Is the One Ring Sentient?

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3 күн бұрын

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Пікірлер: 468

@user-xo7hb6ts7j 3 күн бұрын

Imagine One Ring making its way from Misty Mountains to Mordor by continuously expanding and shrinking, crawling like a very determined little worm. 😊

@zlosliwa_menda 3 күн бұрын

I'd imagine its strategy would have been to drop itself from some height, hoping to finally land sideways. Then it could start rolling by continuously shifting its weight. I'm pretty sure the second law of thermodynamics is broken somewhere along the way.

@philkugler2429 2 күн бұрын

The little ring that could

@chrstfer2452 Күн бұрын

@@zlosliwa_menda there wouldnt be a second law in a world of magic, it would be a second suggestion

@daniels7907 Күн бұрын

How would it know where Mordor was or how to get there? Even Sauron wasn't there throughout the entire Third Age. He spent considerable time in the East and hiding out in Mirkwood as the Necromancer. Even if the Ring had a Locate Sauron feature, which it didn't appear to, the poor thing would have been crawling along for millennia, blind, deaf, and dumb, eventually to end up in the Anduin.

@richardwallis9374 Күн бұрын

I think you’ve unlocked a new strategy…

@brodok4252 3 күн бұрын

I was wondering why Sauron didn't make the ring to remain a fixed size, but then I remembered that he used to shape change pretty freely.

@daniels7907 Күн бұрын

Exactly! When he made it he often wore a fair form as an Elf. The whole armoured Dark Lord thing didn't come until after the Fall or Numenor.

@nupersu6307 3 күн бұрын

Turing test for the One Ring

@lmr4403 3 күн бұрын

Tu1ring test.

@Jeff-tt7wj 3 күн бұрын

@@lmr4403👏🏻🎉 very, very good sir.

@stan-lamb 3 күн бұрын

It’s „Túrin Test“ in the lore.

@itsacityofapes 3 күн бұрын

6307, you win the internet prize of the day for that comment.

@zenopoli8376 3 күн бұрын

@@stan-lamb oh yes, the Turambar machine, able so solve runic calculations... it reminds me of the Bohren's principle of indetermination

@inquisitorgarza312 3 күн бұрын

The One Ring sure does feels like an entity of its very own.

@tempestwolf067 2 күн бұрын

Of Course. The Ring Is Sauron. He Is Not a body. He Does Not wait In Mordor. He Is Not the Wraith Who wore the Ring and Started a War. He Is Not the Reason For the hordes of orcs Or Why Saruman Chose Another War. Sauron Is The Ring. The Ring Is a Promise. That Is All He Left.

@Shiftdougler 3 күн бұрын

“Into it he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life”

@JamesPerkins 3 күн бұрын

@@Shiftdougler This was one of Tolkien's classic lines. It is succinct yet so immense, relevant, and charged with emotion and mystery.

@exharkhun5605 2 күн бұрын

I used to know a bartender like that in Amsterdam.

@kaiserjoe2316 2 күн бұрын

@@exharkhun5605 A bakehouse worker in my world. Failed chef methinks.

@exharkhun5605 2 күн бұрын

@@kaiserjoe2316 Horrible. Though the overweening pride, self-aggrandizement, bitterness and nihilism in a failed chef remind me more of Morgoth himself.

@roystem 2 күн бұрын

Does that mean he would have been really friendly and laid back when the ring was off?

@germanwulf40 3 күн бұрын

I wonder if the ring felt a sense of "Oh shit" like panic when Frodo was holding it over the lava flow within Mt. Doom.

@andres983265 3 күн бұрын

It was seriously working double time to corrupt and change his mind in those last seconds before he was going to drop it into the lava, lol 😆

@asmooshi9752 2 күн бұрын

Yup thats why frodo is fully corrupted right there

@usernh24 3 күн бұрын

I don't know about the ring but the wig worn by Halbrand in season 2 trailer of rings of power surely looks sentient.

@SkywalkerSamadhi 2 күн бұрын

Sentient and embarrassed by its own existence. 😳

@jbro507 3 күн бұрын

I’m really enjoying these videos. They are like little LOTR snacks. 😋

@highlandoutsider8148 3 күн бұрын

"But what about 2nd video?😮" 😅

@Valkanna.Nublet 3 күн бұрын

The power of the ring is a curious thing Makes one man meek, makes another man king Change to hate from a want to love More than a feeling, that's the power of the ring

@differous01 3 күн бұрын

The power of the Ring is Power itself. Meek are those who reject that thing, be they man, wizard or elf.

@esquilax5563 3 күн бұрын

Don't take mithril, don't take chains Don't need no goblin's bane to ride this train

@hunterhatfield7157 3 күн бұрын

It made Gollum sneaky and cruel sometimes But he might just save your life. That's the power of the ring!

@flamencoprof 2 күн бұрын

I see what what you did there, Huey. 🙂

@NoFormalTraining 2 күн бұрын

"Valk, are you telling me you made a cover song, out of the One Ring - To Rule Them All?"

