How the Ring tried to kill Bilbo and why Smaug didn't take the Ring | Middle-earth Theory
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 24 авг 2024
- As I recently read The Hobbit again I stumbled upon a question as I was reading - Did the One Ring try to kill Bilbo Baggins? The short answer to this is yes - and it tried to do it the same way as it did with Isildur in the Disaster of the Gladden Fields. But More interestingly I started to wonder when didn't it try to kill Bilbo and could there be an explanation why the ring didn't simply slip off Bilbo's finger when he faced Smaug inside Erebor?
For this reason I've come up with a theory I represent in this video and I also share some thoughts about the Ring and Bilbo's role in the Battle of the Five armies
Do you have a theory? I'd love to hear it in the comments!
✨Join Patreon: / counciloftherings
✨Become a member of the Council of the Rings to get access to perks:
/ @counciloftherings
📌Merchandise store: council-of-the...
🔰 Join the Discord: / discord
🔰 Join our subreddit: / counciloftherings
🔰 Follow on Twitter: / councilofrings
🔰 Follow on Instagram: / counciloftherings
🔷Planning to start a RUclips channel? Let VidIQ help you get started and grow! That’s how I started my channel, so I highly recommend you use it; vidiq.com/cotr
Please help the channel grow by leaving a like, subscribe & ring the bell!
Got an idea for a lore video? leave a comment and let me know about it!
__________________________________________________________________
All content falls under fair use: any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. If your artwork appears and you are not listed below, please let me know and I'll add you! All artists should be credited.
__________________________________________________________________
Bilbo with the Ring - Todd Eyre (The Hobbit Trilogy)
Smaug - Stevce Lazarevski
Images from The Hobbit Trilogy
Arkenstone - Daarken
The Battle Under the Mountain - Matt Stewart
Goblin-town concept art - Alan Lee
Goblin Gate - Ted Nasmith
Goblins - Daroz (Fantasy Flight Games)
The One Ring - The Lord of the Rings Rise to War
The One Ring - Torbjorn Kallstrom
Disaster of the Gladden Fields - Jannis Kernert
Images from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Death of Isildur - Anke Eissmann
Sauron - Jerry Vanderstelt
One Ring to Rule them all poster - unknown artist
Sauron - Jean Pascal Leclerc Kegle
Sauron - William Faucher
Smaug sleeping - Unknown artist
Smaug - Jose Luis Valadez Baes
Thief - Raoul Vitale
Smaug - AnatoFinnstark
Smaug - Amisgaudi (Nicolás Pena)
Smaug - CKGoksoy
Smaug and Bilbo - Yin Yuming
Smaug - Even Asmundsen
Nazgûl riders - Inessa Khanenko
Barad-dûr concept art - Shadow of War
Goblin horde - Diego Gisbert Llorens
Bilbo poster - The Hobbit Battle of the Five Armies
One Ring to Rule them All - Donato Art
Battle of the Five Armies cover art - Lucas Graciano
The Last stand - Ncorva
#TheHobbit #RingsofPower #Bilbo
In the Battle of the Five Armies, I suspect the Ring waited to see what would happen. There would be no point in slipping off only to end up back in Bilbo's hands or those of a man, dwarf, elf, or, even worse, Gandalf.
Yes I totally agree. Gandalf was also nearby, so maybe that has something to do with it too
Your theory has a certain ring to it, yes I believe it rings true...
lol
@@jeremiah6462 Yes... I'd also say the theory is quite original, as it doesnt ring a bell.
Maybe the One Ring was so happy to get away from Gollum that it forgot it had to get back to Sauron.🤔🤪
When I clicked on the video, I actually expected some wild speculation that the Ring enhanced Smaug's spell on Bilbo
I think the idea of fate probably had a lot to do with the ring not betraying Bilbo during the Five Armies. Tolkien Lore recently did a great video on fate that may also explain some of why the ring stayed with Bilbo. It was just how Eru intended.
ahh interesting I'll make sire to check it out :)
I think maybe the ring remembered what happened when it betrayed isildur and has become overly cautious about betraying its wearer unless it has a very great chance of being recovered by Sauron’s servants since if it were to end up in a similar situation to the river it would be even harder for it to return to its master
Indeed!
Smaug: "What are you doing here and who are you"
Bilbo: "I came here great Smaug to hand over this ring of power. You shall guard it until eternity"
Smaug: "Deal!"
Bilbo (to everyone else): "Problem fixed, guys! Sauron will never return :)"
Think of how different the history of Middle Earth would have been if Isildur had been a regular glove wearer and put a glove back on to prevent the One Ring slipping off during the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.
Hahahahaha 😂😂😂😂
Always thought that too. Or imagine he had made a fist or held something in the ring hand which would have resulted in the ring not being able to slip off.
While I am aware that the dragon fire of Smaug most likely wouldn't affect the one ring, it is interesting, as Smaug was quite powerful in his own right, maybe the one ring wasn't completely certain itself, and wouldn't want to risk destruction by Dragonfire. So it did its best to get both of them out of there.
like if there is only one possible way of getting destroyed in the entire world, but then you stumble across a creature that might have a 1% chance of doing so, you might just think, anywhere is better than here.
