Return of the King QU:SPOILER,DO NOT CLICK if you have not seen movie!

[romantico]

If you haven't seen the movie, Go away NOW! MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD!!!















At the end of the movie when Frodo went with Gandalf & Bilbo, didn't he die? Isn't that their way of saying the ring killed him? A co-worker says I am wrong. I cried my eyes out when Frodo split. WHat happened if he didn't die?

[Code_Name_D]

1. I thought that it was the Nasgoold stab that did Frodo in.

The mentioned the wound sevral times.

[Demonaut]

11. Its Nazgul

Ringwraiths, they were of the same people of Gondor, from Numenor.

[Demonaut]

12. Not all were from Numenor, Some were from Crawford Texas

I think their leader was at least, I think "Sauron" means Chimp in Westernesse

[mikehiggins]

2. Continue the spoiler alert

He went with Bilbo and Gandalf to the Undying Lands where the Elves live eternal. Frodo never died, which is a bittersweet blessing since he will always recall what happened to him while he was a Ring Bearer.

I beleive that, before his own death, Sam also took ship to the West and thus the last Ring Bearer left Middle Earth.

Pippin and Merry lived long, prosperous lives and died very old, leaving large broods of children who were continuously in trouble.

I could be wrong but I think that is how it played out.

[Demonaut]

10. you're right....

[Coventina]

3. No, he didn't die, he went to Valinor

He couldn't get the healing he needed in Middle-Earth, so the elves took him to the "Blessed Land" so that he could get the help he needed to be "whole" again.

The thing I am not sure of is, if Frodo and Bilbo (and later Sam) went to Valinor, did they live there eternally? Or did they eventually die?
Do you become immortal by going to Valinor?

[Zero Gravitas]

7. No

I think Frodo and Bilbo were just able to live out the rest of their natural lives in peace in the Undying Lands.

[SadEagle]

4. Hmm, long story.

OK, basically, in Tolkien's world, there is a supreme deity, called the Illuvatar, who can create life (and did create men and elves), and all that. He has assistants, though, and among them the most powerful ones are the Valar, who are the ones who actually created much of the things on earth (and the Sun, Moon, Starts, etc.).
These are pretty close to being sort of deputy deities. They live in a sort of a "promised land" called Valinor, or Aman, along with many lesser spirits, and many elves. The land is not reachable by normal means, but the Elves can get there.... Frodo and Bilbo are going to an island really close by for a retirement and comfort, as a sort of a reward, and for Frodo as a way to deal w/all the pain he suffered... While Gandalf is basically returning home, since he was sent from there to the middle-earth to help deal with Sauron.

[romantico]

5. WOW! That changes everything!

SPOILER:










Thanks all! I am determined to read the books now! I just assumed Frodo died, thats why it was so emotional. I figured Bilbo was like 200 or something & he looked like he was about to die. Gandalg knew his time as Gandlaf the white was short, so I just figured the ring drained the life out of Frodo(especially towards the end)Thanks again for clearing things up!

[Looiewu]

15. Excellent recital!

BTW: I read an article in the paper yesterday, an interview with Peter Jackson, in which he said that they cut 1 hour and 5 minutes from the final cut of the movie. There's no doubt that most of that will be restored for the DVD; hopefully including the Scouring of the Shire, Sauroman and Wormtongue's fate, etc....

[tigerbeat]

18. no scouring i don't think

possible spoiler












i *believe* peter jackson said that they didn't film the scouring of the shire (except for a short flash-forward in FOTR). but in the documentary on the two towers extended DVD they DO show a scene they filmed with aragorn/gandalf, et. al. confronting saruman and wormtongue at isengaard. so most likely that WILL come back in for the extended ROTK. my guess is that a huge part of the eliminated footage deals with the relationship between eowyn and faramir -- which virtually doesn't exist at all in the theatrical cut except for one lingering shot on them during the coronation sequence.

cried like a baby both times i've seen this bad boy.

[rppper]

6. no, no, no, no, no.....this is what happened.......

because frodo and bilbo were both so exposed to the dark lord and the evil that was the ring, they were taken to the place where the elves were going to live out the rest of their lives in relative peace...their exposure to the ring had changed them too much to ever be comfortable again in the shire. as for gandolf, his mission was now complete...he had already changed into the white wizard...he too was going to rest in the land of the elves. merrie, pippen and sam, although exposed to the ring and life outside the shire, did not have the contact to the ring that frodo and bilbo had...so they remained in the shire. sam was shown getting married and having children. the scene where all 4 are drinking in a tavern shows how their innocence was lost...they are, as a group, oblivious to the goings on around them, the simple, everyday lives of the other hobbits lost on them....kind of a sad ending really, but very much in line with the books. read the hobbit, a prequel if you will, to the lord of the rings...it'll answer a lot of questions about bilbo.

[Looiewu]

16. Another resource is:

"The Silmarillion" which gives a great deal of the history of Numenor and the early history of middle earth in the first and second ages...

[Demonaut]

8. they go to Valinor, the undying lands....read the book

Much better than the movies...The book explains that all the ring bearers have a ticket to Valinor, even Samwise, who in the book is the last to leave.

[beyurslf]

9. This is why the movie should have ended with the

crowning of Aragon. Those who have read the books know what is going on with the other endings. But those who haven't are like, WTF.

[Snow]

13. Hmmm. Disagree slightly. I liked the departure from the Havens,

although I would've liked to see whatsisname, the keeper of the Gray Havens - maybe that was him standing by Galadriel? Anyway, he hung around til Sam was ready to go, so maybe not. But I didn't miss the chapter about how the Shire got messed up by that evil human from - hmmm, where was he from? - anyway, I thought that was a bit too much, and I liked better the part about the four returning home to Iowa - errr, the shire.

[Dudley_DUright]

17. The keeper of the Gray Havens

is Círdan the Shipwright, but he is a pretty obscure character, even in the books.

[Pompey]

14. OT a bit: Jonah Goldberg

I loved the movies and thought they did justice to the books. No movie is ever going to capture a book perfectly, but they came close.

On another note, I heard that arch-conservative Jonah Goldberg is doing a Lord of the Rings documentary that is going to be appearing on the ROTK DVD (or maybe some combined special edition), I don't know. I wonder if that will affect sales at all?

[forgethell]

19. He went West, to the Undying Lands

to live forever with the Elves and the Valar.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

20. He went to the undying lands

i didn't read the books, but a friend explained this to me once, I'm pretty sure it's because Frodo could not find peace in the middle earth so he went there to find solice.