Samwise Gamgee: Used and Abused

I thought I should continue from last week when I wrote about that slave-driving bastard Frodo Baggins. Tonight, I shall recount the sad tale of the unsung hero, Samwise Gamgee. It is a tale of highs and lows, mostly lows, full of misery, depression and downright nastiness. And yet, many, including myself, would argue that Mr. Samwise Gamgee is the true hero of the tale and the true saviour of Middle Earth. “Why, Jack?” I hear you ask. Here’s why:

First things first, is there a character more loyal in the entire world of fiction than Samwise Gamgee? I think it would be a tough task to find one. From the moment Gandalf says “Don’t you leave him Samwise Gamgee”, Sam does not leave Frodo’s side. Through thick and thin, he supports and protects Frodo. He saves him from the Nazgul in Osgiliath. He saves him from Gollum many many times. Even when he is sent away by Frodo, he comes back, kills Shelob and rescues him from dozens of Orcs and Uruk-hai. That’s loyalty right there. Some do say that Sam’s feelings and actions towards Frodo resemble him being ‘in love’ with Frodo, with Sam being gay. One, he has a wife and kids. He clearly fantasised about Rosie Cotton and eating strawberries with her and all that soppy sort of stuff. That’s not gay. Two, it was based in a different time period to this one. Take off the modern day sunglasses and open your mind to the possibility that two men can be as close as that without being gay. Three, seriously who cares. People are gay. Don’t hate the man because he’s acting a little bit gay. He loves “Mr. Frodo”, he’s not ‘in love’ with him. Rant over. Next point please.

Whilst I do think Sam is incredibly loyal, more loyal than I could ever hope to be, he is stupid. If Frodo had abused me half as much as he did Sam, I would have packed my bags and said “Hey Frodo. Take you new, freaky best friend and be all that you can be. I’m going home.” Credit where credits due and Sam certainly does not get half the amount of credit for having to deal with that whiney, nasty bastard and he’s more horrible (but amazingly acted) mate. I understand Gandalf told you once Sam “Don’t you leave him Samwise Gamgee” but I don’t think he meant it literally. I mean you almost drowned yourself dude. That’s just idiotic. That’s crazy. But, in a way, it’s very commendable.

I know the real question in your minds (yeah, I’m a mind reader, big deal); How is Samwise Gamgee the real saviour of Middle Earth? Simple. Firstly, Sam was a calming influence on Frodo. I can almost guarantee Frodo would have pissed Faramir off so much, Faramir would have shot him, and Faramir’s a nice guy, lest we forget. After the Fellowship broke, Sam saved Frodo every single time bar one. Frodo was about to get eaten by a Nazgul, but Sam saves him. Frodo was about to get eaten by Shelob, but Sam saves him. Frodo was about to get killed by an orc in the Tower of Cirith Ungol, but Sam saves him. You see the common theme? Frodo gets in trouble, but Sam saves him. Yet, after all this saving and helping him to Mordor, Frodo just leaves him because his wounds a bit sore. Man up Frodo! Sam should have been the one on that boat. Sam should be the one living his life in paradise, but no, he is forever to remain a forgotten hero in the shire.

Like last week, I apologise to all the Frodo-lovers out there. I suppose I just feel for Sam. He does all the hard work and gets none of the glory. Essentially, as the title to this blog would suggest, he is very used and utterly abused. I will be the first to admit, my love for Samwise Gamgee does blinker and shape my feelings towards Frodo. But I say to you, if Sam was treated more as a human being rather than a slave, would I dislike Frodo as much? Think on that, Frodo-lovers, think on that.

Stay tuned for more posts.

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Frodo Baggins: Bit of an Arse?

As you all know, I’m a pretty huge Lord of the Rings fan, both of the books and the films, although I haven’t read the books in a while, so I must do that soon. Anyway, as the title suggests, I’m blogging about Frodo Baggins and whether or not he is a bit of an arse. “How can he be an arse, Jack? He destroyed the One Ring and saved Middle Earth”. Well there are many reasons why Frodo is an arse, and, technically, he didn’t destroy the One Ring, Gollum did.

