After Galadriel’s achievements in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Frodo Baggins’ conclusion in The Return of the King becomes much more obvious. Frodo discovers that the Shire’s luxuries can no longer satisfy him after his harrowing trip to Mount Doom, and The Lord of the Rings ends with the famed hobbit setting ship for Valinor alongside others like Galadriel, Gandalf, and his Uncle Bilbo.
In particular, Peter Jackson’s live-action film rendition of The Return of the King is hazy about the specific implications for Frodo. What does a hobbit’s existence in Valinor entail? What can Bag End provide that this glorious land cannot? Frodo is he dying? What does Frodo discover on this very last adventure possibly the most crucial discovery of all? Since The Lord of the Rings reveals so little about Tolkien’s enigmatic and sacred kingdom beyond the sea, the solutions to these questions are mainly left to the reader’s imagination.
Rings of Power Explains Frodo’s Post-ROTK Life
The conclusion of The Lord of the Rings shows Frodo’s ship departing Grey Havens towards the distant horizon and leaving his further actions unclear, but The Rings of Power essentially tells what would have occurred to the Ring-bearer next. Galadriel’s crossing of the Sundering Seas in The Rings of Power episode 1 perfectly mirrors Frodo’s final journey (which, poetically, an older Galadriel was also present for). As a result, Frodo would have experienced the same dividing clouds, bright light, an impromptu chorus of the song, and a quick sense of calm and lightness. The only difference is that nobody jumps off the boat this time.
The opening flashback scene of The Rings of Power also provides a glimpse of the new dwelling Frodo would’ve had upon reaching land. By the time Frodo and company arrive, Telperion and Laurelin are no longer standing, but the tranquil streams, rolling hills, magnificent structures, and epic sceneries would have welcomed the hobbit upon arrival. The Rings of Power’s depiction of Valinor hints that Frodo and Bilbo would have felt at least partly at home in this unusual world of powerful immortal creatures. Valinor is almost like a super-Shire with an elf touch.
The One Ring still weighs heavily on Frodo, according to The Lord of the Rings, and although his physical fatigue from traveling across Middle-earth may have subsided, mental scars are still bothering him. Frodo leaves Middle-Earth due to such suffering, traveling to Valinor with Bilbo and the Elves. However, The Return of the King doesn’t truly answer how the Undying Lands will aid him, simply implying that Frodo will be happier there than in the Shire.
The Rings of Power more clearly explains why Frodo travels to Valinor even though there isn’t a dedicated facility for One Ring sufferers there. All who see the light of Valinor are immediately calmed by its profundity. The light almost makes Galadriel’s need for revenge disappear. Only in the Blessed Realm may that which is broken in you be mended, as Elrond states in The Rings of Power episode 1. When they arrive at their destination, Galadriel’s group noticeably displays a countenance of divine serenity, and this finally clarifies why Frodo wished to depart. The darkness eating away at Frodo’s spirit could only be dispelled by light as strong and all-pervasive as the light discovered in Valinor.
