4. The Ride of the Rohirrim at Pelennor Fields
Wins out over the climactic charge of the Battle of Helms Deep, which was an awesome moment in its own right. While the men of Rohans furious destruction of the Uruk-Hai was undeniably visually striking and emotionally heady, it is simply superseded by Theodens finest hour at Pelennor Fields, lifting the siege of Minas Tirith, honouring his peoples historic alliance with Gondor and proving himself a worthy heir to his illustrious ancestors. Bernard Hills genius idea to rattle his mens spear shafts with his sword before he spurs the charge with his roars of Death! is a strangely primal symbol of the bond between leader and people, which makes the ensuing carnage somehow more meaningful; more than just the most grandiose battlefield action of the trilogy.
3. Eowyn Versus The Witch King
The triumphant pay-off to plucky, desperate Eowyns character arc, as the flaxen-haired warrior princess finally gets to prove her mettle by defending a mortally-wounded Theoden from a towering figure of evil. The sight of the obviously terrified but stalwart young woman locked in combat with the soulless, relentless undead monarch is almost certain to raise a cheer; it could well be the most striking example of a plucky, determined underdog winning through in fiction. When Eowyn proudly reveals her gender and deals the final blow to the monster, it does a lot to balance the scales in an otherwise hopelessly male-dominated trilogy.