@mattmccartney5996 3 күн бұрын

Hate is a burning thing. And it makes a fiery ring. Bound by wild desire. I forged that ring of fire.

@BITSANDBYTES927 3 күн бұрын

Sauron cash

@mortimerbrewster8575 2 күн бұрын

@@BITSANDBYTES927the man in black eh?

@ObiwanNekody 2 күн бұрын

Heh. This is great.

@bottwaandcalover 2 күн бұрын

Don't talk to me about the ring of fire. I had taco bell last night...

@BITSANDBYTES927 2 күн бұрын

@@mortimerbrewster8575 the ring of fire

@PaletteWIngs 3 күн бұрын

This is really interesting. I never thought of putting the ring on a chain as 'outsmarting' it, but it makes sense.

@BalonKai Күн бұрын

I don't think that had any effect on the thr ring influencing it affecting Frodo myself

@DavidRutten 3 күн бұрын

If Sauron poured his malice (or at least a large chunk of it) into the ring, does that mean he was less malicious when divorced from it?

@DrLicuid 3 күн бұрын

Perhaps in comparision to his second age menacing domination strength. Still without mercy, still full of desire to hold, but the vessel became smaller and could envelop either less under the shadow, or the cloak of willpower was thinner. Went from a whole tanker of malice to a full barrel of hate.

@blipbloups1466 3 күн бұрын

He may be an undefatigable source of malice, much like humans are sort of an unending manufacture of emotions. Maybe he just recovered it with time, just the way he did his strength (sort of).

@kezia8027 3 күн бұрын

@@blipbloups1466 That's certainly the impression I got. Sauron used up a huge portion of his energy in creating this, and then recovered over 3000 years to (presumably) a similar level that he was at before. Only now his form was limited.

@jeread5193 3 күн бұрын

Na he just emptied his malice bladder

@sr71silver 3 күн бұрын

@@kezia8027 just to point out that his form being limited has no connection to the ring. That was a punishment placed on him for the corruption of Númenor.

@Loreweavver 3 күн бұрын

Having agendas does not make an inanimate object sentient. You hear that, Al?

@andres983265 3 күн бұрын

Oh, it hears you all right, it’s always listening, lol

@dromankass8655 3 күн бұрын

Despite the chain Frodo had the Ring on, it still managed to come off his neck while they were crossing the Misty Mts, to be picked up by Boromir, so it still seemed quite determined to get free and seek out those most susceptible to it's influence.

@dandiehm8414 3 күн бұрын

Thats only in the movies - made up by Peter Jackson. It never happened in the books.

@bulletsquier Күн бұрын

@dandiehm8414 but the ring did manage to get off of frodo's neck. It was worn by sam for a brief.

@dandiehm8414 Күн бұрын

@@bulletsquier But Sam loving removed it. It was the doings of a selfless hero, not the Ring's betrayal of its owner.

@danielleahy15 3 күн бұрын

This channel is the girl I tell my wife not to worry about

@mellowboba9298 2 күн бұрын

Ring- “I must return to my master!” Bilbo- “ i’m gonna wear you and screw with the neighbors.” Ring-“…… actually that sounds pretty fun.”

@thegamingsociety4440 Күн бұрын

😂😂😂

@bennynutts16 3 күн бұрын

i wish the ring was a character and in the movies it had the voice of Audrey 2 from little shop of horrors "FEED ME FRODO"

@ahtaimo 3 күн бұрын

I will never forget this image!

@GregMcGregsen 3 күн бұрын

you open youtube, you see a thumbnail with a green corner, you start the video and after a few seconds you hear the words "hi everyone this is Robert welcome to indeep geek on this channel we cover tolken legendarium in full as well as other great fantasy worlds Like A Song of Ice and Fire And The Witcher, welcome" life is good.

@jmcooney2000 3 күн бұрын

go to bed ;)

@GregMcGregsen 3 күн бұрын

@@jmcooney2000 I did :)

@347Jimmy 3 күн бұрын

Regarding the Ring's awareness of its surroundings: It certainly seems to be telepathic/telempathic. My impression is that having no eyes or other sensory organs, awareness of the environment would come through others. The Ring can't see, but it can feel through whomever is around (particularly the Bearer). If this is the case, the time spent at the bottom of the river would have been a vague darkness, with occasional senses of fish swimming past. It's certainly interesting to think "what was the Ring's perspective of this scene?"

@Daniel-rd6st 3 күн бұрын

The ring probably mostly exists in the spirit world, which is why it blazes like a wheel of flame to those who have the ability to sense that world, like the Nazgul for example (and i suppose thats how Glorfindel found the party). And its the place it transports someone to, when making him "invisible". Thus, it can probably perceive the spirit/souls of people/animals nearby. And it is telepathic of course, though with limited range, otherwise it could have just called Sauron from a distance.

