before the events of The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo Baggins had an opportunity to kill Gollum, and if he had, the subsequent plot surrounding Frodo and the One Ring would have looked very different. As a secondary antagonist, it seems that the way forward for the protagonists would have been easier if Gollum hadn’t been there to cause so much trouble. However, as Gandalf said in The Lord of the RingsGollum had a critical part to play in the War of the Ring.
Bilbo met Gollum in The Hobbits, and their iconic battle of wits left the