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Lord of the Rings: The Return
of the King
Director: Peter Jackson (2003)
Distributor: New Line Cinema. Certificate: 12A
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Main Characters:
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What a breathtaking final instalment! As Sauron's
power grows, his forces of darkness besiege Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor.
Gandalf manages to enlist the aid of the fearsome cavalry of Rohan under the
kingship of Theoden, for what looks like the last stand for the men of Middle
Earth. At best, it seems all that can be hoped for is to buy some time for Frodo
and Sam in their quest to reach Mordor and destroy the ring in the fires of
Mount Doom.
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Meanwhile, Aragorn slips away to try and recruit an army of dead warriors - giving them an opportunity to redeem a curse placed upon them for failing to honour a pledge many years ago. An awesome battle ensues that sees the death of King Theoden, and brief respite only comes when Aragorn returns with the reinforcements of his dead legions. Gandalf, Aragorn and company know that unless Frodo succeeds in his quest, all they have done is prolong the inevitable victory of Sauron. In a last desperate act, clinging to the hope that Frodo and Sam are still alive, they lead their forces to the very gateway of Mordor itself, hopelessly outnumbered but determined to fight to the death. |
As events are unfolding elsewhere Gollum/Smeagol leads Frodo and Sam towards Mount Doom, intent on regaining the ring for himself by engineering the deaths of the hobbits. Frodo unknowingly enters the lair of Shelob - the mother of all spiders - and only escapes with his life due to Sam's unshakeable friendship. As Sauron's hideous army of orcs threatens to overwhelm the men of Middle Earth, Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom, where Frodo succumbs to the power of the ring. In a strange twist, it is Gollum who saves the day. His own desperate desire for the ring results in him biting off Frodo's finger and stealing the ring for himself but he falls into the fire where he and the ring are destroyed.
With the evil of Sauron destroyed, Return of the King draws together a number
of threads in the relationships between the characters. Aragorn is made king,
and is reunited with his love, Arwen. Sam, Merry and Pippin return to the Shire.
Gandalf, Frodo and Biblo Baggins sail off with Elrond, Legolas and the rest
of the elves from Middle Earth. The Fellowship of the Ring is disbanded; the
adventure is over. And so it all ends.
THROUGH THE LENS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
Some key themes: Good out of evil
One of the most memorable and tragic characters of the Rings trilogy is Smeagol. Return of the King provides a glimpse of how the corrupting power of the ring caused him to murder his brother and degenerate from being a hobbit to become the creature Gollum. His torment is evident as the Smeagol and Gollum aspects of his personality battle for supremacy. At times it seems that Frodo's kindness to Smeagol might win through, but each time Gollum's obsession with the ring proves the stronger.
Strangely, and unwittingly, it is Gollum rather than Frodo who saves Middle
Earth from conquest by Sauron, since Frodo, too, is overcome by the evil power
of the ring at the very point when its destruction is within his grasp. Without
Gollum's last desperate attempt to wrestle the ring from Frodo's grasp all would
have been lost. The death of Gollum and the end of the ring are bound together,
and we are left to ponder what would have happened were it not for Gollum.
The thought of good coming out of evil is an uncomfortable one. It raises some
disturbing questions. For instance, does God make evil things happen in order
that good might emerge? Can evil be used as a means to an end if the end result
is good? The best way to grapple with such questions is to remind ourselves
that God - whose very nature is love - does not create or send evil. But God
can, and does, work in the hearts of people to bring good from the darkest of
situations. That is why we see incredible acts of courage, kindness and self-sacrifice
in all sorts of places where hope seems lost and darkness threatens to overcome
the light.
When Jesus was crucified it must have seemed that evil had triumphed. There
was certainly no good to be found in the motives of those who engineered his
death. Yet through the death and resurrection of Jesus God's amazing love for
humankind has been made known. Did God manipulate people to ensure that Jesus
was put to death? No. Did God bring about good from the evil of Jesus' crucifixion?
Absolutely. The evil within our world is a reality - it is simply the way things
are. But God's love will not allow it to triumph. Perhaps that gives us a glimpse
into the mystery of how good can sometimes come out of evil.
Have your say on the discussion forum....
· First of all, what did you think of Return of the King?
· Without Gollum's selfish determination to acquire the ring for himself, Sauron would have triumphed. What do you make of that?
· Can you think of any instances where good has come out of evil?
To discuss this further why not leave a message of the discussion forum.
