The Lord of the Rings films progress
chronologically, following Frodo and the other members of the fellowship
on their journey. A narrator relates the history of the ring at
the very beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring,
which is the only background information we need to understand the
urgency of the upcoming journey. From there, events happen in order,
from Gandalf’s arrival in the Shire at the beginning of the first
film to Sam and Frodo’s return at the end of the last. While Tolkien’s
trilogy relies on appendices and companion books to augment the
story with historical minutiae and tangents, Jackson elects to stay
close to the central narrative—incorporating such obscure details
into the films would have been all but impossible. After the fellowship
breaks up at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, individual
characters and smaller groups pursue their own journeys, and the
scenes move back and forth between them. However, their stories
take place more or less simultaneously and are related in the order
in which they occur. Dreams, visions, and psychic messages occasionally
appear and reveal images of past or future events, but since these
occur within specific characters’ minds, they still follow the chronology
of the action taking place.
Only one scene in the trilogy appears out of chronological
order: the opening scene of The Return of the King.
In this scene, the hobbit Sméagol kills his friend to acquire the
ring of power and eventually becomes the withered creature Gollum,
whose singular obsession is the ring. As a freestanding scene, this
episode is unique in the trilogy. In a way, the scene reveals nothing
new, since Gollum’s internal debates in The Two Towers reveal
enough information for us to speculate about his history. Other
background information may have been equally or more useful, such
as the history of Saruman and Gandalf’s relationship or the story
of Aragorn’s being raised by elves.
The Sméagol scene, however, has two important effects
on The Return of the King and on the trilogy itself.
Though the power of the ring has been evident from the very beginning,
Sméagol’s transformation shows exactly how dangerous that power
is. In a way, the story of Sméagol serves as a cautionary tale or
a dire prediction of what could happen to Frodo if he gives in to
the power of the ring. The scene also gives new edges and layers
to the character of Gollum. Gollum is a complex combination of good
and evil, and this ambiguity sets him apart from other characters
in the trilogy, who are usually completely good or wholly evil.
Gollum’s history provides a window into his psyche, and, with him
more than with any other character, we can see what motivates both
his actions and his anxiety. Gollum’s utter helplessness in the
presence of the ring renders him, to some extent, an object of sympathy.
