“When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There’s no middle ground,” – Cersei Lannister
Game of Thrones is known for its cruelty, which is first shown in the show’s opening sequence as Night’s Watch rangers are murdered by the ones that we then acknowledged as the White Walkers. The miserable ranger who luckily escaped from them then flees, only to be put to death at Winterfell for defection. The realm of Westeros was set to be defined by death, both just and unjust.
There are numerous ways to establish a list that ranks things based on shock value. Is a fatality surprising since it’s crucial to the storyline? Or because it is especially brutal? Or because it makes a new revelation about the character that you weren’t aware of? The list that follows combines these standards in an effort to show the various ways that Game of Thrones dealt with the deaths of its numerous characters and the way the character’s death itself wasn’t always the most important lesson learned. Let’s get started.
Honorable Mention: Jon Snow (Season 5, Episode 10, “Mother’s Mercy”)
Even though almost everyone who watched the 5th season thought Kit Harrington’s Jon Snow would come back after being ruthlessly double crossed by his Night’s Watch brothers found it shocking when Jon was fatally thrusted and left bleeding to death on the cold, white snow. During the subsequent intermission between season 5 and season 6, pitiful Harrington had to fend off inquiries regarding whether his character’s demise was indeed real. Because Jon has effectively been among the main protagonists since the start and is believed to be the offspring of Rhaegar and Lyanna, his homecoming appeared inevitable to those who knew this information. However, if Sean Bean’s Ned passing had something for us to learn from, it’s that anybody might meet their demise, at any moment. Given Jon’s ambiguous fate, a number of fans were unsure if the Stark illegitimate boy had lived to see his last days or not. With the reports of a fresh HBO TV shows, it is clear that there’s still room for more of Jon’s narrative to be told.
14. Varys (Season 8, Episode 5; “The Bells”)
If there was any character properly representing the idea of a canary in a mine, it was indeed Conleth Hill’s Varys. Varys knew the real story behind Jon Snow’s parents and directly witnessed how Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys descended into insanity. Varys, who saw the inscriptions on the wall, tries his best in the closing hours before King’s Landing is sacked to establish Jon as the legitimate successor to the kingdom. Unsurprisingly, Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion informs Daenerys of his schemes, and she executes him by having Drogon burn him alive. Varys and Tyrion’s figurative split was heartbreaking for two characters who frequently shared the most engaging interactions, particularly in light of how accurate Varys was. However, there is undoubtedly a lot greater surprise in this episode than Lord Varys’ passing; we’ll talk about that later.
13. Tommen (Season 6, Episode 10, “The Winds of Winter”)
Even though the demise of the other important characters scored a little higher, it was nevertheless unexpected to see Dean Charles Chapman’s King Tommen meet his demise in such a casual manner. Tommen, being the youngest kid of Lena Headey’s Cersei and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s Jaime, wasn’t as ruthless or vicious as Joffrey, his elder brother. He was a good youngster who loved cats and was just a victim of the game of thrones after seeing his mom detonate the Sept of Baelor. Tommen pulled off his crown, stepped straight out of his window, fell to his death, after seeing his city in ruins and acknowledging his queen died. The death of Tommen, Cersei’s last surviving child, caused her to descend even farther into misery and dictatorship.
12. Viserys Targaryen (Season 1, Episode 6; “A Golden Crown”)
One of the initial antagonists in the show is Harry Lloyd’s Viserys Targaryen. Viserys assumes the part of one of the earliest truly vile characters, whilst the Lannisters are established up as the enemy of the Starks practically right away. He goes much opposed to what fans might believe to be entitled, treats his sister like cash sexually, and is, at his core, a petulant little brat. The earliest, truly notable demise of the show occurred the moment Jason Momoa’s Khal Drogo broke Viserys’s arm and dumped a kettle of melted gold over his head after his “I want my crown!” outburst in the 6th episode of the first season. By this point, the viewers had already witnessed some cruelty. Similar to the good guys, the bad guys easily succumb to vulnerability.
