Arguably one of the most famous lines throughout the trilogy is "One cannot simply walk into Mordor," said in the film adaptation of the Fellowship of the Ring by Boromir, the captain of Gondor. The Council of Elrond has gathered to discuss the fate of the One Ring of power, and when they decide that it must be destroyed in the original flames of Mount Doom, Boromir is outraged, arguing that there is nothing in the cruel lands of Mordor but evil creatures, foul air, despair, and death. He states that entering the land is an impossible task, and that "not with 10,000 men could you do this."
However, there are in fact many ways in which various members of the fellowship manage to enter the seemingly impenetrable lands of Mordor. The first person to enter, which happens long before the events of the Council of Elrond, and is indeed what sets off the entire quest to destroy the ring from where it has long remained safe and dormant in The Shire, is the creature Gollum. Although he is admittedly dragged into Mordor, and doesn’t at first go of his own free will, he does enter Mordor, where he is held captive and tortured in the tower of Bahrad-dur, where he reveals the ring’s location after Bilbo stupidly gives his full name and home address during their game of riddles, played beneath the Misty Mountains.
The next group of people to enter Mordor are members of the fellowship Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, who charge in order to provide a distraction to the all-seeing eye, in the hopes that Sauron's attention will be taken off of Frodo and Sam, who are on the brink of achieving the quest and destroying the ring. The Battle of the Black Gates takes place in both the film of the Return of the King, and in the book, and is used as a final fight, a last stand against the hordes of the enemy still held back in Mordor. It is a way for the few men who are left, to die an honorable death, as they believe there is no way they will survive considering how vastly outnumbered they are. It happens to coincide with the timing of Frodo and Sam reaching the fissure and gives them the time and the space they need to be able to drop the ring into the fire.
The third people to enter Mordor, all the way to Mount Doom itself, are Frodo and Sam, who are led by the guide Gollum. Although they take a roundabout route, climbing the steep steps of Cirith Ungol, they do in fact ‘walk’ into Mordor. The scene doesn’t happen in the book, but in the film, Gollum turns Frodo against Sam by pretending that he has eaten all of the Lembas bread that was supposed to see them through the return journey home.
The two hobbits separate, leaving Frodo vulnerable to face Shelob the spider demon alone. After he is paralyzed, Sam must go into the grueling place to rescue him from the Orcs, and manages to walk in unnoticed. It is explained away in the films by the orcs having a skirmish and killing each other, leaving the tower unguarded. Sam gives the ring, which he had taken for safe-keeping, back to Frodo on the chain it is carried by, and the two are able to slip away in the direction of the mountain at the center of the dangerous lands.
And finally, when all hope seems lost, and Frodo and Sam are surrounded by the lava of Mount Doom, having cast the ring into the fissure and destroyed it, Gandalf is the last to enter Mordor. The white wizard himself has a particular penchant for infernos, but he arrives flying on the back of one of the giant Eagles, to rescue the hobbits from the fiery death all around them. They are safely transported back to Rivendell, where they are healed of their wounds and allowed to return back to their homes in The Shire, as heroes. Many great battles are fought to determine the fate of the quest, and many characters within the books have a part to play in the overall success that is achieved, from the house of Rohan, including Eowyn and Eomer who fight at Pelennor Fields, to the house of Gondor, including Boromir, Faramir, and ultimately Aragorn who returns as king.
Though none of the characters could have foreseen the dark times ahead, the pain and the grief and the struggles that would come along the way, but also the joy, and the friendship and the love that binds the peoples of Middle Earth together, it turns out that one can in fact walk, charge, climb and fly, into Mordor.
