Instead of letting the innocent, unsuspecting Frodo waltz into Bag End looking for Bilbo and just PICKING UP THE RING as Gandalf smokes and contemplates, Gandalf could have put a cup over the suspect ring and a sheet of paper under it, as if it was a goddamn spider (here the fandom draws Ungoliant and attercop thematic symbolism from this). Contained from direct physical contact, Gandalf could have then dropped the Ring into a mold of melted wax, in a shape that is pretty thick but not too unwieldy, and let it cool. Upgrades that weak envelope and wax seal game.
Solutions this offers on the way to Mt. Doom:
Someone wants to put on the Ring (gives into the temptation), they have to chip through several inches of wax to do so, drawing attention to themselves by those who should be monitoring for such an inevitability (:cough: the fellowship)
P.S. Why wasn’t Samwise strictly instructed to prevent Frodo from ever putting on the Ring? It’d have been a failsafe; he could’ve rugby-tackled him when things got weird, which he did the once in the movies, but you’d think they’d tell everyone, “Hey, if Frodor starts staring at the Ring or twirling it in his fingers or stroking it like a newborn rabbit, tackle his ass.”
Poor innocent, unsuspecting Frodo wouldn’t have waltzed in from the 111th Birthday party and just PICKED UP THE RING like he was tidying the place up.
P.S. I hold Gandalf entirely responsible for this; he should have prevented ALL unnecessary, casual, accidental contact with the Ring. Frodo was not read his rights nor were the terms of the agreement disclosed to him before his first physical contact with the Ring.
The whole Prancing Pony Ring-STEADY-ON-Toss-And-End-Up-On-Finger-gate would never have happened. Thus the Nagzul would not have found them so soon, thus Weathertop Stabby Time could have been prevented.
Boromir’s “Odd that so much fear from so little a thing” moment in the mountains prevented.
Eh, then Frodo would have been screwed when Boromir cornered him alone in the woods. Needed that Ring that one time to nope out of that situ. Then again, the Fellowship had the one job of keeping an eye on Frodo, and all six at the river’s edge that day, one of whom is Mr. Elf Eyes himself, missed him going off on his own while the most susceptible to the Ring’s pull disappeared as well. Failure.
P.S. Why put it on a chain around his neck, Albatross-style? Why not use the medieval equivalent of ducktape it physically bind it onto Frodo’s person in such a way that he can’t get to the Ring, or at the very least put a finger through it?
And while no craft that they here at the Council of Elrond possess could destroy the ring, they most definitely could have sealed that shit in a small metal box that would require a smithy to open to prevent people from putting it on as they walked to Mt. Doom.
They could have done a lot to put up barriers to giving into the temptation to put the Ring on for all involved is all I’m saying. Maybe take five minutes to think about logistics instead of, “Cricky get the bags. Let’s go.”