Even years after its release , no eminent fantasy has come close to dethrone Peter Jackson ’s epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Ringsas the genre ’s definitive cinematic expedition . To this day , the trilogy stay on influential on popular culture and its significance is n’t probable to go down any time soon .

Some of the series ’ most iconic moments do n’t come from the monumental struggle or the characters ’ interaction , but in the deaths of our favourite characters . Over the track of three movie , fibre inside and outside theFellowship of the Ringeither settle in combat or tragically died the manner they lived . Here are the 10 most heartbreaking decease inThe Lord of the Rings , ranked according to their narration and emotional encroachment .

Denethor – The Return of the King

With Faramir dead , Denethor decides to end his stemma once and for all by burning himself in a funeral funeral pyre for his second son . Thing is , Faramir is alive . Nearly cremating his son causes the already unhinged Denethor to throw himself off of Minas Tirith ’s highest point .

Though his death is more cathartic than tragical , the end of Denethor ’s stewardship over Gondor was only brought about by grievous grief and regret instead of venom . It ’s hard not to feel bad for the business leader , even if he was kind of pitiable when compared to everyone else in the cast .

Sauruman – The Return of the King (Extended)

What makes the wizard ’s last more heartbreaking outside of the poetic justice is the fact that it can only be seen in the third movie ’s extensive edition . To come across the compulsory running time , one of Christopher Lee ’s last onscreen appearances was cut out fromThe counter of the King’stheatrical run . He reprised   the role inThe Hobbittrilogy   before passing in 2015 .

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The Army of the Dead – The Return of the King

For desert their hope to furnish aid to   Isildur ’s forces during the War of the Last Alliance , the   Oathbreakers were unchurch to never die until they preserve the   pact . They save themselves in the Battle of Pelenor Fields , where Aragorn hold their oaths fulfilled .

Some have jest that Aragorn should ’ve keep the undead soldiers around for the final struggle in Mordor , but they ’ve been beat in limbo too long – doing so would just be ill-bred . After eons of regret , the Army of the Dead regained its honor and finally received the eternal respite they ’ve yearned for .

Haldir And His Men – The Two Towers

After eons of ego - imposed deportee from Middle Earth , the Elves come to the world ' aid during the Battle of Helm ’s Deep . Led by Haldir , the Elves bolster up Rohan ’s forces against the come onslaught .

It should be notice that the Elves , particularly Elrond , lost faith in men when King Isildur keep the Ring of Power or else of destroying it . Their deaths in Helm ’s Deep may make their efforts seem futile , but this was the first time in ages that the Elves helped mankind – a adhesiveness they were willing to rekindle even if it meant their dying .

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Faramir’s Company – The Return of the King

For an unspecified amount of time , Faramir and his men have been keeping Mordor ’s forces at bay tree in the ruin of   Osgiliath . They ’re finally overwhelmed when Sauron launches a full - scale invasion on Gondor , starting with the fallen metropolis .

Adding insult to injury , Faramir ’s already decimated violence are say by Denethor to set up a suicidal cavalry bearing in a vain attack to recapture the city . The tone-beginning terminate predictably and the soldiers ’ heads are sling into Gondor ’s rampart , thus giving some of the most respectable soldiers in the entire trilogy a humiliating destruction .

King Theoden – The Return of the King

The brave warrior king Theoden of Rohan continued to make up for bewildered metre by rallying all of the horsemen he could find to answer Gondor ’s call for aid , and he become flat on the battlefields for doing so .

Once toss off by the Witch King , Theoden is spare from the Nazgul ’s blade by his daughter Eowyn , who for the long time he underestimate by virtue of her being a charwoman . In his last moments , he asks his daughter for her forgiveness and acknowledges her for being a unfearing soldier of Rohan .

Aragorn’s Prophesied Death – The Two Towers

In his attempt to redeem his daughter Arwen from grief , Elrond warn her that Aragorn – a regular human being – would snuff it of old old age . This would drive Arwen into a deep sadness from which she ’ll never recuperate , leading to her own end .

Though it ’s only show in a boding , Aragorn ’s death is all but inevitable – even more so after he rejected a hazard to get together the Elves ’ exile to the Grey Heavens , where immortality look them . Aragorn travel down in Middle Earth ’s history as one of mankind ’s bravest champions , living and pop off as an average Isle of Man despite his form of address .

Gandalf the Grey –The Fellowship of the Ring

One of the most iconic moments inThe Lord of the Ringsis also one of the most tragic , since it ’s where the dear wizard Gandalf the Grey dies in his fight with the fiery Balrog .

Gandalf ’s death in the Mines of Moria marked a significant teddy for the Fellowship , since their optimistic mother wit of adventure was dashed the second the Balrog dragged the virtuoso into the abyss . His eventual Resurrection of Christ as Gandalf the White does small to diminish the impact of his dying , which is also a point of no return for the trilogy .

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Boromir – The Fellowship of the Ring

Gondor ’s chosen Word , Boromir , is the first of the Fellowship to fall to the mogul of the One Ring and nearly kills Frodo because of it . He instantly regretted this upon regaining his senses , and pall to atone for his misunderstanding .

To give Frodo a chance to escape , Boromir hold off as many Uruk Khai as he can . The solitary warrior is before long overwhelmed by the Orcs ’ number , but not before he fulfills his mission . What makes Boromir ’s sacrifice heartbreaking is how it hammer in the growing severity of the situation and marked the closing of the Fellowship .

Smeagol/Gollum – The Return of the King

Smeagol ’s line of descent into Gollum is the clean delineation of Sauron ’s darkness , which corrupts an devoid Hobbit into a ferine creature that barely remember its name . Obsessed with his " precious , " Gollum in the end bewilder it back but at the cost of disappear along with it .

What make Gollum ’s death truly heartbreaking are the flashes of naturalness we see in his Smeagol form . Unlike Boromir , Smeagol lose to the Ring ’s influence after managing to temporarily stave in it off . Whatever flake of Smeagol were left vanish when he play a joke on Frodo into Shelob ’s den , and he would finally die as the irredeemable Gollum in the fire of Mount Doom .

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Heartbreaking Deaths in LOTR

Denethor scowling in Lord of the Rings.

Sauruman the White

The Army of the Dead

Haldir and the Elves arrive at Helm’s Deep.

The Last Cavalry Charge

Eowyn Approaches Her King

Aragorns Funeral

Gandalf Clings On

Boromir’s death in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Gollum Burns

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The Lord of the Rings