Quote Originally Posted by Miriel View Post
Of course Sam loves Frodo, but not in a, "I want to smurf him" kind of way.

That's one of the best things about their relationship. That there is unabashed love there without it having to be a gay thing, even though people joke about that. I think that to turn that around and say that it was more than friendship diminishes how important friendships can be. You can love wholeheartedly people you are friends with, without wanting to get in their pants.
I don't consider anyone feeling a "I want to smurf [person]" sort of feeling as love, not at all. I don't interpret it as a sexual-based feeling, I think that Sam has intimate feelings for Frodo that extend beyond that of friendship, which are not to be confused with marking him as homosexual or that he just wants to smurf Frodo or "get into his pants". Such a thing doesn't take away from or change their friendship at all.

I read something specifically on the relationship between Sam and Frodo that has helped convey my thoughts:

There can be such a thing as a deep, deep love between people (and not always sexual although intimate) that could be cast as romantic or not but it is something I think Frodo/Sam share - that they are essentially soulmates and that while not sexual at all in the books and even though there ar intimate moments, it is something deep and true. Something that not even Rosie will get from Sam.

If anyone has read the epilogue Tolkien wrote for LotR (but wasn't published with it) it is very obvious that Sam is still torn in two despite Frodo's "sacrifice" and while very pleased with is life and his wife, still longs greatly for the sea and to see Frodo again.

I know that many just want it to be a "friendship" and not "gay" but then I think that it is a dishonor to their relationship to simplify it to that kind of argument. It is obviously love, it is obviously friendship but it is also so much more.
That's about as plain as it gets for me. Not about hobbits wanting to smurf eachother and not about rampant homosexuality in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Just about love from one person to another that extends beyond friendship and not quite to sexual. And I do believe that Sam loved Frodo more than vice versa.

Ultimately, I believe it's up to the readers to determine how the deeper stories of the characters flow in Lord of the Rings. Whether we want to interpret that as friendship or borderline unrequited love, Tolkien left it for us to decide.