

Jess can you pretty please make a short of Frodo's little song about the Old Woods ? Both the song and your voice are so lovely

[@joshweston436]

Frodo didn't fail, he played his part in the Music of the Ainur perfectly. Remember, when Eru tasked the Valar with making their symphony, Melkor introduced Discord and everyone thought that it was hideous, until Eru pulled back the veil and showed them the music in its entirety. All of the Valar were amazed that even the Discord introduced by Melkor ultimately played a role in Eru's plan, and that nothing occurred unless it originated within his innermost thoughts. Frodo may have seemed to us to have failed, but when we zoom out and see things from Eru's perspective we realize that all of this was planned from before the beginning of time and Frodo's claiming the Ring for himself had to have happened. If I remember correctly, Tolkien wrote in letter that Eru himself stretched his hand and helped Frodo to his feet when all of his strength was utterly spent. Eru knew Frodo would claim the Ring for himself, but this didn't matter. Frodo's discord was all a part of Eru's beautiful plan to wipe Sauron from Middle Earth.

[@professorbugbear]

Note though... Sam took that secret to the grave. He never told people about Frodo's failure.

[@12classics39]

Everyone knew, though, because Frodo’s missing finger required an explanation in the aftermath. Plus Frodo himself wrote the truth in the Red Book, which we read as the text of ‘The Lord of the Rings’. He never tried to hide his failure. That’s the most important thing - most, if not all, of Gondor knew that detail, but they had the common sense to say “you brought it all that way knowing it was unbeatable and would most likely get you killed, hell yes, you’re a hero.”

[@ronaldmccomb8301]

Great analysis of Frodo’s complex story. So many layers in such a great figure. Great video as always, Miss Jess.

[@i_DONT_get_IT]

Jess, do you ever listen to the prancing pony podcast? I actually just heard this topic discussed on one of their episodes! 😊

[@jermainerucker2027]

I don’t think Lord of the Rings is about heroes I think it’s about humanity

[@The50FirstState]

An excellent video Jess! Frodo's wording seems to take inspiration from the very wording of the mystery of iniquity expressed by St Paul. Frodo: "I have come" he said. "But I do not choose now to do what I came to do. I will not do this deed. The Ring is mine!" Romans (7:15-20) "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me."

[@TheFifthIdiot]

Have you read On the Shoulders of Hobbits by Louis Markos?

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

Not yet! I'll have to check it out!

[@TheFifthIdiot]

It is an excellent analysis of the themes in the LOTR, and really helped me appreciate an understanding of good and evil, the different kinds of love, and the higher calling we all have, through the lense of a story I've always loved

[@billysmart6825]

Frodo did not fail. His task was to bear the ring to Mount Doom, which he accomplished

[@Bi-PolarBurnout]

Who wants to hear Jess just read us the book already? The best parts of this upload were her direct quotes of the book, I could listen to you all day jess.

[@jonrolfson1686]

The multi-layered, sometimes self-contradictory natures of Professor Tolkien’s characters have much to do with my frequent return to the story since my first reading of Lord of the Rings in 1965. When I was younger there were sections which I would skip on re-reading, as they seemed to slow the story too much. Some of those slower chapters have become cherished favorites later in life.

[@peterk2735]

My dad, bless his soul, introduced me to the books and the movies when I was like 11-12. He told me that the older I get, the more value and wisdom I would find in them on subsequent re-reads. At 32 years of age, I wish I could tell him how right he was 👍

[@LeoAngora]

Your theater background makes your book fragment readings a total delight. How amazing! Have you considered being the voice of a Tolkien's audiobook?

[@Captainflowers1011]

I think Frodo's "failure" is meant to prove Tolkien's perspective of evil and heroism. Frodo is, traditionally, the "ideal" hero but he still fails because nobody can ever truly overcome evil because we've all got evil in ourselves. Gollum knocking the ring into Mount Doom proves his greater point though, that evil is, inherently, self defeating and will ultimately bring about its own destruction by its own corruptive nature.

