#to Bilbo’s enduring credit he held that thing for 60 years before showing corruption | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

professorjirt · 1 day ago

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listen it’s none of my business but when you say “Bilbo would have been better for taking the Ring” and then state “Frodo’s character was mishandled” I think maybe you like the Lord of the Rings inside your head more than the one actually written 💀 as if it wasn’t stated multiple times both in the text and by Tolkien himself why Frodo was the Ringbearer. Pleeeeeaaaase PLEEEEAAASE stop giving me gray hairs and take an interest in the text you read and it’s deeper meanings beyond power scaling characters, favoritism and finding the “most efficient way to take the ring to Mordor”. The debates about who should have taken the Ring are the exact same as “they should have flown the eagles to Mordor” except it’s spoken by people who genuinely are avid fans of the books and movies.

#frodo baggins #bilbo baggins #it’s so dire out here man #this was an actual opinion I just saw. unfortunately #at least it’s rarer now but I still see the incredible common opinion that Frodo ‘wasn’t the right person for the job’ or whatever #THATS NOT THE POINT…. PLEASE #why are there so many people who just don’t like Frodo. why don’t you like him. quickly.#is it because he fails. bc newsflash. EVERY SINGLE BEING ON MIDDLE EARTH THAT COULD TAKE THE RING WOULD HAVE FAILED. THATS THE POINT!!!!!!!#is it bc he’s not a typical ‘hero’s journey’ fighter?? bc then I have to ask if you absorbed the ‘I hate fighting and war’ sentiment at all #bc Tolkien tried to make it clear in each of his more ‘typical’ fighting heroes that the act of fighting did not elevate them over others #and that in many ways it was better to find peaceful solutions rather than violent ones.#would Bilbo have resisted more? hard to say!! he held the Ring for a VERY long time but at the same time the Ring wasn’t ‘awake’.#to Bilbo’s enduring credit he held that thing for 60 years before showing corruption #when others that touched the Ring showed corruption INSTANTLY #but at the same time when Sauron began to awaken it and call for it Bilbo DID in fact fall to its power!!#he wasn’t immune!!#neither was Samwise for that matter. no more than Frodo was!!!#augh. my heart hurts man #people give Frodo shit for being a gentle soul who suffered inward more than outward and not returning ‘victorious’#but he did all he could. he did all anyone could. why is that not enough for you people?#it was enough for Tolkien. it was enough for every wise being on Middle Earth. it was enough for those who understood the sacrifice.#Frodo isn’t even a ‘passive hero’. sure he gets a ton of stuff done TO him and his deeds aren’t as visible as other characters.#but every single step towards Mordor was a great action. the very act of carrying the Ring forward moves the story and quest along.#that is an active character. his actions (traveling forward despite bearing the Ring and Morgul wound) are integral to the story #you expect him to do that AND be slaying beasts and commanding others?? the same folly Boromir had. the same way the Ring tempted Sam #cmon. there’s a beautiful world and a beautiful story being told and you’re missing it. let me show you how beautiful it is.#making everything about a single character you favor even if it doesn’t make sense textually is a disservice to the story you enjoy.#the entire world and all the characters of lotr are so compelling even if you don’t like them!!! why ignore that?#it’s the world and people your character lives with!!! look at them!!

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