How Powerful is The One Ring?
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- Опубликовано: 21 сен 2024
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Samwise: "Power? No thank you, I just want a happy little garden." Ring: "WTF!?"
That's me. All my life, it's been basically me hoping the Ring doesn't find a way of enslaving me through a happy little garden.
Sam will be the Garden Lord
Fair point, and eloquently put!
@@alextaunton3099 Ring: nah f that, give me back to frodo please
More like the ring was flipping through the pages in panic thinking "they didn't prepare me for this ahhhh"
Why did Sauron buy Hot Topic?...
He wanted to be Morgoth.
I'm here all week.
Take my like and scram, you bastard
boo
Nerdy Dad joke.
I thought he bought the Siters of Mercy instead.
You mean Moremo
I love the idea the one ring was picked up by sam and was thinking
"finally a new owner, lets hope he's a bit easier to control . . .
I shall give you your greatest desire!!
what? gardening? seriously??
omg fine then, you shall be the greatest gardener in all of middle earth" *sigh*
"Sigh really you want a nice wife and kids and a garden... ok I guess..."
I like how it was explained it in the LOTR RPG (I think). Basically Sauron was a level 1000 baddy. Then he poured alot of his powers in the Ring and became a level 250 baddy. But when he wears the ring he becomes a 2000 level baddy. When it was destroyed he becomes a level 0 non-combatant.
How can wearing the ring he put his own power into raise his power +1000?
@@heroicsquirrel3195 Magic ?
@@heroicsquirrel3195something about concentrating his spirit
If convoluted was a person
I would’ve liked to see how powerful he was before his body was destroyed in Neumanor. Being able to shape shift and having the one ring. Like he was diminished pretty bad when his body was destroyed in Neumanor. Like in Baron and Luthien how he was able to switch into a werewolf, Vampire, snake, and he made werewolves. Like I wonder if he would’ve been able to defeat Huan with the one Ring and it wasn’t already claimed that Huan would die in a battle with the strongest werewolf in middle earth. I mean I guess that would still work because maybe Sauron with the ring would be stronger than Carcharoth.
I was there 3000 years ago, when I watched the previous upload of the video 👍
thanks for redoing it in better quality 😊
That was the Second Age version of the video. This is the Third Age version. 🤣
No worries, I'll happily watch the Fourth Age version of this as well. They are always very good.
Lol, I thought it was me. That I confused Tolkien channels 😛
Well played💍🔥
🤣
Remember what Bilbo used to say: "Hraaaaagh!"
Tells you a lot about his world view and emotions.
Nope, I don’t remember that.
Oh my gosh, had me dying...lolol
Sauron had awesome penmanship to make such small letters legible is amazing just fantastic
I think I'm going to get him a calligraphy set for Christmas.
We need a Lord of the Ring audiobook narrated by In Deep Geek! Beyond the quality of the production there is a great voice artist.
I'm thinking of making a playlist for background sound to go to bed. 😊
The Phil Dragash versio is already amazing. Short of actually procuring all the actors from the movie (some of which are dead), it’s pretty hard to beat. If you haven’t listened to it, I strongly recommend you check it out.
@@u.sgrant7526 I never knew this existed until you mentioned it here, thank you, it is a fantastic production and I am listening to it as I write this ;)
Or maybe a LOTR version of "The Hitchhiker's Guide," where IDG does the narration... Don't Panic.
@@pastorjerrykliner3162 Now THAT I would definitely listen to 👍😎
That would be awful.
Saron could not conceive that someone would want to destroy the ring, because he could only conceive someone would want it for power.
My headcanon of why both Isildur and Frodo were unable to throw the ring into Mount Doom is that like you've said before, it is aware to a degree. Like a human about to die, it fights hardest there and managed to overwhelm both of them even with their strong wills. Also, the longer you have it, the more effect it has on you.
I think the same, I reckon its actually impossible for whoever holds the ring to willingly throw it into Mt. Doom. Not shown in the movies but it was by the literal god of the middle earth universe, Eru's, intervention that gollum fell into the volcano. The only other times Eru actually interfered with Middle Earth was destroying Numenor and bringing back Gandalf as Gandalf the White.
The temptation is too strong to willingly drop it into the fire. Though Elroud begged Isildur to destroy it, he didn't stop him from leaving, possibly knowing if he took the ring from Isildur, he would also be unable to destroy it.
In the books Elrond never took Isildur to the Cracks of Mt Doom to destroy the ring, so he never failed to destroy it like he did in the film. Elrond encouraged him to, but Isildur didn't see any danger in it, and while the elves thought it was stupid, no one knew how dangerous it really was, so no one tried too hard to make him destroy it when they had the chance.
