Frodo, Bilbo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are some of the most significant characters in the entire Lord of the Rings franchise, despite the fact that hobbits in general were largely separate from the serious happenings of Middle-earth. In fact, the first three of those hobbits all managed to break a major Lord of the Rings rule, as each of them was granted an exception to the rule preventing mortals from entering the Undying Lands. All three, because they had all been ring bearers (Sam very briefly held onto the ring after Frodo was taken by Shelob), were granted access.
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Even Merry and Pippin were essential in the battle to bring down Sauron and his armies once and for all, as both Peter Jackson’s movies and J.R.R. Tolkien’s books make clear. Yet, while each of these hobbits played their own key role and had thorough narrative arcs, not everything about these hobbits made sense. Here are the top 5 confusing aspects of the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings, particularly the movies.
The Hobbits Of The Fellowship Still Go Barefoot
There are many unique things about hobbit anatomy in The Lord of the Rings. Most well-known is their very small stature, with most hobbits falling somewhere between three and four feet tall. However, the hobbits also have very unusual feet. For one, they have very large feet, particularly compared to their short bodies, and hobbit men and women alike are known to have very hairy feet.
Additionally, hobbits are always barefoot. While this makes sense for hobbits romping around the beautiful Shire and taking life slow, as is the hobbit way, it makes considerably less sense for the hobbits of the Fellowship to still not don any footwear. After all, they are going to be trekking across Middle-earth, finding themselves in some very precarious locations. Even Frodo and Sam, who go all the way to Mordor, do so completely barefoot, seemingly without that causing them any trouble.
Frodo Doesn’t Tell Sam He’s Leaving Middle-earth
One of the most beautifully heartbreaking moments in all Lord of the Rings stories is the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, in which Frodo reveals that he is leaving for the Undying Lands with Gandalf and Bilbo. Although this is devastating for myriad reasons, it still makes sense. Frodo suffered greatly, and he was never quite the same after his journey to destroy the One Ring. He needed and deserved that rest.
What makes less sense, though, is his decision not to tell any of his hobbit friends—including Sam, his closest friend—that he was leaving. Sure, he probably didn’t want to confront what it would mean to leave or, no doubt, his friends’ desperation to stop him from making this decision, but to completely blindside them, especially Sam, seems very out of character for the hero.
Pippin Is Either Incredibly Foolish Or Incredibly Smart
Pippin is frequently comedic relief in The Lord of the Rings, particularly the movies, be it because of his goofy personality or his animated drinking, dancing, and singing even in dire situations. Another key element of his personality is the fact that he is very foolish—a “fool of a Took,” as Gandalf says multiple times.
Yet, Pippin is also incredibly wise at certain moments. In the book and the movies, for example, it’s Pippin’s idea to leave the leaf from his cloak on the orcs’ trail for Aragorn to find, letting him know they were still alive, which is very smart. Likewise, in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie, it’s Pippin who brilliantly thinks to have Treebeard go past Isengard, so that he will see the destruction of the forest and want to destroy Saruman.
No One Notices Merry Is Riding With Éowyn
In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Merry finally gets his own time to truly shine, as he enters the war directly, riding into battle with Éowyn to defend Gondor. This, along with Éowyn’s role in the battle, is thrilling and a great plot detail. However, it’s a bit nonsensical that no one notices Merry is there.
Both don helmets, and Éowyn hides her hair, making her disguise convincing enough. Yet, there’s little hiding the fact that Merry is not even four feet tall and is blatantly riding in front of Éowyn on horseback. Yes, the soldiers had other matters on their minds, but at multiple points, Éowyn’s horse is right next to other horses, and no one seems to notice.
Frodo’s Age Makes No Sense In The Movies
Finally, Frodo’s age makes no sense in the movies. In the books, Frodo is in his 50s when he sets out on his journey to destroy the Ring, and he is therefore characterized as very wise and competent. By contrast, Elijah Wood was just 18 when he took on the role, and he is therefore (reasonably, and no slight against him) much more juvenile and naive as the character. What makes this stranger is the fact that 17 years are meant to pass between Bilbo leaving the Shire and Frodo and Sam setting off for Rivendell.
The movies shorten that period considerably, but Frodo is evidently supposed to be in his 30s—the age at which hobbits come of age—even in The Fellowship of the Ring movie, yet he still reads as considerably younger.
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