We are used to movies that build to a climax, and when the villain is finally defeated, the movie is essentially over. We may have a short coda, or a scene under the credits, but not much more than that. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was an exception. The movie was very long, capping off a story that totaled more than nine hours over three films. Then after the climactic battle, we got another half hour of scenes showing what happened to every character in the years afterward. The seven endings have been a talking point for years now.
Juliette Harrisson goes over each of the seven endings, wrapping up character arcs for the most important characters, and why the movie really needed them. Frodo's ending, in particular, is tied to the experience of World War I soldiers who returned from the battlefield suffering from shell shock. And she suggests that two more endings were really needed to line up the story with Tolkien's books. yeah, the movie would have been four hours long if they had been included, but if you want a real wrap up of The Lord of the Rings, read her explanations at Den of Geek.
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