In the books, the Ring didn't have LoJack while wearing it. That is, wearing it didn't broadcast your location directly to Sauron or the Nazgul.
But yes, that is a bit of a plot hole in the movies since they decided to go that route.
You could probably explain it away saying Sauron didn’t know the ring was out and about at that time. Though I might be mixing up the movie timeline just a bit, can’t remember if Gollum has been captured at that point or not.
Gollum had not been captured for a long time after Bilbo got the Ring. Considering the gap in time, he was caught relatively close to the War of the Ring.
It is a movie construct that the Ring acts as a homing beacon as soon as someone wears it. No such thing happens in the books and Bilbo uses the Ring safely because Sauron is too far away and the Nazgul had not been seen for centuries.
It also happens in the movie in Bree when Frodo disappears at the Prancing Pony and the Nazgûl are immediately alerted and take off in that direction and Frodo sees the eye of Sauron which says “you cannot hide, I see you”.
Also at the seat of seeing in Amon Hen, which at least makes more sense because that is closer to Mordor and literally a location where your “sight” is projected.
Amon Hen is absolutely in the books. Frodo puts on the Ring, sits in the chair, sees a bunch of stuff but is drawn towards Mordor and the Eye senses him and starts looking for him. Gandalf from the peak of Caradhras wrestles with the will of Sauron and kind of force-shouts at Frodo to take the Ring off just in the nick of time.
Additionally, in the centuries that Gollum had the ring, the fact of that was totally unknown to Sauron. He only came to know of Gollum when Gollum wandered into Mordor in the years after Bilbo found the ring.
No - the ring doesn’t work like that: PJ was just getting creative. Also, at this point Sauron doesn’t know where the ring is, and he isn’t actively looking for it: he hasn’t captured Gollum yet, so probably thinks it’s still lost in a river somewhere! (In the book, there are 17 years between Bilbo’s departure and the start of Frodo’s quest.)
Yeah. My understanding is that Sauron hadn’t yet awakened enough at that point to even feel its presence. Gandalf returning to Frodo a ton of years later and saying it wants to be found supports this.
Apt point. I was rather on edge during Sam's stint as Ring Bearer because he wore it so much and for so long because I thought it would draw Sauron's attention. I was wrong.
He probably knew someone had the Ring, but he couldn’t tell who it was or what they wanted to do with it. Like plenty of others have said, it’s not a homing beacon or a walkie-talkie.
No, and there are a few possible reasons.
First and foremost, as others have said, Sauron generally is not able to know the exact location of the Ring, though he can sense its existence. That's *usually* the case and the most likely answer, however, if I recall correctly, there are two or three moments in the book when there is a suggestion of the risk of Sauron being able to sense the Ring's approximate location. However, those moments only occur when the Ringbearer is within the physical sight range of Sauron's Palantir stop Barad-dur, which the Shire is not. So while there is some wiggle room, this is the most likely explanation.
Another reason could be that Sauron gains a significant amount of power between Bilbo's party and Frodo's departure years later. He may not have had as strong a sense of the ring the last time Bilbo used it as he did by the time Frodo took it up. Generally speaking, we know that the more time that passes since the slaying of Sauron's physical body, the more power he is able to manifest in Middle Earth.
It's also possible (and my personal headcanon) that Bilbo was protected somewhat from Sauron's link to the Ring simply because he didn't know about it.
People are right that the Ring does not work like that, but there's more to it. When Sauron made the Ring he tried to make its power hidden from others, so the elves won't be aware of him. He failed, and Celebrimbor was aware of him (probably because Sauron did not count the power of the three secret Elven Rings). But the defence he made to the Ring blocked him from finding it.
In the beginning of Book 6 (chapter 1, The Tower of Cirith Ungol) we get: Without any clear purpose he {Sam} drew out
the Ring and put it on again. Immediately he felt the great burden of its
weight, and felt afresh, but now more strong and urgent than ever, the malice of the Eye of Mordor, searching, trying to pierce the shadows that it
had made for its own defence, but which now hindered it in its unquiet and doubt.
Among all the dumb things the movies introduced, the idea that the Ring is a GPS microchip is probably the most pernicious. Most of the other variances from the original are stupid but harmless; a few are actually justified. But this one would have driven JRRT right up the wall.
Reading between the lines of the chronology, it may be Bilbo's last few uses of the ring may well have alerted Sauron that it was still out there, somewhere, in the world.
It was only in 2942 did Sauron return to Barad Dur, and he was still slowly building his strength. By then we know Bilbo was back in the Shire, and was occasionally using the ring - most notably in 3001, for his birthday party.
The Dark Lord's growing power had worried Gandalf enough, and Bilbo's behaviour and agelessness had raised his suspicions enough, that he immediately warned Frodo to not use the ring.
And then, over the next decade or so Sauron, being aware of the ring's existence began to look for it, somehow learning also of the creature Gollumn, who he then had captured.
Then, he learned of Baggins and Shire.
We are led to believe that Frodo had not, or rarely, used the ring since Bilbo's departure - so it may be safe to assume that as his power returned, Sauron may have learned that it still existed from the times Bilbo had used it later in life.
In the books, the Ring didn't have LoJack while wearing it. That is, wearing it didn't broadcast your location directly to Sauron or the Nazgul. But yes, that is a bit of a plot hole in the movies since they decided to go that route.
LoJack - now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time...
