Who do you think should be portrayed as the hero?

[Ariana Undomiel]

Who do you think, in the ways of the film, should be portrayed as the ultimate hero? There are so many heros in the film and the books that it would be hard to say, but I want to know everyone's opinion.

- Ariana

[Anamatar IV]

The Return of the King should have the returning king as the hero. Even in the book (rotk) Aragorn did more deeds than Frodo (Merry did more deeds than Frodo did in that book:rolleyes: and I'm serious!).

[Ariana Undomiel]

Well I don't think that Frodo was the hero, but nor do I think that Aragorn was. He was undoubtedly a great factor in the winning of the war, but ultimately all would have been lost and none of the successes of any matter if it had not been for Sam.

He followed without knowing where. He gave up his food and water to Frodo. He carried on and pushed Frodo to go forward when all he wanted to do was go home. He carried him on his back, he gave him his blanket, and he basically gave all his comfort to Frodo when in the last he believed he was going to die. To me, pure selfless sacrfice done for no other reason than love for a friend is the greatest form of heroism.

- Ariana

[FoolOfATook]

He suffered without understanding why. He followed without knowing where.

As poetic as that is, it's not true. Sam knew exactly what they were doing, where they were going, and why they were doing it. As tempting as it is to paint Sam as an innocent, Billy Budd like character, it simply isn't accurate. Samwise Gamgee is a complex character, who is even tempted by the Ring. Granted, his natural good heart, his understanding of exactly where he belonged in the world, and above all his love for Frodo are at the heart of Sam, but let's not go overboard, and forget who he really was.

[MacAddict]

The Ring of course:D :D . On a serious note: Does the book really have a single, definite hero-type charactor?



~MacAddict

Note: I haven't yet found my fave charactor, this could (and is:D ) affecting my judgment.

[FoolOfATook]

He did know that they had this ring that had to be gotten rid of, and he knew that he had to go to Mordor, but Sam didn't really ever understand the significance of the ring the true power of its evil.

"It's round my neck now, and a terrible burden it is, too."

"But you're in the land of Mordor now, sir; and when you get out, you'll see the Fiery Mountain and all. You'll find the Ring very dangerous now, and very hard to bear,"

Both of those quotes from Sam in ROTK suggest that Sam understood the Ring far better than you give him credit for. The entire chapter "The Choices of Master Samwise" also contradicts your claim. Furthermore, let's not forget that Sam was listening throughout the Council of Elrond, and Sam is not someone who forgets things he overhears, when he's paying attention. Give him some credit, he's nowhere near as dumb as you so desperately want him to be.

[Ariana Undomiel]

Oh my, I did not intend to make Sam sound dumb at all. I simply meant that Sam was a very simple person. And I don't think that Sam truly understood the ring. He did listen at the council of Elrond where several times Elrond said that the ring could not be used and had to be destroyed, and yet Sam told Galadriel in the book that He wished she would take it because of all the good that she could do.

But if I am making Sam sound dumb perhaps I should delete my posts and try again.

- Ariana

[FoolOfATook]

Okay, now I'm begining to understand what you meant, and it makes a lot more sense. It's entirely possible that I'm being overly defensive of Samwise, and that I'm reading things into your posts that you never intended, or aren't even there. I'm willing to accept the idea that Sam is "simple", even if I don't really agree with it, and that's sometimes the best two people can expect as an outcome in debate.

[Arvedui]

There are so many heroes in the tale. So many that whoever is my choice, it will be a little unfair for all the others. Exept for one.

On my part, I agree with Ariana 100%.

Samwise have always been my hero of the story. His heart is always in the Shire, and most of all he would like to stay there and tend his garden, and be close to Rosie. But his love for Frodo pushes him along to places he don't want to go, even when he had lots of opportunities to turn back home.

[Valawen]

I voted all but Gollum (pitiful as he is). I loved LOTR because everybody played a vital role in the fight against evil and there's no one hero (which could be pretty boring).

[Remnant]

I think they all are our heros!
{everyone but gollum. }
He just is lusting after the ring and doesn't have anyones interest but his own in mind.

Aragorn is KING and has won the right to sit on the throne, but that is his reward for being faithful to the quest. He is only one part of the whole group who strive to defeat the evil in ME.

Personally though Sam and Aragorn are the more dominate heros.
And then push me more; I will say Aragorn is my over the top favorite. {even with all the dirt on him now} :) :)

[ssgrif]

Everyone in the book does great deeds which contribute to the main objective of the destruction of Sauron. however, although Frodo and Sam have a big task in destroying the ring, the most heroic figure has to be Aragorn.

The books central character is Aragorn, he puts so much effort into so many things and succeeds! As the title suggests!

