Summary
Frodo's overarching journey across the course of The Lord of the Rings revolves around carrying the One Ring to Mount Doom and ensuring its destruction, which would finally eradicate the evil of Sauron once and for all. The burden is a crushing one, as the malice within the One Ring eats away at Frodo over the course of the trilogy. Making matters worse is Gollum, who had possessed the Ring for centuries and served as a guide to the heroes — and a constant reminder of Frodo's challenge.
Throughout their interactions together, Gollum painfully illustrates what could become of Frodo if the One Ring fully corrupted him. But when it came to filming the trilogy, that comparison almost became very literal. One sequence from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was originally set to include a shot of what Frodo would look like in his own Gollum form, and it's a harrowing hint of the dark fate the Hobbit only barely escaped. That said, the influence of the One Ring would remain on Frodo for the rest of his days, explaining why he chooses to leave Middle-earth with Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel.
Updated on August 29, 2023, by Ajay Aravind: Although Frodo would have never successfully completed his perilous mission without the rest of the Fellowship, there's no doubt that he had that most important job in Middle-earth. Destroying the One Ring was always his destiny, even if it meant temporarily falling sway to its malevolent allure. However, Frodo could have easily gone down the path taken by Gollum. As such, we've updated this feature with some more information.
How The Two Towers Almost Gave Frodo A Gollum Form
As revealed in the behind-the-scenes footage for the film's home release, the screenplay for The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers originally included a longer sequence formally introducing Faramir. After capturing Frodo and Sam, the ranger from Gondor steadily discovers that they had been companions of his slain brother Boromir and that they possess the One Ring. As the corruption of the One Ring has crept further into his being, Frodo increasingly acts uncontrollably in the protection of the Ring. It's one of the film's clearest signs that the power of the artifact is really starting to get to Frodo, in contrast to the brief flashes of Sméagol's original personality amidst Gollum's vicious drive. But whereas the scene cuts away from Frodo in this state, an alternate take was made that featured a vision from Faramir's perspective — showing Frodo as he could have been if he was fully broken.
Design-wise, Frodo's Gollum form is reminiscent of Bilbo's brief ghoulish outburst from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo's hair is shown falling out in long patches, revealing a pale and sickly form. Frodo's blue eyes have become brighter and his teeth have become sharper. While he still has his Elfish cloak, Frodo is seen shaking in place and acting skittish, further highlighting the toxic effect that the One Ring had on Sméagol. Pieces of the sequence seem to remain in the film, as shots of Faramir's conversation with Sam feature Frodo turned away from the camera. There are even pictures and brief shots of Elijah Wood in make-up for the sequence, but the scene was ultimately cut from the film.
What Frodo's Gollum Form Adds To Two Towers
The shot isn't necessarily vital to the sequence as it's mostly an impressive visualization rather than anything of substantial significance. It might have even been somewhat distracting, given its one-off nature in the film. However, similar moments of fantasy were included in extended cuts of the film with Faramir. However, unlike the deleted Frodo scene, these moments reveal more specific details about Faramir as a character and set up his testy relationship with Denethor. In fact, this becomes a major element of the Gondor storyline in The Return of the King. Thus, compared to the Faramir scenes, the sudden vision of a corrupted Frodo doesn't add much to an already lengthy movie.
Even as a concept, however, "Frodo as Gollum" is a compelling image — a dark "what if?" scenario made briefly real by the fears of the heroes. It could have even been tied closer to Frodo's eventual corruption in The Return of the King, with his eyes and features suddenly recalling this form in a piece of dark foreshadowing. The few shots that do exist of the sequence suggest there might have, at one point, been a version of The Two Towers where Peter Jackson got to indulge in his love of monster movies for a moment and use a sudden jump scare to visualize the tragedy befalling the trilogy's hero.
One Character Successfully Resisted The One Ring
Frodo is only the hero in a technical sense. He completely succumbs to the will of the One Ring right before he's supposed to throw it into the fires of Mount Doom, leaving Gollum to take the prize. In fact, the only reason that Sauron doesn't regain his precious is because Gollum takes the One Ring straight into the lava.
All things considered, Frodo's heroic journey would have ended in an apocalyptic disaster had it not been for Samwise Gamgee, a shining beacon of everything good in Middle-earth. Sam is the only known person to have carried the One Ring and not been swayed by it, even after receiving some pretty tantalizing visions. Frodo would have likely turned into a new Gollum, but there's no way that Sam would have experienced the same fate.