There are many poignant and heart wrenching deaths in the Lord of the Rings, including two of the most memorable: Gandalf, who falls to a Balrog in the Mines of Moria, later to return as Gandalf the White, and Boromir, who dies to protect Merry and Pippin from an onslaught of orcs. But one death that happens shockingly quickly, in the midst of a valiant battle, when it seems like the good guys are finally winning and the orcs will be driven back, is that of King Theoden.