If there is one thing that Game of Thrones is known for other than the expert storytelling and the deep lore of the world, it is the killing characters. One of the biggest allures of the series comes in the fact that it is a fantasy world but it is one that works with very real rules. If a character wrongs another, the wronged character won’t just forget about it, they will most likely come for revenge.
In the first 4 seasons of the show, all the deaths in the show felt earned and all made sense. Seasons 5 and 6 had some oddballs thrown in there but many of these deaths were still good and made sense. Seasons 7 and 8 literally only had a maximum of 2 ‘earned’ deaths. So, let us take a look at all the most important death scenes in the whole show!
15. Lysa Arryn (Season 4, Episode 7)
While not the most lovable of characters, Lysa can always be remembered by her obsession with her son Robin and being the most annoying and toxic parent one can possibly have. She would always be yelling at others and would just be an extremely annoying character who would ‘helicopter parent’ her insufferable brat of a child.
While no one would really miss her, her actual death scene is important because of what it revealed. In the scene, as she embraces Littlefinger, she reveals to the viewers that it was actually these 2 who started the War of the 5 Kings and how it was actually her who poisoned the previous Hand of the King on Petyr Baelish’s orders. This scene revealed Littlefinger to be even more ruthless, important and smart than we previously thought.
14. Jorah Mormont (Season 8, Episode 3)
Okay, okay….. I’ll concede here. Jorah’s death in season 8 was very well done. Despite the garbage fire that was the rest of the Long Night episode, Jorah coming in out of nowhere to protect Dany till his dying breath was actually really great and fitting for him. It was a great way to round off his character arc and to bring it full circle.
After Dany has been grounded, she is about to become overwhelmed by all the Wights around her with Drogon nowhere to be seen. This is where Jorah comes in and makes a singular final stand against these Wights and despite their extreme numbers, manages to hold them off enough for Dany to make it out alive. It’s a great way to finish off a character who is as devoted to a single person as Jorah was to Dany from the very beginning.
13. Oberyn Martell (Season 4, Episode 8)
Honestly, this may be a controversial spot for Oberyn and I would be fine if anyone else would put him higher on this list. This was an incredible death scene because leading up to it, Oberyn was the one who fought for justice, sticking up for Tyrion when no one else would. He was the typical hero in this situation, so naturally most people assumed that he would come out on top.
What happened was the exact opposite. Oberyn was an exceptional fighter, getting the better of the Mountain multiple times during their fight. However, his cockiness led to the Mountain gaining the edge and using his immense strength to burst Oberyn’s head open like a fruit, further proving to fans of this show that there are consequences to actions. This cemented a great feeling of dread for Tyrion and the audiences.
12. Shae (Season 4, Episode 10)
While the Oberyn death scene was probably way more visceral and shocking, this death scene was way more unexpected. It represented the depths of betrayal and how low people are willing to sink to get what they want. While Tyrion genuinely loved Shae, he found out that she betrayed him twice; once during his trial and the other time where he found her sleeping with his father.
On his way to speak to his father for the last time upon his escape, he found Shae in Tywin's bed, calling Tywin ‘her Lion’ which was what she used to call Tyrion. Tyrion, felt the worst kind of betrayal and hatred from her and decided to choke the life out of her.
12. Tywin Lannister (Season 4, Episode 10)
Right after killing Shae, Tyrion meets his father. Tywin is sitting on the toilet when this happens and is caught quite off-guard by this, but being the genius that he is, he starts to talk his way out of it. However, at this stage, Tyrion is really past caring what his father has to say and upon hearing a few more insults, shoots Tywin with a crossbow and kills him while he sits on the toilet.
Why this death is so important is because Tywin was always really the King in all but name. He won the War for the Crown and would rule over Kings’ Landing while Joffrey was out being a maniac. Killing such a powerful figure is what completely changes the whole power dynamic in the city, with the Tyrell’s now being able to assume more power in the world without the one person who kept them in place, also leading Cersei down her character path.
11. Hodor (Season 6, Episode 5)
In one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the whole show, we see the simple minded and kind Hodor give his life to save those of the rest of Bran’s remaining party. In this scene, we also see why he got the name Hodor, which was because of Bran going back in time and telling Hodor his purpose, to ‘Hold the Door’ while the rest of them escape. It is a tragic and beautiful end to such a great character.
10. Viserys Targaryen (Season 1, Episode 6)
This scene is very important because it spells an end to a very annoying and inarguably evil character, while also serving as a great scene for the character development of Dany very early on in the show, where it really shows her having to come into her own.
Upon getting drunk and insulting Dany and the rest of Drogo’s Khalassar, Viserys is met with a very untimely and particularly gruesome end by the hands of Drogo, who pours a pot of melted gold onto Viserys. Upon his death, Dany realizes that she is a dragon and her brother was not, causing her to realize that she must be ruthless if she wants to rule and suffer no disrespect.
9. Sandor and Gregor Clegane (Season 8, Episode 5)
Another death in season 8 that was handled very well was that of the brothers Clegane. Though this death scene had no more purpose to the overall story as many of the other deaths in this list did, it was still a really cool moment that was years in the making. Sandor and Gregor hated each other since they were young kids and the Hound always promised to be the one to kill his older brother. He unfortunately let revenge take control of his life, so in a sense, this final battle is the culmination of his life's purpose.
