In Lord of The Rings, Boromir’s plan of using the One Ring to take down Sauron was never going to work, but why was it such a bad idea?
In Lord of the Rings, Boromir’s proposal of using one ring against Sauron was a bad idea for various reasons. At the beginning of Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the ring is brought forth at the council of Elves, Men, and Dwarves, organized by Lord Elrond, as they reunite to discuss what to do with the ring. As the discussion sparks among the participants, various options are considered, such as that brought forward by Boromir of wielding the one ring against Sauron before deciding the ring is to be destroyed in the fiery pits of Mordor.
In Lord of the Rings, Boromir wants to persuade the council to let him take the one ring to defend Gondor as the kingdom is defending itself against Mordor, whose long-standing history is known to many Lord of the Rings viewers. He believed the one ring would have also helped Gondor to fight the evil threat by using the one ring against Sauron. Ultimately, Boromir’s plan could not have worked, as its established in this scene when his proposal is dismissed, and the fellowship of the ring is formed, which Boromir becomes a part of.
The One Ring Would’ve Corrupted Whoever Used It
The main problem with Boromir’s plan is that the one ring would have inevitably corrupted whoever used it. As evident throughout Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the ring confers certain powers to the bearer of the ring, such as extending the life of the mortal possessor and becoming practically invisible to everyone but those able to perceive the non-physical world. However, the one ring also corrupted every ring bearer in Lord of the Rings to some level, as it was endowed with malevolent energy because it contained so much of Sauron’s power.
Therefore, whoever was going to wear the ring to aid Gondor against Sauron would have been corrupted by its evil power, particularly if it was not an elf, as elves are known to be less susceptible to corruption in the Lord of the Rings universe. It is something that the audience sees with Bilbo and Frodo to some level since both Hobbits suffer the temptation of the ring. In particular, the power of the one ring grew stronger on Frodo throughout Lord of the Rings and, in particular, when he entered Mordor and approached Mount Doom to destroy it.
Sauron Would Survive Unless The Ring Was Destroyed
It is also important to notice that the ring needed to be destroyed to finally defeat Sauron in his eye form, which viewers see in the Lord of the Rings series. This is because Gondor could not just use the one ring to defeat Mordor, as Sauron would survive unless the ring were physically destroyed. This is why in The Fellowship of the Ring, the council ultimately decides on the plan the audience sees in the film, which sees Frodo bringing the one ring to Mordor in his quest throughout the movies. As such, Sauron is destroyed only at the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy when Frodo destroys the ring.
Sauron’s existence is tied to that of the ring: as long as the ring survives, so does Sauron. He doesn’t die when Isildor defeats him. Instead, he becomes the eye associated with him in Lord of the Rings because the one ring still exists. In the Lord of the Rings’ mythology, Sauron is an immortal being, which means that his essence cannot be easily destroyed. The latter is tied to the one ring itself as he had poured so much of his own power into it. This makes the destruction of the one ring essential to defeat Sauron.
Boromir Underestimated The Ring’s Will
Boromir’s plan was terrible because it did not consider the will of the one ring. In Lord of the Rings, it is established that the ring strove to return to Sauron by manipulating and corrupting the ring-bearer. Therefore, while his effort to defend his kingdom and use any resource to do it may be admirable as it speaks to who Boromir is as a character, it is safe to say that Boromir underestimated the ring’s own will, assuming that it would allow anyone to use it as they wish.
The ring affects Boromir at the end of Fellowship of the Ring, as he sways away from his promise to Frodo for the evil influence of the one ring. The same could have happened if Boromir had taken the ring to defend his people, as the one ring corrupts its bearer regardless of their good intentions. Moreover, as pointed out by Aragorn in Fellowship of the Ring, Boromir would not have been able to wield the ring as he did not know how to use it. Ultimately, the plan enacted in Lord of the Rings is probably the only one that would actually work.