I mean you don't need headcanon Tolkien explains why....
Imagine a full length film of Silmarillion done in the format of the intro in Fellowship of The Ring. I’d pay $199.98 to see that
Look, I'm a huge fan of the whole Legendarium, but that would become unwatchable REALLY fast, especially if you did it in the order the book presents.
it would fit better in a dozen or so smaller shorts like the World of Ice and Fire trailers they ran for Game of Thrones.
Look, this isn't your fault, but its becoming a pet peeve of mine to see people suggest that a Silmarillion film could ever be good--I see it suggested a, frankly, staggering number of times, ie more than a couple times.
It's essentially a bible.... so, are we prepared to say the Bible, as a whole, would make a good narrative for a film? Fuck no. The Silmarillion would do just as poorly. And in the format of the Fellowship intro? You want a feature length film of... what, Galadriel monologuing at us while things happen? My guy....
Just what I needed, only stressful stuff was going up on my suggestions, then I found this.
The reason he couldnt control the dwarves could possibly be the fact that they where not made by Eru during the singing of the song of creation..
Aule the Smith made them specifically, apart from wanting to teach them the crafts, to counter Melkor's corruption
It's interesting though that the Dwarves were made by Aule and so likely thought in ways like him, mechanical and crafting ways; and Sauron was also a Maia of Aule waaay back in the day, who also loves order and machines and construction, so it seems like he if anyone would be able to understand the way that Dwarves think.
@@Pfhorrest The question is - did the Mahal himself understood his creation?
@@Pfhorrest This is a very good point! I'd never made the connection that both the dwarves and Sauron were, in a sense, students of Aule.
I suspect that it isn't so much that Sauron found the dwarves unusually difficult to understand, but that they were too difficult to subdue and dominate by other powers, regardless of how well that power understood them.
@@JackHankeAnd I remember one theory that his attempts to dominate the Dwarves only enhanced their greed and isolationism, thus making them dig deeper, become less worldly, and more paranoid of control, thus making it that the more he tried, the more they resisted and the less chaos he could cause with them. In that sense they were in fact quite like him, the more he lost control, the more he fought to hold onto it.
I think people miss the point of the ring turning Frodo and Bilbo invisible. It’s not a “ring of invisibility,” it’s a conduit for the will of the user. In Bilbo’s role as a burglar and Frodo’s task of sneaking the ring across Middle Earth, they’re both in situations where their will is to not be found. Wearing the ring makes them very good at that. If an aspiring tennis pro wore the ring, they wouldn’t become invisible, they would become unimaginably good at tennis.
The ring is partially pulling them into a spirit world. That is why they cannot be seen by other mortals, or elves who have never lived in the Undying Lands. That is also why Frodo sees the Black Riders in their true form, and why he sticks out more to them while he is wearing it.
It doesn’t just make you ‘good at stuff’, your will determines its use. In Sauron’s case, he could influence the other ring wearers.
One idea that I truly enjoy is that the Ring's properties of increasing the power of its bearer is in part of what caused its destruction - for what greater strength do the Halflings have but their great mercy? After all, it was the pity of Bilbo (and later Frodo and Sam) for Gollum which ruled the fate of many... Could the Ring have been empowering that great sense of mercy?
Just a thought ❤
You make a good argument!
I always thought something similar with Frodo where the ring enhances his already forgiving and kind nature but only because the ring is aware that if Gollum took the ring it would be stuck in a cave for hundreds of years again and so influenced Frodo to spare Gollum
Never thought about that angle. It makes sense and would be the ultimate irony.
@@sauntor Ring only enhances power. If you do not start your ownership that way, it just takes longer.
Remember, it was said that Bilbo began his ownership with pity, so he had longer to go before succumbing. And he was able to give up the ring of his own accord, with help, which had never happened.
But if he had kept it long enough, he would not have.
I appreciate the fact that he entirely ignores the non-canon profferings of Amazon.
Yea they suck
The own the ip. Its cannon. Cope harder.
@@nickmcdonald3083 "The own the ip. Its cannon."
1) *They
2) *It's
3) *Canon, with one 'n' - the one with two 'n's is the one you fire a cannonball out of
4) Nobody owns Lovecraft's work, or Shakespeare's work, or the Odyssey, or the Bible: they're all in the public domain. Does this fact mean that these stories have no canon?
