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The Triumph of Endings: Narrative, Theme, and Spectacle in El Retorno del Rey

One of the most debated differences between novel and film is the omission of “The Scouring of the Shire.” In the book, the Hobbits return to find their homeland industrialized by Saruman. Jackson replaces this with a melancholic, quiet return. This change is often criticized as a loss of political commentary, but it serves a different cinematic purpose. The film’s four endings—Aragorn’s coronation, the Hobbits’ return, the Grey Havens, and Sam’s “Well, I’m back”—do not narrate a second war but an internal wound. Frodo’s inability to heal, his PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) captured in his faraway gaze, is the true “scouring.” By removing the external conflict, Jackson focuses on the psychological cost. The Shire is physically intact but emotionally inaccessible to Frodo. Thus, the ending becomes a meditation on survivor’s guilt, more resonant for a post-9/11 audience than a pastoral rebellion. El Senor de los Anillos- El Retorno del Rey -En...

Tolkien coined the term eucatastrophe —the sudden, joyful turn in a seemingly hopeless narrative. El Retorno del Rey structures its second act as a descent into absolute despair: the Siege of Gondor, the charge of the Rohirrim (a moment of false dawn), the Gates of Mordor, and Frodo’s collapse in Shelob’s lair. Jackson intensifies this through time compression. The beacon-lighting sequence—a wordless montage of fire spreading across mountain peaks—translates epic geography into emotional urgency. The film’s true eucatastrophe is not the battle but the Cracks of Doom: Gollum’s intervention, not Frodo’s will, destroys the Ring. This subverts the heroic expectation; the Ring is unmade by its own corrupting nature, preserving Frodo’s humanity. The film thus argues that victory comes through mercy (Frodo sparing Gollum) and contingency, not pure heroism. The Triumph of Endings: Narrative, Theme, and Spectacle

The film’s Spanish title emphasizes El Rey (The King), highlighting Aragorn’s arc as the central political narrative. Aragorn’s journey is not merely martial but symbolic of legitimate rule. His reception of Andúril, the reforged sword, and his gradual acceptance of the throne of Gondor represent a classical translatio imperii (transfer of power). Crucially, Jackson visualizes this through the “Paths of the Dead” sequence: Aragorn commands the oathbreakers not through brute force but through the authority of his bloodline. This contrasts with Denethor, the corrupt Steward, who represents failed, despairing rule. Denethor’s suicide—a flaming plunge from Minas Tirith—visually embodies the self-consuming nature of a leader without hope. Aragorn’s coronation, therefore, re-establishes the “hands of the king are hands of healing,” as he cures Faramir and bows to the Hobbits, inverting feudal hierarchy into servant-leadership. Thus, the ending becomes a meditation on survivor’s

Jackson’s technical achievements in El Retorno del Rey are inseparable from its themes. The use of forced perspective (making the Hobbits appear small) is not just a trick but a moral argument: power resides in the least imposing figures. The film’s color palette shifts from the warm greens of the Shire to the sterile whites of Minas Tirith and the fiery blacks of Mordor, coding geography as emotional state. Most notably, the editing rhythm during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields alternates between massive CGI shots (the Oliphaunts, the Nazgûl) and close-ups of Éowyn facing the Witch-king. Her line, “I am no man,” delivered in a low whisper before the killing blow, reframes spectacle as personal defiance. The film never allows the epic to erase the intimate.