I'm reading The Hobbit again, as I roleplay as a Tolkien scholar in an attempt to understand Middle Earth, its lore, and its effect on modern gaming. I'm reviewing each chapter of the book as I read, and this is my review of the final 2, Chapter 18: The journey home and Chapter 19: "The last stage".
This review contains spoilers.
The battle of the 5 armies has ended, but nobody is rejoicing. Victory came at a high cost, and now Thorin lies dying from battle wounds. Bilbo awakens on the battlefield, still invisible after having put on the Ring. He's discovered by a human who's been sent out expressly to findBilbo Baggins, and so he's brought back to camp for a final audience with the King Under the Mountain. Thorin takes back all the mean things he said, and dies.
The surviving dwarves (all but Thorin, Kili, and Fili) grant Laketown a 14th share of the treasure, and everyone basically ends up as friends, or at the very least allies.
Bilbo and Gandalf set for the Shire, but they take the scenic route. They stop off in Rivendell and spend Mid-winter with Beorn.
When they finally get back to Bag End, they arrive on the morning (June 22, I think) of an estate auction. Bilbo is presumed dead, and the Sackville-Baggins are keen to move in. He ends up having to buy back much of his furniture (he never does get his spoons back).
That's pretty much where Bilbo's story ends. His reputation among the hobbits of the Shire is ruined, but probably more importantly he's an adventurer now. He's a friend of the elves and dwarves, he's a budding poet and author, an experienced traveller, and a former burglar no less. He's a changed hobbit. Which is fortunate because Middle Earth itself is changing, as we all find out in the next book.
I'm tracking Bilbo's reputation with the dwarves, and the dwarves' reputation with Bilbo, as the book progresses. No real change, and this is the end of the book, so this is the final score:
Now that it's all over, I guess it feels petty to have tracked who did what and why. Bilbo definitely did a lot for the dwarves. While the dwarves were often stubborn and demanding and disagreeable, they did open a whole new world to Bilbo. They literally changed his life.
The final 2 chapters of The Hobbit are a suitable close to the story. It takes 2 chapters to end the story, but that kind of meandering resolution seems entirely appropriate.
At the very end of Chapter 19, Gandalf and Balin show up at Bag End for a visit, and it actually feels nostalgic. I think part of the good feeling about the meeting is because we've spent a book with the characters, but also because from a fan's perspective, we know Balin (and Gandalf, come to think of it) is going to die in Moria. It's a pensive few paragraphs, and reminds us that the story has not only ended, but is also just beginning.