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between_time_and_42This is it, y'all- my last post about The Two Towers. It certainly was a hell of a ride. Now... onwards!
These last two chapters were... something else, I tell ya. As I said in my initial post, I wasn't quite as distraught over them as I was with the last chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, but I did get pretty upset towards the end there...
So, at this moment in the movie, Gollum has gotten fully into Frodo's ear and the Ring has taken hold over Frodo's mind to the point where Frodo sends Sam away and is left to face Shelob alone. I had heard that this didn't happen in the book, and can I just say- I am SO GLAD that it didn't. While I appreciated this part of the movie for how it resonated with me, given that I spent a good part of last year being worried about a friend who was going down a bad path and feeling like she wasn't listening to me in favor of listening to a friend whose opinion I didn't trust, I don't think it really suited the character of Frodo, ESPECIALLY when it came to how he was portrayed in the book. Book!Frodo would have NEVER mistrusted and turned away his Sam, Ring or no Ring. So when I saw that Sam & Frodo were going to go into Shelob's lair together, I breathed a sigh of relief- even though I wasn't at all relieved by what was to come...
The description of Frodo & Sam entering and traveling through Shelob's lair was utterly riveting- and utterly terrifying. I'd like to take yet another moment to appreciate Tolkien's writing skills. Not only this chapter, but the chapters where Gollum first appears in The Hobbit, and where Bilbo meets Smaug, and when Sam & Frodo are traveling through the Dead Marches all show that the man was extremely talented at writing what I would call horror scenes. If the rising tension of this chapter wasn't bad enough, it was the description of Shelob and her brief backstory that really frightened me. Except I wouldn't even say frightened- I was more disgusted and horrified, especially when it talked about Shelob mating with her offspring and then killing them. Thus is probably the way of spiders in the natural world... but to me, there was something so UNNATURAL about this behavior that it genuinely made me feel sick and made me want to stop reading. Just like with the land beyond the Dead Marshes, I felt as if I were reading something that no human should know about.
"'Galadriel!' he called, and gathering his courage he lifted up the Phial once more. The eyes halted. For a moment their regard relaxed, as if some hint of doubt troubled them. Then Frodo's heart flamed within him, and without thinking what he did, whether it was folly or despair or courage, he took the Phial in his left hand, and with his right hand drew his sword. Sting flashed out, and the sharp elven-blade sparkled in the silver light, but at its edges a blue fire flicked. Then holding the star aloft and the bright sword advanced, Frodo, hobbit of the Shire, walked steadily down to meet the eyes."
SOMEONE *clap* NEEDS *clap* TO *clap* DRAW *clap* THIS!!!! I've been rooting for Frodo throughout this book- how could one not?- but this is the first time that he's truly felt like the hero in his own story. It almost feels like a full circle moment compared to that scene at the Gates, when a moment of weakness and futility overtook Frodo. Now he's standing proud and as tall as he can, probably terrified but ready to drive away whatever evil lies in this passage, because he is bound and DETERMINED to see his quest through. I gotta say: Bilbo would be proud. And Galadriel would surely be honored.
That being said, even Frodo's bravery and Sam's loyalty isn't enough to save them from Shelob. No thanks to a certain little "stinker" who's been actively plotting their downfall. Seeing Sam fight Gollum was SO cathartic, even though Gollum ended up getting away, and his fight with Shelob was perhaps his finest hour up to this point. I had a feeling he wouldn't be able to kill Shelob, but the wound he dealt to her was probably the worst wound she had received in ages, and that almost makes up for it as far as I'm concerned.
But then, when the dust has settled, and Sam makes his way over to Frodo's side...
"'Master, dear master!' said Sam, and through a long silence waited, listening in vain.
"Then as quickly as he could he cut away the binding cords and laid his head upon Frodo's breast and to his mouth, but no stir of life could he find, nor feel the faintest flutter of the heart. Often he chafed his master's hands and feet, and touched his brow, but all were cold.
"'Frodo, Mr. Frodo!' he called. 'Don't leave me here alone! It's your Sam calling. Don't go where I can't follow! Wake up, Mr. Frodo! O wake up, Frodo, me dear, me dear. Wake up!'"
I'm not okay, y'all. I AM NOT OKAY AT ALL.
It's just... The way that Sam's address to Frodo gradually breaks down from "Master!" to "Mr. Frodo!" and then finally "Frodo, me dear." Not even "MY" dear. "ME" dear. I can't explain why, but somehow that feels so much more personal and intimate. Then there's "your Sam" and the immortal line "Don't go where I can't follow," which I've been jokingly using for years to refer to friends I follow on Tumblr who suddenly get into interests other than the ones that we share that made us friends in the first place, but now I don't think I can ever use that line again without thinking of this scene and having my heart ripped out of my chest and stomped on. I'm not ashamed to admit that I teared up at this scene, and every time I've read this paragraph since, it feels like a gut-punch.