@fungeneer 3 күн бұрын

I'm now imagining the ring beginning to corrupt some fish that swam too close to it for too long. Some asshole trout was out there just being a schizo dbag to the other fish outta nowhere, maybe flashing a little monstrous fishy face.

@michaelkhalfin690 3 күн бұрын

While I agree with you about the ring essentially being unchanging and having only one motivation, I disagree about the extent of its capacities to act upon the world. In the story, we also have numerous examples of the ring being able to become heavier and more difficult to bear as Frodo neared mount doom. More importantly, the ring was able to extensively manipulate the thoughts and motivations of its bearers in order to try and make them serve its purposes better, not only in the sense of not abundoning it, but also by turning their hearts to evil. These things imply to me an even greater level of awareness than what is described in the video.

@ClockMonsterLA 3 күн бұрын

It could be said that the One Ring was imbued with a kind of magic that worked much like a (very complex) software algorithm would today. Modern "smart" weapons can be programmed to exhibit all kinds of useful behaviors, but missiles and bombs are not sentient. Even when they are (eventually) given fully autonomous functionality, they still won't be sentient. The One Ring was simply doing what it was (magically) "programmed" to do, including changing size and other subtle physical qualities; a product of its magical hardware design, if you will.

@andres983265 3 күн бұрын

So, you’re saying that it’s more like a machine programmed to accomplish one goal by using all of the “magical“ tools at its disposal to try and do so? In a sense, capable and functional, but not sentient.

@Jefafa824 3 күн бұрын

I like to think of The Ring as the same idea that a Horcrux comes from. I kinda think that part of Sauron’s soul was placed into The Ring which is why it constantly wants to go back to him and why he is less powerful without it.

@evekurocieru 2 күн бұрын

It's just like JkR is a hack who copied so much from Lotr...

@jeffhallam2004 3 күн бұрын

Tolkien creating the One Ring as a character was brilliant!

@kwest9747 2 күн бұрын

Ronald Ring was always my favourite middle earth character. Ron Ring to his friends.

@roderickfemm8799 3 күн бұрын

I like to think that the ring was, in effect, fooled by the trajectory of its travels after leaving Rivendell, and didn't per se fight Frodo from taking it closer and closer to Sauron. Like Sauron himself, the ring wouldn't be able to "believe" that anyone would want to destroy it. Stuff happened outside the ring's power to affect, such as Shelob's attack; and Gollum's lust for it was left over from earlier in his life and was not particularly useful to Sauron's or the ring's desire for reunification. This idea is just a small bit of delicious irony that I like to consider.

@gildedbear5355 2 күн бұрын

I was thinking along similar lines. The ring probably wouldn't try all that hard to escape Frodo simply because Frodo was going in the direction that the ring wanted to go. Though it probably would have preferred to be in the hands of the orcs of moria instead of a Hobbit 😄

@awesomehpt8938 3 күн бұрын

Yes. “The ring yearns to return to the hand of its master. They are one, the ring and the dark lord”.

@randomnerd9088 3 күн бұрын

This does not make it sentient.

@blipbloups1466 3 күн бұрын

@@randomnerd9088 Indeed : " the electron yearns to return to the proximity of its proton. They are one, the electron and the fermion." Some things are driven by their nature or a force to it entwined more than they are by any sort of animacy. Question's legit.

@gleann_cuilinn 3 күн бұрын

Tolkien often used metaphorical language, like the infamaous description of the balrog's wings. In such metaphorical terms, you could just as well describe the force of gravity as "yearning to fall to the ground". I think the ring's yearning is like that.

@smitty1647 3 күн бұрын

it's part of sauron and shares his yearning. to call it sentient i think would require a separate will from sauron's

@cuniving7831 3 күн бұрын

Into it he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life. If it can be cruel, malicious and carry his will I'd say it's probably sentient to some degree

@ceejay0137 2 күн бұрын

The power and malice could certainly escape from the Ring and influence or corrupt the wearer. As Gandalf said to Frodo in 'The Shadow of the Past' (FOTR chapter 2): "When I at last got the truth out of him [Bilbo], I saw at once that he had been trying to put his claim to the ring beyond doubt. Much like Gollum with his "birthday present". The lies were too much alike for my comfort. Clearly the ring had an unwholesome power that set to work on its keeper at once." I'm not convinced that makes the Ring sentient in any real sense.

@enoughothis 3 күн бұрын

The One Ring can be understood to be a kind of phylactery, a soul jar used by an evil spellcaster to preserve themselves from death, though in truth, this would have been pointless for an immortal Maiar such as Sauron. Yet it did hold a portion of his power and spirit. It was meant to be used as a tool, a focus, to dominate the mind and will of the other ringbearers. I recall one instance where the Ring itself spoke, through Frodo in this case, near the end of the quest where Gollum attacked the Hobbits and Sam sees Frodo as a "figure robed in white, but at its breast it held a wheel of fire. Out of the fire there spoke a commanding voice. Begone and trouble me no more. If you touch me ever again you shall be cast yourself into the fire of doom" It's ambiguous but to me this is clearly the Ring speaking to Gollum directly.

