“So what if Frodo succumbed to the Black Rider knife shard? One of the other hobbits could’ve borne the Ring.”
I don’t think any of the other hobbits had the personality to volunteer, certainly not at that point in the story. Merry and Pippin were jokers who only came along that far to accompany Frodo on his adventure, and Sam’s only goal was to protect Frodo. If Frodo had died, they would have wanted to go home more than anything.
No, I think if Frodo died at that point, they would have been desperate for a ringbearer, perhaps succumbing to Boromir’s demand...
It’s the behavior of the Black Riders that doesn’t make sense.
They thought that after wounding Frodo on Weathertop, the knife shard would eventually turn him to their will and be enough to get the Ring (Aragorn says as much).
So they pulled back and waited.
But that makes no sense, because if Frodo eventually died from the wound on the trip, one of the other party would’ve borne the Ring for the remainder of the trip to Rivendell.
So the Black Riders wouldn’t have gotten the Ring simply by Frodo’s death (unless they had gotten it that night on Weathertop).
BTW I think the settings in LOTR are fantastic. It’s the plot that I have problems with.
I also think “The Hobbit” is much better than LOTR.