And it doesn't stop there! The entire next page documents Sam's grief in such excruciating detail that it almost feels too private, like I'm witnessing something I shouldn't be witnessing. It's honestly not what I expected from this moment, after the reaction to Gandalf's sacrifice was basically "everyone cried for a while but then they got over it because they had to move on," and even Bilbo's reaction to Thorin's death in The Hobbit was summed up in a couple sentences & that painful speech where Bilbo tries to be pragmatic about what happened. Yet here Sam is depicted as practically going through all five stages of grief in one scene- begging Frodo to wake up, attacking his surroundings in anger, sinking into a deep depression, finally crying and wondering how in the world he's supposed to move on without Frodo beside him anymore. Throughout it all, it's the passage of time that really gets to me, as is described here:
"When at last the blackness passed, Sam looked up and shadows were about him; but for how many minutes or hours the world had gone dragging on he could not tell. He was still in the same place, and still his master lay beside him dead. The mountains had not crumbled, nor had the earth fallen into ruin."
On the one hand, this SHOULD be comforting, because it shows that Sam has a life beyond his devotion to Frodo and the world isn't going to end just because Frodo is gone. But on the other hand... it's not comforting AT ALL because the world continues on the way it always had, but for Sam, nothing will ever be the same again. This is reinforced by his line:
"And your star-glass, Mr. Frodo, you did lend it to me and I'll need it, for I'll be always in the dark now."
I just. OH NO, SAM. Frodo truly was his North Star, always lighting his way. I'm losing it, man. I know full well that Frodo isn't actually dead and I'm STILL losing it over these two and their absolutely beautiful relationship.
"'Ah well, I must make up my own mind. I will make it up. But I'll be sure to go wrong: that'd be Sam Gamgee all over.'"
And even now- even after fighting off Gollum, even after defeating a primordial evil beast from the depths of Hell, SAM IS STILL UNDERESTIMATING HIMSELF. AHHHHHHHHH
"Very gently [Sam] undid the clasp at the neck and slipped his hand inside Frodo's tunic; then with his other hand raising the head, he kissed the cold forehead, and softly drew the chain over it. And then the head lay quietly back again in rest. No change came over the still face, and by that more than by all other tokens Sam was convinced at last that Frodo had died and laid aside the Quest."
Oh my god. Sam gave Frodo a "true love's kiss," the kind of kiss that is said in fairytales to end even the deepest slumbers... And Frodo didn't respond, so Sam knew that he must be dead. MY HEART---
And then I think I failed to take a picture of this part so I don't have the quote ready to post, but THE PART WHERE SAM SAID HE WOULD COME BACK AS SOON AS HE COULD AND THEN HE WOULD NEVER LEAVE FRODO AGAIN?!??!?!?! HELLO?!?!?!?!?! I know- I know that probably means that Sam intended to keep a vigil at Frodo's grave until the end of his days. I know that's what that has to mean. But god... if I didn't read it as "Sam will take his own life to be with Frodo forever in death" the first time I encountered that line... Either way, I'm pounding on the floor and breaking down the walls over here, helpppp
"'I can't help it. My place is by Mr. Frodo. They must understand that [...] Their plans have gone wrong. I can't be their Ring-bearer. Not without Mr. Frodo.'"
Okay, so. This line right here? This line describes exactly why I take offense with the well-meaning people who say that "Sam is the real hero of Lord of the Rings." Now, I get where these people are coming from. Frodo even says so himself that he wouldn't have made it very far without Sam. But on the flip side... Sam would not, and COULD not, have made it ANYWHERE without Frodo. This scene right here shows that he knows full well that what he needs to do is take the Ring to the Cracks of Doom and throw it into the fire. He knows that the entire fate of Middle-earth depends on him doing this. And yet... He can't bring himself to do it, because he's not going to leave Frodo while Frodo still needs him. Even in supposed death, Frodo needs him. And thus, Samwise the stout-hearted isn't going ANYWHERE. Is this an incredibly idiotic decision? Yes. Do I absolutely love Sam for it? Also yes. He's flawed, as are we all, and at least his flaws stem from the purest of intentions. Anyway, my point is that Frodo couldn't have gotten the job done without Sam's support, and Sam couldn't have gotten ANYTHING done without Frodo by his side. They are both undeniably heroes, and they need each other in order to be ones. Man. This is killing me. I wonder if Tolkien had a friend like this in his lifetime?? I don't know what led him to depict such a relationship but I'm SO glad that he did. This relationship means everything to me.
"The great doors slammed to. Boom. The bars of iron fell into place inside. Clang. The gate was shut. Sam hurled himself aainst the bolted plates and fell senseless to the ground. He was out in the darkness. Frodo was alive by taken by the Enemy."
