"Well, this is the end, Sam Gamgee," said a voice by his side. And there was Frodo, pale and worn, and yet himself again; and in his eyes there was peace now, neither strain of will, nor madness, nor any fear. His burden was taken away. There was the dear master of the sweet days in the Shire.
"Master!" cried Sam, and fell upon his knees. In all that ruin of the world for the moment he felt only joy, great joy. The burden was gone. His master has been saved; he was himself again, he was free. And then Sam caught sight of the maimed and bleeding hand.
"Your poor hand!" he said. "And I have nothing to bind it with, or comfort it. I would have spared him a whole hand of mine rather. But he's gone now beyond recall, gone forever."
"Yes," said Frodo. "But do you remember Gandalf's words: Even Gollum may have something yet to do? But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. So let us forgive him! For the Quest is achieved, and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam."
After (impatiently) waiting, we are ready to celebrate the final installment of The Lord of the Rings movies, the extended DVD version of The Return of the King. Hitting the shelves on Tuesday, we are uniting in solidarity with our favorite husband/dad and waiting until Saturday to watch. Agony. Gnashing of teeth. But, said gentleman will keep the DVD safe in his desk at work. We just can't be trusted to honor our commitment. Boy will Saturday chores get done in record time, though. As soon as that vacuum cord is flung inside the Hoover, we will grab our eggnog lattes and cocoa, fill our bowls with popcorn (and our pockets with kleenex) and watch our friends, the little heroes, do the bravest of things.
The Return of the King, Extended DVD
