Why They Cut The Real Ending Of The Lord Of The Rings

The Lord Of The Rings trilogy has a near-perfect ending. Although most Lord of the Rings Fans feel there are closer to 4-5 endings in Return of the King, there is one major event in the books that didn't make it to Peter Jackson's three film epic. When Sam and Frodo's journey comes to an end, and it's time to return to the Shire, things aren't as perfect as the film would depict. But why did Peter Jackson decide to omit this scene from The Lord of the Rings entirely? Could it have made a near-perfect trilogy better? Or was he right to keep the ending of Lord of the Rings as it is?

#lordoftherings #lotr #peterjackson #nerdstalgic

Small Details From 'The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King' That Would Make Tolkien Proud

SOURCES

[sterlingswift]

One part of Saruman’s death that I find very impactful is what happens after he dies. It says “…about the body of Saruman a grey mist gathered, and rising slowly to a great height like smoke from a fire, as a pale shrouded figure it loomed over the Hill. For a moment it wavered, looking to the West; but out of the West came a cold wind, and it bent away, and with a cold sigh dissolved into nothing.” I take this to mean that he became his immortal Maia form and longed to return to Valinor, but because he had been corrupted and fought against the cause of Valinor he was rejected and banished by Manwë himself. I love this. It a very tragic end to a once noble fallen character, and I feel like this doesn’t get talked about enough

[Crash]

that pub scene hits me in the feels, coming back from deployment, I finally understood why my uncles and grandfathers weren't as jovial at family barbeques and gatherings. They would sit quietly in chairs and just watch the kids play

[MySerpentine]

I always adored the bit where the Sheriff tries to arrest them and Frodo pretty much laughs in his face.

[supersaiyandrgnslayr]

I actually love the way the movie perfectly reflects the pub scene. In the Fellowship, they sing and are dancing and happy; in Return, they are in the same pub but are more quiet and among themselves, really shows they've changed.

[krisfrederick]

"End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.
White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise..." -Gandalf

[jhb_jhb_jhb]

Tolkien's ending is a masterpiece. However, as cinema-goers, we understandably needed more catharsis. Thank you for all your videos!

[hvymettle]

Aragorn's restoration as King of Gondor was not the symbol of hope and renewal that Tolkien intended. The Scouring was the rite of passage for our hobbit heroes who brought their fellowship home to redeem their people who had fallen to the malice of a debased Saruman while they were busy doing their parts to save Middle Earth. It was the story within the story, the heroes journey coming full circle.

[zephodb]

...I think what many people forget... is the Scouring of the Shire represents something VERY important: The Battle Never Ends... you can be hopeful, you can have great success... but you must always fight to keep the things you cherish... and when you are gone from somewhere for long enough that you've been effectively neglecting, you can't be surprised to see it decay unless you left stalwart protectors.
It also reminds us that truly, nothing is actually 'Safe', everything changes and everything faces adversary, even the people in the sleepy little towns along the road.

[Jonathan_Collins]

The most impactful part to me about the Scouring was when the first hobbit died. Because.. Hobbits don't do that. In all the media I'd had prior, 6 movies, 3 previous books, no hobbits had been actually killed. They felt safe before.

[gregcampwriter]

The Scouring of the Shire may be from Tolkien's understanding from Beowulf that the struggle never ends. There is always a new challenge to deal with.

But books can survive narrative sprawl a lot better than movies can.

[vingilot]

So many people complain that the ending was too long and never stopped...but as far as I am concerned, it was wonderful. I would have loved to have seen the Scouring of the Shire, but I understand why it was cut from the film. I always hoped that they secretly filmed it, but never added the CGI or sound track.

[peachjwp]

I’m convinced Tolkien would have been very upset that the Scouring was left out. This was a major point of the book. Facing all the dangers and trials honed their character into battle tested warriors in contrast to the soft and comfort loving hobbits they were before their quest. They were called to re-establish order and peace in their own home. This also mimics the ending of the Odyssey where Ulysses needs to clean house after his 20 Journey. And it important to realize that the hobbits were fighting a spiritual battle against evil. And Hobbiton was not prepared to fight that battle until the hardened spiritual champions arrived. The book ending was not just a throw in but a critical element of the book.

[jorgeenriquepolanco]

Even thou the movies are very long, I always thought "The Scouring of the Shire" was central to the story.

From the point of view of Frodo and company: Gandalf takes these 4 Hobbits out of there ideal lives and shows them what is happening in the world, it is only just that they get to apply what they learned, that the Shire sees the benefit of them leaving. Being exposed to evil makes you tougher.

From the point of view of Middle Earth: The end of the age affects everything. Evil is still present, even without the ring. The defeat of evil can be taken up by good people everywhere, but the longer it takes, the bigger a battle is.

[JonathanFifield]

I somewhat disagree with this take. I think it was appropriate to cut the scouring of the shire but mostly because the chapter could be an entire movie by itself. But the more important thing about the chapter is the rebuilding of The Shire that is described in the end. When I would read that chapter I was always moved by the fact that the party tree at Bag End had been cut down by Sharky and his men. It seemed the symbol of the violation of the Shire. But it comes full circle when Sam uses the gift he received from Galadriel all the way back in The Fellowship of the Ring to plant a new tree, the only Mallorn east of the sea and west of the mountains. This new party tree would be a way for the glory of the elves and the Valinar to live on through the hobbits. The shire is shown as growing more powerful and beautiful and all because of the leadership of Frodo and his friends as well as the gifts that they received. It's a bummer that couldn't be shown but like I said, it would require almost an entire movie to get that.

[khatdubell]

The reason that it exists is stated, very clearly, in the first book.
the shire never changes.
Bad things happen in the world, and the shire stays the same.
This thing, this event in the history of middle earth was so big, it touched even the shire.
Jackson got the first part, but the missed the second part.

[oneworldfamily]

Thanks for making such a lovely video essay. I'm so happy that these films are being kept alive in this way.

[taylorgayhart]

The Scouring of the Shire is more about industrialization of England and the end of “the simple way of life” that Tolkien grew up in. The Second Industrial Revolution is not often focused on in our history lessons, but it had a major impact of the day to day lives of people, and it occurred right when Tolkien was growing up.

[MayronDev]

So nice to see a Nerdstalgic video released in the morning just before work :)

[beverlykrebs]

I think Peter Jackson did the best thing he could to ensure the movie flowed smoothly. I loved the books growing up in the 70's, and I read them regularly still, but when I saw the movies, I was very impressed. As a fan of the books, I went into the theater with much trepidation, but was thrilled to find the films to be awesome!!

[justinah]

Peter Jackson had a reverence for Tolkien while Amazon has shown nothing but contempt for Tolkien