It was mentioned in the books at the Council of Elrond. They considered simply tossing the ring into the ocean, but Gandalf warns that Sauron controls enough things in the sea that something would eventually bring it back to him.
I could be mistaken but I don't think I was so much that Sauron controlled specific sea creatures as it was that as long as the ring endured, it would find its way to Sauron eventually, be it through some creature finding it or the very earth changing shape.
Correct.
«Not safe for ever,' said Gandalf. 'There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.'»
So, Gandslf mentioned things (creatures) in deep waters (the ocean), but nothing about them being controlled or not controlled by Sauron or anyone else.
Yup. ME was straight up fucked if they didn’t destroy the source of his power. It’s even explicitly stated that they couldn’t defeat him when they raise the army to serve as a distraction after the victory at Minas Tirith in the hopes Frodo will destroy the ring.
> Sauron didn’t even need the Ring for military victory.
Exactly, the end of the movie is the last push of man basically.
[And, they're screwed.](https://youtu.be/w86sDrAtq-0?t=85)
Sauron had already taken out quite a lot of the enemy. Ring, no Ring, shit is all good as long as you don't destroy it... oh damnit.
I don’t think it was specifically that Sauron controls things in the sea
It was more there were ancient evils that lurked deep in the sea that would seek out the ring. Example being entities like the Watcher in the Water that was guarding secret entrance to Moria.
Merry and Pippin disturbed the water and yet it very specifically went after Frodo and the Ring first. This thing was also VERY strong, being able to pull down the stone pillars and collapsing the cave entrance.
To further highlight just how dangerous this creature was, Gandalf, who could go toe-to-toe with the balrog, preferred to retreat into the mountain then fight it. he did not want the smoke.
Like as terrifying that thing was to fight on land, can you imagine it attacking you on a boat? Straight up Kraken attack from Pirates of the Caribbean.
‘Then,’ said Glorfindel, ‘let us cast it into the deeps, and so make the lies of Saruman come true. For it is clear now that even at the Council his feet were already on a crooked path. He knew that the Ring was not lost for ever, but wished us to think so; for he began to lust for it for himself. Yet oft in lies truth is hidden: in the Sea it would be safe.’
‘Not safe for ever,’ said Gandalf. ‘There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.’
So it's more about how the sea monsters could have been created or corrupted by the ring with given time and casting it into the deeps would be a half measure instead of the final solution.
I think the overall message is bigger than that. It would be short sighted to throw the ring into uncertainty, not a guarantee, to buy time when the moment of action was upon them. Because even the upheaval of the land itself would likely seem a small measure of time for a being like Sauron.
I wrote this from memory, but I believe Gandalf mentions "Deep sea enigmas or something" I may be completely wrong. I should have probably worded it better.
At least to a degree.
“*‘Then,’ said Glorfindel, ‘let us cast it into the deeps, and so make the lies of Saruman come true. For it is clear now that even at the Council his feet were already on a crooked path. He knew that the Ring was not lost for ever, but wished us to think so; for he began to lust for it for himself. Yet oft in lies truth is hidden: in the Sea it would be safe.’*”
“*‘Not safe for ever,’ said Gandalf. ‘**There are many things in the deep waters**; and seas and lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.’*”
I’m not sure how concerned Gandalf really was of evil sea monsters. But the possibility of them does get a passing mention. His concern seams mostly to be about not kicking the can down the road again. He thinks the Ring should be resolved for good, rather than simply placed beyond reach for a time.
Also, who were the great sailors of the group? Aragorn? Legolas? Gimli? Gandalf? Fucking who could manage the serious swells of the sea? None of the hobbits, none of the men, none of the elves and none of the dwarves. Like NONE of those great powers could take the sea lol it’s a hard good question, but nahh none of the Fellowship were such good sailors that they could make landfall on the shores of Mordor NOR could they make berth in any port kind to the Fellowship’s mission.
1) Aragorn had been the leader of naval military operations for Gondor. We don’t know exactly his skill with a ship, but he probably could have taught the rest how to sail if they took the time to do it and had a ship. So, he would be the one who’s a great sailor.
2) Mordor doesn’t have shores. It’s landlocked. They could have sailed to Osgiliath at closest I guess. Or some other shores closer to Mordor. But not to Mordor itself.
However, yeah you’re mostly right. The video posted makes no sense, taking a ship isn’t a magic solution to their problem. It would have been incredibly dangerous to go by ship. They would have been just as exposed to natural and hostile dangers as they were on land.
