[Nikkolas]

This is something I always wondered about. What if Gandalf still failed in his mission even after being sent back? Would he just shrug his shoulders say "I tried" and head back to Undying Lands with the other Elves, abandoning the Men and Dwarves to the mercy of Sauron?

I propose two situations though since it seems like they'd be on different scales of "we're screwed."

1. Frodo just dies somewhere...I dunno, Shelob eats him. The Ring is lost or Gollum takes it and hides back in his cave. With The One lost forever in this scenario, is all hope extinguished or is there a faint glimmer?

2. Sauron does recover the One Ring. Is that when everyone just gives up and flees to the West?

EDIT:
I always call Shelob Ungoliant... I'm dumb.