The heroes of The Lord of the Rings are some of the most powerful characters in fantasy, whether you’re talking about J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy novels or Peter Jackson’s incredible movies. Who can forget Gandalf’s battle against the Balrog, or the radiant light as he drives back Sauron’s forces? The wizards of Lord of the Rings can single-handedly turn the tides of battle, while the Fellowship’s members include skilled fighters like Aragorn and Legolas.
And yet, oddly, this preoccupation with power misses one of Tolkien’s main themes. The greatest heroes of The Lord of the Rings are not the powerhouses; rather, they are the Hobbits, unremarkable beings who somehow decide the fate of Middle-earth. That’s intentional, because Tolkien was fascinated by the concept of power; what you could call righteous power and evil power. To Tolkien, evil power was about conquest and domination, while righteous power was all about character. So here are the weakest characters in Lord of the Rings, ranked.
5
Grima Wormtongue
Let’s start with one of Lord of the Rings‘ weakest villains, Grima Wormtongue. Little is known of Grima’s backstory before he became chief adviser to King Théoden, but his baleful influence crippled Edoras. That said, principally, Grima is simply a lackey; he worked for Saruman, and he appeared bound to the wizard’s magic. In the movies, Gandalf the White successfully breaks Grima’s influence over Théoden — but it is Saruman who is knocked back. Grima did not possess power, he only ever borrowed it.
The films miss quite a bit of Grima Wormtongue’s story. In the full account, he was actually captured by Sauron’s agents but freed, because Sauron realized he would do great damage to the traitorous Saruman. After he was overthrown by Gandalf, Grima chose exile rather than war, and sought out Saruman. In the end, Saruman’s abuse became too much for him, and Grima slit his throat in a surprise attack before being killed in turn by Hobbit archers.
4
Samwise Gamgee
Easily one of the most compelling characters in The Lord of the Rings, Samwise Gamgee is the ultimate everyman hero; an ordinary person, fascinated by domestic life, who must nonetheless fight against the Dark Lord and his minions. Sam is no warrior, no soldier, and yet his strength of character means he follows Frodo into Mordor. Where even Frodo falters, Sam does not; not because of his power, but because of his love for his friends and refusal to surrender to darkness.
Writing to his son Christopher in 1944, Tolkien reflected on the wonderful mundanity of Sam. “[Tolkien’s friend Charles Williams who is reading it all says the great thing is that its centre is not in strife and war and heroism (though they are understood and depicted) but in freedom, peace, ordinary life and good liking,” he wrote. Tolkien’s understanding of power was profoundly shaped by his Catholic faith, and particularly 1 Corinthians 1: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.“
3
Merry
Now let’s move to another one of the Hobbits, Meriadoc Brandybuck. A more practical Hobbit, Merry was also one of the more knowledgeable; he’d actually heard of the One Ring before the quest began. The Fellowship was unsure about Merry and Pippin, but Merry was greeted with a little less reluctance than his friend. He soon proved himself faithful, though, becoming one of the most loyal members of the Fellowship.
As unimpressive as Hobbits may be in combat, Merry was strikingly honorable. When Théoden attempted to leave him behind in battle, he objected in the strongest terms. “But, but, lord, I offered you my sword. I do not want to be parted from you like this, Théoden King. And as all my friends have gone to the battle, I should be ashamed to stay behind,” he insisted. Little wonder Tolkien revealed that Merry was treated with honor, becoming a lord of the Hobbits after the War of the Ring, and ultimately buried beside the great king of Gondor.
2
Pippin
Now we come to Peregrin Took, aka Pippin, Frodo’s youngest friend. Not only is Pippin a Hobbit, naturally meaning he’s one of the weakest creatures of Middle-earth, he also lacked the wisdom of Merry. On one occasion, he playfully tossed a stone down a well in Moria, waking up goblins and causing quite a bit of trouble. There’s a reason Gandalf famously called him a “fool of a Took.“
Still, like the other Hobbits, Pippin is a man of true honor. Grieving Boromir’s death, he pledged his allegiance to Denethor and became a Guard of the Citadel. He was among the Army of the West who fought outside the Gates of Mordor, and actually managed to kill one of the Olog-hai (a troll race bred by Sauron). As with Merry, Tolkien revealed that Pippin went on to be honored among the Hobbits, and was ultimately buried beside the great king of Gondor.
1
Frodo
Throughout this list, I’ve consistently noted that Tolkien wanted to shine a light on true greatness and power; greatness of character, that is, rather than magical might. It is fitting, then, that the greatest hero of The Lord of the Rings — indeed, the ring-bearer himself — is the weakest of the Hobbits. There’s nothing about Frodo that makes him stand out from his companions, and yet he alone could take the One Ring to Mordor. Those who have sought or possessed power are naturally tempted by the Ring; but those who lack power and have never been interested in it have a degree of immunity.
Only a degree, though. The One Ring has a terrible influence, and Frodo found himself increasingly affected by it over the course of his adventure. In the end, even a good man like Frodo was unable to destroy the Ring; Tolkien insisted this was not a reflection on his character, but rather on the sheer power of the One Ring. For all he stumbled in the end, Frodo is the true champion of The Lord of the Rings, because he is the weakest of them all — and thus, in a strange but wonderful sense, also the strongest.
- Cast
-
Norman Bird, Anthony Daniels, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Morfydd Clark, Mike Wood, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Sara Zwangobani, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lenny Henry, Brian Cox, Shaun Dooley, Miranda Otto, Bilal Hasna, Benjamin Wainwright, Luke Pasqualino, Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt
- Created by
-
J.R.R. Tolkien