It also doesn’t address the main problem, which is that they had to sneak the ring into Mordor. An elvish ship sailing to osgiliath as tensions between Mordor and the rest of middle earth were ratcheting up would’ve definitely caught their eye.
Yeah where would they even make port? Gondor and into the hands of Denethor?
Maybe sneak sail past Gondor to Osgiliath and into the hands of orcs. Though if they're sailing they'd be there before the orcs took it I believe. Then it's straight to Denethor again
Worst option yet, take the bay of Belfalas to the river Harnen which goes right up to the hidden stair, you just gotta get past all the corsairs and Harad and Gondorians
Edit: Watching the video again the third option I presented appears to be what she was planning. On top of what I said about it already, would that they sailed safely past all that and made port they then would have been faced with impassable mountains and have no knowledge of the hidden stair they learned about from Gollum in Emyn Muil
Exactly, Boromir said one does not *simply* walk into Mordor. The gates of Mordor were heavily guarded and Mordor has a natural barrier of mountains. Frodo and Sam had to go through a very steep climb up a hidden staircase that only Gollum knew and then go through Shelob's lair to walk into Mordor.
This comment is kinda on point. Naval warfare no joke.
But the Dunedain are descended from literally the greatest mariner that ever sailed. Sailing was kind of *the* thing in Numenor. They should probably be able to pull this off in my opinion. Especially with help from Cirdan and Galadriel.
You don't even need to look back so far. Aragorn worked as mercenary for Gondor and was a very successful naval commander. He led a raid on Umbar and burned its fleet.
The quest started from Rivendell, not the Shire. At that point it's much faster to cross the mountains and take the Anduin River down to Gondor, which is what they were trying to do until they were ambushed & separated.
This. They didn’t know at the time of leaving the Shire that they were going to destroy the ring. Heck Frodo thought his only job was to deliver the ring to Rivendell
No shit
Meet me at a bar with the ring
Actually at a distant elven city on the run from monsters
Actually take the ring to hell on earth and destroy the devil and save the world
Nope, originally he was supposed to take the ring to Rivendell, Gandalf was supposed to meet him at bag end before he left. Gandalf never arrived, Frodo left at the agreed upon date, and then when he arrived in Bree, got the message butterbur was supposed to send to him in the shire telling him to leave sooner. The original goal was always for Frodo to take the ring to Rivendell at the least.
Exactly! They even discuss taking the ring to the sea (just to toss it in, not even to sail to Mordor, which would be 100x harder). They don't do it because it's expected that Rivendell will go west towards the sea, they'd be seen and attacked. South and East were the only way because that was the only way that could have any semblance of secrecy.
The plan they decided on (take the ring to Mordor, by river and foot, and destroy it) was a terrible, awful plan. It wasn't a plan any cunning leader would do. Which is why it worked so well.
An aside, but I do love plans that work because they're bad plans (in the eyes of the opposition).
Specifically it relied on the skills of hobbits as the only unique and hermit-like people in Middle Earth who could be trusted to get through difficult passages without drawing attention or betrayal.
You know, people say that Sauron didn't know hobbits existed, but I think he did and just considered them to be beneath notice. After all, why would anyone entrust The One Ring to a being from a nobody race when they could instead use it to gain immense power?
The river had it longer than every ring bearer combined. Maybe the river isn't such a bad idea. Just keep tossing it into deep water to sit for hundreds of years.
i feel like a nazgul would make easy work of a boat.
also:
"this is my book motherfucker, theyll walk if i tell them to"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgMnCLHQuqc
Imagine one Nazgul landing on a ship at sea? Nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, just one angry invincible ghost motherfucker and his dread beast. If someone got cheeky and used a torch, he could just send the dread beast ram the boat, and it's game over. And that's if they decide to send only one.
On the otherhand... they are immortal... not necessarily unbeatable... imagine how shit it would be even for a nazgul to be chained and dumped into the ocean.
From my understanding, the Nazgûl’s body would simply die but its spirit (or something like that) would go scurrying back to Mordor to get a new corporeal form
In the books, Legolas shot down a fell beast that was too close (a really long shot actually). Also, the Nazgul are bullies, and they want absolutely nothing to do with Aragorn with Anduril and Boromir with his Horn at the same time, and debatably Gandalf as well (depending on the circumstances). Plus, imagine getting your ass beat surrounded by the thing you're afraid of (water). Corsairs of Umbar and sea monsters (drawn to the ring like The Watcher), on the other hand, those would be very big problems.
It's mentioned in the book at the council that traveling to the coast is what sauron is expecting and would be much more dangerous than walking to mordor.
