[Elladan and Elrohir]

Well, Frodo does order, "Down!" at one point in the book, and deals with Gollum like a dog a couple times, though for the most part he treats him like another human being. I don't mind this aspect of their relationship in the film at all, though.

It's very interesting to observe the Frodo-Sam-Gollum relationship dynamic in TTT, and then to see how it turns on its head in ROTK. In TTT, Frodo is presented as being wiser, more merciful, and more mature than Sam, as he spares Gollum's life and makes him lead them to Mordor while Sam becomes petty and jealous of Gollum. In ROTK, Frodo is presented as being blinded to Gollum's true nature, and eventually abandons Sam, while Sam is the hero who sees Gollum for who he really is, and eventually rescues Frodo. Obviously, this is the way it is in the films, not the books.

So what changes? How come Frodo is right in TTT and Sam is right in ROTK? I think it really comes about because of the change in Gollum's character. In TTT, we see a Gollum who is very conflicted, and feels the call of the Ring, but ultimately wants to "be good," at least until the end. In ROTK, we see a Gollum who argues with himself again towards the beginning, but other than that is just evil.

But I don't think Frodo and Sam's positions really change that much. Although, Frodo seems to be blind in ROTK, and I don't ever get that impression in TTT. And of course, Sam in ROTK seems to have rid himself of the sibling rivalry mentality he had in TTT. But their basic positions -- Frodo, Gollum good; Sam, Gollum bad -- don't change a bit.

So there's my dissertation, and as usual, it delves heavily into future sequences. Oh well, at least I'm not giving it in an Aragorn thread.