Canon has absolutely nothing to do with intellectual property ownership (a legal concept that was invented several _thousand_ years _after_ the literary concept of canon). Canon is simply an amalgamation of what people _generally_ accept to be the true interpretation of a work.
@@nickmcdonald3083They do not, not wholy at least as the rights are fragmented. In fact, proportionally speaking, Warner has more rights that Amazon. And besides, ROP it's a (poor) adaptation of preexisting lore, it's existence doesn't rewrite the Silmarillion. That would be like saying that the Peter Jackson movies also rewrited the cannon of LOTR by just adapting the books to film. Or that GOT is now the cannon of ASOIAF. It doesn't make sense. But, please, do keep coping.
Sauron: "my Master Plan is flawless"
Also Sauron: "What the f*** is a Hobbit ?"
Robert: love your channel, and the work you do here.
We have a pretty deliberate showcase of its powers ( as texted below ) when we see the effects of its destruction. To simply put, Sauron was using his Ring ( Tolkien says even while he is far away he still was able to use its power ) to corrupt, dominate and manipulate the minds and wills of his servants. He basically acts as the hive-mind for his servants. Thousands of hundreds of them even while he was away from them ( something Tolkien says makes ones ability to dominate the minds of others harder ) and even when he was pretty much diminished to this point. Tolkien even says that Sauron achieved level of domination and control over the orcs and men that even Morgoth couldn’t achieve. All of this powers can be attributed to the ring. So yes it is pretty powerful
“As when death smites the swollen brooding thing that inhabits their crawling hill and holds them all in sway, ants will wander witless and purposeless and then feebly die, so the creatures of Sauron, orc or troll or beast spell-enslaved, ran hither and thither mindless; and some slew themselves, or cast themselves in pits, or fled wailing back to hide in holes and dark lightless places far from hope.”
Return of the King
I've never seen anyone talk about that before, its pretty interesting.
He did dump a lot of his own power and even parts of his own self into that ring in order to make it powerful enough though, so it was a gambit. And it eventually led to his destruction.
That includes everything from shapeshifters to the not-dragon things the Nazgul rode right?
@@bustinarant Yup. Beasts, Men, sorcerer, wraith alike were all dominated by his will
@@oguzhanenescetin5702 I guess he had not fully mastered its power when Isildur beat him, and cut the Ring from his hand.
If he ever got it back, the plan would likely be : “I sit here, my minions do the fighting. No more of this silly personal combat nonsense.”
Though sauron did not create the 3 elven rings, it was because of his knowledge that those rings were made. Those 3 rings (major thanks to sauron) were used against sauron (galadriel used it to defend lothlorien, elrond healed important characters and gandalf inspired everyone around him in the most dire moments in the fight against sauron. All effects that contributed majorly to his eventual defeat) These powers would be lost if sauron reclamed his ring, but he didn't. So, would it be reasonable to say that sauron's sharing of his knowledge of Craftsmanship played a major role in his own defeat? Maybe even more than it helped him, in the end?
I think it's interesting that Tolkien wrote in his letter that he considers the power of *all* rings to be "conservation" of some sort. The three elven rings definitely have this, but I hadn't considered the One ring in that light tbh. In hindsight it is clear that it is meant to preserve Saurons power, but since him losing it starts the story it cannot preserve anything so much as try and nudge the world back into a stable state again. If it weren't for that meddling Eru, the ring would probably have found itself back into Saurons posession again.
In Tolkien's world evil harms itself.
@@mateuszslawinski1990 It's less that and more that only god (eru) can destroy true evil.
@@akiramasashi9317 Given how Sauron, Saruman and Morgoth often handicapped themselves (covering the world with clouds so you can't scan it or dispersing power into minions and corruption)...
@@mateuszslawinski1990 Also in the real world, viz the tendency of parasites to evolve into mutualist symbionts over evolutionary scales, because it turns out to be to your own evolutionary advantage to not kill the things you depend upon. Cf cooperation as the winning strategy in game theory.
Its a philactory that permanent buffs for the dark lord. It enhances his powers and prevents him from passing on as long as the ring survives. Also the first half of the ring peom is continuously cast by the spirit in the ring to control the other rings.
Well that's my opinion.
It was not phylactery and it did not make Sauron any more powerful than he already was. It unintentionally allowed Sauron's spirit to linger and command, but it was not intended purpose.
This is simply the best channel on RUclips.
Def one of if not by favorite
Wait, the best on all of RUclips?
Are you The One Viewer - the one to watch them all?
