(Warning: This clip contains the emotional and narrative climax of an approximately 12-hour film. Avoid if you’re one of the seven people who have yet to see The Lord of the Rings trilogy.)
Over the course of three films Samwise Gamgee — Frodo’s incredibly loyal gardener — grows to become the most heroic character in a trilogy obsessed with the idea of heroism. Time and again, he puts himself in harm’s way to save his old boss (and when we say “time and again,” we’re serious. Sam saves Frodo like eight times — from drowning, from Orcs, from a giant spider…), though it’s only at the climax of the entire series that we get to witness his true mettle. He carries Frodo up the side of a volcano!
But bravery aside, it’s easy to lose count of how many times the two look longingly into each others eyes and exchange emotion-filled words of love and fellowship. And let’s not even get into the trilogy’s second-to-last scene, which consists of Sam jumping happily on Frodo’s bed before giving him a fierce hug, and a long, tearful stare goodbye. He wasn’t the only one crying.
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