@ultramaximusreviews 3 күн бұрын

I always presumed since it was part of Sauron it was trying to reconnect to complete itself.

@aegorbittersteel2154 3 күн бұрын

Amazing video choice.

@greeb666 3 күн бұрын

I've always thought that JK Rowling got the idea for Horcruxes from the Lord of the Rings. If you think about it, Sauron put most of his soul into it, and when it was destroyed, it ended him. It also was semi sentient just like the Horcruxes.

@BalooSJ 3 күн бұрын

Horcruxes seem more like a lich's phylactery (Soul Cage these days) in D&D than the Ring. They preserve Voldemort's life force, such as it is, but I do not believe they increase his power as such.

@dandiehm8414 3 күн бұрын

@@BalooSJ The Ring never increased Sauron's power. He had exactly the same power after he created The One Ring than he had before he created The One Ring.

@andres983265 3 күн бұрын

@@dandiehm8414 That’s not exactly true, the one ring allowed Sauron to project his power of will and dominance over the other bears of rings of power. Which was the whole point of forging, the one ring in the first place. It may not have necessarily gave him a power boost, but it allowed him to extend his power to, and over, the people he originally planned to try and dominate.

@scottmccrea1873 3 күн бұрын

Semi-sentient, at the very least. It was a piece of Sauron, after all.

@LucaOrtolano-z 3 күн бұрын

Tha's what a non magic-user would say, probably in the same way that an AI looks almost sentient to non-tech. Instead I just see it as a "sensor". It can sense, and can react, but it's just built (forged) that way. Having energy (even Sauron's) and powers doesn't mean being alive or sentient. In addition, Sauron CANNOT create life, only corrupt it.

@Unknown-jt1jo 3 күн бұрын

@@LucaOrtolano-z But if it can sense and react, doesn't that mean it's sentient? An interesting philosophical question. On the one hand, there are gadgets--like a touch-sensitive lamp--that can sense and "react" (in this case by turning the light on). One the other hand, being able to "sense" whether another person is likely to bring it closer to its master isn't like turning a light on. It's a much more complex judgment--something you'd expect only from a rational character. Also, we hear of the ring "abandoning" one creature for another. Does that mean the ring is making choices and decisions? Then again, maybe the ring just somehow senses the imprint of destiny (similar to how many creatures in LOTR have foresight), without ever being conscious of the process. I suppose in Tolkien's world, anything is possible.

@steelmongoose4956 3 күн бұрын

Only insofar as it is an extension of Sauron’s will. Edit: In light of Tolkien’s statement, The Ring is a horcrux.

@lucasjames7524 3 күн бұрын

I never really thought of it before in that exact way, namely that by having a piece of Sauron in the ring, Bilbo, Frodo, and the Fellowship quite literally had Sauron with them the whole time. He was there in the green, happy Shire for decades. That's kind of crazy to think of, but it makes a lot of sense.

@johns1625 3 күн бұрын

Gurthang, formerly known as Anglachel, is 100% for sure sentient. It feels grief and knows justice and remembers past events.

@exharkhun5605 2 күн бұрын

I've always thought of it's "behavior" as that a cheap Roomba with a Sauron compass. It prefers to move towards Sauron and if it bumps into anything it'll rely on random chance to get moving again.

@HCProds1 Күн бұрын

the ring has got tiny arms and legs and tries to run back to Sauron but keeps getting found by randoms

@wolfyboy 2 күн бұрын

I always thought it was in a way controlled by sauron, as a preprogrammed machine. Like a drone, "return to signal source". It behaves like it is sentient, but is actually just preprogrammed to SEEM sentient.

@dotdotlar 3 күн бұрын

I never thought to wonder before this video -- why didn't Elrond sense the ring when Bilbo & Gandalf passed through Rivendell on the way back from the Lonely Mountain...

@dandiehm8414 3 күн бұрын

Why would he be able to sense The One Ring? He wasn't a Nazgul.

@Art-is-craft 2 күн бұрын

The rings design may have been of pure deceit.

@omarbinno4390 3 күн бұрын

LOL @ "mythological rabbit hole." Great topic.

@nicodemusedwards6931 3 күн бұрын

I don’t think so. I think the “will” of the One Ring is closer to a fundamental force or energy. It behaves under certain rules and has certain tendencies, but all towards entering its “natural state”. That natural state being on Sauron’s finger.

@StolenTheif 3 күн бұрын

Idk why but I never realized that gollum crawling into the mountains and hiding away was the one ring hiding itself

@Levacque 3 күн бұрын

Oh, when you put it that way, Saurin definitely seems like either inspiration for liches and phylacteries, or a major part of the continuing narrative of such things.

@nathanbennett9999 3 күн бұрын

"If you think about it, the One Ring is a curious object." It's sentient if it's still curious when I'm NOT thinking about it.

@dandiehm8414 3 күн бұрын

He means curious to the reader. Not that the Ring was curious about itself or its situation.

