Frodo And Sam - Blog Posts

Me: *strapped to a chair in a cold interrogation room with a middle aged man pacing back and forth*

Him: *projects a picture of Sam and Frodo on to the wall* What is their relationship?

Me: Their ship is valid and very cute, but we should also consider the idea that their admiration and respect for one another is a deep, platonic bond. Love doesn't always have to be romantic, and it is important for men to be able to express their platonic care for one another in a way that toxic masculinity doesn't currently allow.

Him: Okay *projects a picture of Legolas and Gimli* what's their relatio-

Me: They're fucking.

Gandalf asexual confirmed

"why can't they just be friends" not in the homophobic way but in the "their platonic relationship in the source material is far more dynamic and complex than the sanitized personalities they gain as a result of shipping" way

All hail deep, eternal friendship and Professor Tolkien who showed us such good examples of it

I think one of the great things about the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit as well is the fact that while historically the most moving relationships in a narrative are usually romantic or familial. The Lord of the Rings is one long treatise in praise of friendship. The nearest relatives in the Fellowship are cousins. The parent-child relationships and the variation of uncle-wards that is Theoden and his sister's children are fraught with dysfunction. If we set aside the periphery relationships like Sam and the Gaffer and Beregond and Bergil there is upheaval in all the parent child relationships.

But friendship now that is wholesome and exemplified in all the races. For men there is Eomer and Boromir and their bonds with Aragorn. Hobbits of course speak for themselves throughout the whole trilogy and the Hobbit. There is mourning for lack of connection between Mirkwood and Lorien for the elves. A yearning for renewed friendship. And of course the standout friendship of them all for its unlikeliness if for no other reason. Legolas and Gimli. A friendship so fast and secure that Legolas cannot consider leaving Middle Earth for his rightful place in the west without bringing Gimli with him. A dwarf. The race that was not meant to be made and certainly no dwarf has ever been even near the undying lands and Legolas knows this.

The fact that friendship can be just as eternal as a marriage vow or the bonds of blood is something that doesn't get a lot of coverage in literature and yet it permeates the life of all the heroes in The Lord of the Rings. From Aragorn to Samwise