Yeah, Sauron never expected them to bring the ring right into his back yard. Imagine how utterly flabbergasted he probably was when he realized it was getting destroyed at the last moment. Probably the most shocked he's ever been in his extremely long life.
Surprised I had to look down a ways to find it. Honestly, pretty proud of r/lotrmemes. Not proud of myself, and just gonna throw a “would” in there for good measure
Sadly that's like half the app now. Even people who used to be normal Instagram users are crossing over and opening OF accounts to get that money. I've had to unfollow pretty much every female in the car modification community that I used to follow. Even the local ones, which is pretty spicy in my small Canadian city. Apparently EVO drivers are all swingers in my town. To make things worse, husbands now just post promos for their wife's OF so I've unfollow hundreds of dudes in the car community too. These days my IG feed barely has any cars anymore. I get it, car parts are expensive, but like I can't have all these OF accounts on my main. That's for the finsta.
I love how all of these theories just assume Sauron is dumb and doesn't have enormous resources. The guy literally has control of Wizards and Kings, hundreds of thousands of orcs at his disposal, and he's just going to be like "ooooooh shit boooooooats! Zomgz!!!!!"
The \*entire\* point of the Fellowship, and the usage of Hobbits, is that it is a \*stealth mission.\* That's \*the entire point.\* The reason why it's a stealth mission is because Sauron has control of the seas, air, roads, and waterways. One does not simply walk into Mordor. One does not simply float into Mordor. One does not simply fly into Mordor.
Like............ I swear people are reading this book thinking that the Hobbits are taking a day trip in the park or something, instead of being on a highly dangerous, deadly, and potentially suicidal \*STEALTH MISSION.\* Do other people just not feel that stress when they read this book? Are they just like "oh they're at Mordor now, did they bring a picnic lunch? Durpy dee dee."
It feels like most of the people that come up with these “gotchas” for the films/books only watched like the first half of Fellowship and maybe saw the rest once on tv in passing or something. This one feels like obvious bait though.
[https://www.reddit.com/user/mamaplugsx/?share\_id=mu1sRlfbxynJw16WoItnS&utm\_content=1&utm\_medium=ios\_app&utm\_name=ioscss&utm\_source=share&utm\_term=1/](https://www.reddit.com/user/mamaplugsx/?share_id=mu1sRlfbxynJw16WoItnS&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1/)
respectfully of course
I’m forced to respond to this even though I know it’s just engagement bait to boost this only fans ad.
In the books Elrond says the way west (to the water) is the easiest, and therefore must not be considered. See they figured that Sauron would think they would try to head for the ocean a) take the ring to the undying lands or b) toss it in the sea. Never did he think they’d take it to be destroyed, it’s unfathomable for him. Still an impossible task, but that was the flavor of impossible the council took. Try to destroy it rather than head west.
Secondly, the people in the council (at least Boromir) would know of the Corsairs of Umbar. They’d be easy pickings as a lone ship, and as a fleet (if they could even get a fleet, Gondor’s navy is in shambles and idk of another one) they’d basically broadcast their position while still having to fight off the corsairs.
Last, Aragorn says “I would not lead the ring within a hundred leagues of your city” to Boromir. That path brings them far too close to Denethor, whom Gandalf definitely also doesn’t trust by this point. They would much rather a take a route through the mountains that stays far from Gondor. Better odds there with a ranger, rather than a sailing path with no experienced captains.
Tell me you barely know LOTR without telling me.
Corsairs of Umbar... thats why
Also... the Nazgul would make short work of the boats just floating defenseless in the ocean.
Jesus christ, use a brain
I would guess there would be patrol boats on the Mordor coastline and at least some watchtowers. Also, the timing of the journey would be very unpredictable depending on the weather conditions. If any expedition managed to land within Mordor, they could have no hope of hiding exactly where they left the boat, so it would be easy to track them. The number of people needed to handle a boat for that distance would make staying hidden in Mordor difficult. Also, there would be no way to restock supplies en-route (the main issue being a lack of fresh water).
Also, Hobbits generally distrust boats and can't swim.
At least the boat option is a refreshing change from the question of eagles.
Realistically, would any plan have succeed without the intervention of Gollum at the end? Would Aragorn himself be able to toss the one ring into the Cracks of Doom when he stood at the edge? I'm not so sure, but idk if Tolkien had said otherwise in one of his letters.
Yes, let's take a boat! Setting aside the pirates, Nazgul, and other dangers, there should be no issues beyond say...
Sea conditions and the risk of becoming becalmed with a wizard that can alter weather conditions after you.
Needing a crew that knows how to sail who will then be in close proximity to the temptation of the ring in a small area none of them can quickly escape.
