Lord Of The Rings: 7 Heroes Fans Hated (& 3 Villains They Loved)
The Lord Of The Rings might be set in Middle Earth where orcs roam the lands and giant spiders and elves exist, but the story is essentially a classic good vs. evil. There are those looking to save the world, destroying the One Ring which is those in the Fellowship, and the people that help them. Yet on the flip side, there are those who want the ring to use it for their own needs.
The story goes in a direction that forces audiences to be on the side of the Fellowship, as they are the journeys that are highlighted the most. But that doesn't mean everything is black and white. Not all the heroes were loved, and not all of the villains were hated. Did you get tired of Legolas and Gimli's body counting, or were you someone who wanted to see more of The Balrog?
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10 Hero Fans Hated: Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is a fantastic character in The Hobbit franchise and someone who really pushes the underdog aspect of his personality well. However, in Lord Of The Rings, that's not really the case, as he comes across as quite bitter, angry, and jealous of others.
He has moments of being scary, such as when he snaps at Frodo, and while there are some lighter moments where kindness seeps through, there's not enough of it to make him a great hero in this story, which is why some fans didn't like him.
9 Villain Fans Loved: Saruman
Saruman might have been one of the main villains within the story, but that didn't mean that fans couldn't love his character. Simply because of the sorcery and magic involved in his character, as the most powerful wizard in Middle Earth, he became a truly intriguing character.
8 Hero Fans Hated: The Army Of The Dead
The main problem with The Army of the Dead is the fact that they were unwilling to go and fight, taking so much convincing to get to that point. The fact is, they were already dead, and the fact they weren't willing to help annoyed a lot of fans.
The reason for it was that they'd only respond to an heir of Isildur, but the sheer reluctance to help is a frustrating element of the move, with these characters really having no desire to help. While some might argue that they were villains due to the fact they're traitors, for the actions that are actually showcased in the movie, they helped the heroes, putting them in the same category.
7 Hero Fans Hated: Denethor
Another character who could be seen as a villain is Denethor. The Steward of Gondor is technically on the heroes side of the war, although his attempts to actually help them never come to fruition, and his overall personality is one of a cruel and wicked man.
However, it's important to note when he is shown, Denethor is grieving heavily over the loss of Boromir. However, that doesn't excuse the way he treats Pippin, or his other son, Faramir, which is ultimately why people disliked him as a character.
6 Villain Fans Loved: Gollum
There's no doubt that fans loved Gollum as a character, as he was one that had so much personality it was impossible not to like him. While he was sneaky and cunning, ultimately being out for himself to get the One Ring, it was easy to find sympathy with him as well due to what the One Ring had done to him and the emotional trauma and physical torture he went through at points.
Gollum did actually help Frodo a lot as well within the journey, taking him a long way and without Gollum's help, there's no doubt he wouldn't make it. However, he is also funny at times too, coming out with some brilliant lines that really helped make the character a hit.
5 Hero Fans Hated: Boromir
While Boromir was a member of the Fellowship, which made him a clear hero, he was a conflicted character. Because of that, a lot of fans did end up hating him because of his jealous and selfish behavior throughout the majority of his time in the story.
Even though he makes up for his sins at the very end, it's not enough to rescue his character, who bullies Frodo and tries to steal the One Ring for himself due to his greed and lust for power. He doesn't have many traits that align with being a hero, so it's not a surprise a lot of fans hate him.
4 Hero Fans Hated: Frodo
Frodo might be the main character of the story and the one who carries the One Ring on its journey, that doesn't mean everyone liked him. Frodo is a whiney character and someone who makes a lot of bad decisions along his journey, even though he clearly has a huge burden to carry.
Frodo relies on a lot of people to help him, and he's very rarely thankful for that. But it is his treatment of Sam that really made people sour on the character. Despite the fact, Sam does everything for him and always has Frodo's best interests at heart, Frodo chooses Gollum over him and treats Sam poorly throughout their journey, belittling him constantly.
3 Villains Fans Loved: Shelob
Considering the fact that Shelob almost killed Frodo, it's not a shock that many fans loved this character. There's no doubt that the giant spider was one of the scariest parts of the entire trilogy, however from a visual standpoint it was a fantastic CGI creature, the likes of which hadn't really been seen before.
Shelob is an iconic part of Lord Of The Rings and is a character that is very memorable, which is another reason why she was a popular character. With such a cool look and the fact Shelob was genuinely scary, this is a character that fans did end up enjoying.
2 Hero Fans Hated: Arwen
Arwen had all the potential to be a badass female protagonist in this movie, yet the vast majority of her screentime goes to waste.
Arwen is in the dark for the majority of the movie in the eyes of the fans. She doesn't help the fight outside of rescuing Frodo, which is a shame as more scenes like that would have felt like she was a contributing hero, rather than just a side character fans didn't really get to know.
1 Hero Fans Hated: The Eagles
It's become a running joke amongst most fans of the Middle Earth franchise that The Eagles will be on hand to save the day over any situation. There are memes and videos all about them, with these heroic animals conveniently popping up whenever a situation calls for it.
Most audience members found these characters to be a giant plot hole in the movie, with them being used as a device to get the heroes out of seemingly impossible situations. While there's nothing wrong with the characters, as they have no real personality outside of flying in and picking people up, they pop-up too frequently across the story, which ended up annoying fans.
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