In fact, him not really destroying the One Ring is a big reason why he is an arse. So, what the rest of the Fellowship and all of Middle Earth-kind don’t know is Frodo succumbed to the power of the ring, and if it hadn’t been for Gollum and his disgusting act of practically eating Frodo’s finger, we would have Gollum Mark II on our hands. Yet, after all this, Frodo still takes all of the credit from the entirety of Middle Earth for destroying the One Ring. Now correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that what a massive, arrogant bastard would do?

Possibly an even bigger reason for Frodo being a bit of an arse is how he treats Sam. Poor, poor Sam. Treated like a slave for being the best friend he can possibly be. Obviously I understand that the One Ring has this immense power and can make people turn nasty, but seriously Frodo, he saved you more times than you can imagine and yet you still treat him like something of the bottom of your shoe (I realise now that I was just talking to a fictional character, my apologies). When Frodo picks Gollum over Sam and sends Sam home, Sam still comes back to save him, after everything Frodo had done and said to him. The least Frodo could have done was to stop all the praise for just a minute and say that it was a completely joint effort and he really could not have done it without Sam, but the only person he really says it to is Sam, as if the only praise he deserves is Frodo’s own.

I suppose I must admit that Frodo does some decent things throughout the trilogy. Saving Gollum from the Ithilien Rangers was a pretty decent act, carrying the ring all the way to Mordor was also a pretty decent act. Alas, I feel there just aren’t enough positive moments to outweigh the negatives. How can he trust Gollum over the ever faithful Samwise Gamgee? How can he leave Sam on his own in the Shire whilst he goes off with the Elves and Gandalf to the Undying Lands? Selfish? I think so. I am sorry to those Frodo fans who think he did a great job and should be praised, but, to be totally honest some light needs to be shed on the Frodo every seems to forget about:

FRODO THE BASTARD

Stay tuned for posts, which will hopefully not be as angry and vitriolic as this one.

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One Does Not Simply Write A Post On Boromir

So I thought I’d give you an insight into one of my favourite movie characters of all time, Boromir from Lord of the Rings. Now, I know exactly what you’re thinking (probably). “You only think he’s great because of all the meme’s about him and his ‘One does not simply walk into Mordor’ quote”. Well you’re wrong!

Whilst I do love that quote and all the meme’s that followed in its tornado of pure brilliance, I love Boromir for so many more reasons than that.

Firstly, he is probably the only, and I mean the only, character in both the books and the films who I would describe as a “morally-grey” character. What is a “morally-grey” character I hear you ask. Well, it is one that has both good and bad qualities and is difficult to tell which way the character will swing (the A Song of Ice and Fire series is jam-packed with these types of characters).

Now, there are many reasons why Boromir is a “morally-grey” character. He immediately shows weakness to the ring at the Council of Elrond, wanting to the use the ring to help Gondor stem the flow of wretched orcs, which of course is impossible. This desire for the ring, much, much easier to see in the films, grows and grows and grows until in one of his final acts, he does the truly unthinkable; he betrays the fellowship and tries to take the ring from Frodo.

Why, oh why would Boromir, the great Boromir, next in line to be Steward of Gondor, commit such a dastardly act? Well, I’ll tell you why. He did out of fear. Yeah , that’s right, you didn’t see that coming did you? Boromir knew Gondor was weak and feared losing his homeland, and the power of the ring feasted on that and ruined his mind. A tragic hero then is what we may call Boromir, epitomised by one of the greatest movie death scenes of all time, one that truly makes me shed a tear.

If Boromir is, for the most part, such a bastard, albeit a nice one, why do I like him so much? Because, he’s really the only bastard on the good side. We hear from so many characters throughout the story of the weakness of men and men being the cause of Middle Earth’s dire situation, however throughout the books this is rarely followed up (this is also my main criticism of The Lord of the Rings). Too many men in the books, not so much in the films, should be “grey”, but they aren’t they’re black and white, a little too black and white for my liking.

And who can forget Sean Bean’s portrayal of Boromir, his amazing acting skills coupled with his brilliant on-screen presence and his out of this world ability to die on-screen.

So there you have it, my favourite Lord of the Rings character, Boromir, easily making it into my Top 10 Movie Characters of All Time (which I will post one day). He has the perfect combination for a great character:

Good Motives + Questionable Morals + Unethical Methods + Great Actor = Amazing Character.

Stay tuned for more posts.

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