the influence of the ring is so powerful that no one, not even frodo, would have been able to willingly throw it away. Frodo’s ability to withstand the ring’s influence for so long is already a testament to his willpower. And his compassion for gollum is what ultimately allows the ring to be destroyed; he shows pity for gollum and spares his life, and gollum’s intervention is what unintentionally destroys the ring (the only way it could be destroyed).
Yo give him some credit, he carried it pretty far.
I’d have called it quits at Bree
Plus it wasn’t just Frodo, but Frodo and Sam as a team. Sam doesn’t get enough credit. The ring is a corrupting influence and it’s almost to be expected that any one individual will get corrupted by it eventually. Frodo managed to get it very far with fairly minimal corruption with Sam helping for the times when Frodo struggled.
Sam, you the real MVP.
He carried it through hell and high water to the very end. Only then did the influence of the ring overcome him. What happened there isn’t a weakness in his character, but a tragic defeat at the hands of a greater foe. He and Sam deserve every bit of praise.
Frodo deserves his praise at the ceremony, however there is some validity to this.
He claimed the ring, and Middle Earth is forever ruined for him. They go back to the Shire, kick ass, kill a bunch of bandits, and purge Saruman from their home, and save everyone. But Frodo literally can’t even enjoy it. Middle Earth is forever ruined for him, and he literally has to leave the content and metaphorically pass on to the next world in order to achieve any semblance of peace. His soul is thoroughly shredded from the ring.
Anybody that says LOTR has a cliche ending where the good guys win is a moron.