@vladildikan 3 күн бұрын

@@dandiehm8414 he was being punny.

@TheNicopy 2 күн бұрын

Amazing narrative. Amazed by the Blue Singing Shards reference

@davidseligman6445 3 күн бұрын

The ring was equivalent probably to 60 pounds around a human neck on that chain by the time he was close to Mt. Doom. The chain had cut down into his body as he wore it. So I wouldn't say easy to outsmart it with a Chain..... but it is your video. Good job. Liked it

@andres983265 3 күн бұрын

Well, outsmarted it in a sense that the ring could no longer use one of the magical tools in its arsenal. Although it still had the whole changing weight thing, and borrowing into the mind of its wearer.

@toby6638 3 күн бұрын

Video idea: Why did Bilbo never marry? You'd think returning with all his treasure and heroic stories would make him the most eligible bachelor in the shire, and it would seem the obvious choice to have made Frodo his son rather than nephew. Was he keeping himself unattached in the hope of more adventures? Was he shunned as a trouble maker who might whisk his wife away to fight trolls and dragons? Did the ring's influence lead him to a more reclusive life style as it had with Gollum? I'd love to hear if there are any references to this I've missed or letters about it.

@CKN215 2 күн бұрын

My guess is the Rings’ influence, because also why didn’t Frodo? Sam did because he liked Rose before he briefly had the ring.

@CKN215 2 күн бұрын

My guess is the Rings’ influence, because also why didn’t Frodo? Sam did because he liked Rose before he briefly had the ring.

@GravesRWFiA 3 күн бұрын

I was thinking of the scene where gollum's doom is spoken-sam saw the cringing creature and a wheel of fire and out of the wheel came a voice saying if you touch me again you shall throw yourself into the fire" a lot of people think it's frodo speaking but i always saw it as the ring itself speaking.

@short11000 3 күн бұрын

Thank you. You make these so exciting to listen to you.🤗😊👍

@oscarstainton 3 күн бұрын

For all the Ring's power to corrupt, I find it interesting how much it didn't that much autonomy as far as its ability to reunite with Sauron goes. It abandoned Isildur when he proved resistant to it, Bilbo gave it up on his own free will, and it couldn't completely affect Frodo until it was literally about to be destroyed. After Smeagol was banished, he slunk into the Misty Mountains instead of wandering south towards Dol Guldur, delaying The Ring's re-emergence. All this to say that while The Ring had goal and motive, it couldn't control people beyond making them covetous of it and bringing out their worst tendencies. In the case of Smeagol that seems to indicate that he had the darkest heart out of all four of those post-Sauron Ringbearers.

@kezia8027 3 күн бұрын

I think you may be forgetting that Hobbits were specifically resistant to the ring. It still affected them, much like the dwarves, but like the dwarves, it did not have the same effect as it did on men and elves.

@BalooSJ 3 күн бұрын

It's also a matter of how much you *use* the ring. Putting it on gives it some measure of power over you - not in a direct mind control way, but by influencing you to be your worst self. Smeagol might have been wicked, but he was still a hobbit. He had no great ambitions - he wanted to eat well, and stay hidden and safe. The ring let him do both. Isildur might have carried the Ring, but he wouldn't really *use* it, other than when trying to escape at Gladden Fields. So the Ring had very limited power over him, not enough to keep him from seeking out Elrond.

@andres983265 3 күн бұрын

It does seem like Sméagol was pretty susceptible to the rings corruption right from the get-go. As opposed to the others. Although it did take Bilbo more than a bit of effort to actually leave it for Frodo. And the ring was definitely working overtime right at the end to fully corrupt and takeover Frodo’s mind, lol.

@mokeish 3 күн бұрын

Yes but only the powerful can hear it's external voice. Sam heard it, it mainly operates on it's internal force or drives without need of direct communication.

@MLeoDaalder 3 күн бұрын

I would argue that the Ring does have something of a will of it's own. But it took until the slopes of Mount Doom for it to fully manifest itself. You know the scene, where the Ring places a curse upon Gollum that in the end causes Gollum and the ring to fall into the fires.

@istari0 3 күн бұрын

That was the consequence of Gollum breaking the oath he swore to Frodo, not the Ring's doing.

@MLeoDaalder 3 күн бұрын

@@istari0 I've looked up the phrase used, I posit that it was the Ring, not Frodo (or through Frodo), who said the following: "Begone and trouble me no more! If you touch me ever again. you shall be cast yourself into the Fire of Doom." Both the breaking of the oath and this curse/promise led to the destruction of the Ring.

@Daniel-rd6st 3 күн бұрын

@@MLeoDaalder Agreed, it was very much the ring acting here, but i think at this point it had formed a connection with Frodo. My guess is, that alone its incomplete, purely driven by instinct. But when it connects to a bearer it might become sentient, or at least half sentient.

