Frodo and Sam is such a great story of the power of friendship and loyalty, why turn them against each other? Sam would not have made it without Frodo any more than Frodo would have made it without Sam.
Even if we must compare, Sam struggled to give the ring back after just a short time carrying it when Shelob paralyzed Frodo. Meanwhile Frodo offered it to Galadriel after owning it for decades, carrying it halfway across Middle Earth, and losing his primary mentor in the endeavor to destroy it. He showed extraordinary strength of will, and ignoring both that and the strength of the friendship he and Sam shared is a dumpster-tier take.
Sam did all the cooking, gathered water, managed supplies, and made sure they didn’t starve.
→ Frodo carried the Ring.
Sam did the emotional heavy lifting—kept Frodo sane, motivated, and moving forward through hopelessness.
→ Frodo carried the Ring.
Sam did the dirty work of fighting off Gollum more than once, including barehanded wrestling.
→ Frodo carried the Ring.
Sam did the impossible and carried Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom.
→ Frodo carried the Ring. Barely.
Sam did what Frodo couldn’t: held the Ring and gave it back without hesitation.
→ Frodo tried to keep it.
Sam did what no man, elf, or dwarf could—stabbed Shelob and lived to tell about it.
→ Frodo got poisoned and gift-wrapped.
Sam did a solo stealth mission into an Orc-infested tower to rescue Frodo.
→ Frodo got himself captured.
Sam did the navigation, planning, and kept them alive in Mordor when Frodo could barely crawl.
→ Frodo carried the Ring (while Sam carried Frodo).
Sam did the noble thing and resisted the Ring’s temptation—even when Frodo couldn’t.
→ Frodo literally claimed the Ring for himself at the finish line.
Sam did the final act of loyalty—stood by Frodo ready to die, with no thought of glory.
→ Frodo sat there like a broken potato with a jewelry addiction.
Frodo was less “Ring-bearer” and more glorified emotional support backpack with trust issues. Sam did everything. Frodo just carried the Ring—and even that nearly broke him.
Carrying the ring nearly broke him because it was an unbelievably difficult task. If Sam were to have carried the ring he would’ve been unable to do all the great things he did, and ultimately would have needed Frodo or someone else to do them. And then you’d be sitting here telling us all about how Sam was useless and Frodo (or someone else) did everything.
Well we do know that Sam was under the influence of the Ring when he carried it just a little. So if he was the Ringbearer he definitely could cook food and do other stuff to bring the Ring to Sauron.
I’m not belittling the importance of Sam to destroy the Ring, he was absolutely necessary, but even more so was Frodo.
Sounds more like Sam was the ringbearer and Frodo was a magical glove that lessened the rings power over its holder.
You gotta carry a hot piece of iron across the country, you cant hold it with your hands so you use tongs. Both are equally important.
Both were required for the task. Both were equally valuable for the task. At least that’s what I took from lotr. Maybe one could argue Sam was replaceable while Frodo was not but that’s speculative at best… we just cant know if anyone else could do what Sam did.
Yes but they were also closer to Barad-Dûr when Sam had the ring but also Sauron’s powers were stronger.
But you’re right : none would have made it without the other one.
However, Frodo did not destroy the one ring. Smeagol did. We could even argue that the ring destroyed itself. But Frodo did no such thing : he only carried the ring to Mt Doom.
I never claimed Frodo destroyed the ring. According to Tolkien, Eru Illuvitar destroyed it by tripping Smeagol in Mt Doom. More to the point though, that would’ve been impossible if Frodo, Sam, and the rest of the fellowship (along with probably thousands of other background contributors) had not done their part. Working together to overcome a great foe is fundamental to the story itself which is why the “Sam did everything” interpretation is so infuriating.
Frodo and Sam is such a great story of the power of friendship and loyalty, why turn them against each other? Sam would not have made it without Frodo any more than Frodo would have made it without Sam.
Even if we must compare, Sam struggled to give the ring back after just a short time carrying it when Shelob paralyzed Frodo. Meanwhile Frodo offered it to Galadriel after owning it for decades, carrying it halfway across Middle Earth, and losing his primary mentor in the endeavor to destroy it. He showed extraordinary strength of will, and ignoring both that and the strength of the friendship he and Sam shared is a dumpster-tier take.
Sam did all the cooking, gathered water, managed supplies, and made sure they didn’t starve.
→ Frodo carried the Ring.
Sam did the emotional heavy lifting—kept Frodo sane, motivated, and moving forward through hopelessness.
→ Frodo carried the Ring.
Sam did the dirty work of fighting off Gollum more than once, including barehanded wrestling.
→ Frodo carried the Ring.
Sam did the impossible and carried Frodo up the slopes of Mount Doom.
→ Frodo carried the Ring. Barely.
Sam did what Frodo couldn’t: held the Ring and gave it back without hesitation.
→ Frodo tried to keep it.
Sam did what no man, elf, or dwarf could—stabbed Shelob and lived to tell about it.
→ Frodo got poisoned and gift-wrapped.
Sam did a solo stealth mission into an Orc-infested tower to rescue Frodo.
→ Frodo got himself captured.
Sam did the navigation, planning, and kept them alive in Mordor when Frodo could barely crawl.
→ Frodo carried the Ring (while Sam carried Frodo).
Sam did the noble thing and resisted the Ring’s temptation—even when Frodo couldn’t.
→ Frodo literally claimed the Ring for himself at the finish line.
Sam did the final act of loyalty—stood by Frodo ready to die, with no thought of glory.
→ Frodo sat there like a broken potato with a jewelry addiction.
Frodo was less “Ring-bearer” and more glorified emotional support backpack with trust issues.
Sam did everything. Frodo just carried the Ring—and even that nearly broke him.
Carrying the ring nearly broke him because it was an unbelievably difficult task. If Sam were to have carried the ring he would’ve been unable to do all the great things he did, and ultimately would have needed Frodo or someone else to do them. And then you’d be sitting here telling us all about how Sam was useless and Frodo (or someone else) did everything.
Well we do know that Sam was under the influence of the Ring when he carried it just a little. So if he was the Ringbearer he definitely could cook food and do other stuff to bring the Ring to Sauron.
I’m not belittling the importance of Sam to destroy the Ring, he was absolutely necessary, but even more so was Frodo.
Sounds more like Sam was the ringbearer and Frodo was a magical glove that lessened the rings power over its holder.
You gotta carry a hot piece of iron across the country, you cant hold it with your hands so you use tongs. Both are equally important.
Both were required for the task. Both were equally valuable for the task. At least that’s what I took from lotr. Maybe one could argue Sam was replaceable while Frodo was not but that’s speculative at best… we just cant know if anyone else could do what Sam did.
New copypasta just dropped.
Yes but they were also closer to Barad-Dûr when Sam had the ring but also Sauron’s powers were stronger.
But you’re right : none would have made it without the other one.
However, Frodo did not destroy the one ring. Smeagol did. We could even argue that the ring destroyed itself. But Frodo did no such thing : he only carried the ring to Mt Doom.
I never claimed Frodo destroyed the ring. According to Tolkien, Eru Illuvitar destroyed it by tripping Smeagol in Mt Doom. More to the point though, that would’ve been impossible if Frodo, Sam, and the rest of the fellowship (along with probably thousands of other background contributors) had not done their part. Working together to overcome a great foe is fundamental to the story itself which is why the “Sam did everything” interpretation is so infuriating.