"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them ..." The "One Ring" is powerful and mysterious. However, sometimes it seems far more mysterious than powerful, especially when fans of Peter Jackson's films try to take a closer look.
There's so much fabulous content, characters, and writing in the Lord of the Rings films, that sometimes a few questions get ignored. A lot of those questions surround the very ring that the title and the story are centered around. While the books cover many of the topics regarding the one ring in-depth, the films have left a lot of fans wondering what was so special about the one ring in the first place.
Gandalf Never Examined It
Bilbo was in possession of the ring for quite a few years before he left it to Frodo and Gandalf finally thought it origins worth exploring. Bilbo's obsession with the ring, and his seeming eternal youth, doesn't seem to have interested Gandalf in the slightest.
It could have been some power of the rings, protecting itself by putting off Gandalf's interest, but not enough is known about how the ring works to say for sure. It's very strange that it took the wise wizard so long to take an interest.
It Fit Everyone
When Bilbo wore the ring, it fit him perfectly. When Frodo wore it, it fit him as well. It fit Gollum/Smeagol, and it fit Sauron back in the day. Why should a ring that is supposed to be trying to return to its master use any power making it easier to wear for just about anyone who stumbles upon it?
It certainly makes the ring easier to transport, maybe closer to Sauron, but the ring didn't seem to make that choice based on who was wearing it or where it was.
Sauron Didn't Sense It
Sauron's eye seemed able to see the ring when Frodo put it on. The Nazgul could sense the ring to track it. However, once Frodo and Sam enter Mordor the ring seems harder to sense for its master. The ring is back on home turf, within the grasp of its master, and yet Sauron doesn't seem to sense its nearness or be able to locate it as it makes its way across his domain and moves from Frodo's possession to Sam's, and back again.
No One Looked For It
The ring was very powerful. Sauron knew it. Isildur knew it. Elrond knew it. And yet, the ring was allowed to disappear, fall into legend, and then fall into the hands of Smeagol. It almost brought down the entirety of Middle Earth and, despite the short lives of men, Elrond and his elves were still around.
And, despite the danger, it could present no one considered searching for it to make sure the world stayed safe and intact. Instead, the elves waited for trouble to find them before getting involved.
Bilbo Got Old
After Bilbo gave the ring up to Frodo he got very old and very frail. While Gollum didn't give up the ring, he did lose it. Yet, Gollum, while transformed, isn't frail but quite the survivor.
What the ring really does to the age and strength of a character is very confusing when comparing Bilbo and Gollum. Frodo may not age quickly because he didn't have the ring as long as Bilbo, but Gollum has it longest and outlives quite a lot of characters,
Sauron Didn't Sense Bilbo
Sauron was building his power long before Bilbo bequeathed the ring to Frodo. Yet, Sauron never seems to have sensed Bilbo and the ring the way he sensed Frodo. The Nazgul are only sent to the Shire after Bilbo leaves and Frodo is alone with the heirloom. Maybe Sauron wasn't at the top of his powers and thus didn't have the strength to sense Bilbo when he had the ring, but one would imagine that the ring, as part of Sauron, would be one of the first things Sauron would be able to sense.
Bilbo Never Saw Sauron
Despite his many years with the ring and his many escapades using the ring's power of invisibility Sauron never seems to have sensed Bilbo and Bilbo never seems to have seen Sauron as Frodo was cursed to when he put the ring on. How and when was the ring able to reach out to its true master? It's never made quite clear, particularly when comparing both its Hobbit ring bearers.
More Powerful Than The Other Rings
The one ring is said to be the most powerful when compared to the three rings for the elves, the seven rings for the dwarves, and the nine rings given to men.
However, despite the fact that the one ring is said to have been forged in the fires of Mount Doom, it's never made clear what makes it so much more powerful than the other "rings of power" that were forged in the Second Age of Middle Earth. What, exactly, gave it sway over all the other rings in existence?
Its Powers
The one ring was said to be the most powerful ring and could control all the others that were forged, but it's never made clear what that means exactly. Despite being able to make the wearer invisible (or, more precisely, transport the wearer to the spirit realm) but, as useful as that can be, it doesn't sound particularly powerful compared to say, what Gandalf and the other wizards are capable of. What exactly could the one ring do?
Defensive Powers
All the powers the ring is described as having in Lord of the Rings seem to be defensive powers. It can make the wearer invisible/travel to the spirit realm, and it can, at times, sense its master and try to get back to him. But those are all defensive powers. The ring doesn't seem to be able to play offense the way Gandalf can. That's a strange way for the most powerful weapon in the world to work.