Season 1, episode 6: A Golden Crown -- A Crown Fit for a King
Viserys Targaryen was destined to die from the first moment he appeared onscreen. Being the malicious, scheming, incestuous heir to the lost throne of Westeros, Viserys fancied himself a "dragon" that deserved the utmost admiration and respect. After brokering a deal to "sell" his sister Daenerys to Khal Drogo in exchange for an army — with which he planned to retake the Iron Throne —Viserys accompanies Drogo's cavalry to ensure the Khal keeps his end of the bargain.
After repeatedly embarrassing himself in front of the Khal (and trying to take his sister's virginity), the Khal offers Viserys a golden crown -- which, of course, turns out to be molten. Tough luck for Viserys, but as Dany so eloquently puts it, "He was no dragon. Fire cannot kill a dragon."
Season 1, episode 9: Baelor -- A Severed HandBaelor, the penultimate episode of season 1, set the tone for Game of Thrones audience members unfamiliar with the books. The death of Eddard Stark, at the time the primary protagonist of the series, came as a shock to many viewers. Although we're now somewhat numb to the systematic elimination of our favorite characters, it's not hard to remember a time when Ned was this close to uncovering and exposing the dark secrets behind the Iron Throne.
Eddard's beheading established the cruel, impulsive nature of Joffrey Baratheon -- more on him in a bit -- and kickstarted the rise of the Northern armies under the banner of Robb Stark, Eddard's son. The position of Hand of the King simply isn't what it used to be.
Season 3, episode 9: The Rains of Castamere -- The Red Wedding
Robb Stark may have united the Northern houses under one banner, but one wrong move in the Game of Thrones can be quite costly. After agreeing to marry the daughter of Lord Walder Frey, Robb instead went and married a beautiful nurse that he met on the field of battle. Bad move, Robb. Instead, an arrangement was made for Edmure Tully, Robb's uncle, to take his place as the groom-to-be of Roslin Frey.
At the wedding reception, Walder repays Robb's treachery by murdering Robb, his mother Catelyn, his pregnant wife whats-her-name, and even his Direwolf, Grey Wind. As the soldiers of Roose Bolton ambush the Northern camp and decimate the remainder of Robb's army, Grey Wind's head is sewn onto Robb's decapitated corpse and paraded around on a horse. For fans that expected Robb to storm into King's Landing and avenge his father's death, this was a rude awakening.
Season 4, episode 2: The Lion and the Rose -- The Purple Wedding
When John Locke said that "life is nasty, brutish, and short," we can only assume he was talking about Joffrey Baratheon. The tyrannical teenager that Thrones fans loved to hate finally met his match in the form of a cup of red wine, at his own wedding no less. Joffrey's dictatorial tendencies were on full display at the lavish ceremony, where he repeatedly humiliates Tyrion before finally -- to the relief of viewers everywhere -- choking on his wine, writhing on the floor, turning a deep shade of purple, and dying painfully. At this point, it might just be safer for Westerosi wedding-goers to think twice about checking the "RSVP" box on the invitation.
Season 4, episode 7: Mockingbird -- Out the Moon Door
For all his scheming and posturing, Lord Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish rarely gets his hands dirty. Tyrion shoulders the blame for Joffrey's assassination (which Baelish engineered), and Sansa later endures the charmless company of the Boltons at Winterfell after Littlefinger arranges her marriage to Ramsay. For one fateful scene, however, Petyr chooses to take things into his own hands and embrace the murderous action so emblematic of Thrones.
When Lysa Arryn, sister to Catelyn Stark, threatens to throw Sansa out the weird hole in the floor referred to as "the moon door," Baelish goes full-on Jamie Lannister and throws Lysa out after declaring his love for her late sister. It's a bad way to go, but it probably wouldn't have happened if you didn't have a moon door in your living room, Lysa.
Season 4, episode 8: The Mountain and The Viper -- The Red Viper's Demise
If there's any way to guarantee yourself a spectacular death, it's to carry yourself with the type of hubris exhibited by Prince Oberon "The Red Viper" Martell. He prided himself on his fighting ability, his suave demeanor, his sexual prowess, and pretty much everything else. And if we've learned anything in five-plus seasons of Game of Thrones, it's that pride is certainly a deadly sin.
In a duel to decide the fate of accused traitor Tyrion Lannister, the Viper's acrobatic swordsmanship (spearsmanship?) would have won him the fight -- and saved his own life -- were it not for his insistence upon taunting his fallen opponent, Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane. Instead, Clegane popped Martell's head like a cherry tomato, making for a gruesome scene that made even the most hardened Thrones fans avert their eyes.
