Is it just me, or do yâall also sorta wish that Jackson had filmed Appendix B as the actual ending of ROTK? Clearly, as youâll see, I have relatively normal feelings about this.
I understand and appreciate the movie having the same ending as the actual book. But the STORY itself doesnât end with the last chapter; it ends with Appendix B.
Imagine a 2-minute montage, fading in after Sam comes home from the Grey Havens:
An unfamiliar female voice narrates over these images:
Sam & Rosie raising their children at Bag End; Sam reading the Red Book aloud to the children.
Sam making a speech as Mayor.
Sam sitting in Bag Endâs study, reading a letter signed âFrodo,â which Frodo clearly left for him.
Pippin & Diamondâs wedding.
Merry & Estellaâs wedding.
Aragorn & Arwen with their children in Minas Tirith.
Aragorn dedicating and unveiling a tall statue of Frodo & Sam in Minas Tirith.
Legolas restoring the destroyed forests.
Gimli bringing the dwarves to Helmâs Deep.
Faramir & Ăowyn with their children in Ithilien.
Teenage Elanor reading the Red Book by herself and reading a letter or poem that Frodo wrote for her before he sailed away (because, come on, he was a 2nd dad to her. he literally named her. he adored her, so of course he left something for her since she was too young to actually remember him).
Aragorn & Arwen visiting Sam, Merry, Pippin and their wives & children at the Brandywine Bridge.
The Gardner, Took & Brandybuck families all celebrating Yule together.
Time passing ⌠the Travellers aging ⌠the children growing up.
Teenage Elanor introducing Fastred to her parents.
Faramir Took and Goldilocks Gardner dancing at a party, transitioning to a dance at their wedding.
Sam and his son Frodo teaching Frodoâs own young son how to work in the garden.
The seasons in the Shire changing as more years go byâŚ
Elderly Sam and his now-adult children gathered around elderly Rosieâs deathbed.
Elderly Sam sitting alone in Bag Endâs beautiful, flourishing garden with a faraway look on his face, pulling Frodoâs now-wrinkled letter out of his pocket and reading it again.
Elderly Sam, Merry & Pippin sharing one last drink at the Green Dragon, followed by a tearful group embrace.
(I know the following messes up the bookâs timeline, but for dramatic effect, I think this order of events would work better as a close for the film):
Elderly Merry & elderly Pippin hugging their adult sons goodbye and riding out of the Shire together.
Merry & Pippin shaking hands with elderly Ăomer in Rohan.
Merry & Pippinâs gravestones in Gondor, with a statue of them standing above their tomb.
Aragornâs tomb now beside theirs, years later.
Arwen hugging Eldarion goodbye in his throne room, with Eldarion now wearing the kingâs crown.
Arwen entering LothlĂłrien alone.
Legolas hopping into a small sailboat and helping an aged Gimli onboard before they drift off into the sunset.
Sam placing the Red Book in adult Elanorâs hands and embracing her tightly.
A ship pulling away from the Grey Havens.
Elanor standing on the quayside and tearfully waving as the ship disappears into the horizon. She composes herself and her narration says âAnd that day, my dear Sam-dad passed over the Sea ⌠the last of the Ring-bearers.â
Her words lead into the very last shot, fading from her face into a flash of white, and then fade-in to a distant view of an island, with greenery on one side and a sparkling beach on the other. Two hobbits, their backs to us, are strolling along the coastline, hand-in-hand.