[Lord of Angmar]

I'm sensing a bit of anti-Scouring of the Shire sentiment in here. Need I remind you that this is the <I>real</I> ending to the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Tolkien himself said that this series is about hobbits, and the simplicity and freedom they represent. The Scouring of the Shire is about the hobbits learning from their experiences in the world and protecting the place they love using the skill and wisdom they had acquired. While it may not be vital to the plot, I felt that it was an excellent summation of the book's theme.<P>Having said that, I do not think it would be a good summation for the movies. The books were more simple and naive, dealing with everything from a hobbit's point of view and focusing mainly on the development of the foursome of Little People. The way the movies have been going, the theme has been twisted and changed, so that the hobbits seem to be but passengers on the ride. The Scouring of the Shire wouldn't make sense as an ending in the movies because they are focused much more on Aragorn and his own journey.<p>[ August 09, 2003: Message edited by: Lord of Angmar ]