"This channel is great because X, I enjoy listening because Y and I particularly enjoy your personal flavor of Z" is far less bland and more useful to the recipient than your lukewarm hyperbole found on every other RUclips channel.
If you truly appreciated his content you'd make an effort.
@@MycketTuffdamn, dude, you’re insufferable
Impressive writing on this. Very well done. This subject has been endlessly discussed but you elegantly, passionately and thoroughly explained it in a refreshing new way
Have been waiting for this video. Thanks Robert.
I love that Sauron's weakness is literally meekness. He was so closedminded that he couldn't imagine anyone just enjoying the simplest pleasures of life and not wanting more power.
the meek shall inherit the earth
“… a world-conquering gardener, bless him.” Ha ha ha! Oh Samwise Gamgee…
At the time, Sauron viewed the Elves as the greatest threat to his plan to rule Middle-Earth; that's why he targeted the Elves with the Rings of Power.
My personal theory is that Sauron did not make a mistake with the first 16 Rings of Power and that it was only the initial wearers of the 3, which were created without Sauron's direct involvement, that detected Sauron when he used the One Ring for the first time. They then warned the others.
Elves? Just more to be made into orcs and used against the Elves later by.
It's more about Elrond, than anything else.
The One Elf (The Nexus of them all) that would be at the right place, at the right time............always.
The Seven just did not work. Tolkien says because they were made stubborn by Aulë. ( first time I ever heard of Aulë). Sauron miscalculated, gave all that power, got nothing. No wonder he wanted them back. The Nine worked all right, he controlled the Men, just as planned.
I feel like the main power of all the rings of slowing undesirable change probably ties into the ability of the One Ring to make its wearer invisible and to see things that are invisible. The reason the Nine were turned into wraiths is that their rings, in order to slow their decay, basically pulled them into a sort of phase shifted state between life and death, and I'm guessing that the One Ring draws on this power to provide those other two powers, by pulling the wearer bodily into this same phase shift, just a little deeper so they vanish from view entirely, but not so far as to become intangible.
Thus the wearer would also be able to see the spirit world, since he'd be part spirit himself.
Yes, Please! Make a video about the Dwarves and their immunity to Sauron's power. Especially their inability to become wraiths.
The Ring also had the power to influence the minds of those nearby, not just those who wore the other rings.
“For what it saw was not a small frightened hobbit trying to hold a steady sword: it saw a great silent shape, cloaked in a grey shadow, looming against the wavering light behind; in one hand it held a sword, the very light of which was a bitter pain, the other was clutched at its breast, but held concealed some nameless menace of power and doom.”
@111:05 "When Sauron saw Aragorn..." Sauron assumed it was the Ring's influence on others nearby. Clearly the Ring has more power than just controlling the other rings wearers.
Is anyone feeling a sense of deja-vu?
It's one of the rings powers
Robert has been re-releasing his old videos in better quality for the last few months. personally I've been looking forward to this one the most
🐈⬛
@@broseph_brostar does this mean HD or with more detail?
Indeed.
In my headcannon, the One Ring accessed a power disseminated by Melkor: Morgoth's Ingredient.
An evil energy present in the physical matter of Arda. In this way, Sauron could control certain natural phenomena (storms, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions) and the creatures of Melkor: Orcs, Trolls, Wargs. In addition to tempting (and corrupting) humanity.
It reminds me of that biblical concept that the prince of the world is the devil. And the flesh is corrupt.
" Canon " is the word you're looking for.
That's canon though.
Idk that sounds kinda gnostic...
This is what I thought; the sixteen rings were antennas to harness Morgoth's remnant power in Arda. The Elven Rings created afterwards were emblematic of the most power of the Valar to combat that lasting pernicious influence?
This is such a thoughtful exposition
❤thank you Robert! Powerful reading❤❤❤
Last week I found a gold keeper ring, it's not the one ring but still a lovely gift from Eru Ilúvatar
I'm always gratified to hear other words-loving people say "snuck."
Thank you. In your video asking if the one ring was sentient, I ask a question in the comments to try to find out what were the powers of the one ring & whether there were any beings in ME who could have turned it to their bidding. I have a much better understanding of the power of the one ring & how it works now.
I found it quite interesting that the primary purpose of the ring is preservation and ceasing unwanted change for the bearer. It's fascinating how this ability would give its wielder a lust for power. We can even translate this into the modern age with how our minds cling to things of the past. Why is it so hard for people to let go of "the glory days" or to try to create a "legacy" for themselves to be remembered by? There is a function in the mind that clings to images of self-glory and when one pours their attention into those images they will dominate their thoughts, words, and actions. This is something I've been trying to uncover within myself and expose the absurdity of it. For the human mind is the most powerful known force and it has many ways of deceiving us...
does anyone else find it unsettling that the title isn't "how powerful WAS the one ring?"
which worldline are we on?