11. Petyr Baelish aka Littlefinger (Season 7, Episode 7; “The Dragon and the Wolf”)
In the later seasons of Game of Thrones, one repeating subject is that the majority of the villains are punished while the majority of the protagonists survive. Iwan Rheon’s Ramsay Bolton, David Bradley’s Walder Frey, Ian Beattie’s Meryn Trant, and Aidan Gillen’s Petyr Baelish are all eliminated through methods that are remarkably exclusive to Westeros. Season 7 had been establishing a distinct plotline prior to Petyr Baelish’s death, as Littlefinger pitted Sophie Turner’s Sansa Stark and Maisie Williams’ Arya Stark against each other. This is the place in which Littlefinger’s demise feels unique, when he becomes a shell of himself the moment Sansa turns the tables on him, begging to live before having his throat sliced by Arya. It seems fitting that before conceding failure, Littlefinger would incline to manipulate any trick, regardless of how ridiculous or possibly to fail it might be.
10. Viserion (Season 7, Episode 6, “Beyond the Wall”)
Viserion, the lesser dragon of Daenerys’ three, was named after its owner’s less-than-great sibling, yet that does not make his passing any less heartbreaking. When our group of protagonists were stranded in the far north and encircled by wights during episode 6 of season 7, Daenerys’ appearance with her pets felt like a blessing from god. You will unluckily find it difficult to escape unharmed when encountering the Night King. The Night King successfully kills Viserion with a single blow using an ice spear. It’s the first time we witness a dragon’s demise, but horrifyingly, its death isn’t its final appearance. Rhaegal’s passing was objectionable, but seriously, with a scorpion? Viserion’s death was likely the precursor to Daenerys’ final downward trajectory. In Season 8, Viserion, an icy undead dragon, can be seen assaulting Winterfell. After Arya murders the Night King, Viserion finally perishes.
9. Joffrey Baratheon (Season 4, Episode 2; “The Lion and the Rose”)
Diana Rigg’s Olenna Tyrell poisons Jack Gleeson’s King Joffrey Baratheon as he is commemorating his marriage to Natalie Dormer’s Margaery Tyrell. The wicked king struggles to respire, rubs his throat, turns purple, and begins to pour numerous biofluids from his mouth, eyes and nose as we watch. There wasn’t any death too horrifying to cause us regret for this horror of a person, apart from the narrative relevance of Joffrey’s passing. They ultimately got rid of that jerk, and maybe rather than horror, there was joy as his last breath departed his lungs.
8. The People of King’s Landing (Season 8, Episode 5; “The Bells”)
In Game of Thrones, we follow Daenerys Targaryen‘s gradual—and occasionally hasty—progression into lunacy. After forcing King’s Landing to submit, she ultimately loses the remainder of her mind as she rides Drogon. She immediately uses dragonfire to completely destroy the capital city of Westeros and the majority of its inhabitants. Daenerys wreaking havoc at this time is sudden, unexpected and horrifying because of the ultimate seasons’ lopsided pacing; it represents a complete rejection of everything that has motivated and built up her character throughout the series. This symbolic demise is, in some ways, much more horrifying than Daenerys’s true demise in the next ep. She’s clearly more like her own dad, The Mad King, than anyone else during these final moments in the show. “Burn them all,” Daenerys goes full circle with her father’s last command to burn the residents of King’s Landing, despite the weak narrative execution.
7. Margaery Tyrell et al. (Season 6, Episode 10; “The Winds of Winter”)
The finale of the 6th season of Game of Thrones opens with an 8-minute establishment of baleful piano music, as Julian Glover’s Grand Maester Pycelle is fatally thrusted by the little birds, candles blaze at a slow pace towards wildfire barrels, and Margaery is getting more and more frightened upon informing Jonathan Pryce’s High Sparrow that Cersei’s absence from her trial is a sign of an upcoming disaster. Unfortunately, she’s totally correct, because Cersei arranges everything in a horrifying explosion. A wildfire breaks out, detonates the Great Sept of Baelor and obliterates everybody inside. Before the series started its last narrative slide, it seemed like the showrunners (David Benioff and D. B. Weiss) realized they still got a huge quantity of unfinished plotlines and had to cut them all out. Margaery, High Sparrow, Finn Jones’ Loras Tyrell, Roger Ashton-Griffiths’ Mace Tyrell and Ian Gelder’s Kevan Lannister all perished as a consequence of this event, which also put a stop to the Sparrows’ religious cult and caused King Tommen Baratheon to kill himself.
