Today's scene is wrapup to the whole shebang. What exactly happens to the Ring? What happens to Sauron? Or Gollum, for that matter?
Let's find out.
Gollum Inadvertantly Gets the Job Done
We sort of knew there would be shenanigans involved in the innards of Mount Doom. You didn't think that it was going to be as easy as Randall made it out to be in Clerks 2, right? I mean, it's foreshadowed (sort of) in the first movie. People, when they get to that moment where they have to let that cursed thing go...just can't do it.
I'll admit, I hadn't read the books prior to watching the series (I've since made up for that), so I didn't know exactly how it was going to end. I mean, I figured that this wasn't the type of series to just have evil win and let that be that, but the particulars were very much up in the air.
The final Sam/Frodo/Gollum/Ring scene is shot with the perfect amount of epic menace and the stakes feel as high as they possibly could. When Frodo finally and fully gives into the Ring's influence, it's a great moment of despairing shock (even though you've seen it coming for about 4 hours). When Gollum comes along to finally make his move at reacquiring his Precious, it feels like a kick.
Then everyone gets what they really want.
Sam and Frodo get rid of the Ring, Gollum gets to hang out with his beloved for a couple moments (before melting in zillion degree lava), the army outside gets to win without having to do anything, Gandalf and the other two hobbits get to celebrate with Frodo on his bed (wait a minute...) The eagle things get to...have hobbits on their backs, I guess.
Sauron's not so happy, but he's a dick. Fuck him.
One of my favorite parts of the video is when Frodo puts on the Ring and the spotlight that serves as the 'eye of Sauron' just knows and glances toward the cave. It's pretty much just a superhuge flashlight, but in that moment, the viewer sees a vile mix of greed, anticipation, and maybe just a little bit of panic.
Tolkein had balls of steel to make Frodo succumb to the ring's power after all that time. It was true to the book's parameters, but the average writer would have had him overcome it without explaining how.
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