Gollum is one of the most critical characters in The Lord of the Rings, both in Peter Jackson’s movies and, of course, J.R.R. Tolkien’s original books. In fact, Gollum played a key role in both the original Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies and in Jackson’s trilogy of movies based on The Hobbit, and he is about to be crucial on the big screen yet again, in the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum.
Despite this continued prominence within the franchise, there are still a number of things that don’t make a whole lot of sense about Gollum, especially regarding his depiction in the movies and what the movies include about the character. Of all those confusing plot points, these 5 aspects of Gollum’s character are the ones that make the least amount of sense, specifically concerning Gollum’s character in the movies.
Gollum had the One Ring for nearly 500 years, so it’s not surprising that, by the time he makes an appearance in the movies, he’s entirely corrupted by it and has morphed into a creature that his own family would no longer recognize. Yet, when Gollum loses the Ring in The Hobbit, he doesn’t immediately begin aging or really showing many signs of changing at all (that is, outside of his desperation and obsession over finding the One Ring).
This is particularly surprising because audiences see how rapidly Bilbo begins aging in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring after he leaves the Ring to Frodo. Granted, Gollum had the Ring much longer than Bilbo did—by hundreds of years—so the effects would look different, but it’s nevertheless odd that he doesn’t change much physically after it leaves his possession.
Gollum absolutely refused to die until he was fully submerged in the fires of Mount Doom itself in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He had several close calls, but the point at which he seems almost certainly dead (and wasn’t) is in Shelob’s lair. Frodo realizes that Sam was right and Gollum has trapped him, luring Frodo to what he hopes is his death. The two get into a scuffle, at which point Frodo seems to send Gollum hurtling to his death, down a cavern.
Yet, Gollum returns to try and take the Ring one last time before Frodo can throw it into the magma of Mordor—and Gollum doesn’t even seem to be injured. How he survived this fall is never shown on screen, and it’s more than a little odd that he fell in this way and not only lived to tell the tale but also basically seemed absolutely fine.
The beginning of The Return of the King shows more about Sméagol’s backstory, including the moment his cousin, Déagol, finds the One Ring. In this scene, Sméagol immediately wants the Ring, and tells Déagol that he should give it to him because it’s his birthday, and he wants it. When Déagol refuses, they begin to fight, and Sméagol chokes him to death.
What is odd about this scene is how quickly the Ring corrupts Sméagol. The effects are essentially immediate, assuming that Sméagol wasn’t violent beforehand—which, at least in terms of what is shown on screen, seems to be the case. This is especially odd because Sméagol was a Stoor, a type of hobbit, which should have meant he had a greater resistance to the influence of the Ring, the same as Bilbo and Frodo.
Yet another confusing aspect of Gollum’s character is the fact that he is emaciated, yet he manages to engage in physical fights multiple times throughout The Lord of the Rings. He’s also shown to be very limber, able, among other things, to keep up with the Fellowship throughout The Fellowship of the Ring.
Yes, by the time he’s fighting Frodo (multiple times) in The Return of the King, Frodo is likewise weakened. Nevertheless, it’s odd that Gollum is so clearly starving, and his body looks constantly on the brink of death, yet he proves to be rather strong.
Finally, one of the most confusing elements of Gollum’s characterization in the movies is the fact that he seems to develop a genuine affection for Frodo, even though he eventually does try to kill him. It’s clear that he also despises Frodo, which seems to repeat the notion that he hates and loves the Ring and hates and loves himself. However, he has much less reason to like Frodo, who has the one thing he wants and is on a mission to destroy it.
Even taking into account the fact that, at times, Gollum knows the Ring must be destroyed, it’s odd that he seems to actually care about Frodo at multiple points, even as Frodo has essentially enslaved him and prevented him from reuniting with his precious. It’s actually a shame that this wasn’t explored more on screen, as it’s one of the most interesting parts of his character. As it stands, though, it simply remains confusing.
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