Movies/TV Who is the main protagonist of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy: Frodo or Aragorn?

[Greninjaman]

I know both are important to the story (Frodo is the Ringbearer while Aragorn is the next king of Gondor). My question is, who is the TRUE protagonist of the two?

 

[EzloSpirit]

I would consider Aragorn a deuteragonist. He's vastly important to the plot, but the central conflict is Frodo vs. Sauron, as the main adventure in the book/movies is Frodo's journey to Mount Doom. Frodo's journey is what drives the plot, while the battles kind of happen on the side lol. (That's something I don't really like about the movies; the battles felt shoehorned in, when all I really cared about was Frodo's adventure.)

 

[Greninjaman]

I would consider Aragorn a deuteragonist. He's vastly important to the plot, but the central conflict is Frodo vs. Sauron, as the main adventure in the book/movies is Frodo's journey to Mount Doom. Frodo's journey is what drives the plot, while the battles kind of happen on the side lol. (That's something I don't really like about the movies; the battles felt shoehorned in, when all I really cared about was Frodo's adventure.)

I can see the two of them sharing the protagonist role. That does make sense in thinking about it.

 

[Daren]

Ultimately Frodo's burden of the Ring is the main story; after the intro one of the first scenes is him lying in a field, and the films end with his departure, though the battles in Two Towers and Return of the King taking up so much of the screentime can certainly muddy thing a little.
Edit:

(That's something I don't really like about the movies; the battles felt shoehorned in, when all I really cared about was Frodo's adventure.)

As I get older I come around more and more to the opinion that the films missed a lot of the spirit and theme of the novels, even if on a surface level they adapt the story beats fairly closely for a lot of it. The fact I regularly see people who think Aragorn (or Sam) was the real protagonist is a symptom of this.

 

[FelipePR]

I know both are important to the story (Frodo is the Ringbearer while Aragorn is the next king of Gondor). My question is, who is the TRUE protagonist of the two?

The main Protagonist is Frodo, as it is to him that destiny holds the burden of being the Ringbearer. The One Ring, in the hands of Sauron, presents an existential threat to Middle Earth, the domination of evil over all creatures and everything living. The entire story stems from this premise, from the vital need to ensure that the ring does not return to its creator, which leads to the formation of the Fellowship of the Ring and Frodo's Journey to Mount Doom, the main plot driver of the book.

It is certain, however, that, at the end of the first book, or film, there is a split in the Fellowship of the Ring, which is divided into two fronts, one with Sam and Frodo, who will continue their journey, now assisted by Gollum, to Mount Doom, and the other with the other main characters, which led by Aragorn, and supported by Gandalf, will seek to halt the advance of the forces of evil and draw the attention of Sauron's eye so that a favorable conclusion to the Ringbearer's Journey may be possible.

The books are very well divided between these two narrative arcs, but it is through the arc led by Aragorn that we have a broader presentation of Middle Earth, the introduction of several new characters with new plots and epic battles which can convey the mistaken sensation that, narratively, this is the main arc, when it is the opposite.

On the other hand, it is clear too that, in the work, we have underlying main plots to the main story, one of them being: The Redemption of Humanity, which will emerge victorious both in the external battlefield, against the forces of evil, and in the internal, within the evil that resides in ourselves.

Through this theme, it is shown that humanity is capable of standing firm on its own, as well as demonstrating its fitness to inherit the world of Middle Earth. This redemption signifies the conclusion of the Third Era, ushering in a new era where humanity takes on the mantle of dominion and responsibility over a world that is no longer allegorical, but real.

Still, Tolkien chose to write and say goodbye to that allegorical world through the eyes of the smallest of creatures, the Hobbits, who, given their courage and inner strength, teach us that even the most unlikely heroes can make a significant difference in the world. In the end, Frodo represents each and every one of us who, regardless of our factual conditions and social accolades, can, if we so choose, make a difference in the world.

Anyway, what you have to keep in mind, My dear Greninjaman, is that real changes depend on a common effort and that "only a small part is played in great deeds by any hero". (Gandalf)

 

[Greninjaman]

You know, I can see both as being the protagonist in their own ways:
Frodo is the Ringbearer and must take the Ring to Mt. Doom
Aragorn is the next king of Gondor

Each have different journeys after the Fellowship breaks.