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Originally Posted by davem
We are in an impossible position - its not possible to judge him fairly because none of our standards can encompass him.
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And this is why I think there is no actual judgement we can make. Not a "just" one. This is also, I think, why Tolkien himself is reluctant to make any final judgement as well. I think all we can discuss here is "would Gollum be executed in Gondor?" or "would Gollum be executed by the Elves?" or "would you execute Gollum?" (which is, I think, what was this thread turning to at some points - as it happens, unfortunately, many times in threads like that). There is no "did Gollum deserve death" objectively - we are not gods, we are mere humans... and Downers, which is even worse
And if Tolkien himself refused to make final judgement on this, he probably thought the same.