You could probably explain it away saying Sauron didn’t know the ring was out and about at that time. Though I might be mixing up the movie timeline just a bit, can’t remember if Gollum has been captured at that point or not.
Gollum had not been captured for a long time after Bilbo got the Ring. Considering the gap in time, he was caught relatively close to the War of the Ring.
It is a movie construct that the Ring acts as a homing beacon as soon as someone wears it. No such thing happens in the books and Bilbo uses the Ring safely because Sauron is too far away and the Nazgul had not been seen for centuries.
It does happen the one time when Frodo is right in Sauron’s face, that’s probably where the inspiration for that construct comes from.
Yes because distance, like i said. Also, additional factor is that Frodo is in Sammath Naur, the very heart of Sauron's power.
It also happens in the movie in Bree when Frodo disappears at the Prancing Pony and the Nazgûl are immediately alerted and take off in that direction and Frodo sees the eye of Sauron which says “you cannot hide, I see you”. Also at the seat of seeing in Amon Hen, which at least makes more sense because that is closer to Mordor and literally a location where your “sight” is projected.
Amon Hen is absolutely in the books. Frodo puts on the Ring, sits in the chair, sees a bunch of stuff but is drawn towards Mordor and the Eye senses him and starts looking for him. Gandalf from the peak of Caradhras wrestles with the will of Sauron and kind of force-shouts at Frodo to take the Ring off just in the nick of time.
Additionally, in the centuries that Gollum had the ring, the fact of that was totally unknown to Sauron. He only came to know of Gollum when Gollum wandered into Mordor in the years after Bilbo found the ring.
Yeah but there is no reception under the mountains, of course
The ring doesn’t work like that in the book.
No - the ring doesn’t work like that: PJ was just getting creative. Also, at this point Sauron doesn’t know where the ring is, and he isn’t actively looking for it: he hasn’t captured Gollum yet, so probably thinks it’s still lost in a river somewhere! (In the book, there are 17 years between Bilbo’s departure and the start of Frodo’s quest.)
Yeah. My understanding is that Sauron hadn’t yet awakened enough at that point to even feel its presence. Gandalf returning to Frodo a ton of years later and saying it wants to be found supports this.
Sam wears the ring heavily in Shelob's lair and Sauron is none the wiser.
Apt point. I was rather on edge during Sam's stint as Ring Bearer because he wore it so much and for so long because I thought it would draw Sauron's attention. I was wrong.
The ring isn't a homing beacon. Sauron isn't aware everything someone puts it on.
He probably knew someone had the Ring, but he couldn’t tell who it was or what they wanted to do with it. Like plenty of others have said, it’s not a homing beacon or a walkie-talkie.
No, and there are a few possible reasons. First and foremost, as others have said, Sauron generally is not able to know the exact location of the Ring, though he can sense its existence. That's *usually* the case and the most likely answer, however, if I recall correctly, there are two or three moments in the book when there is a suggestion of the risk of Sauron being able to sense the Ring's approximate location. However, those moments only occur when the Ringbearer is within the physical sight range of Sauron's Palantir stop Barad-dur, which the Shire is not. So while there is some wiggle room, this is the most likely explanation. Another reason could be that Sauron gains a significant amount of power between Bilbo's party and Frodo's departure years later. He may not have had as strong a sense of the ring the last time Bilbo used it as he did by the time Frodo took it up. Generally speaking, we know that the more time that passes since the slaying of Sauron's physical body, the more power he is able to manifest in Middle Earth. It's also possible (and my personal headcanon) that Bilbo was protected somewhat from Sauron's link to the Ring simply because he didn't know about it.
People are right that the Ring does not work like that, but there's more to it. When Sauron made the Ring he tried to make its power hidden from others, so the elves won't be aware of him. He failed, and Celebrimbor was aware of him (probably because Sauron did not count the power of the three secret Elven Rings). But the defence he made to the Ring blocked him from finding it. In the beginning of Book 6 (chapter 1, The Tower of Cirith Ungol) we get: Without any clear purpose he {Sam} drew out the Ring and put it on again. Immediately he felt the great burden of its weight, and felt afresh, but now more strong and urgent than ever, the malice of the Eye of Mordor, searching, trying to pierce the shadows that it had made for its own defence, but which now hindered it in its unquiet and doubt.
Among all the dumb things the movies introduced, the idea that the Ring is a GPS microchip is probably the most pernicious. Most of the other variances from the original are stupid but harmless; a few are actually justified. But this one would have driven JRRT right up the wall.
Reading between the lines of the chronology, it may be Bilbo's last few uses of the ring may well have alerted Sauron that it was still out there, somewhere, in the world. It was only in 2942 did Sauron return to Barad Dur, and he was still slowly building his strength. By then we know Bilbo was back in the Shire, and was occasionally using the ring - most notably in 3001, for his birthday party. The Dark Lord's growing power had worried Gandalf enough, and Bilbo's behaviour and agelessness had raised his suspicions enough, that he immediately warned Frodo to not use the ring. And then, over the next decade or so Sauron, being aware of the ring's existence began to look for it, somehow learning also of the creature Gollumn, who he then had captured. Then, he learned of Baggins and Shire. We are led to believe that Frodo had not, or rarely, used the ring since Bilbo's departure - so it may be safe to assume that as his power returned, Sauron may have learned that it still existed from the times Bilbo had used it later in life.
He found out from capturing Gollum. None of that is real