6. Tywin Lannister (Season 4, Episode 10; “The Children”)
Charles Dance’ Tywin Lannister, head of House Lannister, was undoubtedly anticipated to die at some point. The discovery that Tywin himself is having an affair with Tyrion’s previous lover, Sibel Kekilli’s prostitute Shae, and that a large portion of his character sketch is false are arguably more surprising than the specifics of his demise, which was finished by his son Tyrion while he was in the bathroom. So, in spite of his relentless insistence on family, legacy and claims of moral superiority, Tywin is just relatable. Or, to put things in perspective, he doesn’t actually “shit gold.”
5. Oberyn Martell (Season 4, Episode 8; “The Mountain and the Viper”)
It’s difficult to look for a more violent scene in Game of Thrones than the trial by combat between Pedro Pascal’s Oberyn Martell and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson’s The Mountain. Even though it was more than possible for Oberyn to be defeated in this combat, how he did it leaves a lasting impression. Oberyn starts to request admissions of crimes about The Mountain’s rape and killing of his sister, Elia Martell, after overpowering The Mountain. Indeed, everything works out about as probably as you could anticipate in the realm of Game of Thrones. Oberyn was tripped to the ground by The Mountain, and had his teeth knocked out. The Crown’s Champion then continues to press his fingers deep into Oberyn’s eyes till his brain explodes. The most straightforward type of shock on the list is provided by the views and noises of this scene.
4. Hodor (Season 6, Episode 5; “The Door”)
The tragic demise of Kristian Nairn’s Hodor in Game of Thrones may have been the most masterfully written one. While the innocence and length of the character elicit an emotional response upon hearing of his passing, the most stunning information is that Isaac Hempstead Wright’s Bran Stark is to blame for Hodor’s incapacity to speak anything other than “hodor.” Possibly pointing out that Hodor acknowledged the time of his demise ever since Bran warged into him several years ago, it transfers to complete emotional damage the moment it is disclosed that “hodor” is only the slurred word for the whole phrase “hold the door,” which Ellie Kendrick’s Meera Reed screams to Hodor as he tries to stop the horde of wights running after the team. The way the episode ends with just Hodor’s speech slowly changing from “hold the door” to “hodor” has a devastating effect.
3. Shireen Baratheon (Season 5, Episode 9; “The Dance of Dragons”)
The offspring of Stephen Dillane’s Stannis Baratheon, Kerry Ingram’s Shireen Baratheon is ignored by her mother, suffers from a facial skin condition called Greyscale, and is essentially sequestered in a tower. Regardless of all that, she constantly wants to do anything she can to support Stannis. Yet Shireen is unaware that her father has lost all of his awareness of reality as a consequence of his imperceptive devotion to Carice van Houten’s Melisandre, The Red Woman, who convinces him that burning his baby daughter at the stake is the sole method to make up for his defeats and capture Winterfell. This is without a doubt the most saddening sequence in the whole show, regardless of your feelings toward the narrative choice. For “the night is dark and full of terrors,” of course.
2. Eddard “Ned” Stark (Season 1, Episode 9; “Baelor”)
It is difficult to recall how horrific Eddard “Ned” Stark’s demise was at the time because it has become such a landmark in the culture. Ned Stark was easily positioned as the main protagonist in a story brimming with characters. Ned’s capture at the conclusion of episode 7 (“You Win or You Die”) thus appeared to be nothing more than a story device to establish the subsequent sequence of events. If you hadn’t read the novels, you might not have known that the TV adaptation was getting ready to kill off its lead character. Game of Thrones successfully established the “no one is safe” maxim when Ned is put to death at the end of episode nine.
1. Robb Stark / Catelyn Stark / Talisa Stark / Grey Wind (Season 3, Episode 9: “The Rains of Castamere”)
When the Red Wedding didn’t rank first while I was compiling this list, I made a concerted effort to emerge with a substitute. I just wasn’t able to do that. The deaths of Richard Madden’s Robb, Michelle Fairley’s Catelyn, Oona Chaplin’s Talisa, Robb’s direwolf – Grey Wind, and a number of Stark bannermen under the hands of Walder Frey, was not just the most horrifying scene in Game of Thrones, but the most horrifying scene in the history of TV series as well. The Red Wedding blew the series’ story to pieces, inflicted one of the greatest defeats to the good characters, and unintentionally sparked an endless blitz of Game of Thrones “reaction videos” that destroyed the online world up until the series’ conclusion. The Red Wedding, violent as it might be, contained one of the most famous quotes in a series full of them, permanently establishing House Lannisters as top-tier antagonists. “The Lannisters send their regards,” Roose Bolton could as well have said as he plunged a knife into Robb’s chest.
