The Lord of the Rings movies cut the Scouring of the Shire completely, but the books end with that whole battle chapter, so which version actually gives the hobbits a better ending?

I finally watched the extended editions after reading the books for the first time and I'm torn between wanting the emotional payoff of Frodo leaving Middle-earth right away versus seeing the hobbits come back as badasses who fix their own home, so which camp are you in on this?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.hayden1mo ago

A buddy of mine read the book first and said the Scouring made the whole story click for him.

patp791mo ago

I saw an interview with the author once where he talked about the Shire's Scouring being his favorite part of the whole trilogy. Said it was the only part where the hobbits actually changed the world instead of just surviving it. My dad was a huge Tolkien nut and he always skipped that chapter when he read it to us as kids, said it was too depressing.