Game of Thronesredefined TV, burning through the pop-culture landscape like one of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons and destroying everything in its path. That’s true of the entire series, which becameone of the biggest, most talked-about shows we’ve witnessed throughout its run, right through toGame of Thrones' ending(as controversial as it was). While that may have been an ignominious way to go out, at its best,Throneswas unlike anything seen before.
The greatestGame of Thronesepisodes come in various shapes and sizes. There are battles that changed the sort of scale and spectacle you may expect on the small screen, twists so shocking they broke the internet, and smaller, character-driven episodes that showed the heart of the series, led by the amazingGame of Thronescast. Through highs and lows, tragedies and triumphs, and with more deaths than is possible to count,the best installments offered up memorable TV that few shows could even dream of.
20Mother’s Mercy
Season 5, Episode 10
Even coming after major episodes “Hardhome” and “The Dance of Dragons,“Game of Thronesseason 5’s finale isan hour filled with massive, game-changing moments, and deathsboth shocking and satisfying. I didn’t entirely love how the show handled Stannis' arc, but the grim inevitably of his death as the fighting ends is quite fitting. And the other deaths in the episode are much better.
Myrcella was never much of a character, sadly, but her demise coming after she admits she knows Jaime is her father, in as heartfelt a moment as you’re able to get from incest, delivers on the tragic front. Arya Stark’s revenge on Meryn Trant is at the other end of the spectrum, the kind of gory, violent, bloody murder thatThronesmakes you cheer for, because it’s happening to such a bastard.
Jon Snow’s death, of course, grabs the headlines. In retrospect, this was a difficult one, because it became so obvious he’d return in season 6, which dulls the impact a little, but there’s no denying its place as a monumental cliffhanger at the time. However,the episode truly belongs to Lena Headey, who makes Cersei, so often vile, a figure of sympathy during the harrowing walk of shame.
19Winter Is Coming
Season 1, Episode 1
The episode that started it all isn’t quite as big or thrilling as some of the ones that followed, but the feat it pulls off is nearly as impressive as some of the big battles and shocking deaths.This is our first step into this world on-screen, and it’s an episode that has to be packed with characters, sprawling across multiple locations, and stuffed with detail, and yet also accessible enough to lure viewers in for a fantasy series.
It could’ve so easily gone wrong. Indeed, itdidgo spectacularly wrong, with the original, unaired pilot having to be heavily retooled because it just did not work. That just makes “Winter Is Coming” even more miraculous. Everything we need, from the Starks finding the direwolves toDaenerys getting her dragon eggs, to the icy threat of the White Walkers, the politics, and lines between good and evil, are right here, with a final moment that let’s you know this show won’t be like anything else. And, hey, Sean Bean’s in it, he’ll be pretty important for the whole show, right?
18And Now His Watch Is Ended
Season 3, Episode 4
An episode that can best bedescribed by a single word:“Dracarys.“It wasn’t the first time Daenerys had commanded her dragons to breathe fire; it definitely wouldn’t be the last, either. But this was the one that really defined not only the term, but a lot of Dany’s arc: a powerful liberator, a different kind of ruler, a great hero, and the Mother of Dragons.
That triumphant, power-shifting scene is so momentous it lingers long in the memory, and rightly so thanks to Emilia Clarke’s performance and Graves' direction
That triumphant, power-shifting scene is so momentous it lingers long in the memory, and rightly so thanks to Emilia Clarke’s performance and Graves' direction, which nicely builds to the bait-and-switch reveal of Dany’s High Valyrian. Still, the rest of the episode is very good too, if not quite as memorable. The Lord Commander’s death is a brutal turn of events, as is the reveal Theon’s “escape” was all just another part of Ramsay’s sick games.
17Fire & Blood
Season 1, Episode 10
How do you possibly follow the wait-did-that-seriously-did-f**king-happen moment that was Ned Stark’s death? If you’reGame of Thrones, you did it with another fundamental change to the very fabric of the show that, while not as shocking, is just as seismic: dragons.Daenerys emerging unburnt from Khal Drogo’s funeral pyrewith three baby dragons is one of the series' defining images, and a mesmerizing, magical moment.
Everything before that is pretty darn good, too. Ned’s death hangs over it all, casting a sad, dark shadow over the proceedings as Sansa is confronted with the harrowing reality of being betrothed to Joffrey, Jon Snow wrestles with his divided loyalties, and Arya Stark is forced to take on the first of several new identities - stories and themes that would come to shape them for several years. In a more triumphant moment, Robb is named King in the North, and if you don’t get at least a little pumped at the show’s King in the North scenes, you might be a wight.
16The Laws Of Gods & Men
Season 4, Episode 6
Peter Dinklage won four Emmys for his portrayal as Tyrion Lannister onGame of Thrones. This was not among them. He lost out to Aaron Paul, who was rewarded for the second part ofBreaking Bad’s final season, and yet there is no greater showcase of Dinklage than “The Laws of Gods & Men,” aka The One With Tyrion’s Trial.He is finally able to let loose all of Tyrion’s rage and vitriol, all the personal and political slights against the Imp bubbling forth in a spew of bile and hatred in one of the show’s biggest and best single scenes.
