| “ | No. This fellow ain’t dead. She jabs them with her stinger, and he goes as limp as a boned fish. Then she has her way with them. That's how she likes to feed. Fresh blood. | „ |
| ~ Gorbag upon finding a paralyzed Frodo, who had been stabbed by Shelob |
| “ | You touch it, and I'll stick this blade in your gut! | „ |
| ~ Gorbag threatens Shagrat. |
| “ | Stop your squealing, you dunghill rat! (draws a knife) I'm gonna bleed you like a stuck pig! | „ |
| ~ Gorbag about to kill Frodo for attempting to escape, only to be impaled by Sam (also his last words). |
Gorbag is a minor antagonist in The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien and its 2003 film adaptation The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He was an Orc Lieutenant in service of Sauron.
He is stationed at Cirith Ungol alongside other Mordor Orcs but also several Uruk-hai led by Shagrat, with whom they have a tense friendship that eventually boils over into violence in Return of the King after Frodo is captured and his possessions divided up among the Orcs.
He was portrayed by Stephen Ure, who also previously portrayed Grishnákh in the previous movie, The Two Towers.
Biography[]
In the books[]
In the books, Gorbag is seen conversing with Shagrat by a invisible Samwise as the two encounter an unconscious Frodo, knocked out by Shelob's venom, with Gorbag assuming Frodo's partner must've been a powerful elf warrior and Shagrat explaining the danger of Shelob's venom. The two carry Frodo to Cirith Ungol whilst Gorbag expresses his complaints about Sauron's rule.
Later at Cirith Ungol, Gorbag, upon noticing the invaluable Mithril shirt, sought to take it for himself so he can sell it and escape Sauron's forces, however Shagrat refuses and insists all of Frodo's belongings go to Sauron.
Gorbag attempts a sneak attack on Shagrat, but is injured and apparently killed by him via strangulation, which in turn starts off a violent free-for-all between the Orcs and the Uruk-hai that ends with the two sides wiping each other out. Posing as a corpse, Gorbag attempts to stab Shagrat from behind only to be attacked by him, with Shagrat making sure Gorbag was dead this time by repeatedly stabbing his body.
In the films[]
In the movies, it is Gorbag who is the loyal one and Shagrat who succumbs to greed when he demands that Gorbag hand over the Mithril shirt. It is also Gorbag that explains how Shelob's venom works. Additionally Gorbag is turned into a small orc when in the book, he was a Black Uruk.
Gorbag insists that it go to the Great Eye along with everything else Frodo had on him. When Shagrat refuses to listen, Gorbag threatens to skewer him if he doesn't comply, leading to a fight that then spills over into their respective followers, and as in the book, Orc and Uruk-hai turn on and annihilate one another. But with Gorbag still alive, he goes after Frodo as the latter tries to escape, only for Sam to impale him from behind on Sting.
In video games[]
In the video game adaptation of Return of the King movie, Gorbag is a boss battle that Sam must win to free Frodo, as opposed to Sam simply stabbing him from behind while he is distracted.
In LEGO The Lord of the Rings, a generic Mordor Orc wearing armor fills in Gorbag's role and dialogue from the movie.
Gorbag is a playable character in The Lord of the Rings: Rise to War.
Personality[]
| “ | “What d'you say? - if we get a chance, you and me'll slip off and set up somewhere on our own with a few trusty lads, somewhere where there's good loot nice and handy, and no big bosses.” | „ |
| ~ Gorbag expressing his desire to leave Sauron's forces to Shagrat. |
Gorbag is known for a love of torture of prisoners and admits to being scared of the Nazgûl.
Despite this, he seems to have some knowledge of morality as he he disapprovingly declared Frodo's elven warrior companion (actually Samwise), apparently deserting him as a "regular elvish trick." Not long after this, Shagrat mentions he and his comrades found their missing comrade, Ufthak bound by webs in Shelob's lair, but refused to save him out of fear of Shelob, with Gorbag laughing at this and failing to see a connection between this and "regular elvish tricks."
Gorbag dreamed of leaving Sauron's forces and retiring to the countryside, where he could live the simple of a bandit with a couple of "trusty lads" away from all the "big bosses." A major reason he desired the mythril shirt, which was worth a small country according to Gandalf, was to be set for life.
Notes[]
- Gorbag and Shagrat reminiscing about the "good old days" and the "great siege" are frequently debated by the fandom, as it could be read to they were there themselves, which could make them hundreds or even thousands of years old.
