The Lord of the Rings: Gollum tells the story of what Gollum got up to before the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Constantly fighting for control, the frail creature will regularly argue with his other personality, Smeagol, and sometimes, the player will be able to choose who comes out on top.
Toward the end of Chapter 1 in The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, players must decide if Gollum will kill a beetle or if Smeagol will stay and watch it. Depending on what choice is made, the events that follow this decision will change, but choosing who to side with can be a little tricky.
How To Find The Beetle In The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum
While exploring the Shadow Mountains of Mordor, Gollum encounters a bird that he believes is spying on him. Assuming the bird will soon be reporting back to Mordor, he decides to chase it down before it can inform Sauron's followers what it saw.
While chasing this bird, Gollum encounters a small beetle and quickly becomes fascinated by it. The beetle flies away during this scene, but Gollum will find it again once he deals with the two Orcs roaming the area.
Once the final Orc has fallen into Shelob's lair, a cutscene will play in which Gollum encounters the beetle once more; when the scene ends, Gollum will try to convince Smeagol to kill the beetle, but Smeagol would rather keep watching it.
How To Convince Smeagol To Kill The Beetle And Hide
If players choose to side with Gollum, they will need to convince Smeagol that staying and watching the beetle is a bad idea. Choosing the "Wraiths! Winged Nazgul are always watchful" option will immediately sway Smeagol, allowing Gollum to win the argument.
If players chose the "Spider!" option, they will be given one more chance to convince Smeagol to kill the beetle. To win the argument, players must choose the "Hungry: It looks tasty" option, as doing so will remind Smeagol of how tasty beetles are, causing him to embrace Gollum's point of view.
Once the argument is won, Gollum will frantically chase after the beetle while attempting to grab it. After a few failed attempts, the beetle will fly away, and a Wraith on a Fellbeast will take its place. Gollum will then run to a crack in the wall and drop into the tunnels below to escape.
How To Convince Gollum That There's No Danger
If players choose to side with Smeagol, they will need to convince Gollum why doing so is a good idea. Before Smeagol can make his case, however, Gollum will try to convince Smeagol that the beetle is a spy.
To convince Gollum the beetle isn't a threat, the player must choose the "Observing: Just looks for pollen" option, as the "Careless: Doesn't look evil" choice won't sway Gollum at all.
If players fail to convince Gollum with their first choice, they will then need to choose the "Reasonable: Bird was no spy either" option, which Gollum will reluctantly accept as a valid point.
The cutscene that plays next will follow Smeagol as he slowly chases the beetle in an attempt to play with it. It's a heartwarming scene, but all feelings of happiness disappear when a Wraith riding a Fellbeast appears from beneath the ledge behind him. Attempting to escape, Gollum will then travel into the caverns below, where the Wraith won't be able to reach him.
Aside from the slightly different cutscenes that play out after each choice, Gollum will always encounter the Nazgul, and he will always end up in the same location after the cutscene ends, making the decision pretty inconsequential.
The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, with a Nintendo Switch release planned for later this year.