What if the One Ring Went West During the Third Age? Theory

The One Ring is a vital instrument of Sauron's survival and downfall in the Lord of the Rings, but what would happen if it wasn't in Middle-Earth during the War of the Ring? Thank you all so much for watching, this video was so much fun to make! Let me know your thoughts about this theory in the comments below! Would it happen like this or would the tale go differently? Happy New Years everyone, I will see you all soon! 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!

Check out our music channel:

Join us on Facebook at:

Join us on Twitter at:

The first song used in this video:

The second and fifth songs were developed and produced by my associate Galafee.

The third song used in this video:
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

The fourth song used in this video:

The last song used in this video is from:

Many related and/or used art come from these artists and sources:
Ted Nasmith:
Jenny Dolfen:
Alan Lee:
John Howe:
DonatoArts:
Magali Villeneuve
Wolfanita:
Gerwell:
Mirach Ravaia:
Kaprriss:
EKukanova:
steamy:
Laurelinartistry:
SaMo-art:
kimberly80:
Hildebrant brothers:
Anke Eissmann:

[Insomniac]

I think it's far more likely Glorfindel would have been corrupted by the ring before ever reaching Valinor. Being such a powerful elf, it would have a very strong influence on him.

[Campbellot]

It's interesting how this theory ends with an alternate version of Dagor Dagorath.

[BlueSideUp]

You may be too generous with how willing the Free Peoples would come together.

[boyzis]

The joy of a 1000 hobbits enjoying there second breakfast!!! Love that one!

[ErelasInglor]

Interesting take, however, I believe the Valar in their wisdom would not reject something like that but rather find a way to destroy it themselves or bind Sauron's will to it in order to summon him back. Also, if Ents were up against the black gates they would have brought entire forests with them of huorns and though they should be lit on fire this would undoubtedly overwhelm Sauron's forces. The end would have been very different I think, especially with Glorfindel championing the free peoples' cause before the Valar.

[jamesderington]

Here's a theory... What Smaug hadn't died in the hobbit?

[BeastandBird]

I think if Sauron could beat the "free folk" with his current armies... He would have already. If it comes to an all-in pitched battle I think the free folk would be victorious. Sauron had no need to ally with Saruman if he had an all conquering army.

[thuzan]

i've said before that the Valar are assholes for leaving the mortal races to clean up THEIR mess. Morgoth was one of them and they still let him off the hook once and the people of middle-earth practically had to beg the Valar to act and get rid of him permanently. When Morgoth was defeated Sauron tried to convince them he'd changed and for whatever reason, despite Sauron being Morgoths No. 2 guy, they just left him in Middle-earth. Then he shows up to numenor, corrupts the island and sends them towards Valinor but even then all the Valar and Maiar do is crush the Numenorean fleet and sink Numenor, again, Sauron gets off virtually scott free. WTF?! After Sauron was defeated i'm surprised no one in Middle-earth didn't gear up to go and demand the Valar and Maiar be held accountable for their gross negligence throughout the ages.

[jamsuns]

The quest of Frodo and Sam is the key to resonating with people.

[RomanHistoryFanAD]

you know what I never thought about this as a scenario. but your ending for it fits the theme of good all ways win against evil. as evil is vain and shallow and is blown away by a strong wind. this theme is found everywhere in lord of the rings.

[Sleepyembers]

I feel the dwarves could engineer super siege weapons that could shoot further than the eye could see, but the elves can see such a ridiculous distance that they could use these to pick off saurons army a ridiculous distance away. If they constructed these weapons of mithril then they would be able to withstand the strain of launching great objects such great distances. I really think if the dwarves and the elves allied they would be too powerful for sauron to challenge.

[AURELIAN-restitutororbis]

Man I LOVE it when people come together to fight against a common enemy. It's so nice

[tonyvivaldi]

Why would the dwarfs, elves and hobbits fight in this scenario? The only thing that changed is the path of the ring. Surely the elves would still sail west and the hobits would'nt care

[charimonfanboy]

1, you made the assumption that the ring made it west. Sauron's full focus was on retrieving the ring and he assumed that the ring would go west. His spies were guarding every road and path west from Rivendell while he had access to forces in Redhorn pass, Ettenmoors and, to lesser extents; Moria and the Withered Heath. Slipping a small band west would not escape detection and trying to reach the coast by force would end in a massacre.

2, Even if the ring made it to Mithlond, why would Sauron attack Minas Tirith? Sauron only attacked Minas Tirith because Aragorn showed him that he had the ring and was going to unite mankind with it's power and Sauron needed a pre-emptive strike to destroy the biggest city of men. Otherwise he would occupy Rhun and eastern Rohavion and expand his numbers, waiting until his forces were great enough to ensure a victory against Minas Tirith before sending them out

3, I agree about the scouring of the shire not happening, but Redhorn and Moria still has armies to threaten Rivendell, preventing Elrond from lending any troops to defend Gondor or marching on Mordor. Ettenmoors and Angmar are still in a position to threaten Mithlond and the Blue Mountains, meaning that they can't spare any forces, Dol Guldur would still threaten Lothlorien and the Easterlings are still in position to keep Dale and Erebor at bay. If you can beat Saruman though, then yes, the Rohirrim could ride to defend Minas Tirith. And the Umbar wouldn't be threatening the coast at first, they would be hunting down the ring-bearing ship, so Gondor could be stripped to defend Minas Tirith, until the ring was beyond Umbar's reach and they returned, forcing Gondor to restrengthen Gondor's armies on the coast. When Sauron attacked in the books, it was in haste and before he was ready. Give him the time to prepare and Minas Tirith doesn't stand a chance.

[andrewbaughman]

YES MORE THEORY'S! Could you please make a theory if the battle of the five army's was lost and sauron gained control of the lonely mountain? Great work!

[saytans]

DAMN SON! what you were thinking? fuckin epic af

[LMarti]

I like your theories in general but this one seems to have a huge flaw in that sending the ring west wouldn’t change anything with regard to the free people’s ability or willingness to come together. They would still be bogged down in their respective regions.

[ludvigiversen]

"Felt the joy of a thousanf hobbits during secound breakfast"

[wilhelmskovly]

I thought you had let me down until I checked Youtube before going to bed. Thank you and a happy new year.

[timerover]

The forces of the West loose, and the Ring is sent back, resulting in a Sauron victory.