[@ztmsirhc9353]

I was told that the ring represented addiction and the problems that come with it, maybe because of my own battles with addiction it resonated with me

[@AlexMathiesen]

I was showing a friend LOTR because she never saw the movies. After Two Towers, she said, "Frodo is the worst, he's such a wimp." My first thought was, "she's going to hate Frodo at the end of Return when he doesn't immediately destroy the Ring." Can confirm, she did not like him during that part.

[@Jess_of_the_Shire]

He's a tough character to love at first. He's really put through the crucible. But I do think he grows a bit upon contemplation.

[@12classics39]

The key is reminding her that directly destroying the Ring was impossible. It wouldn’t let anyone destroy it. That’s the point of the Mt. Doom scene. The final plot twist is that Frodo never would’ve been able to do it. The way to get the Ring into the destructive fire/lava was NOT by just chucking it in there like a stone. It was not that easy. There had to be a chain reaction from Frodo’s actions and choices up until that moment that made it possible for Gollum to be there to unintentionally make the final, fatal move.

[@maurvir3197]

I hate to say it, but your friend lost the plot. Frodo is a lot of things, but wimp isn't one of them. In terms of strength of character, he is right up there with the perceived "heroes". It's easy to like Sam, but Sam only shouldered a tiny fraction of the burden Frodo did. Frodo, on the other hand, endured nearly to the end and managed to hold onto himself right to the point of standing in the volcano, after going through things that would have left a "wimp" running to safety.

[@RoseBaggins]

Oh, your friend wouldn't like me. I've been a fan of his ever since I first encountered him in the cartoon, and was pleasantly blown away by Elijah Wood's performance (he became my celebrity crush officially after that) as well as the books. I will sing his praises and might compete with Sam only in how loud I am singing, lol. I never saw him as a wimp, though I guess I can understand why someone might see that as Elijah's voice has a younthful tone to it, if you will, so his sorrow comes off as whining. But then, I wonder if those who think Frodo is a whiner has ever met a toddler, because a whiner he is not. But then, that could be because of what I was paying attention to. I believe I have more of a detail-oriented mind, a voracious reader to boot, and noticed the little details that Jackson put into the movies where it concerned Frodo. And I notice more every time I watch it, not just for him, but for the others as well. But then, I am a Catholic, I am used to the type of hero that would have inspired Frodo.

[@robinarmy]

I got into a very (by the standards of online discourse probably not that very) unpleasant confrontation with a cartoonist who had written a single strip where Frodo is in a bar and he says "long story short, I threw the ring in that volcano" and try as I pettily might, I couldn't make him see that the punchline completely undermined the climax of the novel. Frodo HAD to fail. Tolkien wrote the story precisely so Frodo could endure right until the very end, but then had to fail. The ring was just that damn evil, no one could destroy it. Only God/Eru could. All the mortals could do is their duty. That guy probably still hates me for "well actually..." to his joke.

[@vinnycordeiro]

I recently read a book that dives deep exactly on this topic called "Pity, Power, and Tolkien's Ring: To Rule the Fate of Many" by Thomas P. Hillman. It's a very interesting read.

[@followingtheroe1952]

No. They defeated the Eldritch No-God weapon of insurmountable tyrannical will. I thnk its to be expected the outcome will be rough

[@phj223]

Well, before listening to your argument (great "click bait" btw, I almost started freaking out just from the title! ;) ) I don't think Frodo failed. As far as I know, there is no one in Middle Earth, not Frodo, not Gandalf, not Elrond, not even Sam (who seems to be the quickest to realize that the lure of the Ring was a path to evil), and obviously not Isildur, who would be able to willingly cast down the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom. It could only have happened, as it did happen, in the novel and (somewhat differently but still without intent) in the movie.

