How would you have gone about more successfully toppling Sauron ?
 

What (serious or humorous) strategies would you have used (or would like to have seen used) to go about successfully toppling Sauron (either with or without the use of the Ring) that would've been different or superior (in your opinion) to what Mr. Tolkien used in his trilogy.

Gandalf using the Ring
 

Gandalf would really and truly have needed to start the process sooner rather than later (i.e. he would have needed to have been working on building up a base of operations for awhile and then have seized the Ring just as soon as Bilbo found it). Saruman wasn't on a bad track in the method he chose, although choosing Isengard as a base of operations was perhaps not the best idea. For Gandalf, perhaps Fornost and the area around Lake Evendim (the center of the old realm of Arnor) would probably have made a good center for a new kingdom.

Hello KL70, and welcome to the Downs.

Me, I would have asked the Eagles to fly me down to Mordor so I could drop the Ring in the fire right away rather than plodding all the way there. (The only concern I'd have had on the way, of course, would have been the balrog of Moria who might have easily used his fully functional wings to fly up and attack me.)

I would have chosen Samwise as the ringbearer. He would not yield to the enticings of the ring, unlike Frodo the failure.

An alternative, but similar strategy, would be to ask the Balrog to fly the Ringbearer to Mount Doom, using his fully functioning wings.

The Balrog's incentive, of course, would be that there would be a vacancy for the position of Middle-earth resident Dark Lord once the Ring was destroyed.

Joking aside, the Eagles and the Balrogs could be trempted by the Ring. Give them access to it, they will be tempted just as Gandalf, Boromir etc were.

The plot of LOTR is SO TIGHT that even a small change has domino like ramifications. I remember a great thread on another site a few years back that asked what if Glorfindel replaced Pippin in the Fellowship? I ended up explaining that it would mean the end of Middle-earth as we know it.

I therefore put it to you that any other attempt to defeat Sauron and the Powers of Darkness would have ended in total failure

If you tried to find reasons why the actual constellation could fail you certainly would also find them... every way depends on coincidences and actions of the involved persons or creatures which cannot be foreseen.
Tolkien's way is perfect, but that doesn't mean there could not be another one, I think, even though you had to change more than just a detail.

If Gandalf were paying attention, he would have realized immediately that Bilbo's Ring was the One. While Sauron was retreating from Dol Guldur, Gandalf would have, using Shadowfax's sire, raced him to Mordor. At that point it would be a sprint for the Sammath Naur. Gandalf, having legs, could easily outrun the Eye.

Sauron would be obviously motivated; Gandalf would be likewise, being foresighted, knowing that if he didn't destroy Sauron then and there, he would be cursed later to journey the better part of a year with Pippin.

Run, Gandalf, run!

Another strategy would be for the Eagles to take Bilbo aside and simply drop him into Mount Doom. ;) Sure, you'd still have fire and ruin in the north, and a Balrog loose in Moria, but it's not up to us to right all wrongs, but to give others clean earth to till (or something).

One, quite obvious, way he could have written it would have had the good guys win in battle. He'd probably have to invoke some other semi-mythical kingdom from the far east or whatever to come to Gondor's aid, because Mordor had such strength in numbers. Aragorn, of course, would slay Sauron on the field. Then, during the quarrel over the spoils, the Hobbits and Gandalf would steal away with the Ring — the Arkenstone manouver — and destroy it, saving the good guys from themselves.

This might actually appeal to those who love nothing better than the might of battle (though I think it would somewhat undermine the status of Sauron as this beasting, all-powerful Dark Lord).

Well, it could all have been side-stepped if Elrond and Cirdan were given greater powers of persuasion and Isildur not allowed to be the vain, arrogant, pig-headed type he was.

That would have allowed The Professor to write an extensive piece on weregild and revenge, much as he did on chivalry and heroism. After all, death in battle can hardly be called wrongful death, so weregild really didn't apply, despite Isildur's claims.

This might have allowed The Professor also to write his own Silm instead of pouring all his sub-creative energies into LotR. Of course, that would have denied us the opportunity to berate or praise Tolkien Jr. for his compilation.

:eek:

What about a catapult?

Yes Elrond simply could have pushed Isildur.

LOTR... the kung fu version.

May not make a good book, but would solve the Sauron problem in only one movie! :D

Step 1: a whole lotta kung fu training scenes.

Step 2: Gandalf and his posse (a different fellowship from the original, including Glorfindel and other bad @ss elves) take on the 9 riders, Sauron's personal bodyguard. Gandalf alone walks out of the ensuing mayhem alive, with the Ring.

Step 3: unarmed kung fu battle between Gandalf and Sauron, in the Sammath Naur. For the coup de grâce, Gandalf sends the dark lord soaring into the fiery bowels of the mountain with a flying kick.

The Ring survives... room for a sequel... heck no, a franchise!

I'm surprised Peter Jackson didn't think of this. :eek:

Any film can be improved by turning it into a kung-fu version. I'm not sure if there is an accepted equivalent for books. We need to uncover this secret. Any ideas?