I am agrivated that no one has done a fanfic story about Sam taking the ring and basically waterboarding the ring into making him a better gardener.
Ring: take the power of the world, conquer and destroy.
Sam: No, i would like to grow some potatoes.
Rong: Why!?!?! Please, just do something evil!!!???
Sam: no.
Ring: *screams of agony*
Nobody tried ordering the Nazgul around while wearing the ring. Frodo might have sent them to destroy Sauron if he'd only thought of it.
I enjoy that Lord of the Rings online has included bits of this lore in the recent addition of Swanfleet/Cardolan and the Main Book Quests that run through them. It was a nice change from the original Book questline and seeing things like the elves being misled or the forging of the ring itself were satisfying.
Wow, I can't believe you left out what is the Ring's most awesome power -- the ability to have the greatest books and movies made about it.
ha ... ha ... ha ... slow clap
Wrong. The last use of the ring is in a supportive placement, not on a finger, but on a different member.
However describing that specific usage here and still getting to keep the video up is ill advised.
Cringe
You know Middle Earth might have been very wonderful under the power of Sam the All Powerful Gardener. We might have had a whole bunch of lovely flower gardens and well manicured lawns all over. Imagine the vegetable gardens under control of Sam The Gardner. Could make a lot of lovely soups out of all that wonderful broth !
One of Sauron's greatest errors was apparently believing that
no one else would ever take possession of the One Ring.
He was terribly powerful without it and far more powerful than that with it.
Therefore he presumed no one could get it away from him.
As we know, Elendil proved that belief to be wrong.
One of the most gratifying episodes in the story is Sam using the ring
and without any real effort on his part becoming what he Needed to be
so that he could save Frodo and help him complete his task.
The Ring thus helped defeat its maker.
But one elf once withstood it- I just forgot his name 😂
The way you use parapraph breaks makes your otherwise insightful comment enfuriating to read.
For such a long time you have brought me joy. Through cancer treatment and other turmoil.
Thank you, mellon.
Would love to hear your take on how Sauron lost the ring in the first place. Thats one part of the story that never really made sense to me, if he was so powerful with the ring then how was it even possible?
He got beat by Isildur, part elf, part Maia. Sauron was just starting to use the Ring. He probably got over confident.
His future plan was probably strictly ‘let the minions do it. More minions!’.
he was killed in battle by the king of the elves and humans . 2 on 1. they died too but killed sauron. then the human kings son isildur cut the ring from his hand
I think the One Ring is more sentient than you think. Near to the Volcano when Gollum attacks Sam and Frodo, Frodo stands up glowing in an ethereal light and "spoke with a voice that didn't sound like his." He warns Gollum not to touch him again or he will throw himself into the fire of the very volcano that they were at the foot at. I think this was the ring itself laying a curse upon Gollum.
The magnitude of its effects scaling with the established power of its bearer is an interesting take. I like it.
I would be really interested how Tolkien's experience in the war influenced his writing and ideas. I wonder if he saw the war as a consequnce of the ego of a handful of the elite and hence his appreciation for simple, humble creatures. The importance of forgiveness (Gollum) and peace really shines through all across the story of the LOTR
No. And he wrote of the second war, that he would probably be a better solider at 50 than 25. He did not blame both sides.
He did however see the cruelty and destructiveness of war.
This plan wasn't a terrible one, provided Sauron had a better grasp of the character and motivations of others and was more patient. Before forging the One, or at least before wearing it, if Sauron had played a double game more like Palpatine in the Star Wars prequels, feigning to help the elves against his servants (setting up a trusted lieutenant in Mordor as the 'Dark Lord'), and encouraging the elves to use the rings to counter the threat and preserve their territories, it would be increasingly hard to remove the rings. I think especially true for the more prideful elves. The longer they used them, the more it would seem they needed them, the more of their hard work would wither without the rings. As Anatar he would already be gaining insight into the plans and works of his enemies and increasing dependence, and as a possible bonus, influence on the 3. It's hard to tell how this hypothetical longer game would have affected the downfall of Numenor, and I feel that it is still unlikely many elves would be enslaved, but I think it would break them and remove them from Middle Earth far sooner than in cannon.
I think it was just Sauron’s usual blind spot - not understanding others. He gave power to dwarves and men, and plotted to seize control of the existing elven rings and their wearers. Surely no one would give up power.
