# Could the One Ring ever have been destroyed on purpose? (LOTR spoilers, if you care) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2013, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154 "2013-08-25T20:58:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/41 "2013-08-27T14:01:13Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Sam, or no one. Sam was largely selfless and the Ring didn’t offer anything he wanted…Sam was a servant at heart, without ambition of his own. The only thing that truly motivated him was Frodo’s well-being, and destroying the Ring would have served that end. Those qualities certainly made him an excellent second should something have happened to Frodo, but remember how the ring works. Even Gandalf, a solid lawful good, recognized he would have good intentions were he to give it a whirl, but the result would be absolutely horrible. I submit that Sam had an incredibly strong will, and an incredibly strong protective instinct. The ring would have glommed onto that–protect the shire, grow the best flower patch the world has ever known, annihilate the dandelion scourge, won’t Ms. Cotton be impressed! I give him 50/50 odds at best if he’s had it less than 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/42 "2013-08-27T14:11:26Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **The Second Stone** > > The Protestant answer is only by grace of God. I’ll leave the Catholic answer to one of our Catholic specialists. We’ve come a long way since the days of Martin Luthor, and nowadays, there isn’t actually any fundamental difference between the Catholic and Protestant views… if you look at them with full nuance on both sides. The conflict really only persists at the catchphrase and soundbite level. And to those suggesting a wagon with mule teams, or tongs, or whatever, it doesn’t work that way. Even if nobody ever makes direct skin-to-gold contact with the Ring, someone still has control of it. Put it in the back of a wagon, and the wagon-driver is the Ringbearer. Tie it around a sheep’s neck and have someone else carry the sheep, and that guy is the Ringbearer. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/43 "2013-08-27T14:24:11Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Gandalf could have scooped the Ring up with a little paper envelope, then tossed it into the Fires of Doom. I think the ring would [resist](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXHaCEhOiWU) (video) being scooped up that way. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/44 "2013-08-27T14:24:12Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > We’ve come a long way since the days of Martin **Luthor**. Lex’s lesser known brother? Or did you mean Luther? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/45 "2013-08-27T14:33:30Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > Lex’s lesser known brother? Or did you mean Luther? 😉 Martin Luthor, who ingested kryptonite and nailed his feces to the doorway of the Fortress of Solitude. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/46 "2013-08-27T14:47:31Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Sam, or no one. Sam was largely selfless and the Ring didn’t offer anything he wanted. Isildur wanted power and glory. Smeagol was a grasping monster of envy. Bilbo was mostly harmless, but he was a creature of ego and appetite who craved attention. Frodo was a good person, but he was accustomed to being a leader and succumbed to the ring telling him that he ought to be the one in charge of it all. (Query whether Frodo’s decision to break the Fellowship was influenced by the Ring). > > Sam was a servant at heart, without ambition of his own. The only thing that truly motivated him was Frodo’s well-being, and destroying the Ring would have served that end. That isn’t totally true, according to the book. Sam was in fact tempted, but shook it off (for the moment). He was tempted by the power to “set things to rights”, get rid of those awful Orcs and other nasties, and to make the whole world into a garden. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/47 "2013-08-27T14:51:11Z")
Yeah, we’ve come a long way since him, too. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/48 "2013-08-27T15:23:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Yeah, we’ve come a long way since him, too. Martin Luthor or Sam? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/49 "2013-08-27T15:37:22Z")
Martin Luthor Ring, Jr. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/50 "2013-08-27T16:05:43Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Martin Luthor Ring, Jr. “I have a scheme” ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/51 "2013-08-27T16:33:08Z")
I think anyone who could turn it down could also destroy it, as long as they are in a position to destroy it before being corrupted by carrying it for a period of time. In fact, I think a good plan for destroying the ring would be to have one of these noble, powerful people escort Frodo to Mt. Doom, then kill him and take the ring from him when it is apparent that he is unable to destroy it. Galadriel, Gandalf, Aragorn or Faramir should be able to handle it. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/52 "2013-08-27T16:56:05Z")
Killing Frodo to take the ring from him is 100% incompatible with “before being corrupted by it”. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/53 "2013-08-27T17:05:04Z")
Would have been a much shorter book. Aragorn kills Frodo, Gandalf kills Aragorn, then enslaves Elrond and Galadriel. ---
**Author:** ![Sterling\_Archer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Sterling\_Archer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterling_Archer)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/54 "2013-08-27T18:22:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Killing Frodo to take the ring from him is 100% incompatible with “before being corrupted by it”. I’m not saying this is plan A. 🙂 Just a contingency plan, in case Frodo goes all power-mad at the last moment. But of course they didn’t foresee that at all. Also, I suppose they would try to take the ring from him forcibly before killing him, although that would likely drive him mad. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/55 "2013-08-27T18:31:54Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:36, topic:667154”] Tom Bombadil seems to be a good answer, but could he have gone to Mordor? [_Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil_](http://km-515.livejournal.com/1042.html) provides a very interesting alternate take on Bombadil. [/QUOTE] No, that’s just some dickhead pissing on the fond memories of a great Master. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/56 "2013-08-27T23:13:39Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Those qualities certainly made him an excellent second should something have happened to Frodo, but remember how the ring works. Even Gandalf, a solid lawful good, recognized he would have good intentions were he to give it a whirl, but the result would be absolutely horrible. I submit that Sam had an incredibly strong will, and an incredibly strong protective instinct. The ring would have glommed onto that–protect the shire, grow the best flower patch the world has ever known, annihilate the dandelion scourge, won’t Ms. Cotton be impressed! > > I give him 50/50 odds at best if he’s had it less than 24 hours. Absolutely spot on. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/57 "2013-08-27T23:16:27Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Nothing. Bill the Pony carried it (via Frodo) for a long time and he didn’t turn eeevil. > 😉 You sure? I suspect Bill helped alert the Watcher in the Pool. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2013, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/58 "2013-08-29T22:26:45Z")
Now there’s a plot twist. What sort of world would The Watcher have envisioned had it assumed ownership of this mighty gift, borne to it by these 9 companions? Maybe in another universe that’s where Cthulhu came from? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/59 "2013-08-30T02:35:32Z")
No, I think the closer analogue for Cthulhu in Tolkien’s worlds would be something like Ungoliant. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2013, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154/60 "2013-08-30T05:02:00Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:36, topic:667154”] Tom Bombadil seems to be a good answer, but could he have gone to Mordor? [_Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil_](http://km-515.livejournal.com/1042.html) provides a very interesting alternate take on Bombadil. [/QUOTE] [The Last Ringbearer](http://www.iherb.com/Bob-s-Red-Mill-Corn-Grits-Also-Known-as-Polenta-24-oz-680-g/13436?utm_medium=cse&utm_source=google&gclid=CK38w7SqpLkCFelAMgodWm0AQg) is an alternate take on the entire Lord of the Rings story. Written from the point of view that Mordor is a peaceful land interested in scientific discovery and rejecting magic, in this story the One Ring is powerless and Gandalf and the Elves are evil hegemons. I haven’t read it but it does sound intriguing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-the-one-ring-ever-have-been-destroyed-on-purpose-lotr-spoilers-if-you-care/667154.md?page=4)