The breaking of the fellowship is one of the most tragic scenes in the whole trilogy, with Merry and Pippin being snatched away by the Uruk-hai as Boromir dies trying to defend them, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli arriving too late to save him and mourning his loss, and Frodo wanting to throw the ring into the lake, but knowing that he is bound to the fate of destroying it, and has to see it through to the end. Luckily his loyal friend Samwise manages to catch up with him and insists on going with him despite Frodo feeling like he has to complete the rest of the quest alone and keep the ring of power and its dangers away from the others.Sam nearly drowns himself in the process of trying to follow Frodo across the river, but they manage to get into the boat and get to the other side, where Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli see them disappearing off into the underbrush. Legolas tries to follow them, and Aragorn tells him “Frodo’s fate is no longer in our hands” and that they should “not abandon Merry and Pippin to torment and death.” Therefore, the 3 turn to pursue the orcs running at full speed towards Isengard, in order to rescue their stolen friends.RELATED: Was Sauron Afraid Of Gollum?To many fans, this seems like a strange choice, when they could have crossed the river and caught up with Frodo and Sam quite easily. Surely these two hobbits, who carry the ring of power, and the subsequent fate of Middle Earth in their hands, were more important to protect than the other two? Whilst, in some ways, this is true, there are three huge reasons why the group, led by Aragorn’s wisdom, decide to follow Merry and Pippin instead of Sam and Frodo.Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli decide to chase the hobbitsThe first, and most obvious, is the terrible fate that has just befallen Boromir. Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo by force, he is very close to being driven mad by its power, and although he is a noble man with good intentions, he is also the only fully human member of the group, and subsequently succumbs to the rings temptation quickest. However, it is only a matter of time before the others became tempted, and who knows what awful acts they would commit when they are, just like Gollum strangling his cousin Deagol. Aragorn knows that the only way to prevent them from being devoured by the ring’s allure, is to keep them away from it, and to trust that Frodo and Sam can make it on their own (with the help of Gollum as their guide- which Aragorn doesn't know).The second reason, is because they want to keep Merry and Pippin alive. Now this means more than just rescuing them from the orcs who took them. It also means that they want to give the orcs a reason to keep them alive too. The reason that the Uruk-hai took them in the first place is because Saruman has sent them to grab the halflings that have the ring in their possession. And as Merry says “as soon as they find out we don’t, we’re dead!”In following the two hobbits, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are essentially solidifying the concept that they do in fact have the ring, and that they are too precious to be abandoned, because of how dangerous a weapon it is. If they had left them to follow Sam and Frodo, the orcs may have realized that they couldn’t be that important if their friends had not followed them, and may therefore have killed them faster.what about their legsThe third reason is that, in the book, Aragorn and the others don’t see Sam and Frodo on the opposite river bank. They are able to surmise that this is where they have gone, due to the fact that a boat is missing, along with both of their packs full of their supplies. However, they can’t actually see them anywhere, and they have no idea how long ago they crossed. Therefore, trying to find two hobbits in the vast wilderness on the other side of the river, is not only a near impossible task, but also a dangerous one, as in trying to track them, they may alert the orcs to their presence, thus making them more likely to get captured and have the ring taken.Tracking a band of orcs across the open plains of Rohan is a far easier pursuit, and also cannot put Merry and Pippin in any more danger than they are already in, which is what makes this the perfect option. Aragorn makes the best decision that he can in the circumstances that they are in, and Gandalf later confirms that he made the right choice to trust the ring-bearer and follow where his heart led him.MORE: Are Hobbits Actually The Strongest Warriors In Middle Earth?