[@grokeffer6226]

Frodo and The Fellowship succeeded in their initial task, but Frodo was damaged beyond a point of recovery by his traumas. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is fairly frequent with people subjected to war and horrible circumstances. Even coming home doesn't cause the unpleasant feelings to fully go away. I'm sure Professor Tolkien would have been fully aware of these facts through his own personal experiences. The friends he lost and the ones who came back from the war too traumatized to function in society with any degree of comfort were incorporated into his storytelling. ** You could say that Boromir "failed", but once he knew the plan for The Ring, he couldn't have returned to his father without dooming the mission. Sauron would have known everything. Boromir had to die for the quest to continue.

[@sourisvoleur4854]

Frodo succeeded, but indirectly. His compassion allows Gollum to live, and meet him at the cracks of Doom, and there (albeit involuntarily) destroy the ring. If Frodo had killed him, or allowed Sam or Faramir to kill him, he would have failed. As it is, he succeded in destroying the ring, just through the hand of another.

[@tbessie]

One super-nerd comment - it's "CrackS of Doom" (crackS, plural), not "Crack of Doom" 🙂

[@skatemetrix]

Frodo had one task and he failed at the last hour. He had the will and wits to enter Mount Doom which assuredly no one else could do- but he still failed. It is ironically Gollum who saves the day: crazy Gollum who would take the Ring in the very heart of Mordor just to hold his precious a little longer despite knowing that the Enemy would soon reach him and take the Ring. Gollum was so twisted, corrupted and evil that he would pursue the ring and attack the ring-bearer, and his former master, just to obtain the Ring once more. Gollum was so heartless and self-absorbed that he squandered every act of mercy giving on him: Bilbo sparing his life, Aragorn moving him to the wood Elves of Mirkwood, the Elves who guarded him and watched over him, Frodo who spared his life once more and gave him the benefit of the doubt, and finally Sam sparing his wretched life because Sam could not bring himself to murder Gollum. Gollum rejected and spat on all of that mercy, and he was so mad that he broke a vow to both his Master Frodo and the Ring to never harm Frodo thus condemning him to a terrible fate and most certainly death and damnation. Finally Gollum, in his final moments, was cursed by either Frodo or the very Ring itself to literally burn within the Fire of Mount Doom if he even dared touch Frodo or the Ring again. What does Gollum do? Enter Mount Doom, attack Frodo and take the Ring for himself. Gollum was so far gone he cared nothing for consequences, for principles, for oaths, for curses, for his life, or for anything at all- in his final moments of insanity he grasped that Ring just to have his precious a moments longer before death or the Enemy destroyed him and parted him forever from the Ring. But I think in the end Eru may not have intervened at all: the Ring cursed Gollum, and Gollum cursed the Ring to uphold its very curse, and both fell into the fire to ensure the curse was applied- and two very evil entities both destroyed each other. Frodo was the one to take the Ring into the very cracks of Doom. Sam was the one to ensure Frodo entered the Cracks of Doom no matter what and minimize however feebly the burdens of his master. But it was Gollum who would unwittingly and unwillingly take the Ring into the fire- Gollum was the final unknown piece in a terrible puzzle and conundrum to bring about the necessary circumstances to destroy the Ring.

[@holdyourfire74]

Frodo also showed mercy and pity to Saruman. He didn't want him killed after the scouring of the Shire. Even after the killing of hobbits. He turned him loose. It was Saruman's own hubris and treatment of Grima Wormtongue that finally lead to Grima killing him and subsequently being killed himself. It really pained Frodo to have that happen in The Shire. I say he failed the ultimate task. But as Tolkien himself hinted it was inevitable that anyone would fail there in the Cracks of Doom where The One Ring is at it's most powerful. Frodo succeeded at doing all he could getting the Ring to the brink. I had never considered that what happened there (getting there and failing to destroy it) was one of his major hurts that lead to his decision to leave. But I think that's absolutely true. Great analysis. Frodo has always been one of my favorite characters in all of literature.

