Shelob's Lair (scene)
| Shelob's Lair | |
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| Scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King |
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| Scene number | 38 (extended) |
| Event | Frodo enters Shelob's Lair |
| Characters | Frodo, Shelob, Gollum |
| Navigation | |
| Previous: The Corsairs of Umbar |
Next: Merry's Simple Courage |
Shelob's Lair is the thirtieth scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the thirty-eighth scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (extended edition).
Synopsis[edit | edit source]
Frodo and Gollum enter Shelob's Lair. Soon after entering, Gollum disappears from Frodo’s side. By himself, Frodo becomes increasingly anxious as he sees the webs and skeletons around him, and regrets sending Sam away.
Sam descends the Stairs of Cirith Ungol. As he reaches the bottom, he sees the last remains of their lembas. Realising Gollum threw it over the edge, he looks up the stairs in fury.
Frodo trips and falls onto the web-riddled floor. Calming himself, he takes out the Phial of Galadriel to shine light in the darkness. As he does so, he turns around to see the giant spider, Shelob, stirring. In terror, he flees from her but gets stuck in a web. Gollum’s treachery is revealed as he returns, singing ‘’soon you’ll be eaten’’. In fury, Frodo cuts his way through the webs holding him using Sting as Shelob approaches him. Fearful of Frodo cutting his way through, Gollum flees.
Frodo manages to escape the inner caverns of Shelob’s lair and is throttled by Gollum, who tries to take the ring from him. As Frodo gains the upper hand, Sméagol cries ‘’It wasn’t us! The precious made us do it!’’ Frodo then backs away from Sméagol, and tells him that he needs to destroy the ring, for both their sakes. Recognition forms on Gollum’s face as he realises why Frodo has been going to Mordor. This turns into rage, and as he tries to attack Frodo from behind, he ends up falling down a deep cleft in the rockface.
