Highlights
- Glorfindel, an ancient hero, could have carried the One Ring to Mordor with his valiant deeds and terrifying presence.
- Tom Bombadil, unaffected by the Ring’s power, might have been a neutral but successful Ringbearer on the quest to destroy it.
- Faramir’s moral strength and skilled company could have made him a likely candidate to carry the Ring to Mordor, avoiding temptation.
Not to throw any shade at Tolkien, one of the great masters of English literature and a linguistic genius, but people can pick a few holes in the plot of The Lord of the Rings. Everyone has heard the fan theory about flying the One Ring to Mordor using the giant eagles or something involving Wizards and fast travel. Still, there are some more realistic alternatives should Frodo have been unavailable.
The Bagginses of Bag End had natural talents regarding burglary and adventure, which is partly why Frodo was able to take the ring to Mordor, but these talents weren’t that unique. Other hobbies might have similar modest but courageous characters, and there are a few notable historical figures that might have been able to do the same thing to make The Lord of the Rings a pretty quick journey.
6 Glorfindel
Destroyed A Balrog And Rose From The Dead
- Appeared In: The Fellowship of the Ring, “Flight to the Ford.”
Tolkien brings Glorfindel into the Fellowship of the Ring as an excuse for a First Age exposition dump, which is great in a book but wouldn’t work on film. This is why Arwen replaced him in the Peter Jackson adaptation, so movie fans don’t know about his heroic deeds dating back to the First Age and why he might have been a candidate to carry the One Ring.
Glorfindel is one of the oldest beings in Middle-earth. He has fought in almost every decisive battle since the First Age, the most notable being the Fall of Gondolin which included his epic fight against a Balrog. He was dead and buried, but the Vala returned him to Middle-earth with the same powers as one of their servants, similar to Gandalf or Saruman.
Elrond didn’t just send an elf with a fast horse to intercept Aragorn, but a legendary hero that would terrify the enemy’s servants. The Witch King and his minions could have easily caught up to Glorfindel and Frodo, but they were too scared to get near him, so why not ride all the way to Mordor?
5 Tom Bombadil
An Ancient & Cheery Being Who Simply Couldn’t Be Bothered
- Appeared In: The Fellowship of the Ring, “In the House of Tom Bombadil.”
Speaking of characters that don’t appear in adaptations very often, Tom Bombadil is usually one of the first to hit the cutting room floor. He’s an ancient character that’s lived in Middle-earth since before Elves, Men, or Dwarves, and the One Ring does not affect him.
The problem is that Tom Bombadil seems to take a neutral stance when it comes to Sauron. It’s not that Tom is evil, he just doesn’t care, as strange and contradictory as that might be. Perhaps with an escort, he could successfully carry the ring, since it wouldn’t seduce him into power or turn him invisible.
4 Faramir
Learning From An Older Brother’s Mistakes
- Appeared In: The Two Towers, “Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit”
Faramir was a character who initially refused to be tempted by the ring. Unlike his movie counterpart, who shared the same weakness as other men, the book version of Faramir was a foil to his brother. He has his own opinions regarding the War of the Ring, and the people fighting in it, and commands a company of stealth archers and rangers that seem very much like Dunedain.
It’s not just his character that would make him a likely candidate for the Ring, it’s that he wouldn’t have to go alone. His fighting team, the same group of soldiers that defended Osgiliath and captured the Hobbits, could find their way into Mordor.
3 Samwise Gamgee
Was A Ringbearer And A Bearer Of A Ringbearer
- Appeared In:The Fellowship of the Ring, “A Long-expected Party.”
Frodo inherited the responsibility directly from Bilbo, and Sam stepped up when he thought his master was lost. Other than Bilbo and Frodo, Sam is the only other living being who carries the ring and successfully resists it’s power.
It might have been that he carried the ring for less time, but Sam also seems to have succeeded whereas Frodo failed when it came to resisting the ring. It’s hard to imagine Sam deciding to keep the ring for himself at the last minute, for example, and he always knew that Gollum couldn’t be trusted. Maybe Sam should have been the one to take the ring in the first place.
2 Gimli
Dwarves Have A Natural Resilience
- Appeared In: The Fellowship of the Ring, “The Council Of Elrond.”
When Sauron put on the One Ring, the Elves sensed his power and took their own rings off as a precaution, but the nine Dwarven Kings did not. This wasn’t just a matter of pride and greed, although those were likely also factors, it’s because Dwarves are resilient to Sauron’s powers.
Gimli was never interested in using the ring to control the others or overwhelm Sauron, and actually tried to destroy the ring at the Council of Elrond. He also had something to prove after discovering what happened to Balin and Gloin in Moria, so he would have been a decent ringbearer.
1 Arwen Eventstar
Heir To Luthien’s Magic
- Appeared In: The Fellowship of the Ring, “Many Meetings.”
The hero of The Silmarillion wasn’t an ancient warrior or a Wizard, but a young woman named Luthien who knew some handy spells that were powerful enough to put the Dark Lord to sleep. Her descendants included the future kings of Numenor, Gondor, and the House of Elrond, which includes Arwen Evenstar.
Arwen likely has some magical abilities that would help in her quests, plus she would have no trouble securing the support of Lothlorien, the realm of her maternal grandparents. It appears as if her destiny as the Queen of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor had already been decided, otherwise she would have been a good Ringbearer.
Leave a Reply