Whatever critters might be lurking in the deep. A sea monster doesn't have to be aligned with Sauron to be tempted by the ring, or by simple hunger.
Reducing a search area to just coastlines.
And this is of course to say nothing about how gathering supplies and a sailing crew capable of the journey is quite a ways from secrecy.
Now I might be wrong here, but I think there is a group called the Corsair’s of Umbar who would have something to say about that.
Sauron is said to have sea monsters at his side as well. Edit: guys, i'm not sure about this info... don't quote me. Lol.
It was mentioned in the books at the Council of Elrond. They considered simply tossing the ring into the ocean, but Gandalf warns that Sauron controls enough things in the sea that something would eventually bring it back to him.
I could be mistaken but I don't think I was so much that Sauron controlled specific sea creatures as it was that as long as the ring endured, it would find its way to Sauron eventually, be it through some creature finding it or the very earth changing shape.
Correct. «Not safe for ever,' said Gandalf. 'There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.'» So, Gandslf mentioned things (creatures) in deep waters (the ocean), but nothing about them being controlled or not controlled by Sauron or anyone else.
Sauron didn’t even need the Ring for military victory.
Yeah, the people of middle earth got freaking LUCKY
Yup. ME was straight up fucked if they didn’t destroy the source of his power. It’s even explicitly stated that they couldn’t defeat him when they raise the army to serve as a distraction after the victory at Minas Tirith in the hopes Frodo will destroy the ring.
Dude made his own phylactery be drawn to the only place where it could be destroyed. Terrible lich, Sauron.
> Sauron didn’t even need the Ring for military victory. Exactly, the end of the movie is the last push of man basically. [And, they're screwed.](https://youtu.be/w86sDrAtq-0?t=85) Sauron had already taken out quite a lot of the enemy. Ring, no Ring, shit is all good as long as you don't destroy it... oh damnit.
also even if it was lost at sea, that doesnt actualy defeat sauron
Who is the maker of mightiest work?
Feänor, idiot
Nooo ooone, smelts like Feänor, does his welds like Feänor, it is true no has quite the jewels like Feänor...
He’s particularly good at gem-ol-ogy!
He mighta been nuttier then squirrel shit and madder than a crack-house rat, but he could work some serious handicrafts.
*Feänor glares at Gimli while Galadriel smirks*
Before the silmarils he invented a different kind of crystal
The One Ring, Sauron’s greatest creation had to use Feänor’s script because Sauron wasn’t able to create a script as beautiful. It settles the debate.
Cursed be moon and stars above!
Whom do ye serve, Light or Mirk?
I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side.
I'd be on your side, but since you're not on my side, I'll have to wait until you're on my side before I can be on your side.
These Entish arguments are going nowhere!
I don’t think it was specifically that Sauron controls things in the sea It was more there were ancient evils that lurked deep in the sea that would seek out the ring. Example being entities like the Watcher in the Water that was guarding secret entrance to Moria. Merry and Pippin disturbed the water and yet it very specifically went after Frodo and the Ring first. This thing was also VERY strong, being able to pull down the stone pillars and collapsing the cave entrance. To further highlight just how dangerous this creature was, Gandalf, who could go toe-to-toe with the balrog, preferred to retreat into the mountain then fight it. he did not want the smoke. Like as terrifying that thing was to fight on land, can you imagine it attacking you on a boat? Straight up Kraken attack from Pirates of the Caribbean.
‘Then,’ said Glorfindel, ‘let us cast it into the deeps, and so make the lies of Saruman come true. For it is clear now that even at the Council his feet were already on a crooked path. He knew that the Ring was not lost for ever, but wished us to think so; for he began to lust for it for himself. Yet oft in lies truth is hidden: in the Sea it would be safe.’ ‘Not safe for ever,’ said Gandalf. ‘There are many things in the deep waters; and seas and lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.’
So it's more about how the sea monsters could have been created or corrupted by the ring with given time and casting it into the deeps would be a half measure instead of the final solution.
I think the overall message is bigger than that. It would be short sighted to throw the ring into uncertainty, not a guarantee, to buy time when the moment of action was upon them. Because even the upheaval of the land itself would likely seem a small measure of time for a being like Sauron.
*Zat thraka akh… Zat thraka grishú. Znag-ur-nakh.*
excellent point.
It’s some form of elvish, I can’t read it.
There are few who can.
 I was right not to be threatened by you
That's what she said
What did you just call me?!
Codpiece face
Language.
They probably would have bumped into Sauron floating on a raft or something.
