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Why Did Frodo Have to Leave Middle-earth?

The Broken Sword

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Why did Frodo have to leave Middle-earth after The Lord of the Rings?
Frodo survived the Quest, saw the Ring destroyed, returned to the Shire, and watched the world he saved begin to heal, but he himself never truly recovered.
In this video, we explore Frodo’s wounds, the lasting damage of the One Ring, why the Shire could not heal him, and why sailing into the West was not a simple reward, but a final mercy for the Ring-bearer.

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Chapters:
00:00 – Chapter 1: Why Did Frodo Have to Leave Middle-earth?
00:50 – Chapter 2: Frodo Came Home, But He Was Not the Same
02:32 – Chapter 3: The Wounds That Never Fully Healed
04:28 – Chapter 4: The Ring Took More Than His Strength
06:23 – Chapter 5: Why the Shire Could Not Be Enough?
08:47 – Chapter 6: Why the West Was the Only Place Left for Healing?

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Art credits in order it first appears:
The Hobbit Trilogy – New Line Cinema
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy – New Line Cinema
The Crack of Doom - D8P
Bag End - Rob Garlington
Green Morning Hill – Ted Nasmith
Storming the Bank – Ted Nasmith
Samwise Gamgee - Andrew Johanson
Frodo Baggins - Jenny Dolfen
Frodo – Agina
Frodo Baggins – Ysall
Weathertop Full – CKGoksoy
Hobbits – Giacobino
Fifth Day After Weathertop – Ted Nasmith
Frodo's Choice – ThornSpine
Sams Star - Laura Hollingsworth
At The Cracks of Doom – Ted Nasmith
The One Ring - mikenashillustration
Across Gorgoroth – Ted Nasmith
One Rings to Rule Them All - Austin Hartell
At The Foot of Mount Doom – Ted Nasmith
Frodo - Gabriele Dell'Otto
A Mallorn in the Shire - Ted Nasmith
The Ring - Nia K
A Long Expected Party - Inger Edelfeldt
Frodo and Sam – bakarov
Mount Doom - Marta Nael
Frodo & Samwise Gamgee - Matthew Stewart
Green Hill Country – Ted Nasmith
Departure at the Grey Havens – Ted Nasmith
No Way Down – Ted Nasmith
Hobbit Bilbo – daekazu
The Lord of the Rings Fan Art Sam And Frodo – phSilvente
Bilbo & Frodo Baggins - Louiz Brito
The Shadow of the Past - Matthew Stewart
The Grey Havens - Matthew Stewart
I Am Wounded – mucun
Frodo – MarjoLebrasseur
The Fate of Middle Earth - David Boudon
Last Sight of Hobbiton – Ted Nasmith
Middle earth – Klaradox

Disclaimer:
This video is for educational and entertainment purposes, following fair use guidelines. All artwork is credited to the respective artists. Please feel free to contact us for any credit or removal requests.

Tags:
#TheLordoftheRings #LordoftheRings #Lotr

20 Comments

@julesknight-1177BC 3 months ago (edited)

Frodo is the veteran soldier returned from war, carrying the deep wounds that will never truly heal - Tolkien was familiar with this experience....

@keenanthornley7680 3 months ago

His missing finger should be noted as well. Anytime he ever does anything with his hands, he will be reminded of the ring and what it took from him.

@grandadmiralzaarin4962 3 months ago

It shows that even in victory, some wounds never heal.

@Saurles 3 months ago

I was about 12 or so the first time I read the trilogy, and I was deeply moved by Frodo's departure...but I think that it was a mercy for him, not a tragic ending.

@karel.degrande 2 months ago

Found this somewhere:

"The more despair I endure in life, the more I love Frodo. I'm just. I'm
so glad that Tolkien wrote him like that. He was a hero and it broke
him. He was given too much to carry. The circumstances were dire,
everyone was doing the best they could, and Frodo tried so hard, for
such a good cause, and he...broke. And the narrative has pity for him,
the characters show him kindness. Even after victory, his hurts did
not heal, and it isn't considered his fault. He must go to the undying
lands, to seek out peace there. In universe, he is forgiven for being
human - don't be pedantic - and his great torment is recognised. He
fell. He could not have done it alone.

