[alatar]

alatar bows low to CSteefel, as he thought that this thread would remain unposted...

Originally Posted by CSteefel

Not quite sure what you mean with all your dates. Gollum was captured by Sauron in the period 3009-3017 and was released in 3017. On his way back, he was captured in turn by Aragorn, who delivered him to the Elves. So he had no time after his capture by Sauron to do anything.

Sorry about all of the numbers. Let's just take two - 2941 and 3018. That, if I do my math right, is 77 years. Gollum's ring-lust is supposedly at addict level. And yet he never gets to Hobbiton in all of those years?

By the way, I forgot to factor in Aragorn's capture of Gollum, and the elves imprisonment of the same. This, to me, only adds to the confusion, as Gollum escapes from the elves in 3018 (methinks) and yet heads eastward when the Ring was in the West?

Earlier it is stated in The Tale of Years that Gollum made his way to the confines of Mordor about 2980 where he made the acquaintance of Shelob, but there is no mention of capture at this point. So it did take him 36 years to make it to Mordor, and even 4 years to make it out of the Misty Mountains. And then after his first visit to Mordor in 2980, another 30 at least to make it back there, presumably called or drawn by Sauron.

Conceding to your timeline, that makes Gollum one of the slowest movers in Middle Earth - and yet we are to believe that he is fanatical regarding the Ring, his precious.

Given his aversion to Sauron and also the Nazgul, it isn't entirely clear why Gollum would have gone to Mordor, unless drawn by the idea that the Ring was there.

Gandalf states that, as a Ringbearer, Gollum was 'open to the call,' which drew him to Sauron. On the other side, the 'call' must have been more like a weak suggestion, as Gollum takes his good ole time getting to Mordor. As an aside, one pities the poor Balrog of Moria, who obviously spent many a tearful nights sitting by the phone, waiting for it to ring.

"Why doesn't he call?"

Also, it is stated in The Hunt for the Ring in the Unfinished Tales that it was 3017 when Gollum was captured by Sauron, so Sauron knew nothing of this before then. And it is stated that Gollum led Sauron to believe that he thought that the Halflings lived somewhere near the Gladden Fields and initially the Nazgul were sent to search in this region. Only after they returned, close to midsummer, were they sent to question Saruman. From Saruman and Wormtongue they found out the location of the Shire.

Don't know for sure. Something doesn't sit right - but maybe it's me. Wasn't the reason that Saruman unleashed the White Council on Dol Guldur, unless Sauron was getting too close to the Gladden Fields due to information regarding Isildur via Ohtar and not Gollum (which makes more sense)? But still...

Anyway, Gollum is at sometime captured and tortured by Sauron, then captured and pampered by Aragorn and the elves, and then escapes, and all of this has to happen within a year, if we assume that Gollum was initially captured in 3017.

So Sauron's off the hook.

Thanks for posting.