A Happy Ending... or is it?

[Lotrelf]

LotR has the best ending. It's magical, poignant, outstanding, heartbreaking and hopeful. The end left me with strange feelings that I had never experienced before. It's very sad, so sad that I can't read the books again (on matter how much I want to). Sam, Merry, Pippin return home, Aragorn becomes King, Legolas and Gimli end the enmity of their races and become the great friends. But the Ring bearers leave Middle-earth. Forever. Never to return. And with that Magic ends as well. It's all is sad in the Appendices too. But it's understandable that after living "happily ever after" they'll all die. So they do, but the sadness and the feeling of loss remains. I'm unable to come out of it ever and remember how sad I was for weeks before and after I finished the books.

Among all the characters, I find Frodo's ending most appealing. It's mainly 'cause of him and his words said to Sam for reasons of leaving ME that the story becomes as poignant as it is. LotR couldn't have gotten a better ending than this.