He has to be the winner of the poll.

[YayGollum]

Woah! I am offended! Yikes! I'm guessing that whoever wrote that evil thing on the poll about everyone but Gollum isn't a Gollum Fan. That is a pretty evil thing to write. Wouldn't it be nicer to just give poor Smeagol his place on the poll and leave it at that? If you really wanted an option to include more than one person, you didn't have to exclude poor Smeagol from it. It's not like the poor guy would have a chance to win the poll either way. :rolleyes: oh well.

Yes, I voted for Gollum because it's the most obvious answer. The goal was to destroy the One Ring. He did that. Noone else. Sure, pretty much every character in the book helped out, but Gollum was the one who actually completed the quest. You talk about Aragorn getting a book named after him. Well, there was also a book called Fellowship of the Ring. It told what the goal was. It was a fellowship to destroy the Ring. Aragorn sure didn't do that.

[Gimli'sGal]

I thionk that Gimli is the hero, of course!!!!!!!!!!!:D :D :D

[Courtney]

I think that all of the characters in LOTR are way too complex to call them heroes. Everyone of them does something heroic to help the quest, but each of them has flaws as well. For example: Eowyn was extremely heroic, but it seems to me that she was trying to prove herself to her people, and was acting heroically for the wrong reasons.

[Dáin Ironfoot I]

I think everyone was heroic, but I think PJ will make the following characters as follows:

Aragorn- heroic and excellent fighter, but always pulled around with his love for Arwen, which will diminish from his heroic character in the end. Of course, many filles out there love a man who is a good fighter and thinks about his woman, but... he wont be as heroic or kingly as in the books.

Legolas- due to his charming good looks and pretty blue eyes that make girls swoon, this Elf of Mirkwood will be the most action packed character in the movie. You thought flipping onto horses was amazing? O ho! Think again! In ROTK Legolas will be doing some more insane and pointless stunts like surfing on the Witch-King's fell steed, and slaying the Mouth of Sauron with an Orc's severed leg!

Gimli- Ha! Dwarf and hero doesnt mix in PJ's LOTR! I thought PJ made it clear that all Dwarves are used for tossing, making jokes, and chopping Uruks in their crotches!

Eowyn- She will be extrememly heroic in the movie, and will take part in the battle not only in slaying the Witch-King.. but she will kill other enemy soldiers as well, saving her brother or some other nonsense.

Frodo- He will be much like he is in the book, torn and corrupted by the Ring... I think PJ did a nice job on this in the last movie, but maybe a bit premature... They're here....

Sam- Hero in his own right, and will be much like he is in the book. Unfortunately he wont get as much screentime.. as lets say blonde haired Elves, so... yea.

Theoden I have no idea how he'll be.... but these are a few predictions.

[Hadhafang]

I said Frodo. Frodo was the one had to carry the heavy weight of the ring the whole way (minus the few hours Sam had it). With this in mind, Frodo had to make it all the way through Moria without food, water, or a descent place to rest. Sam, while he is extremely heroic in his own right for the same reasons, had only himself and his own posessions. This gives the slight edge to Frodo in my opinion.

[AirforceBrat]

ok first of all YayGollum, i am not putting you down but you have to say that even though Gollum did end up being the one to destroy the ring he didn't really mean to. he slipped remember, if things had gone his way then the ring wouldn't have been destroyed and would most likely have ended up with Sauron. Gollum didn't want the Ring destroyed- that is basically my point.

anyway i voted for all but Gollum because they each did something to help:
Sam: supported Frodo
Frodo: brought the ring to mt. doom (even if he couldn't destroy it
Aragorn: saved Minis Tirith and kept the Eye away from Frodo
Merry: helped kill the Nazgul king and kept him away from Frodo
Pippin: went to the battle that kept the Eye away from Frodo
Gandalf: helped Frodo on the first half of the quest and saved Frodo and Sam after the ring was destroyed
i could keep going but don't have enough timne right now so anyone who wants to complete the list should or can.
-AirforceBrat-

[YayGollum]

Yes, I know that poor Smeagol didn't mean to destroy the Ring, but you gots to admit that without him, the bad guys would have won. Besides, you like to give little lists that talk about how other people helped out in little ways. Gollum helped out in other ways besides killing Sauron. He led the nasssty hobbitses through places they would have died in without him. Yay Gollum! I was mostly saying that I thought it was just an evil thing to stick that evil option on the poll. oh well.

[Ariana Undomiel]

It was hardly mean or evil, YayGollum. I simply wanted to know everyone's opinion. Although I knew exactly what you would vote.