So, he puts on the One! But the Wearers of the Three give up the power immediately, and take them off, rather than be controlled. He wasn’t expecting that. The Seven were different. The wearers did not take them off, but they knew what he did not - you can not bind a dwarf. So, his Ring did not work on them. He must have been peeved.
The Nine did work as planned. They were using their rings, building kingdoms, feeling great - then the One comes into play. And they could not bear giving up their rings, like the elves, and fell under Sauron’s domination, unlike the dwarves.
If Sauron had a better grasp of others, he would not be Sauron.
Have a wonderful start into the weelend everybody ❤
Hello Robert. Thanks for diverting my attention back to Middle Earth.
12:58 The Ring is a fantastic case study in practical security. It could withstand any tool and any fire except for one single forge. Its corrupting power was so strong it had a 100% guarantee no one could willingly destroy it. Even my toothpaste can only boast killing 99.9% of germs. But at no point did Sauron think "ah but what if someone tripped?".
I was just searching for a video about the ring in your channel like an hour ago, I found it now and was wondering why I didn't see it before, how lucky am I!
My Gawd your videos are sooooo amazing! Thank you for doing what you do!
You should do a video about "what if Sauron won and faced Tom at the end". How would that encounter go?
In other words, it is quite powerful and dangerous. I never grasped its major importance until this video fleshed it out.
I aways love your essays. As the equally brilliant channel Darth Gandalf explained in his video exploring telepathy in Tolkien's world, the power of one's will is a huge part of the magic system in the story, and beings with stronger wills, such as elves (or men with elvish heritage such as the Dunedain) or Maiar, can exert their wills over spiritually weaker beings, such as men or especially orcs. This is the power which the Ring's powers of amplification are primarily meant to enhance, which would grant the weilder dominion over great armies, even the armies of Mordor, to overthrow Sauron. And of course it was linked to the lesser rings such as to give him near total dominion over their bearers.
I like the theory that Frodo cursed Smeagol and the Ring enforced that curse and caused Smeagol to fall and die. It's power was it's own undoing.
Even Frodo couldn’t throw it in and Hobbits don’t care much for power
He could in a way, because Iluvatar made him 😂
@@matthiascerebri3315 There was no divine intervention. Mere happenstance of fate and random event to throw machinations astray.
@@vksasdgaming9472 depends on the Source you believe
@@vksasdgaming9472 If happenstance you call it.
Every time i watch your videos i go on a LOR marathon..starting with the Hobbit...😉
I love the last part you said. It cleared up so much!
Made it here early enough to see the first age!
Elves figured out how to jailbreak their rings. XD
Not quite, they just tried killing the admin.
They just took them off. Sauron thought they would be so addicted to power, they would not.
His age old handicap. He does not understand his enemies. But they understand him.
Did Sauron ever win a war? What did Sauron actually acomplish? Besides creating a barren wasteland and filling it with filthy gobbs? The corrruption of the Rings seems to be only partly successful and what what the grand plan with them anyway? i wonder what his endgame was.
Probably Sauron's biggest win was corrupting Numenor, and I imagine he wanted to repeat that success if he could. He probably accomplished a lot as Melkor's 2nd, but I'm not familiar with that part of the story, but more recently he took Minas Morgul and the lands that surrounded it, brought all the eastern tribes of men under his command, and I think he's responsible ultimately for the fall of Moria but I'm not sure.
But yes, when our heroes bring him down it's not that they've been beaten back into a corner and then fight him back to his home ala Star Wars, they're taking him down when he's about to tip the scales in his favor and his eventual victory would have been inevitable. He had just spent decades or longer building an army, Gondor was his strongest opposition and he was thiiiiis close to taking them down so the rest of the world would have gone down like dominoes.
His ultimate goal is that he wants to be God-King, ruler of the world and ultimately the universe. He had tried to overthrow the gods once before, he'd try again and then if he ever could figure out way he'd probably go after the elder gods too.
Yes. Because of Sauron there was no Arnor nor it's successor kingdoms. He had driven Gondor from lands on east side of Anduin over a millennium ago.
Sauron won many wars.
The part of Mordor we "see" was only a small part of his dominions, the part that was blasted and cursed by his presence. To actually feed the place and keep his armies alive, he had effective control over large swaths of very fertile and populated human territories with essentially infinite ability to raise armies. In those places, he was King and God.
It's actually mentioned in a few places in LotR proper, and even more in the appendices and other lore. The West was honestly in a serious strategic bind long-term, and without his metaphysical weakness, they had, long-term, lost. Badly.
