Many of the Lord of the Rings characters heard the call of Sauron’s One Ring urging them to wear it and seize power over Middle Earth, but only one was able to fully resist. The One Ring could cast a spell that tested the hearts of all who encountered it. It played on their darkest desires and their worst fears alike, driving them to near madness with promises it would never fulfill. All the One Ring needed was someone so enthralled by its dark magic that they would do its bidding and return it to Mordor. In Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, the One Ring convinced Boromir that it would help him save Gondor from ruin.
Like him, most who fell victim to its allure did so while already struggling under the weight of emotions like fear, anger, resentment, and hopelessness. In another franchise, this would be a reminder of allowing such feelings to take hold is a quick path toward falling to the dark side. The One Ring was surprisingly adept in manipulating the emotions of others and enslaving their minds, often without them even realizing it. So, who was the one person who never heard the enticing call of the One Ring and how were they able to resist being tempted in the first place?
Which characters are never tempted by the One Ring?
The Lord of the Rings novels have so many interesting characters that not all of them could make it to the big screen in Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations. Tom Bombadil might’ve been left on the page, but he played a very important part in the franchise’s complex lore. He was one of the most powerful characters in Lord of the Rings for many reasons – mainly his resistance to being tempted by the One Ring. He proved his mettle after a chance encounter with Frodo Baggins, Samwise ‘Sam’ Gamgee, Meriadoc ‘Merry’ Brandybuck, and Peregrin ‘Pippin’ Took. During their visit, Tom became curious about the One Ring but not for reasons Frodo or fans would’ve expected. Tom wanted to inspect it out of curiosity but wasn’t tempted to take it or kill Frodo for it. He put it on without going invisible. He was so unaffected that Frodo put it on himself just to make sure it hadn’t been switched with a fake. The Hobbit went invisible to everyone – except for Tom! It was the only time one of the Lord of the Rings characters was able to interact with the One Ring without feeling tempted by it.
Neither the Lord of the Rings novels nor movie adaptations ever explained why Tom wasn’t tempted by the One Ring. He was powerful in his domain within the Shire, making him the “Master of wood, water, and hill”. One of his nicknames is ‘The First’ because his existence predates Gandalf and even the oldest living Elves, some of whom are at least 8,000 years old by the time they returned to Valinor. Tom was pretty much a God living as a physical being on Middle Earth. Yet, Gandalf made it clear in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring that Tom’s resistance to the One Ring was not a tool that could be used against Sauron.
Representatives of the Dwarves, Men, Elves, and – unbeknownst to everyone else – Hobbits gathered in Rivendell during the Third Age to figure out what to do about the One Ring. Elrond suggested that Tom keep it since he was so immune to its pull. Gandalf turned down the idea by explaining that Tom would be too far removed from the One Ring and what it represents to effectively protect it. In addition to not being tempted by it, Tom was unable to alter it with his magic. Moreover, Gandalf explained that Tom would probably lose the thing and not even realize the implications of his actions until Sauron showed up at his front door to take the One Ring by force.
Why are these characters able to resist the Ring?
To understand why Tom was never tempted by the One Ring requires looking closely at those who were. Lord of the Rings characters like Sam, Gandalf, and Aragorn all came close to being enthralled without falling completely under its spell. This suggests that there’s an element to being tempted by the One Ring that has little to do with personal character. One can be tempted and still be good. These are three characters who represent some of the best in the Lord of the Rings canon. Sam gave up literally everything to get Frodo to Mount Doom only to be momentarily tempted toward the end of their difficult journey.
Aragorn faced the temptation of the One Ring and turned it away because it was the right thing to do. Gandalf resisted Frodo’s trying to give the One Ring back to him and exclaimed, “Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself.” They were all faced with the difficult challenge of resisting the provocative whispers of the One Ring as it played on the insecure or arrogant parts of them. It was a testament to their strength of will that they could hear the call of the One Ring and still walk away. It’s something else entirely that Tom never even heard it in the first place.
When the master Smith Elf Celebrimbor helped create the Rings of Power, the Dark Lord retaliated by forging the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. His plan was to wield its dark magic so he could subjugate the inhabitants of Middle Earth to his total dominance. Since the One Ring was vital to his plans, it needed to be able to find its way back to him no matter where it was or who it was with. So, Sauron gave it a fell safe: either its bearer would return the One Ring or someone would be tempted to kill them and return it themselves.
The problem is: the Dark Lord failed to account for Tom as someone who lives on Middle Earth while existing outside of the issues faced by its other inhabitants. Tom could have whatever he wanted when he wanted it. He wasn’t a ruler or tied to antiquated traditions like Boromir. He had no lofty goals of imposing his will on others like Galadriel. For all intents and purposes, Tom lacked the repressed desires held by other Lord of the Rings characters required for being tempted by the One Ring. Or maybe he was just too jolly to even have a dark side to corrupt. Whatever the reason, searching for it has only added to the mystery of Tom Bombadil.