# Watching LOTR again, couple questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** middle-earth\ **Created:** [December 10, 2012, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616 "2012-12-10T16:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/181 "2012-12-14T22:42:00Z")
Wrong thread ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/182 "2012-12-14T22:43:41Z")
To go back to topic, I thought he also hunted/caught by surprise older goblins/orcs. Not just babies. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/183 "2012-12-14T22:46:21Z")
[QUOTE=J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit Chapter 5 - Riddles In The Dark] He liked meat too. Goblin he thought good when he could get it; but he took care that they never found out. He just throttled them from behind, if they ever came down alone anywhere near the edge of the water, while he was prowling about. They very seldom did… [/QUOTE] [QUOTE=J.R.R. Tolkien - The Hobbit Chapter 5 - Riddles In The Dark] Only a few hours ago he had worn it, and caught a small goblin-imp. How it squeaked! He still had a bone or two to gnaw, but he wanted something softer. [/quote] Not only did he use the ring to hunt goblins, but he was going to use it to hunt, and eat, Bilbo. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/184 "2012-12-14T22:55:34Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Elsewhere in LOTR it implies Gollum also sometimes ate human babies on his wanderings. Here it is, from Chapter 2 of the Fellowship of the Ring. > [@](#): > > The wood was full of the rumour of him, dreadful tales even among beasts and birds. The Woodmen said that there was some new terror abroad, a ghost that drank blood. It climbed trees to find nests; it crept into holes to find the young; it slipped through windows to find cradles. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/185 "2012-12-14T23:00:22Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > Thanks. It’s been awhile since I last read the book. > > Bilbo’s penalty for losing the riddle game was going to be quite dire, too, right? Oh, yes…Gollum ruminates on the tastiness of Bilbo even before the riddle contest. Even when Bilbo won, Gollum was going to eat him…that was why he went back to the island to get the Ring. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/186 "2012-12-15T00:42:13Z")
The Ring corrupts in measure to those around and their deepest desires. When Smeagol obtains the Ring, he uses it to obtain secrets, and commit petty acts of larceny. The Ring corrupts Smeagol in kind - he becomes a sneak, a lurker, hiding in shadows in a mean and little way. Also, Sauron was not seeking and calling the Ring, as he thought it lost and was only just regaining his strength. Bilbo only used the Ring in little ways, avoiding the relatives etc. There wasn’t anything for the Ring to corrupt, but his life was extended and he felt “stretched”. Once Sauron knew the Ring was moving, he bent his will upon it, and the Ring became more active according to the measure if those around it. Frodo (and the other hobbits) had little to offer the Ring. Boromir, on the other hand, was tempted by power and glory as a leader of Men. Galadrial could have ruled Middle Earth and challenged Sauron with the Ring. Aragorn, too. When Sam takes the Ring, he is tempted by becoming the gardener of the world. But his practical nature knows that hard work makes gardens, and he is not drawn, and he can pass the Ring back to Frodo. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/187 "2012-12-15T01:31:07Z")
> [@Airk](#): > > Over a LIFETIME. Not over like, 15 minutes, FFS. I think Deagol would disagree with you. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/188 "2012-12-15T03:45:16Z")
Question: What, exactly, could Galadriel or Aragon or any of the other powerful Middle Earth characters do with the Ring that they couldn’t without it, in order to challenge Sauron? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/189 "2012-12-15T04:35:46Z")
If it had been within him to resist Sauron AND the ring, I imagine Aragorn could have summoned up enough of an army to destroy Mordor, and then most of the rest of Middle Earth. Which might actually have kind of satisfied Sauron, really. That’s the thing that bugs me about parts of the story… Isildur HAD the ring, and did nothing with it. He just wore it around his neck like a charm he got from his girlfriend. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/190 "2012-12-15T05:51:04Z")