[@Owlr4ider]

I'm sorry but as much as I love Frodo as a character, he's simply not the main character in the Lord of the Rings. That honor must be bestowed unto Gandalf, who was the driving force behind most if not all the events that happened in the entire trilogy. Gandalf influenced things mostly from the shadows rather than overtly, but he did play a role in most things that happened. This form of influence by the way was absolutely his mission statement as a Maiar so it fits the story perfectly. I do agree though that Frodo didn't fail, if only for the simple reason that you can't really fail at something you can absolutely no chance to succeed in. The One Ring was designed to protect itself from destruction, since the only way it could be destroyed was being tossed back into the fires of Mt. Doom than that's precisely what it was built to resist. Since the One Ring's magic was obviously stronger than Frodo's, and lets face it the absolute majority of people including people like Gandalf and Elrond who for this very reason refused to be the ring bearers themselves, than Frodo literally had no chance at successfully destroying the One Ring.

[@wachyfanning]

I think every step that Frodo took was a victory. While he failed at the final step: destroying the ring; the ring would not have ultimately been destroyed if he had made the same decision half way through his journey. Though he ultimately failed his perseverence allowed victory. Every little bit counts, every flower and every leaf, every little hobbit living in the Shire, every single step made, every second of suffering endured, it's all important.

[@mitjadastis711]

Your final breakdown of what makes us human made me teary eyed while smiling very brightly, wich is both funny and beautiful to think about when the context is Tolkins works. Thank you for this ❤️

[@ghyslainabel]

Yes, Frodo did fail. You said at 14:26 , "evil had become irresistible". Was it evil that was irresistible? or was it the power of the ring? Was the ring powerful because it was evil, or because a Maia put his own strength in it? I mean, if Olórin had poured his mercy, his benevolence, and his will to heal all life into a ring, would any ring-bearer be able to resit?

[@dizzlebizzle8424]

"...in spite of Frodo, not because of him."

[@luster5497]

Technically Sméagol saved Middle-earth. -Samwise Gamgee was the better ring-bearer as well, literally carry Frodo the entire way, never even tempted by the ring at all

[@ScreenFiends]

Great video. Just to add, absolutely no one could have destroyed the ring, not even Sauron himself. The fate of the ring was sealed at its inception. All of the hate and arrogance that Souron pours into the ring is ultimately self-defeating, trumped by pity and mercy. There is a beautiful message that under scores all of this, that Eru (God) has faith in the people's of Middle Earth, no matter their stature.

[@sunfire2614]

It is so odd that Samwise overshadows Frodo in pop culture. There place in the stories, and even in the social structure of the Shire. Its a little hilarious not going to like. It's like Podrick being more popular than Tyrion during his chapters. I think.

[@BondingleStudios]

Frodo “failed” in that moment, but the point of the story is always that small acts of courage, pity, and good are what build up and defeat evil. Frodo himself was never going to be able to overcome the ring, but by his acts of good along the way, and the actions of his friends, an insurmountable evil was overcome.

[@benjamingentile1660]

Amazing vid! You should do a video with Like Stories of Old. He has a great video on the same subject.

[@JohnnyWednesday]

Frodo didn't fail - he only turned at the last moment. Had Tom Bombadil recited one less poem? Frodo would have made it in time. Haiku could have saved his finger!

[@vennsung]

The Fellowship of the ring. Eru wanted fellowship to be the reason for the win. That’s why Gandolf offered help with fellowship over force. Fellowship is a team effort. His duty was to be a part of the fellowship that got the deed done, as which it did. Thus his duty was complete.

[@michaelogrady232]

Frodo did all that his mortal body could do. That was all Eru asked of him. Eru took it from there. In that regard, Frodo had a resounding success. "There are other forces at work...."

[@Average_Brad]

I aspire to be like the more heroic characters, but if I'm honest with myself I'm much more Frodo than Samwise. In that sense he's a well crafted character making his outlandish story much more relatable.

[@tombombadil66]

You could ask did gollum succeed..some might say ..had frodo killed gollum early on ,and he had plenty of chances too.then frodo would have fallen to the ring and become gollum...frodo at the end is closer to gollum than most think.

[@toweypat]

Destroying the Ring was a team effort, and Frodo put together the team (Sam and Gollum). So he did not fail.