March 25, 2025, 12:21pm

On this day, approximately 6175 years ago, Frodo Baggins completed his quest to return the One Ring to the fires of Mount Doom where it was forged. The exact details have been muddled by time and legend—reports of Baggins’s ultimate corruption by the Ring are unsubstantiated and fiercely denied by his estate to this day—but we can all celebrate the end result: the final destruction of Sauron, the fall of Barad-dûr, and the restoration of good across the land. For a more substantial obituary of Sauron, see James Whitbrook’s for io9 — but Lit Hub wanted to commemorate the anniversary this year, with a few staffers offering their thoughts on the Dark Lord after his strong showing in the Best Villains in Literature bracket.

“Incompetent villain.” — editor-in-chief Jonny Diamond

“Sauron’s cultural stickiness owes a lot to Peter Jackson visualizing the character. In [truth], Sauron never speaks, there’s no description of him having a cool helmet, and he doesn’t have that eye on top of Barad-dûr. Also, ACAB includes Sauron.” — staff writer James Folta

“Get some legs, bitch.” — associate publisher Calvin Kasulke

— editorial intern Gandalf the White

Of course, the fall of Sauron was not the end of evil in Middle-Earth, as the former wizard Saruman and his underling still needed to be scoured from the Shire and darkness always has a way of creeping back into the hearts of men. Here, in the Seventh Age, it could be argued that another alliance between the good people of what was once Middle-Earth and is now simply Earth may be required to once again send villainy back to the Shadow. Either that or we can soon expect Melkor himself to return and usher in the Dagor Dagorath, which will culminate in the destruction of all things!