Smeagol is one of the great tragic characters of English literature.  Tolkien's description of him is almost Shakespearean:  "He hated the dark, and he hated the light more. He hated everything, and the Ring most of all."

It's maybe Gollum's Judas moment. He has literally just betrayed them to death, so he caresses them in regret.

"Shrunken by the years that had carried him far beyond his time, beyond friends and kin" ...that part is particularly heart wrenching to me. The ring not only stole his mind but forced him to live so long in its grip that everything he'd ever known, ever loved, died and faded from his memory. To go on for so long that the idea of having friends or family anymore is 'beyond' you - it's too painful to even think about.

This was one of the best-written scenes in the book.  It's the only moment where he writes Gollum as a person, and not a creature.

The redemption of a fallen character has become such a popular arc in modern fiction that it is seen almost everywhere. One can almost predict on encountering a certain type of villainous character for the first time that "oh yeah, he's going to get redeemed by the end of the story". And yet, redemption is precious precisely because it is so hard, and so rare. To truly appreciate a good redemption arc you have to experience the tragedy of one that fails. The failure of Gollum's redemption arc likely set the stage for the popularity of redemption arcs in future fantasy literature.

Imagine writing something so good that it brings you, the literal author, to tears.

Poor old man remembered what he had, what he threw away, the idea of a Hobbits life would be overly alien to him at this point.

I also feel like part of the reason Tolkien was so moved by it was because I’m sure he wanted more than anything for Gollum to be redeemed—that would be so much happier—but knew he would have to stick with this outcome. It must be hard for the author to have to make that choice versus the reader to observe the choice.

One of the fascinating ways Tolkien uses to convey that Gollum's redemption isn't all that is that he's allergic to anything that will do him good: sunlight, food and crafts made with any sort of love. And then, even after that, he's almost redeemed by observing the love between Sam snd Frodo

I'm so glad this scene moved you as much as it moved me - and I was a clueless teenager at the time. I kinda disagree that Sam overreacted here. He was asleep and woke up to the little creeper "pawing" his master. Gollum's track record up to this point was sketchy at best and let's face it, he was actively leading them into a trap. His moment of buyers remorse was too little too late and only Tolkien knew he'd had the moment in the 1st place.

He's not repenting, he's mourning. He's reaching out to touch that which he's lost, and in that one quiet and private moment, he realises what he could and should have been.

Stopped the video at 9:36, because i know how things go from there. "Every story has a happy ending, if you end it in the right place."

I am a massive Tolkien nerd, so this could be heavily biased, but I believe Gollum is one of the best written characters in the entirety of fiction. Wow. Great perspective through the video.

"Motives, even in the right side, are mixed. Those who are now traitors usually began with comparatively innocent intentions. Heroic Rohan and imperial Gondor are partly diseased. Even the wretched Smeagol, till quite late in the story, has good impulses; and (by a tragic paradox) what finally pushes him over the brink is an unpremeditated speech by the most selfless character of all."
    C.S. Lewis, “Review of The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien,” in Image and Imagination (HarperOne, 2014), 105.

Also, Tolkien said that if Gollum had lived, when the Ring was destroyed it would literally have killed him. Bilbo doesn't actually age in the book until after the Ring is destroyed (the movies had him age after giving the Ring up). Gollum would have rapidly aged to catch up to over 500 years, so when Gollum says that when the Precious goes he will die into the dust, that's literal. And as an aside, who told you about the female Balrog?! It's supposed to be a surprise. lol. 😂

Gollum was addicted with so much potential lost, much like many of us

I have always extended grace to Sam at this point. Was his word harsh? Yes. Was it warranted? Well let’s see. Gollum had ‘abandoned’ them once more hours earlier. Both he and Frodo leaned into each other like two balancing fire logs scorched by their trials thus far. Sam becomes conscious as the pawing one has returned and has positioned himself well within any sort of boundary considered acceptable by Sam. Yet Sam doesn’t physically lash out. Instead, he groggily chides Gollum as a ‘villain’ for sneaking off (once again).

Gollum ‘could have’ been written as having enough introspection left within himself to accept the ‘insult’. Alas, he was so fragile and too far gone to be burdened by one more slight.

The most interesting consideration for me at this scene comes because the entire book is written as the memoirs of the hobbits. And since Frodo and Sam were asleep, and no one else was around, this means that when they authored this passage, they decide to include this taking place (whether it truly did or not).

That means that even after all the events of the book took place, Frodo and Sam wrote this scene and credited this almost redemption to Sméagol’s account. This is a true showing of compassion for one who ultimately wronged them. It is an act of forgiveness; one which does not say “it’s ok,” but rather “I forgive you”.

This might sound crazy, but it never occured to me that authors might cry from their own writing. I do know musicians who cry from their work, so it makes total sense to me.

Tolkien was likely close to someone who suffered from addiction.

On the other hand, no one is more indignant than a criminal falsely accused.