@istari0 3 күн бұрын

@@MLeoDaalder I don't agree with your supposition. We've never seen the Ring do anything like that. I believe Frodo's curse simply gave shape to how Gollum would be punished for breaking his oath, similar to how Isildur's curse shaped the punishment of the Army of the Dead. Also, at that point in time, the Ring would have wanted to leave Frodo; Gollum would have been a more suitable bearer for it returning to Sauron.

@andres983265 3 күн бұрын

@@istari0 I don’t agree, right before that moment, the ring was finally fully able to corrupt Frodo and he was literally about to walk out of mount doom. If not for Sméagol’s actions, Frodo would’ve just been drawn to giving the ring back to Sauron. I think if Sméagol was able to escape with the ring, he would’ve just hidden away like he did in the Misty Mountains with the ring before.

@redfive5856 2 күн бұрын

3:35 “based on wether they will help it MEETS its own objective”

@xina968 3 күн бұрын

Amazing as always! Love your videos ❤

@danguillou713 3 күн бұрын

It has preferences. It acts on them. It has agency. Maybe it even has subjective experiences, like feeling good or bad about what’s going on. But none of that implies self awareness.

@Matthewwithers33 Күн бұрын

My brother and I were talking about this topic the other day and I mentioned that at mount doom it wasn’t Frodo who threatens gollum but the ring itself using frodos voice. Showing there was a level of sentience. Because right after gollum bites off frodos finger he “trips” and falls in the fire (in the book/ in movie Frodos pushes) but it’s exactly the threat that the ring as Frodo gives to gollum

@backwashjoe7864 3 күн бұрын

The One Ring is similar to a plant. It is aware of its environment, It does what it can to be in its preferred environment, and It can manipulate other creatures into helping It.

@whoshotashleybabbitt4924 3 күн бұрын

I really like that assessment.

@Art-is-craft 2 күн бұрын

A plant has zero awareness.

@p-ar1755 3 күн бұрын

I feel like the ring is like a magnet or a night bug that is attracted by a light source. It is uncontrollably attracted by Sauron, but doesn’t really know why.

@the1celtictiger707 3 күн бұрын

I'd love to see it expand and reduce itself when Sauron is putting it on over his armour ha

@hokogan 3 күн бұрын

“Yer the One Ring, Harry.”

@JohnnyWednesday 3 күн бұрын

I'm a what?

@DrLicuid 3 күн бұрын

"You're an airbender, Harry." - Gandalf

@OublietteTight 9 сағат бұрын

Another excellent break down. Thank you. 😊

@rogercroft3218 2 күн бұрын

The ring is a mechanism rather than a character. It exists to focus Sauron’s power in a way that allows him command over the other rings. Its purposes and actions when separated from him seem to be more like a computer program: something along the lines of “while separated tempt and corrupt the bearer until they betray themselves to Sauron; if this doesn’t work within some reasonable period abandon or betray bearer and try a new bearer.” This allows it to display apparently purposeful action without actually having a mind or personality.

@DaNL-ly8zn 3 күн бұрын

Voldemort: no, pal.... this is NOT the way to make an Horcrux...hey.. do you hear me??

@nickroberts9603 2 күн бұрын

My take is that The One Ring is similar in how we regard viruses. They have a goal and the ability (though somewhat limited) to go about achieving said goals, but don't necessarily meet the requirements for life/sentience

@GeraldM_inNC 2 күн бұрын

Nice analogy!

@Art-is-craft 2 күн бұрын

It is a better analogy to think of it as an item that carries out the will of the creator. And has no agenda of its own as it is not sentient.

@apstrike 3 күн бұрын

I want to draw a contrast with Brandon Sanderson's cosmere where the power of creation, equivalent to Iluvatar, is fragmented across 16 shards representing an aspect of creation. Humans can serve as Vessels of the Shards, becoming the focus of their power, but like with the One Ring, however good or bad they were at the beginning, their intent eventually becomes the same as that of the Shard, if they are not rejected outright or broken by the experience of trying to hold the power of a god.

@yorktown99 Күн бұрын

I am reminded of how Gandalf described the Ring's effect on Gollum: "The ring had given him power according to his stature." One wonders then if there was a similar sort of effect on Bilbo. He certain rose to be a prominent hobbit of the Shire. Merry figured out the nature of the Ring and how Bilbo was using it in small ways (mostly to avoid Otho & Lobelia).

@user-cd5ki1ip3i 2 күн бұрын

Yes. The Books explicitly states this numerous times that the Ring and Saruon are one in the same, and is the reason why after it's destruction he was so diminished that there was no hope of him ever returning in his former power.

@mrjustinrubin 3 күн бұрын

The Ring seems to be a lot like Thors Hammer, it's a character when it needs to be.

@clo7263 3 күн бұрын

I feel like put of everything in the story the Ring itself made the biggest mistake of all by removing itself rather than letting it fully corrupt a capable wearer.

@Zaznin 3 күн бұрын

I always thought of the ring as something akin to an amoeba. It has instincts and the ability to act in limited ways towards achieving the goals those instincts drive it to, but no true consciousness or rationality unto itself.

