The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King is a subtheme of The Lord of the Rings and the third book and movie in the trilogy . Sets based on it were released in June 2012 . Plot . Long ago on one of Sméagol ' s birthdays , he and his cousin Déagol were fishing . Déagol found a big fish , but was pulled underwater . There , he found the One Ring . Afterwards , he swam up to the surface . Déagol looked at it for a few seconds until Sméagol showed up . Sméagol wanted it and strangled Déagol to his death . He was then exiled and went to the Misty Mountains and turned into Gollum . The movie then shows Frodo , Sam and Gollum heading for Mount Doom , with Gollum waking them up , telling them there ' s no time to lose . Meanwhile , Aragorn , Legolas , Gimli , Gandalf , Theoden , Gamling and Éomer meet up with Merry , Pippin and Treebeard at Isengard . The group returns to Edoras , where Pippin looks into a recovered Palantír , in which Sauron appears and invades his mind ; Pippin tells him nothing regarding Frodo and the Ring . From this event , Gandalf deduces that Sauron is planning to attack Minas Tirith . Gandalf rides with Pippin to find Denethor , the Steward of Gondor , to whom Pippin swears his service . Gandalf urges Denethor to call Rohan for aid , but Denethor declines , fearing Aragorn and Gandalf plan to depose him . The Morgul army , led by the Nazgûl , drives the Gondorians out of Osgiliath . Denethor sends his son Faramir on a suicide mission to reclaim the city . Pippin lights a beacon , signaling Théoden and Aragorn to assemble the Rohirrim for battle . Elrond informs Aragorn that Arwen did not go to the Undying Lands , and is now dying . Believing their forces to be outnumbered by Sauron ' s , Elrond gives Aragorn the sword Andúril to acquire the service of the Army of the Dead , who owe allegiance to the heir of Isildur . Éowyn confesses her love for Aragorn and asks him not to go , but Aragorn reaffirms his love for Arwen and heads into battle . Accompanied by Legolas and Gimli , Aragorn ventures into the Paths of the Dead and gains the loyalty of the King of the Dead and his men by brandishing Andúril , proving himself the Heir of Isildur . At Dunharrow , Théoden rides off to war , unaware that Éowyn and Merry have secretly joined his forces . Sauron ' s armies lay siege to Minas Tirith , led by the Witch - king of Angmar . Believing a grievously wounded Faramir to be dead , Denethor tries to burn his son and himself alive , but Gandalf intervenes ; he saves Faramir , but Denethor commits suicide by jumping off the tower . Just as the Gondorians are about to be overrun , the Rohirrim army arrives and counter - attacks in a massive cavalry charge led by Théoden . This shifts the tide of the battle , and the Orcs begin to retreat . However , the Haradrim arrive and join the Orc army , turning the tide . The Witch - king kills Théoden , only to be killed himself by Éowyn with help from Merry . On the verge of defeat , the Rohirrim are saved when Aragorn , Legolas , and Gimli arrive with the Army of the Dead and decimate Sauron ' s forces , ending the battle . Aragorn frees the Army of the Dead and their souls go to the afterlife . Meanwhile , Frodo Baggins , Samwise Gamgee and Gollum travel to Minas Morgul . Sam overhears Gollum ' s plans to murder them and take the Ring for himself . Gollum persuades Frodo that Sam wants the Ring for himself , and Frodo angrily tells Sam to go home . A heartbroken Sam leaves , but discovers Gollum ' s treachery and follows after them . Gollum betrays Frodo , leaving him in the lair of the giant spider Shelob , who paralyzes Frodo ; moments later , however , Sam saves him . Gorbag and a group of Orcs capture Frodo and take him to Cirith Ungol . Sam rescues Frodo from the tower , and they continue the journey to Mount Doom . Aragorn leads his remaining men to the Black Gate of Mordor , distracting Sauron and his forces and allowing Sam and Frodo to enter Mount Doom . Sam carries the weakened Frodo up the volcano , but Gollum attacks them . At the Crack of Doom , Frodo succumbs to the Ring ' s power , refusing to destroy it . Gollum attacks Frodo and bites his finger off , seizing the Ring for himself . In the movie , An enraged Frodo attacks Gollum , and they both fall over the edge . At the last second , Frodo grabs onto the ledge , leaving Gollum to fall into the lava , taking the Ring with him . In the book , however , Gollum jumps up and down with the ring still around Frodo ' s finger , while the bleeding Frodo lies unable to move . Gollum leans pack to admire his precious , but accidentally steps over the edge , loses his footing and falls to his death , and that of the ring . As the Ring melts in the volcano , Sauron is destroyed along with Mordor . Frodo and Sam are saved from the rising lava by Eagles , led by Gandalf . In the aftermath , Aragorn is crowned King , heralding a new age of peace , and is reunited with Arwen and the four hobbits are bowed by all of Gondor for their courageous efforts . The four Hobbits return home to the Shire , where ( after battling Saruman and reclaiming their land ) Sam marries his childhood sweetheart , Rosie Cotton . A few years later , Frodo leaves Middle - earth for the Undying Lands with Gandalf , Bilbo , Elrond , Celeborn and Galadriel , leaving his account of their quest to Sam .