8. Viserion (Season 7, Episode 6)
Season 7 ends with an absolute game changer of a death. Upon the team going North of the Wall to retrieve a Wight to show Cersei, they quickly find themselves overcome by thousands of them, facing certain death. This is until Dany rescues them with her 3 dragons. However, even this doesn’t end well as the Night King is able to strike down Viserion.
As everyone thought the dragon died, it’s an absolute shocker when they pull him out of the ice and the Night King brings the beast back to life. This absolutely changes everything for our heroes as the forces of the dead were already impossible to overcome, so adding a giant undead dragon to the mix just completely blows everything else out of the water.
7. Ramsay Bolton (Season 6, Episode 9)
Ramsay is easily one of the greatest villains in any series ever made. He is cold, ruthless, intelligent, charming at times and absolutely deranged, making him an absolute monster in every sense of the word. He was pure evil. He completely broke Theon mentally and made him into less than a shell of what he was and bent the entire North to his will, even killing his own father for ultimate power over his subjects, despite already being named his heir.
He was also the main antagonist of the legendary Battle of the Bastards, where he was eventually defeated and fed to his own starving dogs. This signified the victory of Jon and his side as well as Winterfell and the North returning to House Stark, which was obviously essential for the final battle against the dark.
6. Joffrey Baratheon (Season 4, Episode 2)
Perhaps the most cathartic scene in the whole show, Joffrey dying was something that every fan of the show was quite happy to see. On his wedding day to Margaery, he was relentlessly tormenting and bullying Tyrion, even going so far as to destroy his extremely valuable wedding gift for him.
However, this did not last very long, as Joffrey was secretly poisoned by the Tyrell’s and died a horrific, slow and painful death where he couldn’t breathe at all and was bleeding profusely from many places of his face. While what followed was tragic to see as Tyrion got blamed for it, it was still great to see Joffrey get what was always coming to him.
5. Jon Snow (Season 5, Episode 10)
Now this was one of the most unexpected death scenes in the entire show. This was because we had just seen Jon get so much success with the Wildlings and even on becoming the Lord Commander of the Watch. All the things really seemed to be going right for him, as now he finally believed that there was actually a chance of them taking on the Night King.
Then, he gets betrayed by his brothers of the Watch, killing him on the grounds of Castle Black. It is especially tragic because they lure him out under false pretenses and as soon as he goes out, he sees a post with the word “traitor” written on it, after which all the brothers stab him, including his squire Olly. This was particularly unexpected and cruel as Jon only wanted the best for everyone.
4. Daenerys Targaryen (Season 8, Episode 6)
How do you take one of the best characters ever made and completely destroy years and years of character building and development? Well, just ask the writers of Game of Thrones season 8! But still, even though the build up was totally unearned and beyond idiotic, Dany getting killed off was still a very powerful moment.
This is because despite the destruction of her character by the writers, she was still a character that we all followed from the very first season and one that we all grew close to and loved. Her journey was something we saw from start to finish, so no matter how she died, it was always going to be a powerful moment for fans to witness.
3. Night King (Season 8, Episode 3)
Everything I said about Dany’s death goes perfectly for this character's death as well, but in a more negative way. Sure, the Night King was a villain but his death was just the height of horrible and stupid writing. The importance this scene served was in providing us with the nail in the coffin that these writers were not suited to be the ones to have GOT under their control and made most fans of the show just not take it seriously anymore.
2. Ned Stark (Season 1, Episode 9)
Without a question, Ned was the main character of season 1 of the show, so we were always rooting for him and his family to eventually overcome the evil doers and come out on top. Episode 9 of season 1, however, proved every new fan of this world wrong. Before this, Ned was injured and thrown into the cells where he was met with Varys who convinced him to forget his honor and beg for forgiveness so his life would be spared.
During his trial, this is exactly what he does and for a brief moment, fans breathe a sigh of relief that the main character will be spared and sent to the wall. However, the insufferable prick and new king Joffrey denies his apology and has him executed. This set the standard for the show that really told the world that no matter who you are in this world, you are never safe, as well as having arguably the biggest narrative implications as well.
1. Robb and Catelyn Stark (Season 3, Episode 9)
Arguably the most shocking episode in TV show history, the Red Wedding reinforced the idea that the show set with Ned’s death and dialed it up to 11. Just when we thought everything was going perfectly well for our heroes, the Frey family had something up their sleeves and ended up killing Robb and Catelyn and ending the whole war in 1 heartbreaking scene.
This scene broke the hearts of everyone who watched it and was even the reason why some fans of the show just stopped watching, because they knew that their favorite characters were never safe and they couldn’t put themselves through such mental anguish again. This was all set up subtly and beautifully and remains one of the highest points in TV history. Cat’s last harrowing scream still rings in our ears.
You may also be interested in:
- 10 Most Powerful Game of Thrones Characters
- Top 10 Most Evil Game of Thrones Characters
- 20 Movies Like Game of Thrones You Need to Watch
- The 25 Most WTF Moments in Game of Thrones
- Top 10 Reasons Why Jon Snow is The Best Character in Game of Thrones
- Top 50 Game of Thrones Characters and Their Most Memorable Scenes
