Frodo Baggins is a Tolkien character who is the main protagonist of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and a minor character in The Hobbit. He is portrayed by Elijah Wood in the film adaptations.
History[]
Background[]
Born to Primula Brandybuck and Drogo Baggins, Frodo was orphaned at a young age when Primula and Drogo were drowned in the Brandywine River As a twelve-year-old, Frodo was adopted by his mother's cousin, Bilbo Baggins. He grew up close with his cousins Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took and became best friends with Samwise "Sam" Gamgee and often pretended to be Bilbo on his adventures with Thorin Oakenshield.
The Lord of the Rings[]
The Fellowship of the Ring[]
Frodo made his début in the 1954 novel, The Fellowship of the Ring, celebrating his 33rd birthday with his "uncle" Bilbo's 111th farewell birthday. However, his uncle disappears during the party with use of the One Ring. Bilbo leaves Frodo all of his possessions, including the Ring and Bag End. Seventeen years later, Gandalf tells Frodo of the magical ring's history, how it was passed down to Isildur in battle and how it landed into the hands of Gollum. Frodo realizes that the Ring cannot stay in the Shire, and Gandalf agrees. They catch Sam eavesdropping on their entire conversation and Gandalf has him in on their plan. Frodo decides to sell Bag End to Lobelia Sackville-Baggins and her son, Lotho and to move to Crickhollow to avoid suspicion. With Sam and Pippin, the trio leaves for Frodo's new home, where they meet Farmer Maggot and Merry Brandybuck. Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin both ferried across into Buckland, catching sight of a dark figure watching them.
At his house in Crickhollow, Frodo learned that Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger, Sam, Merry and Pippin were all secretly watching over Frodo after Bilbo had disappeared, and they had knowledge of the One Ring. Frodo accepts their company to Rivendell. The next morning, Fatty stayed behind while Frodo and the other Hobbits made their way to Bree.
Personality[]
Originally, Frodo used to be a care-free hobbit like most hobbits in the Shire, untouched by the evils of the world.
As a child, due to being raised by his uncle, Bilbo, Frodo used to have an immense imagination, and an adventurous side, often pretending to be his uncle on his adventure with Thorin Oakenshield. Frodo was quite friendly, caring very deeply for his friends and family. He cherished his relationships with Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Gandalf. Though he spent most of the trilogy separated from the original members of the Fellowship, Frodo laughed with joy and excitement when they were reunited again. It is also shown that Frodo was deeply saddened by the fall of Gandalf and immensely shocked by Boromir's death and expressed grief.
Being the eldest of the Hobbits, Frodo had been very careful and grows to have a sense of responsibility. For example, Frodo yelled for them to get off the road when he heard the Nazgûl coming down the road and made sure to use the alias, Mr. Underhill while they were in Bree. In another instance, when Frodo and his friends are staying at Weathertop, Frodo was also the only one of the four hobbits to yell at them to put the fire out, knowing full well it would lead the Nazgul to their location.
With the safety of Middle-earth on the edge, Frodo had a sense of Honor and decided to take the ring to Mordor in order to save every free race from Sauron. Frodo was compassionate, showing pity for Gollum, something his uncle, Bilbo had done sixty years prior and treated him with kindness, up to the point that Gollum nearly redeemed himself.
Sometimes, Frodo has exhibited some antagonistic sides to his character.
The ring corrupted Frodo nearly more than other characters. In first appearance, in the Fellowship of the Ring novel, Frodo grows mad states he knows nothing of the burden he carried. He also nearly killed said friend when they are trying to put the ring in front of a Nazgul soldier before returning from his senses. This makes Gollum use Frodo's and Sam's friendship against each other, manipulated Frodo into thinking Sam had taken what was left of their rations. Frodo later realizes his mistakes and regrets his decision. However, Sam is worried Frodo is becoming possessive over the Ring. This is most likely shown when he rescues him and Frodo demands for the Ring back calmly, causing Sam to grow scarcely. Frodo also declares the ring to be his and puts it on his finger. Frodo also thought of falling of the cliff to save the ring, but chose Sam over the Ring, breaking his possessive streak over the One Ring. However, it immensely caused him pain to have the Ring, as he wanted it gone.
Physical Appearance[]
Frodo had dark, curly brown hair and blue eyes, fair hair. He mostly wore red throughout the journey. He wore a dark green cloak before being given an Elven cloak that would help him with his surroundings. Frodo also only had nine fingers at the end of the journey due to Gollum chewing it off.
Weapons and Equipment[]
- Sting: Gandalf found Sting in the troll horde and later gave it to Bilbo. When Frodo was setting off for Mordor, he received it from Bilbo to help him on his quest. It helped Frodo with warning that Orcs or Goblins nearby when it glowed blue.
