Then Gandalf would falter and Frodo would help him. But then the influence of the ring would still affect Frodo and he would flag, too.
And now the climax is Sam carrying Frodo carrying Gandalf holding tongs. Test audiences hated it.
The ring’s influence isn’t just from touching it. If Gandalf had been the one bringing the ring to Mordor or would have constantly tempted him with its power, urging him to just try using it. Frodo succumbed to the ring’s power temporarily several times but didn’t have the desire or knowledge of how to use it to its full potential, he just used it to turn invisible. Gandalf knows the ring’s true power and his temptation to use it in an emergency would be even greater. Imagine Gandalf fighting the Balrog and feeling desperate knowing that he has this incredibly powerful secret weapon literally in his back pocket. The temptation to use it would be incredible, and the corruption from the ring’s power would be even greater. What if he had gone to meet Saruman and Saruman got the ring or Gandalf felt he needed to use it to prevent Saruman from getting it?
Fundamentally, the ring preys upon desire. Hobbits for the most part desire little, and are less susceptible to its draw, but even Smeagol and Bilbo were corrupted by it for desiring the ring itself. Gandalf wants nothing more than to defeat Sauron and the ring could tempt him by showing him (false) ways that he could become the Lord of the Rings and defeat Sauron with it. Boromir was the same- he thought the Ring could help protect his kingdom. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, as chosen heroes and leaders of their respective nations, would be similarly tempted if they were to try to carry the ring- the ring tells you that it can be used for good even though it itself is evil.
The ring represents evil itself, and how some might be tempted to use evil in small amounts to try to do good, that the “ends justify the means,” but ultimately the evil deeds (using the ring) compound on themselves and lead to evil thoughts and ideologies (being under the control of the ring) that corrupt and consume a person or entire society. The hobbits have a childlike innocence about them, and are simply caught up in this struggle between good and evil rather than being fundamentally part of it. They simply don’t think about using the ring for good just as they don’t think about using the ring for evil, and using the ring for good is even more dangerous than using it for personal gain.
Got it. You’re saying the tongs aren’t long enough.
snort lol
They need to be, like, at least twice as long.
just build some super long tongs. reaching from the shire all the way to mordor. and just drop the ring into the mountain
But they were all of them deceived, for another pair of tongs was made.
Is it that the Hobbits desire little, or are their desires so mundane that the One Ring has much more limited power over them?
OR: I can give unlimited power, the wealth of nations, also can turn you invisible!
Hobbit: Yea, ok, cool, but what about a sandwich and a pipe?
OR: …
It’s not that their desires are mundane. Their desires are achievable without using the ring. You don’t need the one ring to keep a nice garden, and eat good meals.
Even Morgoth was tempted by specialness. Hell it’s not that hobbits can’t be tempted, its what tempts them is the simple pleasures of a good life. Frodo and Bilbo weren’t tempted by the power to slay, to protect, or to conquer but to hide. Smeagol with the ring was hiding in a mountain eating a twisted feast and playing a twisted game of riddles.
Even Gandalf the humblest among the Valar sought the wisdom and company of the hobbits.
In universe it’s probably because Sauron was a Maia like Gandalf who had been tempted by Morgoth and his discordance in the melody. Only hobbits and Ainur seem to resist it well. Well also bombadil, but he lacks object permanence
Buy igneous rock from mordor in ebay, microwave them until they melt, put the ring in the molten lava, solved.
Alternatively, launch the one ring into space, out of the sun orbit. Let see Suron try to get it back.
The one ring also acts as a horcrux. That plan would make sauron effectively immortal, though permanantly limit his power. Also, given enough time, the ring could find its way back to middle earth.
Let him explore infinite space for trillions of years, horrible punishment
Lord of the Tongs
Because then we’d have a McKellen remix of that classic song. 😅🙃
Ice ice baby?
deleted by creator
Let Me See That Tongs
Add saxophones and make it a ten hour version with gandalf dancing and I’m in.
Do you want to summon Leonard Nimoy’s ghost, 'cause that’s how you summon Leonard Nimoy’s ghost.
