The scene in question is the one in which Frodo and Sam are being led up the steep stairs of Cirith Ungol, towards Shelob’s lair. Unbeknownst to them, Gollum is leading them into a trap. Gollum, who was a much kinder character in the original version of the story, has an arrangement with the spider demon that was made long ago, she spared him, but in return employed him to bring her tasty and unsuspecting victims to eat. This is exactly his plan for Frodo, and when she has finished her meal, he can swoop in and collect the ring, his precious, and keep it all for himself. However, despite Frodo’s kindness towards the creature, for Frodo also knows the suffering that bearing the ring can cause, and has some similarities with the dark lord who created it, and with Gollum himself, Samwise is not so easily fooled.
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Sam has suspected Gollum and his tricksy ways from the beginning and is always awake and alert, ready to foil the creature’s plans and protect Frodo from harm. Thus, Gollum comes up with a cunning plan to separate the two, which would render the Ring-bearer far more vulnerable to his plot. In the dead of night, when both of the hobbits are asleep, Gollum steals their last supply of Lembas bread, the only food they have left to see them through the journey, and drops it off the steep cliff. He then scattered crumbs on Sam’s jacket, and when they wake up, he convinces Frodo that Sam is a fat and greedy hobbit, who has been stealing it and eating it when the master isn’t looking. Frodo, who is already suspicious of everything around him, and is not in a fit mental state to reason as he is slipping further and further into the clutches of the ring, sends Sam away, telling him that he can’t go with Frodo any further, and must return home.
The scene is cruel and bitter, and Sam who has been the bravest of them all, and the most loyal companion by Frodo’s side through thick and thin is heartbroken. Many fans of the books dislike the scene because it paints an unfeeling side to Frodo, and a weak side to Sam, who just accepts what he is told. The scene is contrived, and perhaps out of place in an otherwise fairly faithful adaptation. But if the scene never happened in the books, how did the two hobbits become separated? Sam does find Frodo’s body, stung by Shelob, and paralyzed, at the top of the tunnel. Sam clearly wasn’t with him when it happened, so how does the chapter really play out?
The answer does of course still lie with Gollum, for who else? The two hobbits enter into Shelob’s lair side by side, stumbling in the dark, unaware of the peril that awaits them. Gollum, knowing what is coming, leaves them to lose their way, as he does with Frodo in the film. They come across the sticky web, after hours of rooting around in the dark, and Frodo uses the glowing Sting to cut through the coils. Feeling triumphant, and desperate to be free of the foul air in the tunnels, Frodo rushes forward, towards the exit. Shelob manages to worm her way in between them, and as Sam yells out to warn Frodo that she is behind him, he is clasped from behind by Gollum and knocked off his feet. Gollum, who was much kinder in the original version of the story, tries to strangle him, but Sam breaks free by hitting the weasel with a staff that Faramir and his Rangers gave them in Ithillien. He manages to escape the tight and surprisingly strong fingers and cracks Gollum across the back with the cane, who squeals and runs off into the dark.
Sam then engages in his battle with Shelob, managing to cut her open, which is something that no other warrior in Middle Earth history ever achieves. Believing Frodo to be dead, he takes the ring and resolves to destroy it himself and complete the quest. As is shown in the films, he later discovers his mistake, and then must stage a rescue mission for Frodo who was alive all along. He must enter a tower full of orcs, break through the power of the Silent watchers, and save his friend once again. In many ways, directors have a difficult job when adapting such a well-loved book, and on the whole, most fans believe Peter Jackson made a brilliant film series, but this is certainly one scene that has split the crowd.
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