[The Saucepan Man]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> ...but wouldn't I love to see Sam give him a little push instead of Gollum just losing his balance... <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I don't see that as working. Gollum is portrayed as a semi-sympathetic character in TTT. The audience is given a glimpse of his "good" side and therefore feels some sympathy for him and pity for what he has become. Unless we see only his "sneaker" side in RotK (unlikely becaue his schizophrenic portrayal was a hit with audiences), Sam pushing him into the Crack of Doom will reflect badly on him (Sam, that is), and we certainly shouldn't be left with any bad feeling towards Sam at the end.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> What I want to see happening at the Cracks of Doom is Frodo deperately reaching for the falling Gollum, almost going in himself (maybe Sam can pull him back) with a look of pure anguish on his face. It's not Gollum he is mourning of course, but the Ring. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Yes, that would be good, particularly if it is done so that we are left feeling unsure whether it was really Gollum or the Ring Frodo was trying to save. We want to think that it was Gollum, but we suspect that it was probably the Ring. I don't think that this would cause audiences to think badly of Frodo, knowing what he has gone through and seeing him finally succumb to the Ring at the end. PJ has to set things up so that it is entirely understandable to the audience why Frodo can no longer live in the Shire and why he therefore departs to the Undying Lands. (I wonder how PJ will make it clear that this does not mean that Frodo is becoming immortal - or maybe he won't bother.)