I would also like to add, I find it interesting the ring stayed with Bilbo for the next decades as well, did it do so, as a means to corrupt him over time, or maybe it recognized that Bilbo would be one of the only hobbits willing to leave Hobbiton?
Smaug was a powerful creature, a servant of Morgoth, loosely allied with Sauron, but not his servant. It is possible the ring would have no effect on him and it would remain in his hoard until the end of time (I do;t think this is likely though), but it is also possible it would gnaw at him, eventually driving him to claim it's power for himself. Smaug, with the ring, could rival Sauron, just another servant of Morgoth, and neither the ring or Sauron would want that. Sauron, and by extension the ring, was ever weary or being usurped.
Smaug would eat the ring.
In my opinion the ring always tried to somehow betray it's wearer in the right ocasion to return to Sauron
Yeah I agree! Just curious it didn't here, but Tolkien might have added some more in that regard in his revision of The Hobbit
I love this video! I think that the rock hitting Bilbo in the back of the head might have been its subtle attempt to escape him. Here's the theory good sir; the rock hits Bilbo, then when some random fellow that is not Gandalf happens by the area it slips off the Hobbit whilst the fellow is not looking in his direction and then it goes to that master. The thing is Bilbo woke up and was not trampled to death (as the Ring likely hoped). Thoughts?
P.S. I'm so very glad you're almost at 900 subs, do hope you make it to 1000 soon! You're almost there, really love your channel!
Hmm yes the sudden knock out seems odd, but might simply be a coinsidence. I’ve heard another theory that it was Eru that tried to protect him, but we’ll never know 🤷♂️
And thanks! I plan to do a giveaway when we hit 1000 🙌
I think you are overseeing an important detail here. Bilbo realizing the whimsical nature of the ring from the first scenario, would from then on likely clench the ring tightly when wearing it, making it impossible for the ring to slip off.
Both Isildur and Bilbo let the ring slip once, unaware of it’s will and possibility to betray them.
The ring had the power to affect his mind enough to open his hand ☺️
@@CounciloftheRings Well during the Battle of Five Armies and in front of Smaug, I think Bilbo was pretty determined to stay invisible. Maybe the ring tried, but Bilbo resisted. After all, he was able to give it up after 60 years.
There's a much simpler reason for all that.
May i recall that at the moment on those events the ring was still weak and half asleep After a 500years slumber under a mountain.
Hasn't had his first coffey and still unable to Make such plans.
I have a guess that ring can only interact with the surrounding world using his owner's senses. So while Bilbo was unconsciousness, the ring was in complete darkness not knowing what's going on
An interesting theory, no doubt! Thx
Yeah I was thinking that too, it certainly makes sense as to why it needs a master after all.
To be able to betray the wearer, the ring needs the opportunity to do so. If the wearer makes a fist, the ring can't slip of. (I know people today who put medical tape over their marriage ring in certain situations to not loose it.)
Bilbos hand guestures aren't mentioned that detailed during these examples of when he wore the ring.
But if he put it on his sword hand for example, there's less chance for the ring to betray him as long as he holds Sting. (Battle of the 5 armies or the spyders in the mirkwood)
The Ring is able to manipulate you to put it on, it sure is able to make you open your fist as well. It drove Boromir mad and made him want to hurt Frodo. Forcing someone to open their fist for a second would be easy in comparison
@@CounciloftheRings Fair point.
Just before the battle of the five armies, Sauron had suffered another crushing defeat at the hands of Gandalf and the White Council. The ring's will seems to be connected with Sauron's strength, which would have been greatly diminished after the battle at the Necromancer's stronghold. Fans will recall that shortly before leaving the ring to Frodo, Bilbo constantly felt afraid that he was going to lose it, and this was shortly before Sauron made his next move.
the ring is so powerful it didnt let no sand or mud bury it. nothing could conceal it
This is a good video! I must confess I never thought of it.
Thanks! ☺️🙏
amazing theory man nice viewed
keep up with the mistey series ;)
Thanks! I have some more coming in the future, that I haven’t heard anyone else talk about before ☺️
Before I watched the video, I was expecting you would tell me that the Ring motivated Bilbo to approach Smaug, when the hobbit is tempted to reveal himself 😅 You know, as in enhancing the dragon's magic. Or that the Ring increased Bilbo's vulnerability for such evil...
At the time of writing the Hobbit, Tolkien didn't have much in thought for the ring, and thus he didn't give him 'a will of his own'
It is true that the ring first played a bigger role, when he started on LOTR, and he would likely have added a lot in a revision of the hobbit.
Still it’s interesting how the ring betrayed Bilbo even here, and how it tended to betray it’s bearers in general. One might imagine what Tolkien would have added to the story as well. It’s interesting it didn’t betray Bilbo, when Smaug was right in front of him.
