Gorgoroth Revisited 1b: 'No return journey’ ….

[mechtild]

~*~

This is really just a series of concluding close-ups. It is short, but very important, conveying Frodo and Sam’s new mutual understanding [that there will be no return journey]. The book passage, too, is a powerful one, cherished by most fans, if for various reasons.

Comments

[anonymous]

Quote:

In the scene above, when Frodo says "There'll be none for the return journey," I have always understood his reading of that line to mean that he was humouring Sam, pretending to go along with the fiction of "there and back again" for Sam' sake. When Sam says, "I don't think there will be a return journey" and they exchange looks, I have understood that to show that Sam is saying, "You don't need to pretend anymore, Mr. Frodo. I know there's no hope of coming back."
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This is exactly how I have always interpreted the ‘water-skin’ scene, Mechtild. For me, Frodo and Sam reach a new understanding here, when at last they are BOTH fully aware of the terrible reality of their situation - that they are unlikely to survive the Quest. Sam has come to understand what Frodo has known and accepted for some time. I think this short scene strengthens their bond of affection and comradeship in a poignant yet positive way; as Frodo takes Sam’s offered hand - ‘we know we are going to our deaths, but we will go on, and we will do what we have to do, together - no matter the cost.’ It’s very moving.

The added EE scene you mentioned, when Frodo baulks and announces 'I don't think I'll be coming back,' really jars with me. It seems that the film-makers just tossed it into the mix as an after-thought, without giving it serious consideration. For me it is contradictory and superfluous - even in the extended version of the film - as it has already been established that Frodo knows there will be no going back. As both yourself and Mews point out, I believe this is clearly displayed by Frodo’s expression in the earlier 'culvert' scene. Sam's 'There should be enough,' (lembas) prompts Frodo to ask 'For what?' 'The journey home,' Sam replies. Frodo says nothing (unwilling to shatter Sam’s sense of hope, perhaps), but his expression speaks volumes.

I have only recently listened to the BBC LOTR radio adaptation for the first time, and I cannot praise Bill Nighy’s Sam highly enough. But Sean Astin makes a fine film-Sam; loyal and stout-hearted, his love and concern for Frodo is written plain in his gentle eyes, and on his open, honest face.

Thank you for another excellent presentation, Mechtild.

Blossom.

[mechtild]

Thanks so much, Blossom. It is a real pleasure to hear from you.

I am glad, too, to hear you "read" the film scene the similarly.

I think this short scene strengthens their bond of affection and comradeship in a poignant yet positive way; as Frodo takes Sam’s offered hand - ‘we know we are going to our deaths, but we will go on, and we will do what we have to do, together - no matter the cost.’

That expresses better than I did what I was getting at. It *is* very moving.

And I'm so glad you got to listen to the BBC production. It has some bad moments, and some miscasting, but the Sam and Frodo material is just superb, I think. It was hearing William Nighy's Sam that made me see, at last, what it was that Frodo might not only love but really enjoy about Sam. Nighy's Sam has a sense of wonder and sweetness, which I think Astin's Sam showed in the beginning, but he also has Sam's wonderful sense of humour, his wit (that could make up the songs about the trolls and the oliphaunts), as well as his prudence. Sam is not foolish, nor is he a fool, no matter how many names he takes to himself. Nighy's performance really showed me Sam's mental acuity, resourcefulness, and perceptiveness. I feel as though he opened my mind and heart to what Sam in the book could be, who he could be, and I am immensely grateful.