Bilbo announces his retirement at his 111th birthday party and uses the ring to disappear before his startled guests.

Gandalf returns to warn Frodo that Sauron has sent forces to the Shire after learning the name Baggins from Gollum.

Frodo departs the Shire with Sam and Pippin and is repeatedly forced to hide from Black Riders on the road.

Tom Bombadil rescues Merry and Pippin from Old Man Willow by singing a reprimanding song at the ancient tree.

Frodo accidentally slips the One Ring onto his finger while performing at The Prancing Pony and vanishes before the crowd.

The Witch-king of the Ringwraiths stabs Frodo in the shoulder with a poisoned blade at Weathertop.

Frodo rides Glorfindel's white horse to the Ford of Bruinen, where the river floods and sweeps away the pursuing Ringwraiths.

Frodo wakes in Rivendell and reunites with Gandalf after Elrond heals the poisonous wound from the Ringwraith's blade.

Frodo volunteers to carry the One Ring to Mordor at the Council of Elrond, surprising all those assembled.

The nine-member Fellowship of the Ring is formed and departs from Rivendell to begin the journey toward Mordor.

A violent blizzard on the slopes of Caradhras forces the fellowship to abandon the mountain pass and turn back.

Gandalf holds off the demonic Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-Dûm and plummets into the chasm with the creature.

The grieving fellowship arrives in the Elven realm of Lórien and is received by Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel.

Boromir follows Frodo alone into the woods, loses himself to the ring's influence, and lunges to seize it from him.

Sam leaps into the river to follow Frodo's departing boat and nearly drowns before Frodo rescues him.

The Fellowship of the Ring follows Frodo Baggins from the moment his cousin Bilbo's magical ring becomes his inheritance at a grand birthday party. After Gandalf warns him that Sauron's forces are searching the Shire for the ring, Frodo flees with Sam and Pippin, surviving encounters with terrifying Black Riders before barely escaping a near-fatal stabbing at Weathertop. He reaches the Elven haven of Rivendell, where he volunteers at a great council to carry the ring all the way to Mordor. A nine-member fellowship forms to accompany him, but the group suffers a devastating blow when Gandalf falls battling the Balrog in the Mines of Moria. After a restorative stay in the Elven realm of Lórien, the fellowship fractures when Boromir tries to seize the ring, and Frodo chooses to press on to Mordor with only Sam by his side.

The essential journey from the Shire to the breaking of the fellowship.

Bilbo struggles to relinquish the ring, calling it his precious, before finally dropping it and departing the Shire.

Samwise is caught eavesdropping outside Frodo's window and Gandalf instructs him to accompany Frodo beyond the Shire.

Frodo sells Bag End to Lobelia Sackville-Baggins and departs under the pretense of moving to Buckland.

Gildor and his company of High Elves meet the three hobbits in the woods and confirm the Black Riders serve the Enemy.

Farmer Maggot refuses to reveal Frodo's whereabouts to a Black Rider and drives the hobbits safely to the ferry.

Merry and Pippin confess to Frodo that they have been secretly watching him for months and plan to join his journey.

Old Man Willow ensnares Merry and Pippin while the hobbits travel through the haunted Old Forest.

Barrow-wights capture the hobbits on the Barrow-downs and Frodo awakens to find his friends laid out like the dead.

Tom Bombadil banishes the barrow-wight and presents each hobbit with an ancient dagger forged to fight the Dark Lord.

Innkeeper Butterbur delivers Gandalf's long-delayed letter to Frodo at The Prancing Pony, confirming Strider is a trusted ally.

The fellowship discovers Balin's tomb in the Chamber of Mazarbul and reads the grim record of the Dwarves' last days.

An orc drives a spear into Frodo during the battle in Moria, but the hidden mithril coat saves his life.

Galadriel presents each member of the fellowship with a personalized parting gift suited to their individual needs and character.

The fellowship travels south by river and passes between the Argonath, the towering carved statues of Aragorn's royal ancestors.

Boromir returns to the group after his encounter with Frodo and admits that Frodo vanished, withholding the full truth.

Behind the main quest lies a series of smaller but vital events that shape the fellowship and define its members. Before leaving the Shire, Bilbo's emotional struggle to relinquish the ring and the revelation that Sam, Merry, and Pippin have been conspiring to join Frodo reveal the deep bonds of loyalty running through the story. The hobbits face early dangers in the haunted Old Forest and the Barrow-downs, with Tom Bombadil's rescues and his gift of ancient daggers preparing them for harder trials ahead. In Bree, a long-delayed letter from Gandalf resolves the hobbits' suspicions of Strider, and the fellowship later confronts the grim ruins of Moria, where Balin's tomb and an orc attack test their resolve. The journey through Lórien ends with Galadriel's personalized parting gifts and a glide down the Great River past the towering Argonath, culminating in Boromir's evasive account of his final encounter with Frodo.

The supporting moments and hidden depths behind the main quest.

Gandalf throws the ring into Frodo's fireplace and a fiery inscription appears on the gold, identifying it as the One Ring.

Frodo attempts to throw the ring into the fire to destroy it but finds himself utterly unable to release it.

Gandalf refuses to take the ring from Frodo, warning that even his own powerful will could be corrupted by it.

Frodo resolves to leave the Shire with the ring and protect his home, knowing he may never return.

Frodo calls out Tom Bombadil's song while imprisoned in the barrow, summoning the ancient spirit to rescue the hobbits.

Strider reveals himself to be Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and produces the shards of the broken Sword of Elendil.

The Black Riders simultaneously attack Frodo's home at Crickhollow and the hobbits' empty guest rooms at The Prancing Pony.

Aragorn discloses at the Council of Elrond that he is Isildur's heir and pledges his sword to Gondor's defense.

Gandalf reveals to the Council that Saruman captured and imprisoned him at Orthanc after he refused to serve Sauron.

Bilbo gives Frodo the sword Sting and a coat of mithril chainmail as farewell gifts before the fellowship departs Rivendell.

Sam says a tearful farewell to Bill the pony at the gates of Moria before the fellowship enters the mines.

Gandalf solves the riddle of the Moria gate inscription by speaking the Elvish word for friend, and the doors open.

Sam and Frodo look into the Mirror of Galadriel and see troubling visions of the Shire and Sauron's Eye.

Frodo offers the One Ring to Galadriel, who is briefly tempted by its power before refusing and passing the test.

Frodo puts on the ring to escape Boromir, sees Sauron's Eye searching for him, and resolves to journey to Mordor alone.

The Fellowship of the Ring is propelled forward by a series of crucial revelations and choices that expose the ring's true nature and test the resolve of those who encounter it. The discovery of the ring's identity in Frodo's fireplace, and his paralysing inability to destroy it himself, establishes the moral weight of the entire saga. Key turning points follow as Frodo resolves to leave his home, Strider's true identity is dramatically unmasked, and the Ringwraiths launch simultaneous night attacks that confirm the enemy has found the hobbits. At the Council of Elrond, Gandalf's revelation of Saruman's treachery and Aragorn's disclosure of his royal lineage reshape the understanding of who can be trusted in Middle-earth. In Lórien, the Mirror's troubling visions and Galadriel's courageous refusal of the ring prepare Frodo for the fellowship's final crisis, when he sees Sauron's searching Eye and chooses to face Mordor alone.