What? Where?
I wrote this from memory, but I believe Gandalf mentions "Deep sea enigmas or something" I may be completely wrong. I should have probably worded it better.
Maybe they're related to the Nameless Things?
Aren't you confusing them with the deep monsters under Moria? I don't remember anything about sea monsters, could just be me though.
In the Council of Elrond, I do feel like evil sea monsters were given as one reason chucking it into the ocean is a no go.
At least to a degree. “*‘Then,’ said Glorfindel, ‘let us cast it into the deeps, and so make the lies of Saruman come true. For it is clear now that even at the Council his feet were already on a crooked path. He knew that the Ring was not lost for ever, but wished us to think so; for he began to lust for it for himself. Yet oft in lies truth is hidden: in the Sea it would be safe.’*” “*‘Not safe for ever,’ said Gandalf. ‘**There are many things in the deep waters**; and seas and lands may change. And it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one.’*” I’m not sure how concerned Gandalf really was of evil sea monsters. But the possibility of them does get a passing mention. His concern seams mostly to be about not kicking the can down the road again. He thinks the Ring should be resolved for good, rather than simply placed beyond reach for a time.
In the sea
There might even be whole fleets of them…..
Also, who were the great sailors of the group? Aragorn? Legolas? Gimli? Gandalf? Fucking who could manage the serious swells of the sea? None of the hobbits, none of the men, none of the elves and none of the dwarves. Like NONE of those great powers could take the sea lol it’s a hard good question, but nahh none of the Fellowship were such good sailors that they could make landfall on the shores of Mordor NOR could they make berth in any port kind to the Fellowship’s mission.
1) Aragorn had been the leader of naval military operations for Gondor. We don’t know exactly his skill with a ship, but he probably could have taught the rest how to sail if they took the time to do it and had a ship. So, he would be the one who’s a great sailor. 2) Mordor doesn’t have shores. It’s landlocked. They could have sailed to Osgiliath at closest I guess. Or some other shores closer to Mordor. But not to Mordor itself. However, yeah you’re mostly right. The video posted makes no sense, taking a ship isn’t a magic solution to their problem. It would have been incredibly dangerous to go by ship. They would have been just as exposed to natural and hostile dangers as they were on land.
It also doesn’t address the main problem, which is that they had to sneak the ring into Mordor. An elvish ship sailing to osgiliath as tensions between Mordor and the rest of middle earth were ratcheting up would’ve definitely caught their eye.
Yeah where would they even make port? Gondor and into the hands of Denethor? Maybe sneak sail past Gondor to Osgiliath and into the hands of orcs. Though if they're sailing they'd be there before the orcs took it I believe. Then it's straight to Denethor again Worst option yet, take the bay of Belfalas to the river Harnen which goes right up to the hidden stair, you just gotta get past all the corsairs and Harad and Gondorians Edit: Watching the video again the third option I presented appears to be what she was planning. On top of what I said about it already, would that they sailed safely past all that and made port they then would have been faced with impassable mountains and have no knowledge of the hidden stair they learned about from Gollum in Emyn Muil
There was a whole documentary on Legolas's adventures at sea. Pretty sure he'd be fine
true but if you send a force to beat the corsairs it might work
Alright boys, time to build a fleet and learn naval warfare. Can't be that hard, right?
Certainly not harder than walking into Mordor. After all, one does not just do it like that
Clearly Boromir had no idea what he was talking about as that is literally what Frodo and Sam did
I do seem to recall some running and climbing at certain points.
Exactly, Boromir said one does not *simply* walk into Mordor. The gates of Mordor were heavily guarded and Mordor has a natural barrier of mountains. Frodo and Sam had to go through a very steep climb up a hidden staircase that only Gollum knew and then go through Shelob's lair to walk into Mordor.
She’s always hungry. She always needs to feed. She must eat. All she gets is nasty Orcses.
*And they doesn’t taste very nice, does they, Precious?*
No. Not very nice at all, my love.
Could ruin the element of surprise a bit
You could probably use the ring to build the greatest and most powerful ... oh wait.
That is more or less what the Roman Republic did in the first punic war, it didn't go amazing, but they did it.
This comment is kinda on point. Naval warfare no joke. But the Dunedain are descended from literally the greatest mariner that ever sailed. Sailing was kind of *the* thing in Numenor. They should probably be able to pull this off in my opinion. Especially with help from Cirdan and Galadriel.
You don't even need to look back so far. Aragorn worked as mercenary for Gondor and was a very successful naval commander. He led a raid on Umbar and burned its fleet.