He is still a hero.

And, I think that's important."

@paulnathanmullock6214 3 months ago

If I remember correctly, Frodos return to the Shire is supposed to represent Tolkien. Tolkien and 3 friends (sound familiar?) leave their hometown to go serve in WW1. Only one of them returned.

@grandmasterchooda9385 2 months ago

Litttle man’s got PTSD. Who wouldn’t. The story is a sad one but the happy ending is still in sight

@Tim.Stotelmeyer 3 months ago

Just as Middle Earth is forever tainted by Morgoth, Frodo, Bilbo, and Sam are forever tainted by Sauron's ring as long as they stay in Middle Earth.

@Dantheman225500 3 months ago (edited)

It's so sad. He ended having to sacrifice the very thing he was trying to preserve for everyone else around him. But its cool that Tolkien wrote in a way for him to actually find peace and heal.

@hayman21 3 months ago

For Frodo!!

@daniels7907 3 months ago

It seemed like a happy ending to me. There's always the question: "What reward is there for being a hero?" In Frodo's (and Bilbo's, Sam's, and even Gimli's) case his reward is to sail to paradise to live out his days freed from all expectations. He is not expected to be a leader in the Shire, nor become a councilor to King Elessar helping to rebuild Gondor and Arnor. The Ainur and the Elves do not really need him to do anything, since theirs is a land of abundance and beyond the reach of armies. The forests are not filled with Nazgul, Orcs, or giant spiders. Most of all, the Valar are capable of healing Frodo. He carried the heaviest burden in the world. There are no more burdens for him to carry, but he doesn't have to die just yet either. Instead he gets an awesome retirement in a place that surpasses even the Shire's beauty.

@joeivory9780 2 months ago

Remember those who went to war. They often have wounds no one can see and there is no ship ready to bear them away.

@danielmorris5276 3 months ago

Its the bittersweet ending to Frodo's tale, full of Tolkien-ness❤

@MrKingYuji 3 months ago

Frodo’s journey was bittersweet. He no longer feels as peace in the Shire but these are still his people, his house and his homeland. He goes to find rest in a separate reality that ultimately wasn’t met for him, I can only imagine that he would have gotten lonesome at some point.

@supershadowman6478 3 months ago

I saw it as bittersweet one where he just can't still after everything he has to continue on a new journey

@dixonbourne 3 months ago

A bittersweet ending for Frodo

@stanczyzyk9591 2 months ago

Because to defeat Sauron and destroy the ring, there was a cost. That cost was Frodo's body and spirit. Fortunately for him, there was a place he was granted passage to where he might find healing and peace

@frogmand.142 3 months ago

What the heck?!🤨 it wasnt about cuts and wounds.
It was described that to forcibly take the ring would likely kill the barer. After Frodo claimed it and put it on, Gollum bit it off his finger. Along with getting his finger ripped off he had his sense of pride, ambition, self worth, confidence and any other aspect personhood that the ring made use of ripped out of him. His soul had been butchered and it happened defeating the Valar's enemy. Sauron was their loose end, and Frodo resolved it at great personal loss. They owed him whatever comfort they could give.

@demonfoxll 2 months ago

At the beginning of the book, Frodo doesn't seem to want to stay in the Shire anymore; I don't know, he seemed... bored. Beyond that, the Shire had become too small for him; he had lived through so much and experienced so much—it's worth remembering that he had become a very "important" figure in Middle-earth, so to speak, because of his deeds. I don't think he could have just stayed put at home anymore. A quiet life—finding someone, getting married, and so on—wasn't a life he could picture for himself. Sam got a happy ending and had a wonderful life after he returned... but that wasn't the life Frodo saw for himself.

@TarMody 3 months ago

Over the course of the time Frodo carries the One Ring, his bond with it causes a spiritual transformation, and the psychological consequences of this change prevent him from remaining the same Hobbit who left the Shire. The Shire itself remains unchanged, yet this shift in his character makes it impossible for him to fit in there. Through his sacrifice, he saves the Shire, but he loses his former self.