Thank you for all of your insights! I can see a clearer picture now, while I am slighty worried by the sheer amount of Pro-Sauron Replys in this thread!
@@Psylento I, at least, am not particularly pro-Sauron. The simple fact was, he was dangerous, and dangerous beings tend to be successful because they are dangerous.
You forgot one important detail. 1 ring to rule them all, 9 for Men, 7 for the Dwarves, 3 for the Elves. If you put them all down together, they make 1973, which is the year Tolkien passed away
Questions: What would Frodo do if he kept the Ring, and how would Sauron get it if tempted each wearer? Someone must deliver it to the immobile Sauron after all.
As a guy who likes Dragon Ball Z, the One Ring reminds me first of Goku's kaio-ken ability (a force multiplier of his own power at the cost of greatly weakening him in the long run) or the Super Saiyin transformation (something like a perfected kaio-ken, without the deleterious effects of the former, and itself a much higher force multiplier than the previous ability). The only big difference is the malice and evil of the One Ring which is absent in both the kaio-ken and Super Saiyin transformations.
The Berserker Armor from Berserk; I think is a better example. It not only gives its users GodBrand level strength but also will ultimately kills and corrupt him with each use.
The Ring has a will of its own. It probably grew tired of being used by what it deemed lesser entities. It probably considered Sauron unworthy too.
Watching this, I have a renewed appreciation for the story writers of LotRo. Poor Narmeleth, who forged her own ring, Narchuil, and ended up as Amarthiel.
Interesting speculation on the origin of the ring poem - certainly makes sense!
Amazing video. I’ve always wondered why everyone wanted it.
Powerful enough to command a 122 USD price tag as of posting and warping several MTG formats including dominating the modern meta
I've already watched this video, I know it because......it is precious to me.
ah yes my devious plan to control the elves. I sure hope they don't take those rings off any time soon
I can just imagine Annatar sneaking out of Eregion in the middle of the night, heading to Mordor to forge the master ring.
To put things in perspective, in the silmarillion, Morgoth put HIS power into his servants, instead of single tools such as the one ring. Thus he made dragons, and corrupted elves and bred them into orcs, And Morgoth being one of the most powerful Valar wrought terrible deeds in middle earth. This theme of power played out in Tolkiens legendarium. The istari were forbidden from using their power to control. They had to guide and direct as best they could with their wits. Obviously only gandalf succeeded in his mission.
Gandalf was only one who kept his focus. Saruman decided to take more direct route and Radagast saw natural life more important to keep safe. What happened to Blue Wizards is unknown, but to me they went east of Mordor with Saruman, scattered and kicked ass and smote evil as well as guided and directed. After Sauron's defeat they stayed as there was much cleaning up to do.
@@vksasdgaming9472 Hope so. Tolkien was pessimistic, thinking they might have founded magic cults that outlasted the fall of Sauron.
But did not say for sure, don’t think he had worked it out.
Liked despite the lack of technical information about creating a magic ring.
I'm thinking "humble" might be a better label than "powerless" for the Hobbits' key quality. Even though they don't seem like heavy hitters on paper, look at the respect and allegiance Frodo and Bilbo pull from kings and wizards. Frodo literally inspired an army to march on the black gate in his name _without trying._ So if he had any ambitions the ring could draw on, there are qualities there that it could use to make a great mess. It can't, not because Hobbits are so lacking in spirit, but because they're happy in the moment--lacking the elvish passion/fear to hold onto it and the human ambition to trade it for something better.
another very well done vid my friend keep up the amazing content!!! 😊😊😊
I do wish there was more Witcher stuff
pretty good episode. thanks for doing these.
You're definitely my favorite channel ❤
Notice how its said if Sauron got hold of the ring, for some reason there's great stride in dissociating it from being his ring. You should make the discomfort overt and say if he got hold of his ring again because it is hard to argue that others are not partaking of something not quite ethical in keeping him from his own ring.
Hobbits are known to be incredibly stealthy. Do you think the ring enhanced those attributes of Frodo while he carried it? Potentially helping in its own destruction? Or did it have to be directly worn for those effects to happen
Thank you for explaining what seemed a contradiction, that the eventual distribution of the rings were not known when Sauron made the One, so that verse of the poem, couldn't have been written on the One.
Still not sure that’s right, but something to think about.
Several thousand years later and Samwise has a garden that spans the entirety of Middle Earth. The ring: "Dude I'm not designed for this!!"
