The finale of best movies of all time.
It was never going to be simple to end a film series that in total encomes nearly 9.5 hours of screen time in its theatrical cut, but was a record-breaking Oscar-winning entry to give an appropriate farewell to its characters and close the story on "The War of the Ring". A theme of The Lord of the Rings is the deep cost for the characters to protect the people and places they love and how they will be forever changed despite the victory. The film's long ending shows how the journey has affected the heroes.
Sauron And The One Ring Are Destroyed
The One Ring Falls In Frodo's Skirmish With Gollum
After three films of journeying toward Mordor, the third act of The Return of the King sees Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom. It's at that moment when the Ring is at its most powerful, that it finally overpowers Frodo and manages to corrupt the hobbit. Audiences have watched Frodo struggle to rid himself and the world of the One Ring, growing weaker by the day, but all the while, he manages to avoid succumbing to it. That it overpowers him at the final moment shows how tremendous a weight it was upon the young hobbit the entire journey.
This is a full-circle moment of the series. In The Two Towers, Frodo rescued Gollum, and Gollum helped Frodo destroy the Ring. It’s appropriate that the two characters most closely tied to the Ring would be the ones to have their hands on it and be the conduits of its destruction at the end of the film. Gollum and Frodo’s destruction of the One Ring illustrates the idea that even the smallest people in the world can have the greatest impact on it. In a world filled with kings, wizards, and elves, two hobbits decide the fate of Middle-earth.
Aragorn Is Crowned King Of Gondor And Weds Arwen
Aragorn Returns As The Long-Lost King Of Gondor
Aragorn has spent the series avoiding his destiny to become King of Gondor. The blood of Kings runs in his veins, but he sees it as Isildur's weakness that was unable to destroy the Ring in the first place. In Return of the King, Aragorn is pushed to accept his crown. When he accepts his duty, Aragorn’s power and influence are raised to new levels. The end of his story is a classic epic finale, where the lone hero becomes king. His presence at the Black Gate alone is enough to make an evil as great as Sauron feel vulnerable.
After the destruction of the Ring, The Return of the King returns to a coronation ceremony for Aragorn that is attended by all the major characters from the films. For the first time in the series, there is a scene of jubilation without any shadow of darkness hanging over it. Aragorn has spent the series avoiding his destiny and the film’s ending shows what beautiful things can happen when someone decides to become who they were meant to be. What’s more, Elrond finally gives his blessing to Arwen and Aragorn, allowing them to marry.
How The Witch-king Breaks Gandalf's Staff In The Lord Of The Rings
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King sees the Witch-king break Gandalf's staff, which has led to a lot of controversy - and here's why.
The Hobbits Return To The Shire And Back To Their Lives
The Shire Is The Same, But The Hobbits Are Not
The four main hobbits of The Lord of the Rings make their way back from Mordor to the Shire on a long and mercifully uneventful trip. Upon arriving in the Shire, the other hobbits can't help but notice the quartet looks more regal and rich since their departure. The message is clear — they have been changed greatly by their journey while their home and those closest to them have remained largely the same and ignorant of the dangers they narrowly avoided.
For the longest time, the hobbits were out of their element, away from Hobbiton, but being back, they again find themselves out of place. The prying eyes of the other hobbits no longer worry the heroes of The Return of the King. The things that they used to mind don’t seem to matter as much. The of the Fellowship act differently after their journey, and Sam approaches a woman he would never have talked to before. The hobbits are different now, wiser and braver. They are also aware of a wider world outside the safety of the Shire.
Frodo Leaves For The Undying Lands With Gandalf And Bilbo
Frodo Finally Departs For The Undying Lands To Live Out His Days
As The Return of the King approaches its end, Frodo reveals the “Red Book of Westmarch”. This book is a central conceit of the series. J.R.R. Tolkien created his stories based on the idea that he was translating a forgotten tome known as "The Red Book of Westmarch" that contained the stories of the Lord of the Rings. Including the book is an elegant way to allude to Tolkien’s original idea for Lord of the Rings that long-time fans will instantly recognize. It is also a symbol of how Frodo is handing over his stories to someone else.
Frodo saves Middle-earth for everyone at the cost of saving himself.
Frodo speaks about what it means to move on when others can't move with you. It's a poignant look at how his burden across the film series has taken a greater toll on him than anyone else in Middle-earth. He finished his quest and fulfilled a destiny that no one else was able to, but the price meant that he could no longer be a part of Middle-earth. Frodo saves Middle-earth for everyone at the cost of saving himself. There is only one place for him to heal, and that is in the Undying Lands, where Frodo can live in peace.
Is Sauron Actually Dead After The Return Of The King
Sauron Is Never Fully Gone, But He Might As Well Be
Despite the One Ring being destroyed, Sauron doesn't actually die in The Return of the King. As an immortal being, his soul and mind still live on in some form of existence, but he has been stripped of the power that would allow him to take form again or do anything to the world. So, essentially, he can never be permanently destroyed, but he's so far gone that he's not any concern for the remaining population of Middle-earth.
After the ring's destruction, Sauron is virtually nothing.
