Tolkien Already Debunked Lord of the Rings' Harshest Frodo Meme

screenrant.com:

Poor Frodo Baggins receives constant criticism for not casting the One Ring into Mount Doom, but J.R.R. Tolkien already explained why the Hobbit is still a hero in The Lord of the Rings. When Frodo Baggins (played in Peter Jackson's movie trilogy by Elijah Wood) stands up at Rivendell and declares he will take Ring to Mordor, the wise souls around him all concur there's no other option. Any attempt to reach Mount Doom by force will fail, but a Hobbit or two — unseen and unheeded — can pass under the roving eye of Sauron. For leagues, Frodo endures the Ring's corrupting impact, but at the very end, standing on the edge of Mordor's fiery crack, the Hobbit can't bring himself to let the trinket burn.

You've seen the memes. There's the one where everyone at Aragorn's coronation bows to the Hobbits but Frodo looks shifty because he was «totally going to keep the Ring.» There's Gandalf drawing a gun and warning him, "Sam told me everything." That's just the tip of the iceberg, with plenty more riffs and variations that humorously throw shade at Frodo for trying to keep the One Ring upon reaching his molten destination, and how Gollum's lack of coordination truly saved Middle-earth. While the memes are all in good fun, they raise a larger question over whether Frodo deserved the plaudits he received upon returning from Mordor.

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It's a conversation that has been rumbling for almost 70 years and, fascinatingly, has been addressed by Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien himself. In his published letters, Tolkien explained the increased effect of the Ring inside Mount Doom, acknowledging, "At the last moment the pressure of the Ring would reach its