About the Nazgul, why did they stop pursuing the hobbits once they jumped on that boat near Bree? You’d think Sauron would imbue them with immortality and the ability to swim. Also, Aragon took on a bunch of them including the Witch King at Weathertop. But later it took Merry with a special sword to make him vulnerable for Eowyn to kill him. Was he not wearing his invincible cloak +1 at that time or something? He was driven off pretty easily ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/191 "2012-12-15T08:40:13Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > About the Nazgul, why did they stop pursuing the hobbits once they jumped on that boat near Bree? You’d think Sauron would imbue them with immortality and the ability to swim. > > Also, Aragon took on a bunch of them including the Witch King at Weathertop. But later it took Merry with a special sword to make him vulnerable for Eowyn to kill him. Was he not wearing his invincible cloak +1 at that time or something? He was driven off pretty easily They couldn’t drown, no, but they had very limited movement powers, thus they had to ride horses, Fell Beasts, etc. Well, first of all Weathertop apparently is still imbued with a little latent Arnor magic. Next of all, the WK figured he did his mission, in a couple of days Frodo would die and become a wraith. And “driven off” is not the same as killed. Pretty much, the Ringwraiths could not be killed. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/192 "2012-12-16T23:15:47Z")
Watched the Hobbit today and I couldn’t help but wonder: What are those stone giants? Are they maiar? I reread the passage from the Hobbit that talked about them and while there were no sizes given, it seems that Sauron needed but one of them to have pretty much ruled Middle Earth. Yet for something so powerful, they were never spoken of again, no king or demon tried to influence them, no bribe offered for their services. Seems kinda odd ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/193 "2012-12-16T23:43:09Z")
I think they come in under the headings of “Local Colour” and “Let’s Have a Bit of Fun with This, Shall We?”. I haven’t read everything Tolkien ever wrote, but as far as the Hobbit, the LOTR, and the Silmarillion go, this was the only time the giants appeared. My recollection of them in the books was that they were independent humanoid entities, too, not actual parts of the mountains. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/194 "2012-12-17T00:12:06Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Watched the Hobbit today and I couldn’t help but wonder: What are those stone giants? Are they maiar? I reread the passage from the Hobbit that talked about them and while there were no sizes given, it seems that Sauron needed but one of them to have pretty much ruled Middle Earth. Yet for something so powerful, they were never spoken of again, no king or demon tried to influence them, no bribe offered for their services. Seems kinda odd Glyphweb has [some speculations](http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/g/giants.html). [spoiler]Not just Stone Giants but Giants in general. _It’s important to remember that, at the time he was writing The Hobbit, Tolkien was engaged in writing a simple children’s story. It’s unlikely that he gave much thought to fitting the giants into a larger scheme. Indeed, at that point, the Ents did not even exist in his imagination, so any later explanation - if indeed he devised one at all - must have been fitted to the facts after the event.[/spoiler]_ ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/195 "2012-12-17T00:48:37Z")
Not to be too bitchy about it, but how about some spoilertags? Some of us haven’t seen it yet. Or, take it to the The Hobbit discussion thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/196 "2012-12-17T01:53:57Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Not to be too bitchy about it, but how about some spoilertags? Some of us haven’t seen it yet. Or, take it to the The Hobbit discussion thread. 🙂 Maybe avoid the thread? : ) ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/197 "2012-12-17T02:31:48Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > Maybe avoid the thread? > > : ) About LOTR, which came out years ago and I’ve already seen? Why should I? ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/198 "2012-12-17T02:59:20Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > About LOTR, which came out years ago and I’ve already seen? Why should I? Have you read the Hobbit? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/199 "2012-12-17T03:30:47Z")
> [@Lochdale](#): > > Have you read the Hobbit? Yes, and there’s a thread over [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=675509) where people are talking about the movie. Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616/200 "2012-12-17T05:05:51Z")
People, knock off the bickering. This thread is about LOTR. Questions about a different movie that just came out belong in a thread about that movie [preferred], or if they need to be in this thread for some reason, they should be spoilered. I have added spoiler boxes using my best guesses about where the spoilers begin and end (I am utterly unfamiliar with the material). If there’s something that should be spoiler-boxed that I missed, pls. let me know. **twickster** , Cafe Society moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-lotr-again-couple-questions/643616.md?page=11)