Okay, Robert, allow me to pick a nit. Gandalf had his elven ring of power on in he was in the shire when Bilbo used the one ring at his birthday. So the question is: If the elves could sense the thoughts of the wearer of the One Ring. Why did Gandalf have to go and and do research? Gandalf mentions many magic rings to Bilbo. Were the other magic rings imbued with the same powers to transmit thought enough to confuse Gandalf?
The elves and Gandalf only recognized the one capable master of the one ring when he wore it... all its other bearers were not detectable to them... and none of the other wearers had mastered any part of it, not even Isildur. Sauron could detect that someone somewhere had put it on... and a vague sense of the general area where, but could not clearly perceive any detail. Contrast this to the Palantiri, the seeing stones.... Sauron clearly perceived Saruman, Denethor, Pippin and Aragorn for who they were through the stones, although it didn't give them any clear indication whether it was they who had the ring, and indeed Aragorn depended on this to bluff Sauron.
@@JamesPerkins Thanks for the insight.
The one ring physically gives control. Fast travel . And exponential buffs.
What I never understood about the one ring was, if it’s a chunk of Sauron and Sauron needs it so badly, why does it feel like at key moments it chooses not to make moves towards Sauron but actually away. Isildur at the river, Bilbo instead of a goblin etc. The films suggest it chooses its wearer, why then choose ones that would keep the ring from Sauron?
Do you think that the Ring could not actually be used to overthrow Sauron? That someone corrupted by it, thinking to usurp Sauron, would be forced to return it to Sauron at the critical moment?
No, a sufficiently powerful being could certainly defeat Sauron with it. That is, Gollum or Frodo would stand no chance and would eventually need to hand it back. Gandalf, Saruman or Galadriel might defeat Sauron, but by then their motives would be so twisted that they might be even worse than Sauron himself. Power corrupts, etc, especially in the works of Tolkien.
Gandalf and Galadriel specifically say they think could do it, but are not confident that they wouldn't end up being worse in the end.
@@Code_DeeI'd put it slightly differently: they are pretty sure they could use the ring to win, and _absolutely certain_ that if they succeeded, it would be terrible for everybody else.
No, you could certainly overthrow Sauron with it. He would not like that.
But you would just get another Sauron. You would not like that.
Yes, with a strong enough will power, the Ring could be used to overthrow Sauron himself. However, Saurons essence is a part of the ring and he is immortal, so eventually he would return again to try and claim the ring for himself. Only by destroying the Ring can you destroy Sauron.
About dwarves: "Hard to tame; they ill endure the domination of others and the thoughts of their heart's are hard to fathom, nor they can be turned to shadows" ok, I have some homebrew changes to do on my DND dwarves now.
Thought: The One Ring didn't inherently make the wearer invisible, but as a Hobbit Frodo tends to want to hide from the bigger world, and the ring enhances that to the point of complete invisibility (albeit via shunting him into the spirit world, which had other complications).
...I don't remember, but did the books say what happened to Isildur with the ring? In Peter Jackson's Fellowship, he puts it on and becomes invisible, but was that artistic license with the film or was that from the book? If the later, then my idea can be dismissed.
No, the Ring transports the wearer to the spirit realm. This is also the reason that Frodo is able to see the Nazgûl at Weathertop when he puts the Ring on, because their physical bodies have faded and remain only in that spirit world. I believe the reason that Sauron does not turn invisible when wearing the ring is that he occupied the physical as well as the spirit plane, so it doesn't make a difference.
That's a good theory. There's plenty of indication that it turned Bilbo invisible when he wanted it to, but that Bilbo put it on more, even if he didn't. Probably a combo of the only thing Frodo knew it could do and his greatest desire at the moment, which was concealment. He didn't put it on and start swinging away with his sword, superpower-fully, for instance. I don't think it always "transports the bearer to the spirit world!" Doesn't seem to have done so for Gollum at all.
@@originami9199 I guess I'm curious _why_ the ring transported him to the spirit plane, but at this point I may be asking questions that don't have an answer.
Your videos got me to the prancing pony podcast and helped me finish the silmarilion
Your content is interesting. Im currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring. I just finished The Hobbit.
Really strong, it has warped mtg in all formats that it is legal.
Why couldn’t Frodo control the Nazgûl when he had it on?
The one Ring worked like a reverse horcrux, it made the unkillable Dark Lord, mortal.
So I guess it was lucky that Sméagol’s ambitions were so modest, like wanting other people’s trinkets and maybe extra pieces of birthday cake. If he had had higher ambitions, he’d have quickly gone the way of Isildur.