Gollum is one of the most interesting characters in The Lord of the Rings. Once a mere hobbit, Smeagol was overtaken by the allure of the ring, eventually withering away and becoming the mentally-corrupted Gollum. His character is meant to represent the unyielding power of the ring – despite effectively ruining his life and turning him into a withered gollum of a hobbit, he still finds the ring utterly irresistible.

Such a character as this is bound to have nuances, as he is not particularly good or evil – he is just disgustingly selfish.

These are five ways Gollum is a villain, and five ways he’s not so bad.

10 Villain: He Murdered Déagol

To celebrate his birthday, Smeagol was taken out to a peaceful lake in the Gladden Fields by his cousin Déagol. Déagol was dragged into the water by a particularly powerful fish and subsequently found the ring buried in the sand. Almost immediately upon his surfacing, Smeagol was overtaken by the power and the allure of the ring. Its power on Smeagol grew so fierce that he strangled his own cousin to death to take the ring for himself.

9 Not So Bad: He Wasn’t On Sauron’s Side

Throughout The Lord of the Rings, the heroes continuously do battle with the forces of Sauron. And then there’s Gollum. Gollum isn’t on Sauron’s side, and he shows no loyalty to him – he just wants the ring for himself and is willing to do anything to get it. He’s not going to give the ring to Sauron, and he’s not on some clandestine mission to get it for him. Now, it’s entirely likely that Sauron would have found Gollum should he have acquired the ring, but that’s not the same thing.

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8 Villain: He Actively Planned Frodo’s Death

Throughout The Two Towers, Gollum does battle with himself just as much as he does with Frodo and Sam. He often switches back and forth between his Smeagol and Gollum personas, but eventually settles on Gollum (which will be given further detail in the next entry). Once permanently in that mode, he actively plans the death of Frodo by bringing him to Shelob’s lair. Of course, he couldn’t murder Frodo himself, but that’s not to say he didn’t want to.

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7 Not So Bad: He Wrestled With Himself

As previously mentioned, Gollum spends a lot of time throughout The Two Towers wrestling with himself.

Smeagol wants to stay loyal to Frodo, while Gollum wants the ring for himself. Smeagol eventually wins out, and Smeagol actually does stay loyal to Frodo. However, this is undone after they are captured by Faramir’s men, as Smeagol is mistreated by Faramir and betrayed by Frodo, forcing him to permanently adopt the more defensive Gollum persona.

6 Villain: His Villainous Persistence

If anything, Gollum is ridiculously persistent. He follows the Fellowship throughout The Fellowship of the Ring before he is discovered by Frodo. Throughout The Two Towers he wrestles with his own motivations before landing on the Shelob plan. And in The Return of the King, he literally follows Frodo and Sam to the Crack of Doom to stop them from throwing the ring in the fire. All so he could claim the ring for himself.

5 Not So Bad: He Lets Sam Go

Throughout The Return of the King, Gollum has his eye set firmly on Frodo’s demise. However, Sam continuously “gets in the way,” forcing Gollum to enact a plan. He intentionally provokes Sam to bring out his anger and plants lembas bread on his cloak, effectively framing him as a selfish eater who doesn’t share. Frodo kicks Sam out of the party, and while Gollum looks back with menace, it’s still telling that he allows Sam to go. This is a major departure from the novel, as Gollum intentionally leads both Frodo and Sam to Shelob’s lair.

4 Villain: He Tried To Murder Sam

Of course, Sam is far too stubborn and loyal to Frodo to go willingly.

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He returns to Shelob’s lair and even fights the giant spider himself. After proving victorious, a watching Gollum realizes that his plan has been ruined and directly attacks Sam himself. Should Sam not have been absolutely pumping with adrenaline, it’s highly likely that Gollum would have proven victorious and murdered poor Samwise.

3 Not So Bad: Frodo Sees Himself In Gollum

It’s very telling that the hero of the story sees himself in one of its primary villains. Perhaps this is Tolkien’s way of arguing that there is a very thin line between good and evil. Throughout the story, Frodo continuously takes pity on Gollum, as he sees himself and his ring-bearing plight in the withered creature. Frodo also sees his potential future in Gollum, should the ring claim him as well. Unlike everyone else, Frodo sees Gollum as a hobbit claimed by evil rather a mere evil hobbit.

2 Villain: Biting Off Frodo’s Finger

Things obviously got really serious when it came time to fight for the ring. Gollum knocks Sam out with a rock, forcefully driving into the back of his skull. And when it comes time to deal with Frodo, Gollum climbs on top of his shoulders and literally bites off his finger in order to claim the ring for himself. It’s a disgusting and deplorable act, and it speaks to Gollum’s sheer determination and willingness to do anything to get his hands on the ring.

1 Not So Bad: He Saved The World (Albeit Unintentionally)

Gandalf prophesized that Gollum would play a role in the journey, and he was more right than he could have possibly imagined. In the end, it is Gollum who saves Middle-earth from Sauron’s power, as he slips and falls into the lava with the ring. Should he not have attacked Frodo, Frodo would have claimed the ring for himself and become just another Gollum.

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About The Author


Nathan Sharp
(852 Articles Published)

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Nathan Sharp is a writer from outside Toronto, Ontario. He has a love of movies and television, having enjoyed them for more than twenty years. His preferences include drama, action, and horror, with the former being a particular point of interest and fascination.

He also has a love of video games, particularly those of Rockstar.

Whether it be about film, television, or video games, Nathan loves a good discussion and has written hundreds of articles for Screen Rant.

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