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FULL WATCHALONG: Lord of the Rings - Return of the King (Extended Edition)

🕑 Added 2025-04-16 12:14:19 +0000 UTC

Comments

ArsTropica

Kudos for getting through the 4 hour extended cut. I think that you would have enjoyed the 3h theatrical release more on your first viewing. At the end, Frodo & the others are going to Valinor (the middle-earth equivalent of heaven). Tolkien was a soldier in WWI as well as a religious scholar, and LOTR was inspired by his life experiences in the war as well as his Christian beliefs. I believe that this was the reason that he wrote a bittersweet ending to the story (e.g. Christ's story). In any case, the ring was supernatural, but Frodo was not. Ultimately the ring won and Frodo was left in a lot of constant pain and spiritual despair, which is why he left middle-earth. It reminds me that in warfare, there are two types of hero: those with medals and those 6ft under. Sam is the first type, Frodo is the second type. It is suggested in the book that Sam eventually joined Frodo in the Undying Lands since he was also a ring-bearer.

Algor Langeaux

In the end, Frodo left because carrying the ring had crushed him. He was in constant pain, and the Elves were leaving for the Undying Lands - essentially heaven, without needing to actually die first.