The witch king was absolutely not unkillable, just hard to kill. Eowyn slew him after Merry stabbed him in the leg with a barrow blade. There is no indication that, had Frodo and Sam failed, the witch king would have risen again.
If I recall correctly, it had been prophesied that he could not be killed by a man, which the people in-setting took to mean he couldn’t be killed by a person. It’s only after he died that people realized it meant he’d be killed by a woman.
You are correct regarding the implication, but I think it’s a bit different than that. The blade Merry uses to stab the witch king was from the barrow downs, and was enchanted to be able to harm the witch king. So it was less “oh duh she’s not a man, problem solved” and more “his magic shield is busted, stab him quick!”
I know all that, I’m saying they would have planned under the assumption they couldn’t kill him.
Which answers my initial question, I guess. They never tried to use the ring to lure the ringwraiths into an ambush, because if the witch king takes the ring and gets away, they’re done.
The witch king was absolutely not unkillable, just hard to kill. Eowyn slew him after Merry stabbed him in the leg with a barrow blade. There is no indication that, had Frodo and Sam failed, the witch king would have risen again.
If I recall correctly, it had been prophesied that he could not be killed by a man, which the people in-setting took to mean he couldn’t be killed by a person. It’s only after he died that people realized it meant he’d be killed by a woman.
Everybody gangsta till they get stabbed in the face.
You are correct regarding the implication, but I think it’s a bit different than that. The blade Merry uses to stab the witch king was from the barrow downs, and was enchanted to be able to harm the witch king. So it was less “oh duh she’s not a man, problem solved” and more “his magic shield is busted, stab him quick!”
I know all that, I’m saying they would have planned under the assumption they couldn’t kill him.
Which answers my initial question, I guess. They never tried to use the ring to lure the ringwraiths into an ambush, because if the witch king takes the ring and gets away, they’re done.