@kwest9747 2 күн бұрын

Fittingly the ring doesn’t have a character arc, rather a closed character loop (or ring!) “ but then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a hobbit” (Deagol) “ but then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a hobbit” (Smeagol) “ but then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a hobbit” (Bilbo) “ but then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a hobbit” (Frodo) “ but then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a hobbit” (Sam) “ but then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a hobbit” (Frodo again) “ but then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a hobbit” (Gollum again) Fin

@Raggmopp-xl7yf 3 күн бұрын

Well, it "whispered" to whoever had it, right?!!

@goldengriffon 11 сағат бұрын

Part of the usefulness of the metaphor of The One Ring is that this question will never have a definitive answer. Having to always wonder if The Ring is influencing oneself intelligently or is merely a natural force, and having to always doubt one's own meaning and purpose...that is part of the mystique it creates.

@stevewebster5729 3 күн бұрын

It is a character- Sauron effectively... or part of him...

@luxdalet 16 сағат бұрын

Always a delight to watch your Middle Earth videos! Fantastic work!

@giggityguy 21 сағат бұрын

The creators of the Jackson trilogy did set out to make the Ring more of a character, attributing a lot of thought and intention to it. As a filmmaking concept I think it makes a lot of sense, but it's important to remember that that is just one interpretation among many.

@H47Ronin 3 күн бұрын

I like the idea that the one ring can and does use the subconscious minds it influences to plan out its escape plans.

@originaluddite 22 сағат бұрын

Magnets attract without feeling attraction... 'memory foam' returns to its original shape without having a memory... things lacking intent can still fulfill a function...

@annetta2608 3 күн бұрын

Sauron put a part of himself into an inanimate object, and it developed an ability to act on it's own. The destruction of the object leads to the end of it's creator. Does that make it basically Sauron's horcrux?

@boroberts4815 3 күн бұрын

Great video

@missanne2908 2 күн бұрын

There was one time in the whole of LOTR where it is possible that the ring 'spoke,' and that was on Amon Hen, when Frodo sat upon the seat of seeing: 'He heard himself crying out: _Never, never!_ or was it: _Verily I come, I come to you?_ He could not tell. Had the ring called out to Sauron? Tom Shippey has commented that it might be that the ring spoke, or it might be that it was Frodo's subconscious obeying a kind of death wish, amplified by the ring. It is open to interpretation.

@thekiss2083 3 күн бұрын

I think the Ring has more in common with a robot than a person. It could never willingly do anything Sauron didn't want it to do.

@andres983265 3 күн бұрын

Well, yes and no. Although I don’t think I would put it like that. I think it’s more that the ring had the same goals as Sauron, so would never really even have any different ideas from him in the first place. They both would always have the same goals, with the ring being a part of him and all that.

@stevegignac 2 күн бұрын

I love you taking a moment to correctly say the ring isn’t a macguffin just to help a few more people learn how misused that term is.

@breakdancelessonsamsterdam9367 3 күн бұрын

on weathertop and also when near Minas Morgul the Ring influenced frodo to put it on so it could do more then shrink and grow to archieve it's goal. it reads like the ring was sentient the same way a terminator would be sentient but offcource way more limited in what it could do,

@Tallacus 3 күн бұрын

I always presume the one Rine was a Horcrux, so it would be sentient

@ShadowArtist 3 күн бұрын

I would say that it's behavior shows that it was at least partially "semi-sentient".

@SpottedHares 3 күн бұрын

Very least we can say the ring is alive, it reacts to and understand its surroundings. but much like a planet it is very limited in what it can actually do.

@timhiker5512 3 күн бұрын

Celebrimbor and the other ring smiths of Eregion would have had to externalize a significant portion of their innate power into the lesser rings of power. I wonder why/how they were persuaded to create so many rings given the apparent cost to one’s being.

@1TakoyakiStore 3 күн бұрын

I know what I'm about to say Tolkien wouldn't agree with, but the story leaves this up to interpretation so I will take advantage 😂. It would be an interesting angle if the ring didn't like its master to the point that it intentionally lowered Saron's defenses to allow Isildur to cut the ring off. In this hypothetical scenario it did so because Saron didn't like what little good was still in him and thought to better control it by putting what he thought were his worst qualities along with his power into the ring. It was because of this that the ring got tired of Saron and willingly left him. It eventually got bored of its various wearers and longed to return to Saron at some point because it had realized that no other was as strong as him, not in Middle Earth anyway. It was this fiber of good within the ring that also made it weak enough to be destroyed by the trilogy's conclusion. In the end it was Saron's need for control over himself before he could hope to control others that ultimately led to his demise. Again I don't believe Tolkien would've gone for this, but I do think that the scenario previously mentioned keeps Tolkien's comcept of the need for control by evil is intact.

@woody5476 22 сағат бұрын

On one hand, you could think of it as a part of Sauron, himself. The only problem with that is that Sauron wasn't aware of the same things the ring was aware of.