Great vid. You doing a great job. I wanted to ask something for maybe the next vid. Can you make an vid about the wifes of the Ents? What happend to them? Iam very intressted about that. Have great day. See you in the next vid.
funny that you ask it's something very high up on my to-do list. I'll focus towards a part 2 of the fall of arnor first though and then likely another 'geography of middle-earth' episode, but I might cover those afterwards :D
@@CounciloftheRings very nice iam looking forward to it. 🙌
Yes, the ring had "a mind of its own" but that doesn't mean it has conscious intelligence! It responds, like a magnet, to evil things linked to Sauron. Orcs are Sauron's creatures. That attracts the ring. Smaug is his own creature and not allied to Sauron. That doesn't attract the ring. A whole army of orcs gets 'cancelled' by the presence of an army made up of Elves, Men and Dwarves. And notice how the ring stayed put around Shelob. She's absolutely evil but just like Smaug she's not allied to Sauron. Same with Gollum. Of course he's evil but he hates and fears Sauron now, and that the ring can perceive.
this video has different input i like too: When did Gandalf know Bilbo had The One Ring? | Tolkien Explained ... basically Bilbo did not kill Gollum out of pity, so the ring was not taken by force, and went to a lesser creature, which kind of makes the ring less active?
Why do people call it Goblin town? I just finished the Hobbit and I don't recall it ever being referred to as that. Is this something Peter Jackson or fan culture has named it?
They goblins sing ‘down down to goblin town’ do you skip the songs when reading it?
Others call it Goblin gate, but the majority of people call it goblin town
@@CounciloftheRings ah yeah, sometimes I skipped the songs, so that could've been why I didn't see it.
@@tefazDK Yeah I used to do that a lot too, but when I read The Hobbit again 2 months ago I tried to sing some of them to myself hahah and I think that particular song is quite catchy XD
Here's a plot twist: The Ring betrays everyone, including Sauron. It is a POS ring and it just hates everyone. Think about it, how can Sauron get his finger cut off like that, he shouldn't be such a noob...
That’s not how it happens in the book though 😅
If you want to know how Sauron actually lost the Ring it’s covered in my video about Elrond and why he didn’t destroy the Ring 😁
2:38 I believe the Ring didn't want to get lost in all the gold. Also, I personally hated what the Hobbit Trilogy did with the treasure chamber scene. The book and even the cartoon made this part make far more sense, since Bilbo kept the Ring on almost the entire time he was talking with Smaug in those virsions.
Smaug would eat the ring.
It didn’t betray bilbo in front of Smaug. It knew Smaug could eat it and absorb its power. That’s what dragons did.
Nice over-dramatic exit from the middle earth discord
At least you’re free to voice your opinion here without getting censored, falsely accused of racism or told you’re disrespectful to Tolkien ☺️✌️
@@CounciloftheRings He revealed the actual messages and he never said that you were being racist. Just to not post photos or memes that contain racially charged imagery
@@danieldasilva9829 You can see the images in my community tab.
He did say "criticism is validate but in a respectful way as there is no need for distasteful remarks regarding ethnicity".
I created the image and it has absolutely NOTHING to do with race or the actress. That's his wild over-interpretation. The image simply highlights that the name is an unfortunate name to pick for a character as it means disabled according to the urban dictionary. As I explain to him it would have been the same if a name had been Emo. and he only brought race into the debate because of said actress' skin-colour.
Feel free to read my community post if you want the truth
another theory for Smaug, could be since 4 of the 7 dwarf rings were said to have been destroyed by dragon fire, it could be theorized that there was a chance that the fire of a powerful enough dragon could potentially destroy the one ring as well.
No. Those rings were subordinate, and therefore lesser, rings to The One Ring. As such, destroying them by significant enough dragonfire was no difficult task. The One Ring was only ever able to be destroyed by the fires from whence it came. In fact unmade, more than merely destroyed.
@@joshpotter9261 that is for the most part true as it was mentioned during the Council of Elrond, but would the One Ring really want to test that theory against the fires of Smaug?
@@truechaos6927 Moot point really, as there is no real reason for the One Ring to have ever wanted or needed to test itself against Smaug's fire.
@@joshpotter9261 its not really a matter of wanting or needing to test itself against dragon fire, had Smaug decided to let loose the Ring wouldn't have had a choice in the matter anyway. Had it not been destroyed in the onslaught, it may have found itself imbedded into a large lump of gold and gems that were melted by the fire, and then forever a part of Smaug's treasure hoard. But like you said it is really a moot point, the story was written that it didnt happen.
@@joshpotter9261 It might have been imprisoned whole in slag, however. It's not going to get a chance to be grabbed up if it's in the middle of a muddle of melted coins etc.
The real reason it didnt jump off the finger with Smaug was because Tolkien retconned what ring bilbo had found. When he wrote the hobbit it was just a magic ring. It was only later when beginning the LOTR he decided Bilbo had found the One Ring.
Yeah true, but that’s the easier answer to come up with. We should rather see if we can make sense of things within the written lore
... and why is it then that it slips off his finger after he escaped Gollum?
Dont think so...i think the One ring understood Bilbo and acually helped him, extended his life and only gave good things to Bilbo..i think it tryed to kill Frodo.
Well the first section is directly from The Hobbit