Season 4, episode 10: The Children -- Patricide
Ironically, this episode aired on June 15, 2014 -- Father's Day. In the season 4 finale, Tyrion exacts some well-deserved revenge upon his father and his ex-lover. Upon escaping from one of the many dungeons in King's Landing with aid from his brother Jamie, Tyrion finally reaches the end of his short fuse.
Justifiably upset after receiving some pretty unfair treatment during his trial -- and seeing Martell throw away what might have been his only chance for redemption -- the diminutive drinker takes advantage of his newfound freedom by heading down to Tywin's quarters, where he sees Shea sprawled upon the bedsheets and swiftly throttles her with a chain. Tyrion moves on to find Tywin on the toilet and engages in one final verbal sparring match with his father before loosing two crossbow arrows into Tywin's chest.
Season 5, episode 5: Kill the Boy -- Khaleesi Feeds her Dragons
Since Daenerys emerged from the flames unharmed at the end of the first season, her dragon companions have been all but absent from the screen. Apart from a few short scenes early on and, of course, Daenerys' memorable escape from the Meereen fighting pits atop Drogon's back, the fork-tongued firebreathers have remained mostly an empty threat, dwindling emblems of power for a queen desperate to maintain her throne.
In season 5, though, the Mother of Dragons decides to make an example of Meereen's Great Masters by feeding the slave drivers to her "children." Despite the inconsequential status of the characters dying here, this episode marked the first time we saw the dragons at full strength -- and it was glorious.
Season 5, episode 9: The Dance of Dragons -- A Desperate Gambit
The Great Masters of Meereen weren't the only characters to go up in flames in season 5. In one of the most shocking moments in Thrones thus far, Stannis Baratheon -- at the behest of Melisandre, his mysterious red-haired lady friend -- had his adolescent daughter Shireen burned at the stake in an attempt to garner favor (and power) from Melisandre's Lord of Light. Shireen's death represented a sharp departure from the novels, wherein Shireen is still completely alive. Thrones handled Shireen's death in the same manner as some of other more graphic incidents from the show, turning the camera away and allowing the audience to hear the screams. This one was not fun to watch.
Season 5, episode 10: Mother's Mercy -- For the Watch
Et tu, Olly? After firing the arrow that killed Ygritte, Jon Snow's Wildling lover, the young farm boy-turned-watchman delivers the final blow in the bloody betrayal led by First Ranger Alliser Thorne. The brutal murder, carried out by a motley crew of Night's Watchmen who think Jon Snow's decision to allow Wildlings refuge beneath the wall is more treasonous than literal treason, ended the life of the only real male protagonist left on the show.
With Daenerys an ocean away, many viewers held out hope that Jon would be the hero to defeat the supernatural White Walkers and restore peace (or some semblance of it) to the Seven Kingdoms. Sadly, judging by Jon's glassy stare and the growing pool of blood beneath him, it seemed as though Westeros would need to find a new savior.
Bonus: Season 2, episode 4: Garden of Bones -- The Tickler
In the grand scheme of things, the rat torture scene in season 2 is a minor occurrence, but it's so unique and brutal that we just couldn't leave it off our list. As Arya arrives at Harrenhall, occupied by Tywin Lannister and his forces, she sees a man nicknamed "The Tickler" torturing a man in the keep in search of information on the mysterious Brotherhood. When the man refuses to divulge information, the Tickler places a rat in a metal bucket, presses the bucket against the prisoner's chest, and orders the bucket heated with flame. You can imagine the result, as the prisoner dies slowly and painfully. The Tickler, though, gets what's coming to him, as Arya uses one of the three favors granted by Jaqen H'ghar to have him killed.
Warning: Major spoilers!!
If you’re a sucker for happy endings, turn back now. Neither HBO’s hit series or the George R.R. Martin novels on which it’s based are known for their happy endings. In fact, if you’re familiar with the story thus far — engineered by Martin and show creators David Benioff & D. B. Weiss — you’ve probably already seen a few of your favorite characters perish. Along with AMC’s smash series The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones is representative of a new trend in television: Death.
Gory, creative, spectacular death scenes are the set pieces that drive the plot forward in both shows, and it often feels as if the creators of Thrones are constantly playing Russian Roulette with your favorite cast of characters. With that in mind, we’ve decided to look back over the past six years and put together a chronological list of the 10 most memorable death scenes in the shows history thus far.
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