3 LotR Characters Who Sealed Middle Earth's Fate By Their Poor Choices
Middle Earth has seen many great wars and turmoils. It had many great kings, heroes, and wizards; and from all of their actions and choices, the fate of the world has been determined over and over again.
Amongst such massive events, it seems that the everlasting confrontation of dark and light is behind all the meaningful changes; however, it's not necessarily true.
Reddit user HuntingTheWumpus has a different approach to how the fate of Middle Earth is determined.
According to them, each character of every meaningful adventure has to at some point face a single great test that may even seem insignificant at the time but will impact the entire world forever.
This test typically revolves around temptation. Let's see what the test was for each of the characters in The Lord of the Rings.
Bilbo could've killed Gollum, but he spared him.
Sam could've kept the Ring, but he gave it up when needed.
Aragorn could've broken his word to the Oathbreakers but he kept it.
Both Gandalf and Galadriel could've gotten the Ring, but they refused.
Boromir, Gollum, and Frodo could've resisted the Ring's temptation, but they failed.
All the characters who passed their ultimate tests were in some way rewarded, and most of them helped achieve the overall victory through the consequences of their actions; everyone who failed was punished for it.
Boromir's failure resulted in his death and also almost kills Faramir who only survives because he passes his own test — refusing to take the Ring from Frodo.
Gollum broke his oath in his lust for the Ring, and in the end, for a moment, he got what he wanted the most… But his betrayal swiftly caught up to him as what he feared the most happened, too: he lost the Ring, got it destroyed, and died himself.
Frodo, whose test was the hardest, in the end, succumbed to the corrupting powers of the Ring.
For that, his punishment was never-ending pain and darkness corrupting his soul which forced him to go to the West.
But why didn't Frodo's failure result in Sauron's ultimate win?
Because a long time ago, Bilbo, who opened our shortlist, passed his test. Thanks to his kindness, Gollum lived, which allowed him to later fail his own test — and all this combined led to the destruction of the Ring.
Turns out, a passed test counts for more than a failed one — but whoever slips still has to pay a high price for it.