Gollum, (Dis)grace, and (Un)heroism | Monsters of LOTR

Comments · 718

• AN

  @anonymousname5860 · 8 months ago (edited)

  I honestly love the theme that evil is self defeating in LoTR. It unwittingly and inevitably leads to its own downfall. It gives me comfort in current times.

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• LI

  @lilacbookshelf1909 · 8 months ago (edited)

  Imagining Gollum’s relationship with the ring as an allegory for addiction certainly becomes more ghastly when you remember it’s an addiction that lasted for nearly 500 years. If you can imagine the lows addiction someone only affected for a couple of years might experience, who knows what half a millenia of heroin, crack or even gambling might do. In that light, it’s a miracle Gollum isn’t even worse.

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• CA

  @CalebThacker-t7b · 8 months ago

  started resonating too deeply with the addiction segment only to get blindsided by the clown segment

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• NA

  @NaritaZaraki · 8 months ago

  I know this video is largely about Gollum but every word about Frodo is genuinely such a balm to my soul too. I love that little guy and he is so unappreciated. I know I'm gonna rewatch this often because I want to properly marinate in these ideas and sort of rotate them in my mind. :face-red-heart-shape:

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• AJ

  @ajplays-gamesandmusic4568 · 8 months ago

  &quot;Eating an entire sleeve of Oreos so you&apos;ll<br>die sooner.&quot;<br>I feel seen.

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• CR

  @crazykenna · 7 months ago

  This essay makes me think of how the Lord of the Rings movies depict age-related body horror: Gollum has a physical transformation sequence to show how his body got all gross from centuries of malice and neglect, Theoden is corrupted by Wormtongue and is shown as a cloudy eyed old man who relies on others to listen and speak for him, and even Bilbo is weakened and rapidly grandpa-fied by the end of the trilogy without the ring stretching his lifespan. It really stirs an instinctive horror of aging and the loss of bodily autonomy, like The Substance for Boys.

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• NA

  @natsniatecki7864 · 7 months ago

  You know homegirl didn&apos;t have to Google the plural of palantir

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• JA

  @jacerobinson9004 · 8 months ago

  A part of gollum I’ve always found interesting is his relationship to food. From hating hobbit cooking to the actual repulsion of elven bread, I just thought it showed how animalistic gollum has become. Looking at gollum with the lens of addiction makes me think he only eats raw animals because he thinks he only deserves raw animals.

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• KT

  @KTL-351 · 8 months ago

  FIRST. CLOWN. TANGENT. OF 2026. ✊<br>(Still making my way through this video, but oooooh boy, is this one character I love getting to hear your read on!)

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• AL

  @alaeawinters7628 · 7 months ago

  I was an alcoholic for about 2 months due to getting into the construction field for the first time, and in that time I had never once really enjoyed drinking, its just that the hangover ruins your mood the next day and saps your willpower to do better. Almost every day I would say &apos;this is it, this is where I turn everything around&apos;, but every day I failed to deliver on that promise the more and more it weighed down on my psyche and made me feel worse. This only made it harder to get out of the habit, every &apos;last drink&apos; i had only served to extend the suffering. I had an addictive personality too, I was rapidly drinking more and more, switching from margirita, to rum, before moving up to vodka and whiskey because I needed to get so utterly shitfaced to deal with existence. It was an utter depression vortex. There was at least one night where I downed an entire bottle of vodka, first trying to cut it and have only half but in the middle of the night waking up to down the rest straight. Luckily I had family there to support me and loved ones, but I would not wish that fate upon literally anyone and do not blame people who are alcoholics at all. There&apos;s a reason ironworkers and other building trades are known for alcoholics, and its almost entirely because of this resigned acceptance of this ever present depression which comes with the job and drinking with no intention to stop. If anyone ever gets addicted to anything, this is my advice to you: There is nothing noble in suffering alone. You will not find happiness in the fuzzy feeling substances give you beyond a temporary one. We live in an unfair and draconically designed society which seems to do everything in its power to deprive us of human connection, and it is this human connection which you need most to help you finally rid yourself of the cycle. Be the annoying emotional person. Reach out. Be honest with yourself and the people around you.

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• PE

  @petern326 · 8 months ago

  Commenting from Minneapolis, the anticipation for this video has been a welcome distraction, Maria is the GOAT

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• JE

  @jesavius · 8 months ago

  There is a hero in LOTR. It was Samwise Gamgee. It&apos;s surprising how many people forgot that Sam was a ring bearer. He wore the ring for extended periods of times. Was tempted by it all through Mordor, Wore the ring around his neck of all places in Mordor. And yet gave it back to Frodo even though the ring screamed for him to keep it for himself... Made it back to the Shire and literally rebuilt it with the gifts he earned through the journey. If that&apos;s not a hero, I don&apos;t know what a hero is.

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