Love or hate him, the sly and selfish Gollum, is an invaluable character in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Before seeing more of his adventures in The Hunt for Gollum in 2026, let’s look at how he impacted Middle-earth lore and set some key events in motion.
As the Keeper of the Ring
After falling to the power of the One Ring, the hobbit Sméagol becomes Gollum, keeping his “Precious” hidden for almost half a century in the Misty Mountains.
While his only intent was to hang on to the Ring for as long as he could, Gollum had unintentionally protected Middle-earth from the rise of other evil forces since Sauron was still too weak to take the Ring back. Having a will of its own, the Ring could have easily corrupted countless individuals if it were located above ground. Alas, for more than four hundred years, its only role was to aid Gollum in securing food deep in his cave.
As the Bearer of Information
By the time Gollum met Bilbo Baggins, the former was out of luck, and the Ring had decided to abandon him. However, this fateful encounter leaves Gollum with information about Bilbo and the Shire, which the creature will pass on to Sauron after getting caught when he finally leaves his hiding place to look for the thief of his Precious.
With this knowledge, the Nazgûl’s hunt for the Ring begins, which prompts the Council of Elrond to decide on the destruction of the Ring at Mount Doom, thus forming the Fellowship.
Related: 5 Ways Aragorn Could Play a Key Role in The Hunt for Gollum
As the Unlikely Guide of Frodo and Sam
After finally revealing himself to Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, Gollum was forced to take an oath to serve the Ring-bearer and ordered to guide them to Mordor.
Despite having an ulterior motive to lead the two hobbits to their demise, Gollum served his purpose in the story: to bring Frodo and Sam to Mordor and constantly remind them of why the quest must succeed. They must destroy the Ring to prevent Sauron from taking over Middle-earth, in the same way that the Ring has thoroughly corrupted Gollum’s mind and body.
As the Final Ring-bearer
Lastly, the Ring was destroyed by Gollum’s fall into the fiery pits of Mount Doom. His life being spared multiple times in different parts of the story was all for this moment. Had he not bitten off Frodo’s finger to take his Precious, the corrupted hobbit would have led Sauron and his Nazgûl straight to the One Ring.
The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings movie trilogies, and The Rings of Power series are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Max.
Read next: 5 Unsung Heroes of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy