What if Bilbo Never Found the One Ring? Theory

Bilbo finding the One Ring determined the fates of many characters and stories in Tolkien's legendarium. If he hadn't found it, all would've been different. As always, a great thanks to the online artists whose visual works made this video possible! If you are one of the artists, please let me know and I will post your name and a link to your work in this description!

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[venkats]

Wow, Smaug being alive during the events of the LOTR would have complicated things a lot!

[Imtotallydiggingthis]

I think theres a lot of weaknesses with this theory.

Gandalf wouldn't have gotten trapped when he went back for Bilbo. He wouldn't have found him either, but he would have gotten out.

If he was captured, Sauron wouldn't have left him alive.

Sauron would have found the ring. The ring would have been searching for Sauron.

[gerrymcwilliam]

What if Gollum did not betray Frodo and Sam?

What if he redeemed himself?

[TroyTalks.]

"Riddles in the Dark" was such a frightening passage to read

[thesamuraihobbit]

What if Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was able to sneak off with Frodo's valuables in Fellowship of the Ring?

[spaceonisorceress]

I wouldn't be surprised if Bilbo happening upon the ring was another subtle intervention by Eru. Nudging the ring over towards Bilbo's hand, and in so doing, changing the course of history, definitely seems like his style.

[michaelminervini]

Can you do a "What if Gandalf didn't "die" in Moria" video. I always wondered what HIS plan was for getting into Mordor. Your speculation would be appreciated.

[MrMartechi]

I think you have to take into account the fact that "the ring grew restless"... I've always been under the impression that the Ring and Sauron were intimately connected to each other and the Ring would "use" its power to be found one way or another once it sensed that Sauron had returned to the world.

[Shaden]

What if Thorin had searched Bilbo for the arkenstone and found the one ring?

[firepowerg]

If you recall from LOTR The Shadow of the Past Gollum was drawn to Mordor by the will of Sauron as the ring had "mastered" him long ago, (Frodo's words in The Taming of Smeagol).

This was despite him having lost the ring many decades earlier, he was still susceptible to Sauron's call.

Therefore if he still had the ring I think he would have been even more drawn to Mordor, even eventually overcoming his fear of light to submit and the ring would have returned to its master.

[doch]

The One Ring had the ability to seek out peoples weaknesses and some sort of powerful pull, it needed someone to wear it, it wanted new company, so just like Gollum, Bilbo became obsessed with the ring, as shown in the woods where he fought the spiders and recovered the ring, after slaying one spider he knelt down by it and said, It is mine, he reeled in revulsion as he realised, he had become enthralled with it. So in essence the Ring was sentient.

[buster]

What if boromir and faramir both went to the council and joined the fellowship

[Dimbledude]

I've wondered about something and maybe it could one day be a theory video, what if Boromir had been successful in taking the one ring from Frodo?

[JuniorFanCirca]

The, uh, the ring, uh-- the ring finds a, uh, it find a way.



Made you read it in his voice, didn't I?

[vidhitnavani]

Can you make a sequel to this theory? I want to know what would happen next and if the free people have a chance to win

[akshayshrim]

Thanks Yoystan!!! Was waiting for it and in my impatience even tweeted you a request :) excellent vid as usual and the graphics keep getting better.

[aperson]

can I get a "I see you" from the dark Lord Sauron?

[myjoyinacross]

My wife and I were watching the Hobbit yesterday, and I came to the realization that Bilbo brought the one ring into Erebor. While Bilbo has the ring on, Smaug says that he can sense the gold and power the theif carries. One idea for a video is if Smaug actually obtains the one ring from Bilbo. Would Smaug even be able to use the one ring, and if so, how would he use it?

[TheDiscoDev]

Your channel is fantastic. Thank you so much for shedding light on some lesser known aspects of Tolkein's wonderful world!

[redearthblue]

He was meant to find it. One of the few stories that starts with a dues ex machina. There is also some conjecture that hobbits, whose origins are obscure, were made to find the ring.