- Ariana

[YayGollum]

How is it not mean and evil? You're making one character look bad even though there are plenty of other people in the LOTR and on the poll that were a lot less helpful than poor Smeagol. Okay, you simply wanted to know everyone's opinion. Got it. Am I evil for thinking that you're trying to point out your own opinion about Gollum in the poll? Am I evil for thinking that if you want to find out people's opinions, you should have a nice neutral poll that makes everyone happy? I would be less offended and having more fun with ranting if you had just put down your thoughts on Gollum in your own little post. oh well. *runs away* :rolleyes:

[lotrobsession4]

That's hard- I think they're almost all heroes in a way b/c the ring couldn't have been destroyed without Frodo, Sam, Gandalf, Aragorn, and Gollum. If any of them hadn't been there the ring would still survive. I think Frodo should be the hero but he isn't really... I'm not sure!! They are all heroes :D

[*Lady Arwen*]

I voted for "All but Gollum, should be considered heros working together to win the war against evil.", since each person did their part. Sam and Frodo took the ring to Mordor, to be destoryed. The rest of the fellowship, each had their part.

[YayGollum]

Ack! Are you people just messing with me by choosing that evil choice? You talk about all of these people doing their part. Gollum did Frodo's part and you still hate him. Makes no sense. oh well.

[Elfarmari]

My favorite character is Aragorn. Once he discovers who he really is, and what he is heir to, he then spends over 50 years in complete obscurity, putting up with stupid people's insults, Denethor's hatred, and 'adventures' to Morder and Harad. Sure, some of his motivation might have been to prove himself to Elrond so he could marry Arwen, but I think he was one of the most truly noble characters.
I think in the movie, Aragorn is much more likely to be portrayed as the hero than who I believe deserves it.
Gandalf was the driving force behind the fight against Sauron. If it were not for him, Bilbo would never have gone on his adventure with Thorin, the ring would have remained with Gollum, and who knows what would have happened. Frodo would not have received the ring, meaning the whole Lord of the Rings plot would not have happened. He also killed the Balrog, saving the rest of the fellowship, strove with the Eye of Sauron to deflect his attention from Frodo, and arrived in time to save Theoden and convince him to defeat Saruman's forces. Gandalf then goes to Minas Tirith, saves Faramir and others from the Nazgul, saves Faramir again from his father's insanity, and then participates in the final battle before Barad-dur.

[Ariana Undomiel]

Yay Gollum! Will you just get over it please?

- Ariana

[LadyofIthilien]

Why am I the only one who voted for Eowyn??? PJ has obviously been trying to squeez more women in the movie, and Eowyn is a real easy charater to do this with. They will definitly make the Eowyn/Faramir thing a big deal, so i think they will be the heros.
Every character has its shinning moment though, even Gollum, so nobody will get left out. All the good guys are going to be huge heros, and all the bad guys will be defeted. (thats what i think anyways;) )

[YayGollum]

Thank you, Lady. Anyways, Ack! Crazy Undomiel person! You don't know me very well, do you? I am evil and stubborn pretty much everywhere. I notice someone being evil in some way and I try to help. No offense. Looks like you just don't understand my complaint? :confused: oh well.

[Ariana Undomiel]

Yay Gollum, I am not the one who is being evil.

- Ariana

[lotrobsession4]

LadyofIthilen- Eowyn isn't a choice. Its "Eowyn sister's daughter". Just mentioning it...

[Ariana Undomiel]

Eowyn Sister's Daughter means the niece of Theoden, aka Eowyn. So yes Eowyn is a choice.

- Ariana

[Daniel]

I voted "I don't know" but intended to vote for all but Gollum, since I feel that it really was many working together, not one single force.

[YayGollum]

Yikes! How are you not evil? Not answering one of my questions. Not addressing any of my complaints. just telling me to suck it up, go away, and don't worry about your reasons. :rolleyes:

[LadyDernhelm]

I think, and have thought all along, that Samwise Gamgee is the "hero" of the story. And by "hero" I mean rather "main character" than "person who saves the world". I think we are given much more insight into Sam's character than any other in the book, and that's for a reason. ;-) So I don't know who will pop up as 'centered' in RoTK. I personally think that Sam will take precedence over Frodo in the Mordor scenario, but that Éowyn will also be given more screentime. I mean, hey, she's a heroine. ;-)

[Frodorocks]

I voted "everyone but Gollum should be portrayed by heroes working together" but I would include Gollum. Everyone on that list was a hero in some way or another, and without them, the war of the rings wouldn't have been won. Think about it.:)

[Ariana Undomiel]

It seems to me that there is a majority who agrees that all the characters who worked to absolve the forces of evil should be considered the heros. I take my hat off to you because I believe that that is a wise choice. :)

- Ariana