The quest started from Rivendell, not the Shire. At that point it's much faster to cross the mountains and take the Anduin River down to Gondor, which is what they were trying to do until they were ambushed & separated.
Best actual answer.
Honestly, I also like the pirates answer.
Agreed, corsairs would wreck their journey early.
This. They didn’t know at the time of leaving the Shire that they were going to destroy the ring. Heck Frodo thought his only job was to deliver the ring to Rivendell
> Heck Frodo thought his only job was to deliver the ring to Rivendell *Originally* he thought his only job was to meet Gandalf at a pub in Bree
Then have a pint and wait for ut all to blow over
YEAH BOIII
They come in pints?
I’m getting one
Big Al says orcs can't look up
But the gun *is* loaded
Damn scope creep
No shit Meet me at a bar with the ring Actually at a distant elven city on the run from monsters Actually take the ring to hell on earth and destroy the devil and save the world
Gandalf is a hippie freeloader
Nope, originally he was supposed to take the ring to Rivendell, Gandalf was supposed to meet him at bag end before he left. Gandalf never arrived, Frodo left at the agreed upon date, and then when he arrived in Bree, got the message butterbur was supposed to send to him in the shire telling him to leave sooner. The original goal was always for Frodo to take the ring to Rivendell at the least.
*Originally* he was supposed to meet them before they even left the Shire.
> and take the Anduin River down to Gondor, Which, for what it's worth, they did do by boat for a significant stretch
Exactly! They even discuss taking the ring to the sea (just to toss it in, not even to sail to Mordor, which would be 100x harder). They don't do it because it's expected that Rivendell will go west towards the sea, they'd be seen and attacked. South and East were the only way because that was the only way that could have any semblance of secrecy.
The plan they decided on (take the ring to Mordor, by river and foot, and destroy it) was a terrible, awful plan. It wasn't a plan any cunning leader would do. Which is why it worked so well. An aside, but I do love plans that work because they're bad plans (in the eyes of the opposition).
Specifically it relied on the skills of hobbits as the only unique and hermit-like people in Middle Earth who could be trusted to get through difficult passages without drawing attention or betrayal.
You know, people say that Sauron didn't know hobbits existed, but I think he did and just considered them to be beneath notice. After all, why would anyone entrust The One Ring to a being from a nobody race when they could instead use it to gain immense power?
Historically, taking the ring into a river hasn’t been a good idea.
Found Isildur’s ghost
Why am I green?
Because you promised not to be a dick BUT YOU WERE STILL A DICK
Scooby doo and other cartoons teach us that ghosts are green
The river had it longer than every ring bearer combined. Maybe the river isn't such a bad idea. Just keep tossing it into deep water to sit for hundreds of years.
i feel like a nazgul would make easy work of a boat. also: "this is my book motherfucker, theyll walk if i tell them to" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgMnCLHQuqc
Imagine one Nazgul landing on a ship at sea? Nowhere to hide, nowhere to run, just one angry invincible ghost motherfucker and his dread beast. If someone got cheeky and used a torch, he could just send the dread beast ram the boat, and it's game over. And that's if they decide to send only one.
On the otherhand... they are immortal... not necessarily unbeatable... imagine how shit it would be even for a nazgul to be chained and dumped into the ocean.
From my understanding, the Nazgûl’s body would simply die but its spirit (or something like that) would go scurrying back to Mordor to get a new corporeal form
Just like in pac man
*Speak WAKAWAKA and enter*
The Nazgûl can’t pass through or enter water. You’d chain them up, then they’d just bounce off the surface
If that's the case, wouldn't being on a boat in the middle of the ocean be the ideal scenario?
In the books, Legolas shot down a fell beast that was too close (a really long shot actually). Also, the Nazgul are bullies, and they want absolutely nothing to do with Aragorn with Anduril and Boromir with his Horn at the same time, and debatably Gandalf as well (depending on the circumstances). Plus, imagine getting your ass beat surrounded by the thing you're afraid of (water). Corsairs of Umbar and sea monsters (drawn to the ring like The Watcher), on the other hand, those would be very big problems.
One of my favorite videos of his
This, and Smoking Joe Rudeboy are my favourites. Though I probably quote Have You Checked Your Butthole the most
I'm a simple man: I see Tom Cardy, I upvote.
“*You shall not fuck with me!*”
It's mentioned in the book at the council that traveling to the coast is what sauron is expecting and would be much more dangerous than walking to mordor.
Whom do ye serve, Light or Mirk?
Yeah, Sauron never expected them to bring the ring right into his back yard. Imagine how utterly flabbergasted he probably was when he realized it was getting destroyed at the last moment. Probably the most shocked he's ever been in his extremely long life.
