There are many memorable heroes when it comes to the rich fantasy saga that is The Lord of the Rings. As is the case in Tolkien's novels, Peter Jackson's film trilogy is chock-full of inspiring and generally badass moments for the likable protagonists and supporting characters.
Yet, there are two Hobbits and Fellowship members who tend to be somewhat overlooked - Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. It's understandable to a degree, as these sillier figures play a more minor role in this epic tale - relatively speaking. Still, both have had plenty of heroics themselves.
But which of these cousins proved the more capable and useful member of the Fellowship?
10 Merry: The Lesser Of Fools
While Merry and Pippin aren't exactly huge factors in the early part of the saga, they really don't need to be, since the quest to Mount Doom begins with a whopping nine Fellowship members. As such, one would hope these two could at least pull their own weight and abstain from foolish moves that might jeopardize this mission.
Merry, to his credit, seems to accomplish this. But the "fool of a Took"? Not so much... Now, the Fellowship in general may have made some questionable moves, but Pippin takes the cake. Early on, Pippin makes the critical blunder of drawing attention to the Fellowship's location of Moria by knocking some skeletal remains into a well.
At least in this case, Merry's usefulness comes simply by default - compared to the liability that is Pippin.
9 Pippin: Helping To Take Out The Cave-Troll In Moria
It's true that Pippin is seemingly the reason for the Fellowship's perilous skirmish in the first place. Still, the absent-minded Hobbit does somewhat redeem himself by putting up a decent fight against the Cave-troll in Moria. Of course, the larger and older Fellowship members take center stage here. But at least when it comes to the Hobbits, it's Peregrin's effort that stands out, as he scrambles to protect Frodo.
Both he and Merry jump on the troll's back and have at him - but while Merry is flung off rather quickly, Pippin continues to stab him. Along with Legolas, he's the one who really helps to bring down this pressing threat.
8 Merry: Takes Charge In Leading The Hobbits To Bree
Let's face it - Pippin doesn't seem to achieve all too much in the early goings of the saga, other than set off fireworks and locate their "shortcut to mushrooms."
During their rendevous in Fellowship, it's Merry who really takes charge and leads the way across the Brandywine River to Bree. It's Merry who informs Frodo and Sam about the nearest crossing of Brandywine bridge, which the Ringwraiths must fall back to in order to catch up to the fleeing Hobbits.
7 Pippin: Getting Treebeard To Go South To Attack Isengard
Merry and Pippin spend the vast majority of The Two Towers amongst Treebeard and his Ents, essentially trying to convince them to march against Saruman and Isengard.
This seems to be futile for the most part, and Treebeard is on the verge of sending the pesky Hobbits back home. But as it happens, it's Pippin who manages to come up with an idea to "slip past Saruman unnoticed," making a move he would never suspect.
And has Pippin has a tendency to do, this maneuver ends up being a net positive for our heroes, as the Ents are coaxed into war following the discovery of scorched trees.
6 Merry: Helping To Rally The Ents
Despite Pippin being the one who ends up igniting the Ents to war, it's Merry who keeps things moving for this slow-moving clan of talking trees. Merry is the one who coaxes them to convene and discuss the possibility of attacking Isengard, imploring them to help for everyone's sake.
He proclaims that even if this doesn't seem to be their war, they're "part of this world!" meaning they still have an obligation to do something. In this sense, Merry is the orator and rallying cry that seemingly helps convince the Ents to take action.
5 Pippin: Inadvertently Learns Of Sauron's Plans
As has happened earlier in this saga, Pippin's shenanigans have led to escalation - that strangely end up being positive for our heroes more often than not. A prime example of this is his curious peeking into the palantir in Orthanc. This naturally brings the ominous presence of Sauron, which even causes Aragorn to collapse and the wizard Gandalf to panic.
And yet, this dangerous glimpse proves to be worth it, as Pippin speaks of a vision of what seems to be Minas Tirith. This allows Gondor to make the proper preparations and ready (at least relatively so) for the oncoming assault by Mordor.
4 Merry: His Heroics As A Rider Of Rohan
During the climactic Return of the King, Merry and Pippin split off and end up fighting for the last major kingdoms of men, Rohan and Gondor, respectively. Though they both have their heroic moments during these stints, Merry particularly stands out for his fighting on the field of battle.
Despite his relatively small stature and young age, he and Eowyn play a major role in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Not only does he take out a number of orcs with his fellow rider, but he also singlehandedly slays gaggles of Orcs and dismounted Haradrim.
3 Pippin: Saving Faramir From Denethor
At things begin to spiral out of control for Gondor in Return of the King, desperation and despair start to settle in for Denethor, whose sanity was seemingly already at the brink. soon enough, the Steward of Gondor snaps, and is on the verge of burning himself and his injured son Faramir alive.
Luckily, Pippin is determined to stop this madness at all costs, and scrambles to summon the aid of Gandalf, even amidst a deadly siege on the city. It's very likely that only with the call for help by Pippin that this Captain of Gondor was able to survive.
2 Merry: Helping To Slay The Witch King
Merry's heroic on the battlefield go beyond just taking out a number of enemy forces. In fact, with the help of Eowyn, he also manages to deal a critical blow to one of the most prominent leaders and powerful figures of Mordor, the Witch-king of Angmar.
This backstab by Merry had allowed Eowyn to regain the upper hand after being hindered by this menacing figure, allowing her to deal the finishing blow. This is a major victory, as the Witch-king had been one of Sauron's key commanders and the leader of the Ringwraiths.
1 Pippin: Guard Of The Citidel - Indeed!
It's hard to deny the influence and power of Gandalf. After all, the White Wizard was one of the primary reasons Gondor was able to eventually overcome its growing enemy of Mordor. He is essentially a protective force of Middle-earth. But who protects Gandalf? Well, at least in Return of the King, it's Pippin, who manages to save him from a potentially-lethal backstab by a cunning Orc.
Though subtle, this split-second move may have single-handedly saved Middle-earth - or at least greatly aided in the effort.
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