@Nathan-vt1jz Күн бұрын

This is similar to my theory on the origin of the Orcs. When Morgoth forged himself into the world and then crafted orcs, animated not by a true soul but by the soul, power, and malice of Morgoth. This is why the orcs are inherently evil and destructive. Think of it like the creation of the dwarves, but without their own souls given by Illuvitar. Whether by beast or stone the Orcs were molded using what already existed and animated in mimicking mockery of life. (I know Tolkien speculates several different origins of the orcs).

@venkelos6996 3 күн бұрын

The thing that often catches me the most about the One Ring, apart from Sauron knowing how much of his native essence he needed to pour into it, to control the other Rings of Power, despite not knowing about the Three, and their strength, is how, if one will forgive, truly UNimportant it was, to Evil, in the grand scheme of the story. Our heroes NEEDED to destroy it, to win the conflict, and of course the Dark Lord wanted it back, as it contained enough of him that did another powerful individual claim it they could effectively destroy him, even without having to lose the Ring, and it's powers, but it eas still almost a side game. As is, Sauron WAS going to win; the forces of Good simply lacked the strength to win a conventional battle, and even Sauron would eventually return, and his Orcs repopulate, but getting the Ring back wasn't really going to make his victory even easier. He'd get out from under the shadow of an upstart upset, but there weren't even more powerful, magical servants, whose control required him to wield his Ring; sone weapon to smite the Free Peoples, nor was he going to take to the field himself, and crush them under his supernatural might; that had gone wrong for him more than once, with, or without, the Ring in his possession, but the ONLY way Good could triumph was by actually destroying it, while he would win, otherwise. If he had simply been able to propagate his war while the Ring still dwelt under the Misty Mountains, with a very reclusive Gollum, they couldn't win, and it wad only by exposing his weakness, even if he believed no one could want to destroy it, that he was bested. I do wonder, then, why he thought the likes of Elrond wouldn't think to destroy it? The Elves were leaving; that seemed to be their plan whatever happened to the Ring, and the War, but whatever.

@andres983265 3 күн бұрын

I think the simplest answer to that question is that he was probably just greedy. Even though the original plan of how he wanted to use the one ring pretty much wasn’t going to work anymore. He still wanted it back to collect as much power to himself as possible. Also, I don’t think he could actually control the ring itself at a distance like that? In other words, I don’t think he could tell the ring to stay in place and just let him conquer all the lands before revealing itself. The rings own drive to try to get back to Sauron is what caused it to fall into the hands of the free people.

@kwerboom 3 күн бұрын

I've always thought of the One Ring as being more akin to being like a limited pseudo artificial intelligence program like what enemy AI have in video games; something with If/Else statements, Switch statements, and Error catches that can never deviate from its original goal its developer programmed into it.

@Oppai264 3 күн бұрын

In my view the ring has at least some sentience. It's always referred to in the third person but it always seems to act on its own accord. It literally left the the hand of isilidur the one who cut the ring from sauron's hand. And eventually found itself in the possession of Gollum who kept it for 500 years until Bilbo Baggins Came Upon it. The ring seems to act of its own accord but at the same time is still an inanimate object that influences the minds of others. Still has the ability to manipulate the minds of frodo, boromir, attempt to corrupt the mind of Aragorn and even go as far as to completely manipulate and seduce Frodo to the point where he breaks the ring off of the chain and throws it on in the middle of Mount Doom where it is most powerful.

@TreiPani 3 күн бұрын

Good topic

@mandogundam5779 23 сағат бұрын

Great vid! Movie only fan here, had a chat with my wife recently that it seemed as though the ring left sauron and chose gollum as its ultimate master. It spent centuries alone with him after all. And Sauron was at his weakest point lacking physical form, so maybey the sentient ring took an early retirement. And the fight between golloum and frodo was as though sauron was "controlling" Frodo and the ring was controlling Gollum. I know its probably some BS but it popped in our minds, at least about the movie.

@FiberOptikAssassin 3 күн бұрын

The ring always felt sentient to me. I never thought otherwise.

@UlfMTG 2 күн бұрын

The Ring doesn't just grow or shrink to slip from its carrier in order to get to Sauron, I think it influences their very mind. I mean, Boromir's great idea after taking one look at the ring is "Let's use it against Sauron and basically hand it over to him in a silver platter!"

@b.v.9864 Күн бұрын

I always considered the Ring to be a character, kind of like how the Enterprise is like a character on Star Trek

@bongosock 2 күн бұрын

I think the One Ring sought to return to Sauron the way that magnets 'seek' iron.

@StarkRG Күн бұрын

Perhaps the Ring isn't able to perceive the world or think for itself, but uses its telepathic link to the current ring-bearer to share their brain and senses. It would imprint its will into a small corner of the ring-bearer's mind where it would remain virtually undetected as it grew in strength. Though it would usually only show itself as occasional bursts of anger or a sour demeanor, Gollum held onto the ring so long that the mental tumor gained sentience, resulting in his dual personality.