Friday, 23 April 2021

Even The Very Wise Cannot See All Ends.








[Frodo looks down into the cavern and sees a small figure leaping from stone to stone. Startled, he walks over to where Gandalf is sitting.]



Frodo: "There's something down there!"

Gandalf (without surprise): "It's Gollum."

Frodo: "Gollum?"

Gandalf: "He's been following us for three days."

Frodo: "He escaped the dungeons of Barad-Dûr!"

Gandalf: "Escaped? Or was set loose?"



Gandalf: "And now the Ring had drawn him here. He will never be rid of his need for it. He hates and loves the Ring, as he hates and loves himself."



[Dark and dirty fingers clasp a stone implement. From the distance below, Gollum looks up, his large eyes piercing the darkness.]



Gandalf: "Sméagol's life is a sad story. Yes, Sméagol he was once called. Before the Ring found him… before it drove him mad."

Frodo: "It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance!"



Gandalf: [glancing sharply at Frodo] "Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death, and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo?"



[Frodo looks down, silently.]



Gandalf: "Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise can not see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play yet, for good or ill…"



[Gollum pulls back into the darkness, wrinkling his nose.]

Gollum: "Gollum."

Gandalf: "…before this is over."

[Gollum slinks off.]

Gandalf: "The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many."

[Frodo sits down next to Gandalf.]



Frodo: "I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."



Gandalf: "So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought."



Gandalf: [looks towards one of the doorways] "Oh! It's that way."

Merry: "He's remembered!"



[The Fellowship starts down a dark stairway. Gandalf puts on his hat.]

Gandalf: "No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down here."

[The wizard rests a hand on Merry's shoulder.]

Gandalf: 
If in doubt, Meriadoc, 
always follow your nose.

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