Credit: Everett Collection
Published Jul 24, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT
Zach Moser has been writing for ScreenRant since 2022, covering movies, classic TV, and streaming TV. His areas of expertise cover a wide range of genres with a particular interest in horror and drama, and the conversations around the TV and film industry. When he's not covering the latest film releases or chronicling the latest season of a new show, he's writing humor pieces for McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Slackjaw, and Points In Case or working on short stories and his second novel.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is the first book in J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved fantasy trilogy. As well regarded and remembered as it is in popular culture, it's such a complex and deep tale that there are still plenty of moments that even book readers might forget.
The Fellowship of the Ring is the beginning of Frodo Baggins' journey that will eventually end in the destruction of the One Ring and Middle-earth passing from the Third Age into the Fourth Age, a bittersweet but necessary evolution. While Fellowship begins as a grand adventure in the style of Tolkien's earlier novel, The Hobbit, it doesn't take long for the dire stakes of the story to arise.
The first novel consists of 22 chapters across two "books" and journeys from Bag End in the West to Amon Hen, leagues away in the East. Over the course of this story are dozens of memorable scenes, characters, and quotes, and something like Peter Jackson's 2001 adaptation, many LOTR fans' only reference for the story, can't hope to include them all.
So there are many moments in The Fellowship that people tend to forget about. Even without considering any adaptations, so much happens in the story that you would be forgiven for not always remembering everything in the book, but because this is Tolkien, even those "forgettable" moments are critical to the themes of the story.
Frodo's Adventure Takes A Long Time To Begin
If you pick up The Fellowship of the Ring and start thumbing through the pages, trying to find the part where the hobbits get to Bree, you may be surprised how many times you have to lick your finger to turn the pages. In the novel, Frodo takes his time before getting a move on to deliver the Ring to Rivendell.
After Bilbo disappears, Frodo spends years in Bag End, and even after he decides to go on the mission, he still takes time to sell Bag End to the Sackville-Baggins, and publicly buys a small home in nearby Crickhollow, near Buckland. This is all part of a wider conspiracy to ensure that no one suspects that Frodo intends to deliver the One Ring.
Fatty Bolger Almost Becomes A Fellowship Member
Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger is a close friend of Frodo, and in Jackson's films, he briefly appears during Bilbo's birthday party, raising a glass as Bilbo shouts, "Bolgers!" in his celebration of attendees. In the book, Fatty was one of the few hobbits aware of Frodo's plan to leave Hobbiton and assisted him despite Frodo trying to keep his plans secret.
When Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Frodo leave for the Old Forest, Fatty stays behind and dresses as Frodo, living in his home to keep up the ruse that Frodo is still in Hobbiton. The trick is discovered when the Black Riders arrive, but Fatty manages to flee them and raises the alarm of Buckland.
Frodo And The Hobbits Meet Gildor The Noldor Elf
After the hobbits leave Hobbiton, they stay off the road to avoid the Black Riders. When night falls, they are nearly discovered by one, a frightening scene in the film that ends with Merry tossing a bag into the woods to distract the Ringwraith. In the novel, it's the sound of laughing and singing Elves that scare the creature away.
The High Elves approach the Hobbits and protect them for the night. One of the Elves is named Gildor Inglorion of the Noldor, and he speaks with Frodo throughout the night. Without word from Gandalf, Frodo asks Gildor for aid, and the Elf encourages him to continue on, offering the reassuring line, "Courage is found in unlikely places."
The Hobbits Are Saved From The Barrow-Wights
At one point in time, the section of The Fellowship of the Ring concerning Tom Bombadil was one of those little-known chapters book readers could introduce to people who'd only seen the film. Thanks to The Rings of Power and possibly Stephen Colbert's upcoming Lord of the Rings movie, he's a fairly well-known piece of the lore.
What might fly under the radar is how he helps the hobbits get the weapons they use throughout the series, including the knife Merry ends up using to help slay the Witch-king. After their visit with Tom, the hobbits accidentally stumble into the Barrow-downs, where they are entranced by Barrow-Wights. It's only thanks to Frodo and Tom's timely arrival that they are able to escape, with some ancient weapons as a reward.
Glorfindel Rescues Frodo From The Black Riders
Credit: Everett CollectionGlorfindel may be the most important character in The Lord of the Rings novels who does not appear in Jackson's films. In The Fellowship of the Ring, the movie, Arwen ferries Frodo across the Ford of Bruinen and calls the water down on the Nazgûl. In the book, that role is taken on by Glorfindel, one of the mightiest Elves in Middle-Earth's history.
Glorfindel is then present at the Council of Elrond, providing crucial wisdom as the assembled parties discuss what to do with the Ring. There are few more powerful people alive in the Third Age than Glorfindel. When he finds Aragorn and the hobbits, he explains three Black Riders fled from him on his way. For the first part of The Fellowship, the Black Riders have been haunting every page. Glorfindel shows up and scares off three of them.
Wolves Attack The Fellowship After Caradhras
Surprisingly, Jackson actually skipped an action scene in the book while making The Fellowship of the Rings. After the Fellowship attempts to cross over the snowy Caradhras, they decide to take the path through Moria. At the base of the mountain, however, they encounter a new foe, a pack of Wargs.
That evening, the Company fights off an initial attack, but when the sun sets, the beasts launch an all-out assault. Legolas kills the Warg leader with his bow, while Gandalf terrifies the rest with his fiery magic. It's a sudden burst of excitement and drama after a long, painful slog through the mountain pass.
The Trek Through Lothlorien Is A Journey In Itself
Credit: Everett CollectionWhile the chapters of the Fellowship's time in Lothlorien are fantastic, the journey to get there is a beautiful, dramatic part of the book as well. It all begins with a heightened moment of animosity between Gimli and the Silvan Elves, who demand the Dwarf be blindfolded for the journey.
Against Legolas' objections, Aragorn suggests that the entire Fellowship be blindfolded so Gimli does not feel so alone. On their journey, the Fellowship climbs woven ladders into tall trees, sleeps uneasily in nest-like beds, and crosses bridges on their way to the beautiful city at the center of the forest. It gives Lothlorien a more ethereal and even foreboding air.
The Fellowship Encounters A Flying Nazgul On The Anduin
Credit: MovieStillsDBOne of the great shots of Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is the reveal that the Nazgûl survived. The camera focuses on one of the Ringwraiths in a close-up profile, and it looks like it's riding a horse. The camera then slowly zooms out to show the scaly, dragon-like fell beast it's atop.
It's a breathtaking moment, but the winged replacement for the Ringwraiths' black horses was revealed to book readers in The Fellowship of the Ring. While the Company sails down the Anduin, unwittingly towards the breaking of their Fellowship, they encounter Orcs on the opposite shore. They also encounter a Nazgûl atop the winged steed, the first time we see one. Legolas, as can be counted on, shoots the Nazgûl with an arrow and drives it off.
Created by J.R.R. Tolkien
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