The Breaking of the Fellowship

The Lord of the Rings has been a borderline obsession since I first finished it in 8th grade. The timing worked out great too, as the next year was the release of Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), the beginning of the movie trilogy. On my blog here I've written about Tolkien's legendarium on a number of occasions. As part of that I've kinda sorta been making my way through the main Lord of the Rings story, with several detours along the way. So far I've covered Tom Bombadil, Concerning Hobbits (yes these two are out of order), A reveal at (the Bridge of) Khazad-dûm and briefly discussed Galadriel's gifts in processing my disappointment with Amazon's The Rings of Power. But I've wanted to write about this next piece the longest of all. It's a linchpin.

In both versions of the Fellowship of the Ring, book and film, one of my favorite scenes is the Breaking of the Fellowship. To get to this point we'll recap a bit. The hobbits have left the Shire, with the Ring, and made their way to Rivendell, haven of the Elves and home of Elrond. There a council is held, attended by the noble races of Middle-Earth. There's much debate around what to do and in the end nine volunteers agree to escort the Ring to Mordor where it can be destroyed (thereby permanently destroying a great evil). These are Frodo (the Ringbearer), the other three hobbits, Gandalf the wizard, Aragorn the Ranger, Boromir heir of the Steward of Gondor, Legolas Elf prince of the Woodland Realm and Gimli son of Gloin (one of the 13 Dwarves in the Hobbit). At the start some of these members of 'the Fellowship' do not trust one another and sign up for that very reason. Elves and dwarves are naturally suspicious of the other. Boromir vocalizes that the Ring should be brought to his home city and its power used. There are conflicting visions and obvious jealousy involved. In short Frodo and you as the reader/viewer do not entirely know what to think of everyone.

After leaving Rivendell they go south. After realizing the way near Isengard (Saruman's domain) won't work and also failing to complete the pass over the Misty Mountains, they venture under them, through Moria, and meet shadow and flame. Gandalf falls but the rest escape, soon entering the woods of Lothlórien, home of another ancient Elf named Galadriel. She supplies them and restores their hope before sending them down the Anduin river, where they pass the enormous statues of Isildur and Anárion at the northern border of Gondor. They land on the western side and prepare to go east toward Mordor.

There events go sideways. Boromir confronts Frodo, essentially trying to steal the Ring, and the brave hobbit, partially out of distrust, largely out of a desire to protect his friends, and with a spurt of pure will, decides to go it alone. With the Fellowship separated in search of him (from here on out I'll stick to the movie version), they're attacked by a hoard of Uruk-Hai, huge orcs bred by Saruman the wizard, a betrayal complete. It becomes a frantic and desperate race I wish I could experience again for the first time.

The beauty is the concise revealing of the characters, our heroes. Frodo runs into Aragorn before making it back to the water. The Ranger immediately knows what's up, and yet let's the hobbit leave while defending his retreat. The temptation of the Ring does not overcome him. In the chaos Merry and Pippin (two of the hobbits) are grabbed by the Uruk-Hai, their ultimate mission the halflings, and none other than Boromir, valiant and racked with guilt, gives himself to their defense. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli also pursue the taken hobbits, leaving piles of orc in their wake, but are too late. Frodo, upon reaching the water and taking one of the boats, indeed casts off to leave by himself as Sam, his gardener and best friend, emerges from the trees.

Frodo's dilemma and Sam's near suicidal loyalty are the soul of this scene, and much more than that. The ever determined Frodo has already taken a tremendous burden upon himself coming this far with the weight around his neck and is now committing himself to undertaking the most difficult part of the journey alone. He knows that it has to be done, but also wishes he didn't have to go through with it. He wishes he could've stayed and lived in the Shire in peace. What he thinks to himself is something that crosses all our minds when life gets really challenging, 'I wish none of this had happened.' He remembers the past words of Gandalf, words to live by. 'So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All you have to decide is what to do with the time that's given to you.' This is his final push. Then there's Mr. Gamgee. Sam knows Frodo well enough in predicting Frodo's aim to depart alone. He also knows that he can't leave him. Their friendship, their sacrifice throughout what ensues, is one of the most inspiring things I've ever experienced. And Gandalf's line is my favorite quote, I think ever.

Through the fire much is proven. Frodo will sacrifice himself to complete the mission. Sam will (thankfully) never abandon him. Aragorn is good and true, has restraint and sees the bigger picture. Boromir is flawed but only because he so desires to protect his people and, importantly, he can be redeemed. Legolas and Gimli overcome their preconceived notions and will, together, follow Aragorn to whatever end. At the beginning of this scene there's a lot we don't know. By the end we know everything that matters, our questions are answered. After 3 hours (or 400 pages) you can't wait for more. It's a big reason I think this is the best of the three movies, and why I list it among my favorite films.

Now, let's hunt some orc.