- Mithril Shirt: Bilbo gave Frodo the Mithril shirt after ThoriN Oakenshield Gave it to Bilbo to protect him during the Battle of the Five Armies. It saved Frodo's life more than once.
The Lord of the Rings film series[]
In The Lord of the Rings film series, Elijah Wood portrayed this version of Frodo. As opposed to being fifty years old, he and Sam are closer to Merry and Pippin in age.
The Fellowship of the Ring[]
The Two Towers[]
Return of the King[]
The Hobbit film series[]
Frodo appears as a minor character in The Hobbit, only appearing in the first film, An Unexpected Journey, as Bilbo takes over as the protagonist.
An Unexpected Journey[]
His uncle Bilbo had just turned 111 and has been staying up all night writing in his journal, the Red Book. Frodo looks at Bilbo for a while before retrieving the letters from this morning. He tries to pry in Bilbo's book, but the old hobbit does not allow Frodo to look at it, as it is not ready for reading. Frodo then looks through Bilbo's old things he still has in a chest. Bilbo asked what all the letters are, adn Frodo reminds his uncle of the birthday party already today. They later hav e a conversation on how Bilbo has become over the years, saying he has become unsociable, but the older Baggins denies this and has Frodo post a note on the front gate. After posting it, Frodo asks his uncle if Gandalf will come. Bilbo does not doubt it and says that Gandalf will give them quite a show. As Frodo tells his uncle he's off, Mr. Baggins asks his nephew where he's headed. Frodo tells him he is going to wait to meet the Wizard at West Farthing, with Bilbo telling him to "go on" and not to be late, with Bilbo recalling back to when he was young like Frodo
Relationships[]
Boromir[]
Frodo first met Boromir in Rivendell. Later, Boromir offers to go with Frodo and protect him from all the forces of Sauron. He does once take the ring away from Frodo, when the hobbit fell down the mountain's snowy plains and Aragorn forced Boromir to give the ring back to Frodo. When they were alone, the man later attempted to steal from Frodo, causing him to run away. However, Boromir would regret trying to take the Ring from Frodo and threatening him. Frodo will also not learn of his death until The Two Towers, with shock and grief overcoming him.
Samwise Gamgee[]
Sam and Frodo grew up together as best friends, with Bilbo teaching both of them how to read and write. Frodo knew Sam well enough, such as pushing him to say hello to Rosie, knowing his relationship. Both of them go on the quest to destroy the One Ring, and Sam remains faithful to Frodo, following him all the way to Mordor and any parts of Middle-earth. While under the influence of the One Ring, Frodo gets mad at Sam for no reason and almost pulls his sword on him in Lorien. Later, Gollum uses this as an advantage, with blaming everything on Sam, causing Frodo to coldly turn him away. However, Frodo realizes his mistake when Gollum tried to kill him.
He gives Sam a very sad kiss on the forehead and a large hug. Frodo does however, meet him agai
Pippin[]
Pippin is one of Frodo's closest friends since childhood and were both cousins. They are related in two ways:
- Through Pippin's great-grandfather, Hildigrim and Frodo's paternal grandmother, Mirabella Took, who were both siblings
- Through Pippin's great-great-grandfather, Ponto, whose brother is Frodo's great-grandfather, Largo
Merry[]
Merry is one of Frodo's closest friends since childhood and were both cousins through their ancestor, Mirabella Took. They maintain a close familial and loving relationship, both loyal to each other to a fault. They are both related in two ways: Merry is the son of Frodo's cousin, Saradoc, and second, through Merry's great-great-grandfather and Frodo's great-grandfather, who were both siblings.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Jake Gyllenhaal and Dominic Monaghan originally auditioned for the role of Frodo.
- Dominic Monaghan instead got the role of Merry instead.
- Ian Holm who portrays Bilbo, also voiced Frodo in a radial series.
- Several changes were made to Frodo during the process of his character being written:
- He did not appear until the third draft of the first chapter, A Long expected Party.
- Frodo's original name was Bingo Baggins and he was originally Bilbo's son with Primula Brandybuck, Frodo's canonical mother. The name was later given to one of Frodo's great-uncle, Bungo Baggins' brother.
- In the fourth draft, when he was named Bingo Bolger-Baggins. While Primula was still his mother, his father's name was not Drogo Baggins but rather Rollo Bolger (whose name was given to Rollo Boffin, the son of Bilbo's great-aunt)
- Also Frodo's name was originally given to the hobbit that would become Peregrin Took.
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