WHAT A CLIFFHANGER!!! Join us next time on The Return of the King: The Return of My Posts!!
So, at this moment in the movie, Gollum has gotten fully into Frodo's ear and the Ring has taken hold over Frodo's mind to the point where Frodo sends Sam away and is left to face Shelob alone. I had heard that this didn't happen in the book, and can I just say- I am SO GLAD that it didn't. While I appreciated this part of the movie for how it resonated with me, given that I spent a good part of last year being worried about a friend who was going down a bad path and feeling like she wasn't listening to me in favor of listening to a friend whose opinion I didn't trust, I don't think it really suited the character of Frodo, ESPECIALLY when it came to how he was portrayed in the book. Book!Frodo would have NEVER mistrusted and turned away his Sam, Ring or no Ring. So when I saw that Sam & Frodo were going to go into Shelob's lair together, I breathed a sigh of relief- even though I wasn't at all relieved by what was to come...
The description of Frodo & Sam entering and traveling through Shelob's lair was utterly riveting- and utterly terrifying. I'd like to take yet another moment to appreciate Tolkien's writing skills. Not only this chapter, but the chapters where Gollum first appears in The Hobbit, and where Bilbo meets Smaug, and when Sam & Frodo are traveling through the Dead Marches all show that the man was extremely talented at writing what I would call horror scenes. If the rising tension of this chapter wasn't bad enough, it was the description of Shelob and her brief backstory that really frightened me. Except I wouldn't even say frightened- I was more disgusted and horrified, especially when it talked about Shelob mating with her offspring and then killing them. Thus is probably the way of spiders in the natural world... but to me, there was something so UNNATURAL about this behavior that it genuinely made me feel sick and made me want to stop reading. Just like with the land beyond the Dead Marshes, I felt as if I were reading something that no human should know about.
"'Galadriel!' he called, and gathering his courage he lifted up the Phial once more. The eyes halted. For a moment their regard relaxed, as if some hint of doubt troubled them. Then Frodo's heart flamed within him, and without thinking what he did, whether it was folly or despair or courage, he took the Phial in his left hand, and with his right hand drew his sword. Sting flashed out, and the sharp elven-blade sparkled in the silver light, but at its edges a blue fire flicked. Then holding the star aloft and the bright sword advanced, Frodo, hobbit of the Shire, walked steadily down to meet the eyes."
SOMEONE *clap* NEEDS *clap* TO *clap* DRAW *clap* THIS!!!! I've been rooting for Frodo throughout this book- how could one not?- but this is the first time that he's truly felt like the hero in his own story. It almost feels like a full circle moment compared to that scene at the Gates, when a moment of weakness and futility overtook Frodo. Now he's standing proud and as tall as he can, probably terrified but ready to drive away whatever evil lies in this passage, because he is bound and DETERMINED to see his quest through. I gotta say: Bilbo would be proud. And Galadriel would surely be honored.
That being said, even Frodo's bravery and Sam's loyalty isn't enough to save them from Shelob. No thanks to a certain little "stinker" who's been actively plotting their downfall. Seeing Sam fight Gollum was SO cathartic, even though Gollum ended up getting away, and his fight with Shelob was perhaps his finest hour up to this point. I had a feeling he wouldn't be able to kill Shelob, but the wound he dealt to her was probably the worst wound she had received in ages, and that almost makes up for it as far as I'm concerned.
But then, when the dust has settled, and Sam makes his way over to Frodo's side...
"'Master, dear master!' said Sam, and through a long silence waited, listening in vain.
"Then as quickly as he could he cut away the binding cords and laid his head upon Frodo's breast and to his mouth, but no stir of life could he find, nor feel the faintest flutter of the heart. Often he chafed his master's hands and feet, and touched his brow, but all were cold.
"'Frodo, Mr. Frodo!' he called. 'Don't leave me here alone! It's your Sam calling. Don't go where I can't follow! Wake up, Mr. Frodo! O wake up, Frodo, me dear, me dear. Wake up!'"
I'm not okay, y'all. I AM NOT OKAY AT ALL.
It's just... The way that Sam's address to Frodo gradually breaks down from "Master!" to "Mr. Frodo!" and then finally "Frodo, me dear." Not even "MY" dear. "ME" dear. I can't explain why, but somehow that feels so much more personal and intimate. Then there's "your Sam" and the immortal line "Don't go where I can't follow," which I've been jokingly using for years to refer to friends I follow on Tumblr who suddenly get into interests other than the ones that we share that made us friends in the first place, but now I don't think I can ever use that line again without thinking of this scene and having my heart ripped out of my chest and stomped on. I'm not ashamed to admit that I teared up at this scene, and every time I've read this paragraph since, it feels like a gut-punch.
