One of the most iconic scenes in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was the death of the Witch-king of Angmar. During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, he and his fell beast steed seemed unstoppable, but when they tried to finish off the mortally wounded King Théoden, his niece Éowyn stepped in to defend him. She decapitated the fell beast and dueled the Lord of the Nazgûl in single combat. The Witch-king taunted, “No man can kill me.” Whipping off her helmet, Éowyn replied, “I am no man.” With a yell, she stabbed the Witch-king in his unseen face, killing him.

Aside from a few details, this scene played out in much the same way as it did in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel. However, this would not always be how the Witch-king met his end. In Sauron Defeated, the ninth volume of The History of Middle-earth series, Christopher Tolkien shared some of his father’s early notes regarding the ending of The Lord of the Rings. This included potential alternate fates for the Witch-king that saw him survive the Battle of the Pelennor Fields only to die in Mount Doom.

The Witch-king Would Have Attacked Frodo and Sam After the One Ring’s Destruction

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Shortly before they reached the Shire, the Nazgûl visited Saruman in Isengard, and the Witch-king of Angmar guessed how Saruman would meet his end.

Tolkien’s notes were gathered in the section “The Story of Frodo and Sam in Mordor.” Like in the final version of The Lord of the Rings, the Nazgûl flew to Mount Doom when Frodo Baggins claimed the One Ring, but in these early notes, at least one of them survived the fireballs erupting from the volcano. The Witch-king — who at this point was called “the Wizard King” or simply “the Nazgûl” — confronted Frodo in the Crack of Doom. Though he was too late to prevent the One Ring’s destruction, he could still claim vengeance on the hobbit who had foiled his master’s plans. The Witch-king intended to sacrifice himself to kill Frodo by keeping him trapped in Mount Doom until the lava overtook them both. He threateningly declared, “Here we all end together.”

Tolkien offered two potential ways for the Witch-king to meet his end. In the first, a voice called out in response to the Witch-king: “You first.” Before the Lord of the Nazgûl could respond, Samwise Gamgee emerged from the shadows and stabbed him in the back using Sting. However, Tolkien later decided that Sam should be present for the events in the Crack of Doom, so his sneaking up on the Witch-king would not have worked. In the second version, it was instead Frodo who dealt with him. Though he no longer wielded the One Ring, he still held some sway over the Nazgûl. Since the Witch-king was bound to the power of the One Ring, Frodo convinced him that he should follow it into the lava. Either of these options would have brought the story full circle; the hobbits began their journey terrified of the Nazgûl, but by the end, they were able to dispatch their leader with ease. However, it is for the best that Tolkien decided against this.

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Sam or Frodo killing the Witch-king would have robbed Éowyn of one of her most defining moments. It also would have been a somewhat anticlimactic ending for the Witch-king, as he would not have even put up a fight against the hobbits; his battle with Éowyn better fit his terrifying reputation. But perhaps most importantly, it would have undercut the weight of the One Ring’s destruction. When the One Ring fell into the lava in the final version of The Lord of the Rings, the War of the Ring was essentially over. The Dark Lord Sauron was rendered powerless, Barad-dûr and the Black Gate both collapsed, and the remaining forces of evil died, fled, or surrendered. There was still the threat of lava overtaking Frodo and Sam, but the characters and the audience alike could breathe a sigh of relief that Sauron was finally defeated. An additional fight, even one as brief as the hobbits’ against the Witch-king, would have detracted from that catharsis.

Tolkien did not entirely abandon his original plan, as a hobbit was still involved in the Witch-king’s demise. Both in the novel and Jackson’s film, Merry stabbed the Witch-king in the leg during his duel with Éowyn. This weakened him, providing Éowyn with an opening to deliver the killing blow. Likewise, Sam still used Sting to defeat a horrifying monster, but his opponent was Shelob rather than the Witch-king. For fans of The Lord of the Rings, such glimpses into Tolkien’s early plans are fascinating. They reveal which aspects of the story could have been totally different, but they also highlight the concepts that remained constant throughout Tolkien’s many drafts. He was clearly drawn to the idea of Sauron’s mightiest servant being bested by a mere mortal whom he underestimated.

The Lord of the Rings

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The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Latest Film

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Summary

The Lord of the Rings is a long-running fantasy franchise created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The core series consists of four primary books: The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and The Return of the King, all of which have been adapted into films. The Lord of the Rings core franchise centers around Frodo Baggins, a living being known as a hobbit, and a group of heroes from the various kingdoms such as the kingdom of man, the kingdom of dwarves, and the kingdom of elves. Together with the great wizard Gandalf, the group will embark on a perilous quest across Middle Earth to take The One Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it, before it can corrupt anyone and return to the hands of the evil entity known as Sauron, hellbent on conquering all of Middle Earth. The original novel/prequel films, The Hobbit, stars Frodo’s uncle Bilbo Baggins as he embarks on a quest from the comfort of his home and seeks the treasure of a dragon known as Smaug. Bilbo stumbles upon The One Ring on his quest, and finds himself amidst a great war. The most recent media for the franchise is the currently airing The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, airing exclusively on Prime Video.

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