13 iconic The Lord of the Rings moments fans still cherish
By Bryce Olin
3. Sam carries Frodo up Mount Doom
"Sam: “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!”"
This is one of the most iconic lines in The Lord of the Rings series, as Sam and Frodo make one last push to throw the Ring into the fires of Mount Doom.
The moment comes when Sam and Frodo can’t seem to move any further. They’re lying on the slopes of Mount Doom, and Sam asks Frodo if he remembers the Shire and all of the great things about it. While we’ve heard Frodo describe what it’s like to carry the Ring, here we see the toll it’s taken on him. He says that he can’t remember the taste of food or the sound of water, and the only thing he sees is Sauron.
Sam, hearing all of that, decides that enough is enough and musters the strength to carry Frodo to the heart of Mount Doom. It doesn’t go quite as Sam plans, obviously, with Gollum showing up and Frodo finally succumbing to the power of the Ring, if only briefly. But that doesn’t detract from how incredible and moving this moment is as Sam steps up once again to help Frodo with the burden he volunteered to carry at Rivendell.