Why Sam Left Middle-Earth At The End Of The Lord Of The Rings

Whether you watch the movie or read the book, "The Return of the King" ends with Sam returning home to Bag End after watching Frodo sail into the West with Bilbo. What you don't see is that later in life, Sam leaves Middle-earth, too, heading West to join Frodo. The appendices of "The Return of the King" explain how "Samwise passed the Towers, and went to the Grey Havens, and passed over Sea, last of the Ring-bearers."

The reason Sam follows in Frodo's footsteps later on isn't explicitly stated. Instead, Tolkien hints at it in a few places. The first and most obvious factor is the Ring-bearer angle. In the movie, Sam (Sean Astin) keeps the Ring on its chain when he saves it after Shelob stings Frodo (Elijah Wood). In the book, he goes even further by putting it on for a while before giving it back. This literal Ring-bearing work qualifies him for a unique retirement plan, one typically reserved for Elves.

Frodo, Bilbo, and Sam are all influenced in their own ways by the Ring. Tolkien repeatedly talks about the trio heading to the West to heal from the deep scars that the trinket left on them. In a September 1954 letter, he even said that while the Undying Lands in the West are for immortals, there are always exceptions, adding, "and so certain 'mortals', who have played some great part in Elvish affairs, may pass with the Elves to Elvenhome. Thus Frodo (by the express gift of Arwen) and Bilbo, and eventually Sam (as adumbrated by Frodo)."

While Sam does eventually leave Middle-earth, he does it much later in life than Frodo (who boards his Elvish boat in his mid-50s). When Sam returns to Bag End at the end of the story, he pivots from his adventurous lifestyle to an unexpected direction: politics. He spends the next half-century as Mayor of the Shire, serving for seven consecutive terms, each for seven years a piece.

During that time, he and Rosie Cotton have a whopping 13 kids. Sam lives a full life and even revisits Gondor at one point. Eventually, Rosie dies of old age, and Sam knows it's time to move on. A couple of months after his wife's death, he packs things up at the ripe old age of 102 and heads for the Grey Havens with his eldest child, Elanor (who will play an important part in Stephen Colbert's upcoming "Lord of the Rings" movie).

Sam gives his daughter the Red Book — an important chronicle of the adventures of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings," written by himself, Frodo, and Bilbo. Elanor is the only eyewitness to Sam's departure, reporting that he sailed away over the sea, likely in search of the same kind of healing that Frodo and Bilbo had sought decades earlier.

While Sam has an idyllic ending, everything isn't what it seems. While he heads toward immortal lands, he himself doesn't get everlasting life. In that same 1954 letter, Tolkien clarifies, "The mythical idea underlying [the special permission to go into the West] is that for mortals, since their 'kind' cannot be changed for ever, this is strictly a temporary reward: a healing and redress of suffering. They cannot abide for ever."

In another letter written in 1971, the author revisited the topic, saying, "As for Frodo or other mortals, they could only dwell in [the Undying Lands] for a limited time -– whether brief or long ... Their sojourn was a 'purgatory', but one of peace and healing and they would eventually pass away (die at their own desire and of free will) to destinations of which the Elves knew nothing."

Tolkien points out in that same letter that this is a one-way ticket, saying, "There was no return. The Elves who took this road and those few 'mortals' who by special grace went with them, had abandoned the 'History of the world' and could play no further part in it."

Whether Sam ever actually sees Frodo again is unknown. If he did, chances are he didn't enjoy the reunion for long, since he would have been extremely old by that point. Still, it's nice to know that Samwise Gamgee, whom Tolkien confirmed was the real hero of "The Lord of the Rings," gets a restful reward for his heroics.