> the scouring of the shire was an unnecessary epilogue in the actual book. You are missing the point. The scouring of the Shire is extremely important, story-

> the scouring of the shire was an unnecessary epilogue in the actual book. You are missing the point. The scouring of the Shire is extremely important, story-wise. It shows that no matter how good and successful you were at your quest, you cannot prevent every bad occurrence in the world, and that you have to live with that fact.