While not canon to the films or books, Amazon Prime's The Rings of Power season 2 offers a glimpse of what a defeated Sauron would look like after his physical form is destroyed in flashbacks to the end of the First Age. If not for the amount of his soul and being that he poured into making the One Ring, he may have been able to return in some similar form, but he invested so much of himself in the creation of this object. After the ring's destruction, Sauron is virtually nothing.
How The Return Of The King's Ending Differs From The Book
The Book Has Much More After The Destruction Of The One Ring
Out of the three Lord of the Rings films, The Return of the King is the most changed from its book counterpart. In Tolkien's novels, each volume is divided into two books. The third volume splits its books between the events surrounding Minas Tirith and the events following Frodo and Sam in Mordor. Furthermore, there's much more narrative following the destruction of the One Ring, seeing how each of the characters returns to their lives.
The hobbits rally the town and defeat Saruman
The most well-known difference between the book and film is the chapter called "The Scouring of the Shire," which sees the hobbits return to their home to find it under the control of ruffians. They discover that the boss of the ruffians is none other than Saruman, who's sworn petty revenge against the hobbits for their hand in defeating him at Isengard. The hobbits rally the town and defeat Saruman, and as Frodo demands that the wizard be allowed to leave without harm, Saruman is stabbed in the back by Grima Wormtongue.
Return of The King Cast: What They've Done Since (& Where They Are Now)
The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King features a massive cast of talent who've appeared in plenty of amazing projects over the years.
Otherwise, the book provides more examination of the hobbits' return journey from Minas Tirith, more insight into the romance between Faramir and Éowyn, and a more detailed explanation of Frodo's feelings upon his exit from Middle-earth. The book offers a closer examination of each of the characters' interpersonal relationships and emotions about what's happened, particularly with Frodo and Sam.
What Happens To Each Main Character After The Lord Of The Rings
The Fellowship May Be Disbanded, But Each Of Them Lives On
Seeing as most characters survive the War of the Ring, they go on with their lives following the film's events. Peter Jackson's Return of the King provides some exposition about the characters' futures, but there's much more information in the books. The main takeaway from the films is that Frodo Baggins is still plagued by the effects of the One Ring and isn't able to find joy in Middle-earth. Frodo is able to journey to the Undying Lands because he was a ringbearer, but there's still more to his story beyond this.
Characters |
Future Events |
|---|---|
Frodo |
Journeys to the Undying Lands and lives out his days in peace, healing from his experience with the One Ring. |
Sam |
Marries Rosie Cotton, becomes Mayor of the Shire, and eventually leaves for the Undying Lands after his wife's ing. |
Merry |
Marries Estella Bolger, becomes Master of Buckland, eventually dying and being buried by Aragorn in Gondor. |
Pippin |
Marries Diamond of Long Cleeve, has a son named Faramir Took, and eventually returns to Gondor for his final days, where he's buried alongside Merry. |
Gandalf |
Returns to Valinor and returns to his Maiar form, having fulfilled his purpose in Middle-earth. |
Aragorn |
Reunites the Kingdom of Gondor in an age of prosperity, birthing his heir, Eldarion, who becomes king after him. |
Legolas |
Goes on many travels with Gimli, works to restore the woodlands of Middle-earth after the war, and eventually departs for the Undying Lands. |
Gimli |
Establishes a new Dwarf settlement behind Helm's Deep in the Glittering Caves, then becomes the first dwarf to leave for the Undying Lands. |
Faramir |
Becomes the Prince of Ithilien, making him one of Aragorn's highest-ranking nobles. He and Éowyn marry and have children together. |
Éowyn |
Marries Faramir and has a son and grandson with him. |
Éomer |
Crowned as the King of Rohan, swearing loyalty and friendship with Gondor, and helps Middle-earth in a new age of prosperity. |
Elrond |
Leaves Middle-earth with the other ringbearers, sailing to the Undying Lands. |
Arwen |
Marries Aragorn, living out her days as Queen of Gondor and dies of a broken heart shortly after his ing. |
Galadriel |
Sails with Elrond to the Undying Lands, finally returning to where she'd come from. |
The Real Meaning Of Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King's Ending
The Return Of The King Shows The World In The Aftermath Of Great Struggles
The conclusion of The Return of the King is not only the end of a film but the end of a saga. After countless struggles, Frodo and the Fellowship have fulfilled the oath, proving the merits of friendship and camaraderie. Despite Sauron being defeated, the finale of the trilogy is not all celebratory. A major theme of Jackson's Lord of the Rings is that magic is leaving Middle-earth, both evil and good. Frodo managed to stop the world from becoming something dark under Sauron, but it is changing nonetheless and Frodo will have to leave Middle-earth too.
The end of The Return of the King is steeped in this melancholy. The adventure is over for the hobbits, and that means a return to a simple life. Characters like the Ring-bearers and the wizard Gandalf must sail away to find peace. For the rest of the people of Middle-earth, their lives have been returned to them, and for the first time in many years, they can turn happily to their families, as Sam does, and say, "Well, I'm back."
The final installment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King concludes the epic saga of the Fellowship's quest to destroy the One Ring and put an end to Sauron's reign of terror. As Frodo and Sam continue on their way to Mordor and Mount Doom, accompanied by Gollom, the rest of the Fellowship work to defend Minas Tirith from Sauron's forces. The film's ensemble cast includes Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellen, Vigo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan.
- Runtime
- 201 Minutes
- Director
- Peter Jackson
