The touching ending of Merry & Pip after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Merry and Pippin have interesting roles in “The Lord of the Rings.” While Frodo and Sam do the important work of destroying the One Ring, their two hobbit friends play more subtle (but still absolutely important) roles. First, they travel to Fangarn Forest, where they help the Ents rise and defeat Saruman. Pippin is later taken to Gondor, where he enters the service of Steward Denether and fights. The epic siege of Gondor where he saves Faramir's life. Meanwhile, Merry becomes one of Rohan's riders and sneaks into the Battle of Belennor Fields, where he helps Ewyn defeat the Witch King.

The assembled halflings then march with Aragorn and company to Mordor, where they represent their people in the final negotiations of the War of the Ring and fight before the Black Gate until the ring is finally burned to the ground. From there, they reunite with Frodo and Sam, and the quartet eventually returns to the Shire. Once there, the ending of Peter Jackson's “The Return of the King” saw them return to a life of quiet darkness.

The books have a more dramatic story where they fight Saruman's minions (who moved away when he left) and help the hobbits reclaim their homeland. In both cases, when the movies and books end, Merry and Pippin are quietly reunited in the Shire once more. But their lives are far from over, and Tolkien says in the epilogue that their end is a moment that tugs at your heartstrings.. This is what happens.

Merry and Pippin are prominent in the Shire

Throughout their lives, Merry and Pippin play important roles in the Shire. They both come from powerful and politically important hobbit families and unsurprisingly lead these units.. Let's start with Pippin.

Pippin is part of the Duke family. He marries a woman with the wonderful name Diamond of Long Cleave and they have at least one registered child. It's a boy. What is his name? You guessed it. Faramir. The best part? Faramir marries Sam Gamji's daughter, Goldilocks (mayor of the Shire at this time), bringing good Sam's family into the biological fold (Frodo, Merry and Pippin are all related).

Pippin's political career was quite spectacular (by Shire standards). It becomes “Thai.” The prologue to “The Fellowship of the Ring” explains that it is an ancient state. This makes Pippin the master of the shire-moot, shire-muster and captain of the local militia known as the Habitry-in-Arms.

As for Merry the Magnificent, he was a Brandybuck and became Lord of Buckland. King Éomer and Lady Éowyn send him gifts and he spends a lot of time recording stories and writing about things like pipe weed. He marries Estella Bolger and, although there are no named children, we know that he has at least one son, as we will see in a minute.

A trio of Hobbit heroes, Aragorn (who also goes by the title King Elessor) are confirmed in their new positions. The Shire is technically within the boundaries of his new kingdom, and in the appendices of “The Return of the King,” “King Elessor has issued a decree that men will not enter the Shire, and is turning it into a free land. “Under the protection of the Northern Scepter.” It also says: “King Eleazar appoints Thane, Master and Chief Counselors of the Northern Kingdom.”

A sensational ending for Merry and Pippin

Therefore, the Hobbits (minus Frodo, who traveled across the sea to Valinor at this point) spend their lives as the most important people in the Shire. When we say “his life,” we are talking about his entire life. Only after the Happy Century has passed do we hear from them again. The appendices say that when he was 102 years old, he received a message from Rohan, then close to death, Éomer, who wished to see him again. A faithful friend to the end, Merry “consulted his friend Tyne, and they soon left their goods and offices to their sons and rode to Charn Ford, and were never seen again. County.”

His story doesn't end there. They ride to Rohan, where they meet Éomer one last time before he dies. From there they travel to Gondor, where they settle and spend their last days. The appendices explain: “After [Merry] And Tháin Peregrine went to Gondor, and spent the short years that remained to them in that kingdom, until they died and were buried in Rath Tinen among the elders of Gondor..”

Rath Tinen is the burial place of the kings and maidens of Gondor. This is where Denether attempts to burn himself and Faramir alive, and while that disturbing scene isn't a big selling point, overall, Sacred Grounds is a pretty special place. It is the tomb of kings and rulers, and it is a great honor for Merry and Pippin to end up there. In the final touch, decades later, when Aragorn gave his life and was buried at Rath Tinen,​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ It is said that the beds of Meriadoc and Peregrin were made next to the bed of the Great King. .” It's a sad but exceptionally touching ending to the incredible adventures of Merry and Pippin.