And it doesn't stop there! The entire next page documents Sam's grief in such excruciating detail that it almost feels too private, like I'm witnessing something I shouldn't be witnessing. It's honestly not what I expected from this moment, after the reaction to Gandalf's sacrifice was basically "everyone cried for a while but then they got over it because they had to move on," and even Bilbo's reaction to Thorin's death in The Hobbit was summed up in a couple sentences & that painful speech where Bilbo tries to be pragmatic about what happened. Yet here Sam is depicted as practically going through all five stages of grief in one scene- begging Frodo to wake up, attacking his surroundings in anger, sinking into a deep depression, finally crying and wondering how in the world he's supposed to move on without Frodo beside him anymore. Throughout it all, it's the passage of time that really gets to me, as is described here:
"When at last the blackness passed, Sam looked up and shadows were about him; but for how many minutes or hours the world had gone dragging on he could not tell. He was still in the same place, and still his master lay beside him dead. The mountains had not crumbled, nor had the earth fallen into ruin."
On the one hand, this SHOULD be comforting, because it shows that Sam has a life beyond his devotion to Frodo and the world isn't going to end just because Frodo is gone. But on the other hand... it's not comforting AT ALL because the world continues on the way it always had, but for Sam, nothing will ever be the same again. This is reinforced by his line:
"And your star-glass, Mr. Frodo, you did lend it to me and I'll need it, for I'll be always in the dark now."
I just. OH NO, SAM. Frodo truly was his North Star, always lighting his way. I'm losing it, man. I know full well that Frodo isn't actually dead and I'm STILL losing it over these two and their absolutely beautiful relationship.
"'Ah well, I must make up my own mind. I will make it up. But I'll be sure to go wrong: that'd be Sam Gamgee all over.'"
And even now- even after fighting off Gollum, even after defeating a primordial evil beast from the depths of Hell, SAM IS STILL UNDERESTIMATING HIMSELF. AHHHHHHHHH
"Very gently [Sam] undid the clasp at the neck and slipped his hand inside Frodo's tunic; then with his other hand raising the head, he kissed the cold forehead, and softly drew the chain over it. And then the head lay quietly back again in rest. No change came over the still face, and by that more than by all other tokens Sam was convinced at last that Frodo had died and laid aside the Quest."
Oh my god. Sam gave Frodo a "true love's kiss," the kind of kiss that is said in fairytales to end even the deepest slumbers... And Frodo didn't respond, so Sam knew that he must be dead. MY HEART---
And then I think I failed to take a picture of this part so I don't have the quote ready to post, but THE PART WHERE SAM SAID HE WOULD COME BACK AS SOON AS HE COULD AND THEN HE WOULD NEVER LEAVE FRODO AGAIN?!??!?!?! HELLO?!?!?!?!?! I know- I know that probably means that Sam intended to keep a vigil at Frodo's grave until the end of his days. I know that's what that has to mean. But god... if I didn't read it as "Sam will take his own life to be with Frodo forever in death" the first time I encountered that line... Either way, I'm pounding on the floor and breaking down the walls over here, helpppp
"'I can't help it. My place is by Mr. Frodo. They must understand that [...] Their plans have gone wrong. I can't be their Ring-bearer. Not without Mr. Frodo.'"
Okay, so. This line right here? This line describes exactly why I take offense with the well-meaning people who say that "Sam is the real hero of Lord of the Rings." Now, I get where these people are coming from. Frodo even says so himself that he wouldn't have made it very far without Sam. But on the flip side... Sam would not, and COULD not, have made it ANYWHERE without Frodo. This scene right here shows that he knows full well that what he needs to do is take the Ring to the Cracks of Doom and throw it into the fire. He knows that the entire fate of Middle-earth depends on him doing this. And yet... He can't bring himself to do it, because he's not going to leave Frodo while Frodo still needs him. Even in supposed death, Frodo needs him. And thus, Samwise the stout-hearted isn't going ANYWHERE. Is this an incredibly idiotic decision? Yes. Do I absolutely love Sam for it? Also yes. He's flawed, as are we all, and at least his flaws stem from the purest of intentions. Anyway, my point is that Frodo couldn't have gotten the job done without Sam's support, and Sam couldn't have gotten ANYTHING done without Frodo by his side. They are both undeniably heroes, and they need each other in order to be ones. Man. This is killing me. I wonder if Tolkien had a friend like this in his lifetime?? I don't know what led him to depict such a relationship but I'm SO glad that he did. This relationship means everything to me.
"The great doors slammed to. Boom. The bars of iron fell into place inside. Clang. The gate was shut. Sam hurled himself aainst the bolted plates and fell senseless to the ground. He was out in the darkness. Frodo was alive by taken by the Enemy."
WHAT A CLIFFHANGER!!! Join us next time on The Return of the King: The Return of My Posts!!
