The Non-Scouring of the Shire

[grendel]

I was disappointed when I heard that this part of the saga was left out of the movie. Then I saw it, and thought about it, and changed my mind. It would have taken too much time to develop properly in the movie. Also, I thought it worked better having them return to an unchanged Shire, and having Frodo realize that he couldn't go back to the way things were before anyway. More cinematically poignant, and a good reason for him to leave with the Elves. Whaddya think?

 

[Gildor]

I agree that there was really no way to have it in the film without sacrificing a great deal of other things. It would have been nice to show how even the Shire hadn't escaped unscathed and we could have seen Sharkey's End, but the ending was fine without it.

 

[Aragorn21]

Yes, I didn't mind that part being left out at all. It would be so non-climatic, and would have taken way to much time.

 

[fadhatter]

anything would have better than the group hugging that was going on, and the scenes were not even emotional !!! all alligator tears.

 

[GuardianRanger]

Given the story path that was shown to us in the movies, I agree; it would have been anti-climactic. Especially because it would have meant a return of Sauraman, who up to that point was done. But, it's a chapter of the book I would have love to have seen made. That would have been a cool battle to watch unfold.

 

[Aglarthalion]

I thought it was a wise move by Jackson to leave out the Scouring of the Shire. It would have, as has been said, anti-climatic, and wouldn't have been as good an ending on film. Besides, Jackson has shown us that he made Saruman die when the Ents sacked Orthanc, which I believe is an adequate enough method to end that part of the tale.

 

[33Peregrin]

I never minded much leaving out scouring. I found out about that shortly after reading LOTR for the first time. I was still in shock at reading something so great that nothing really bothered me..... But even now, I thought it was all done well without scouring. It was a hobbitish thing, that was never going to be there very much in the movies, like Tom Bombadil. I missed some things from scouring, such as Frodo speaking to Saruman. That is one of my favorite parts of the book, but I don't mind much having it not be in the movies. Many of my favorite things about the books are not in the movies....... but oh well! The Shire ending of ROTK is probably my favorite part of the movie. I love Frodo in those scenes. Love him. I was crying at the end of ROTK, when I saw it for the second time the other day. And that's exactly what I wanted ROTK to do to me.

 

[NetherDemon]

I totally agree with PJ cutting Tom Bombadil and the Scouring of the Shire. The whole part with Tom Bombadil and the Old Forest was so uneccesary I question why Tolkien put it in there in the first place, other then to do a little "shameless self-advertising" for possible future books, like the Silmarillion and other tales. I actually love the idea PJ had to give Treebeard some of those lines in TTT and putting Old Man Willow in too.

As for the Scouring of the Shire, that whole section of the book bothered me too. It robs the story of a proper ending and turns the Hobbits into some sort of Tom Clancy/Splinter Cell, Insurgent strike force. They saved middle earth with their actions in Mordor and Gondor, why do we have to turn them into liberators of the Shire? Why do we even have to have the Shire Beseiged at all? It would have been better for Tolkien to have Saruman and Wormtongue killed in Isenguard by the Ents.

LOTR was a great story and Tolkien a great writer, but even he wrote some things I have to question.

*waits for Purists to stick me with hot pokers*