Nothing in the episode lives up to it, which isn’t exactly a surprise, but it does receive solid support. The rest ofthe trial offers up compelling courtroom drama, andShae’s betrayal of Tyrionadds an extra layer of sadness to the whole affair. Such tragedy is also apparent at the Dreadfort, where Theon, or Reek, refuses his sister’s rescue, meaning this episode ticks off being powerful, political, and poignant.
15The Spoils Of War
Season 7, Episode 4
War is hell. Hell is fire. And fire is a giant dragon, flying in and burning everything in sight to ash in a very literal blaze of glory. Daenerys' flight to create her own Field of Fire is a moment we’d been waiting years for: at long last, we were able to see exactly what a fully grown dragon was capable of doing to Westeros, and it was complete and utter devastation.
Spectacle aside,“The Spoils of War” does a great job of showing the fear a dragon - and, before that, the Dothraki - instills, even if you’re Jaime Lannister or Bronn of the Blackwater. The latter, in particular, gets to shine in this episode as the camera brilliantly follows him through the carnage.
It’s an episode with another satisfying, emotional, long-awaited moment too:Arya Stark returns to Winterfell. And, not only that, but engages in a great swordfight that shows just how far she’s come. The Jaime cliffhanger at the end is a bit cheap, but otherwise this is a spectacular standout in a weaker season.
14The Lion & The Rose
Season 4, Episode 2
Following the Red Wedding, we were all very much prepared that anyone could die inGame of Thrones. That didn’t mean we were prepared forthe show’s biggest villain to be killed inthe second episode of a season. The timing of this event is just one of its masterstrokes, as the episode builds to Joffrey’s demise by spending so much time focusing on just how detestable he really is. Jack Gleeson is gleefully vile here, even by Joff’s standards, as he torments Sansa, Tyrion, and anyone else he feels like.
It’sa fantastic scriptfrom Martin, and goes down as one of the most satisfying villain deaths ever seen on TV, mostly because it had seemed like it might never happen. At last, the king was dead, and purple never looked so good. Outside of King’s Landing, the Theon/Ramsay story continues to develop strongly, and Bran has some of his more intriguing visions, including a dragon flying over the capital, but the Purple Wedding gets it on this list.
13The Bells
Season 8, Episode 5
“The Bells” is one ofGame of Thrones' most controversial episodes, but it deserves to be remembered among its best, too. Yes, Daenerys' turn is shocking and, yes, even more could’ve been done to set it up, but this still stands as one of the most stunning, powerful installments in the entire series. And what’s more,it is one that feels like pure George R.R. Martinin its themes (if not nailing the execution 100%).
Game of Thronesseason 8’s second big battle episode makes up for the darkness of “The Long Night” by setting everything alight, burning so bright you want to look away, but instead are forced to watch the chaos and devastation unfold. This is the horror of war; this is the power of dragons that ought not to be trifled with; this is the danger of supporting a prophesied hero and of someone buying into their own destiny.
Game Of Thrones: The Real Reason Daenerys Burned Kings Landing
Daenerys Targaryen turned into the Mad Queen in Game of Thrones, but there are reasons why she snapped. Here’s why Dany burned Kings Landing.
The episode belongs to Emilia Clarke, who does some series-best work with just her face, and Maisie Williams, whose Arya is our eyes-on-the-ground for exploring the very human cost of war. It’s bold, brutal, and brilliant.
12The Children
Season 4, Episode 10
“The Children” doesn’t have a singular moment quite so shocking and devastating as Ned Stark’s execution or the Red Wedding, and yet it is just as transformative for the show: a denouement not only to its best season, but to the story the show had been telling thus far. With Tywin Lannister dead, and Arya and Tyrion both, separately, headed for Essos, the pieces on the chessboard weren’t so much scattered as the board itself had been destroyed, and we’d be thrust into a new game.
The events of the season 4 finale live up to its weighty task, for the most part.The fight between the Hound and Brienne is one of the show’s most visceral sequences; Bran finding the Three-Eyed Raven a step into a more magical world; Arya sailing for Braavos a sad moment yet filled with hope.
Things after this would be more mixed, and one choice in the finale is partly to blame: keeping Tyrion on good terms with Jaime, a stark contrast to how his escape plays out in the book. That pivot away from adarker Tyrion would hurt his and Daenerys' story, but in the moment, with the full meaning and satisfaction of Tywin’s death looming large, it didn’t feel like a problem.
11The Door
Season 6, Episode 5
Game of Thronesseason 6, episode 5opens the door to science-fiction, to Hodor’s origin, and to one of the most gut-wrenching twists you’re ever likely to see. With Bran creating a closed time loop as he warged into Hodor, things could’ve easily felt too convoluted, even for a fantasy show like this. But thanks to the script, the direction of Jack Bender, and the brilliant twin Hodor performances from Kristian Nairn and Sam Coleman, the meaning and emotion come through loud and clear.
This is alsoone of the most important episodes for the White Walkers, further establishing the threat of the Night King, and with the removal of one Three-Eyed Raven, it’s a pivot to Bran’s endgame too, and the overarching threat feels terrifying and unstoppable here. It has a few other great scenes along the way as well, with Sansa confronting Littlefinger and Dany saying goodbye to Jorah, but it’s Hodor that it’ll be remembered for, and rightly so.
