The penultimate chapter. The hobbits have returned to the Shire to find it taken over by immigrants, bigger and stronger than hobbits, with many rules about what they (the hobbits, not the invaders) can and can’t do, and what they can’t say. Even some hobbits have taken side with the migrants for the sake of authority and benefits. Sam, Merry and Pippin rouse the majority of the hobbits to scour the shire of the invaders and kick them out, restoring the old bucolic culture. Some hobbits are killed by the invaders, so it isn’t without price. Saruman, who facilitated the creeping invasion whilst the hero hobbits were away, is also killed, by Wormtongue, who is subsequently shot by hobbits.
Nearly everyone lives happily ever after.