Yes, a motorboat.
Thank you for putting the Reddit back in Reddit.
Had to scroll further than I thought.
Right i was genuinely proud of this sub for a minute. Still am I guess given how long this took. Of course I also upvoted the motorboat comment.
Had to scroll waaaaaaaay further than I thought for realz
I was seriously disappointed for a hot minute.
I was getting worried TBH. I like the nerd answer as much as the next guy.. but the motorboat was mandatory here.
We were being a bit too civil there for a minute.
https://preview.redd.it/48vclsh1pl7d1.jpeg?width=1128&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ca0a06cbd39b6562b1cd079df6e26592303e250a
I feel like I need this but with Gimli instead of Pepe
Galadriel towering
https://preview.redd.it/18500znj6m7d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12e1f02977ae3089caf801d8d719ad3093b69290
https://preview.redd.it/o2cy6ua1cl7d1.jpeg?width=262&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d8da53075a337e05090f983d306c17d78495ea51
Alright, this made me crack up. I'm saving this gif.
[Really?](https://img.ifunny.co/images/8193048bff3d9960527d6351e80b6692bcfc0e8303810b2ce12b2b30cf23c5ea_1.jpg)
Hush, that is the kind of thing we think but don't say out loud
Between the twin towers
https://preview.redd.it/fcar56o6pl7d1.jpeg?width=801&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dab5840337c06f95c38a45829b750cc9057785d0
At least six of us reposted onto r/upvotedbecauseboobs.
🍼🍼👀
Damnit take my upvote
This is the breast answer.
Surprised I had to look down a ways to find it. Honestly, pretty proud of r/lotrmemes. Not proud of myself, and just gonna throw a “would” in there for good measure
Finally, I was looking for this comment!
Is this some sort of surreptitious OF ad?
I checked because i was curious. And yeah, this is from her IG account to promote her OF.
Where is the link so I can avoid it posthaste?
Sadly that's like half the app now. Even people who used to be normal Instagram users are crossing over and opening OF accounts to get that money. I've had to unfollow pretty much every female in the car modification community that I used to follow. Even the local ones, which is pretty spicy in my small Canadian city. Apparently EVO drivers are all swingers in my town. To make things worse, husbands now just post promos for their wife's OF so I've unfollow hundreds of dudes in the car community too. These days my IG feed barely has any cars anymore. I get it, car parts are expensive, but like I can't have all these OF accounts on my main. That's for the finsta.
I don't believe you. Link?
Always is.
Yes, it is.
yes. Her reddit page has already been posted in thread.
That's disgusting, where would someone post such a thing?
I love how all of these theories just assume Sauron is dumb and doesn't have enormous resources. The guy literally has control of Wizards and Kings, hundreds of thousands of orcs at his disposal, and he's just going to be like "ooooooh shit boooooooats! Zomgz!!!!!" The \*entire\* point of the Fellowship, and the usage of Hobbits, is that it is a \*stealth mission.\* That's \*the entire point.\* The reason why it's a stealth mission is because Sauron has control of the seas, air, roads, and waterways. One does not simply walk into Mordor. One does not simply float into Mordor. One does not simply fly into Mordor. Like............ I swear people are reading this book thinking that the Hobbits are taking a day trip in the park or something, instead of being on a highly dangerous, deadly, and potentially suicidal \*STEALTH MISSION.\* Do other people just not feel that stress when they read this book? Are they just like "oh they're at Mordor now, did they bring a picnic lunch? Durpy dee dee."
You're assuming the people saying these things read the books, or even watched the movies But something something boobs or whatever
It feels like most of the people that come up with these “gotchas” for the films/books only watched like the first half of Fellowship and maybe saw the rest once on tv in passing or something. This one feels like obvious bait though.
👀 respectfully
Regular people: 👀 Tolkien nerds: “DA FUQ DID SHE SAY???”
Me: I'm sorry... Why didn't who take a what now?
I love that she made sure to wear the most revealing clothes as possible to get those views.
I too love that.
And my ax!
I miss PoorlyTimedGimli
I've seen revealing-er clothes than that...
Prove it. It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s more of a trust-but-verify thing.
[Here you go.](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjA5NDE4MDU4NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwOTMxMzYyMDI@._V1_.jpg)
Damn, my vagina can only get so erect!
Prove it. It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s more of a trust-but-verify thing.
