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The end of the theatrical cut of The Return of the King is approximately 30 minutes long, which is one-sixth of the three-hour long film. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Lord of the Rings conclusion, especially on a rewatch. However, my one big qualm with the film is how drawn out the end is. I counted, there are five scenes where Peter Jackson’s project could have ended, and one specific scene where I think it should have rolled the credits right after. However, it didn’t, it kept going, and going, and going…
A Quick-ish Summary Of All The Endings In The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
To me, the theatrical version of Return of the King’s ending begins when Sam and Frodo realize they’re going to survive while sitting on the rock by Mount Doom watching the lava flow. Following the harrowing conversation where Sean Astin’s character asked Elijah Wood’s Hobbit if he could remember The Shire, and he couldn’t, it comes full circle as Frodo tells his friend that he actually can picture their home. While it doesn’t exactly provide closure to the whole story, it would have been a satisfying and open-ended place to end the film.
Then, it fades to black, and Frodo wakes up in a bed after being saved by Gandalf. The entire Fellowship walks in smiling, and Sam is the last one to enter the room. Having the entire principal LOTR cast there and closing on the two friends recognizing their quest also would have been a great place to say “the end.”
The third conclusion starts after everyone is healed, as Aragorn is crowned the king of Gondor, he’s reunited with Arwen, and the Hobbits are celebrated for saving Middle-earth. Saying “My friends, you bow to no one,” the king leads everyone in a bow to Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin, and acknowledging their true heroism is a triumphant and perfect note to end on.
But it doesn’t finish there, there are two more endings. That applause-worthy scene is then followed by the Hobbits going back to The Shire, and Frodo writing “Lord of the Rings.” Then, after that’s done and Sam gets married, they all travel with Gandalf to send Bilbo to Valinor, except it’s revealed at the last second that Frodo is going too.
So, there are five potential conclusions, and in this case, that’s two too many if you ask me.
Why They Should Have Ended The Movie With Everyone Bowing To The Hobbits
While I could have been satisfied with either of the first two potential ending scenes, the third one where Aragorn is crowned king and he bows to the Hobbits is the moment that should have been directly followed by “The End.”
It’s celebratory, full circle, exciting, earned and applause-worthy. I kid you not, both times I’ve watched this film, I’ve gotten chills when Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn says:
My friends, you bow to no one.
Not only did this provide the ending all these characters deserved, but it also acknowledged the fact that the smallest and most doubted heroes were the ones who truly saved the day.
It gives viewers the opportunity to reflect on the message that anyone has the potential to be the hero so long as they’re trying their best to be good. And to me, that’s the moral of LOTR, and I truly wish the film would have ended here instead of two scenes later.
Obviously, this isn’t that big of an issue. In the grand ranking of the LOTR movies, this one is the clear number one, and I fully believe Return of the King deserves its five-star reviews, Best Picture trophy and place on the list of the 2000s best films. Ultimately, I understand the ending they picked, because while it’s somber, it also provides the ultimate closure to Frodo’s story. However, I can’t help but think that closing the tale out with everyone bowing down to the Hobbits would have been an even more epic note to end on.
To go back and watch all five of these endings, you can stream Return of the King, as well as the rest of The Lord of the Rings movies with a Max subscription.