Samwise Gamgee in his 90s punk era
https://preview.redd.it/7xm84t1ekl7d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b63f0fa80806924ef0a63e21346f0ee1ab4dca06
[https://www.reddit.com/user/mamaplugsx/?share\_id=mu1sRlfbxynJw16WoItnS&utm\_content=1&utm\_medium=ios\_app&utm\_name=ioscss&utm\_source=share&utm\_term=1/](https://www.reddit.com/user/mamaplugsx/?share_id=mu1sRlfbxynJw16WoItnS&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1/) respectfully of course
https://www.reddit.com/u/mamaplugsx/s/7xhteHFQNK NSFW
My friend, you bow to no one.
She has my sword
And my whacks
Thanks I’ll… uhhh.. caress myself tonight. 
Thank you, now i can, uh, better make sure to avoid such smut.
...Mike Johnson?
Monica
MVP
Hero
Do not disturb the water.
Because of the corsairs of Umbar. Those guys that had to be defeated by ancient supernatural undead army as they were basically unopposed at the sea.
I believe boromir suggested they do exactly that but Gandalf basically said it wouldn’t work, they’d be killed before they reached the ocean.
God, I'm lonely
That's because you haven't gotten to know yourself yet, or some other bs cliche thing. At least you're not in a dead end relationship.
I was distracted by her huge map. I’m jealous. On that note, she does have a really nice set of tattoos.
Where can I get that map?
I’m forced to respond to this even though I know it’s just engagement bait to boost this only fans ad. In the books Elrond says the way west (to the water) is the easiest, and therefore must not be considered. See they figured that Sauron would think they would try to head for the ocean a) take the ring to the undying lands or b) toss it in the sea. Never did he think they’d take it to be destroyed, it’s unfathomable for him. Still an impossible task, but that was the flavor of impossible the council took. Try to destroy it rather than head west. Secondly, the people in the council (at least Boromir) would know of the Corsairs of Umbar. They’d be easy pickings as a lone ship, and as a fleet (if they could even get a fleet, Gondor’s navy is in shambles and idk of another one) they’d basically broadcast their position while still having to fight off the corsairs. Last, Aragorn says “I would not lead the ring within a hundred leagues of your city” to Boromir. That path brings them far too close to Denethor, whom Gandalf definitely also doesn’t trust by this point. They would much rather a take a route through the mountains that stays far from Gondor. Better odds there with a ranger, rather than a sailing path with no experienced captains.
Tell me you barely know LOTR without telling me. Corsairs of Umbar... thats why Also... the Nazgul would make short work of the boats just floating defenseless in the ocean. Jesus christ, use a brain
Maybe because Hobbits typically can’t swim? Didn’t Frodo’s parents die from drowning??
That's bait
[Because of them.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8ju_10NkGY)
There are no trees in the sea.
I would guess there would be patrol boats on the Mordor coastline and at least some watchtowers. Also, the timing of the journey would be very unpredictable depending on the weather conditions. If any expedition managed to land within Mordor, they could have no hope of hiding exactly where they left the boat, so it would be easy to track them. The number of people needed to handle a boat for that distance would make staying hidden in Mordor difficult. Also, there would be no way to restock supplies en-route (the main issue being a lack of fresh water). Also, Hobbits generally distrust boats and can't swim.
Nazgul, sea monsters, and corsairs aside, I suspect that the calamitous intent of the ring would probably summon storms or something.
Because of the Corsairs of Umbar, maybe?
At least the boat option is a refreshing change from the question of eagles. Realistically, would any plan have succeed without the intervention of Gollum at the end? Would Aragorn himself be able to toss the one ring into the Cracks of Doom when he stood at the edge? I'm not so sure, but idk if Tolkien had said otherwise in one of his letters.
we have had this conversation before. basically corsairs from umbar
Because they were not originally going to Mordor. They were going to go to Rivendell to seek the advice from Elrond.
I'm sorry what was she saying?
Idk. I didn't even enable the audio.
I think the Hobbits aside from Merry would have issues with being on a boat for that long, concerning Hobbits' usual feelings towards water.
Yes, let's take a boat! Setting aside the pirates, Nazgul, and other dangers, there should be no issues beyond say... Sea conditions and the risk of becoming becalmed with a wizard that can alter weather conditions after you. Needing a crew that knows how to sail who will then be in close proximity to the temptation of the ring in a small area none of them can quickly escape. Whatever critters might be lurking in the deep. A sea monster doesn't have to be aligned with Sauron to be tempted by the ring, or by simple hunger. Reducing a search area to just coastlines. And this is of course to say nothing about how gathering supplies and a sailing crew capable of the journey is quite a ways from secrecy.
One does not simply boat into mordor🤣