10 Most Hardcore ‘Game of Thrones’ Moments

Ned Stark Loses His Head (Season 1, Episode 9)

Anyone looking for a moment when Game of Thrones showed what they were capable of can point to this defining moment of Season 1. As the patriarch of the Stark family and right hand to king Robert Baratheon, Ned Stark is the moral compass for the majority of the first season. However, loyalty and playing by the rules will only get you so far.

After Baratheon’s demise, Stark is imprisoned after discovering the truth about Jaime and Cersei Lannister’s incestuous relationship. He’s then sentenced death by beheading by the sadistic, newly-named King Joffrey. Offing a major character—in front of his daughters, no less—raised the stakes, proving that no one is safe on the show and that producers have no qualms about killing off characters. Sean Bean, who portrayed the doomed Stark, told The Hollywood Reporter  that Ned’s honesty was what got him killed.

The Red Wedding (Season 3, Episode 9)

If you heard a collective gasp on the evening of June 2, 2013, that was due to the carnage that took place during Season 3’s penultimate episode, known to many as “The Red Wedding.” Readers of the book knew that this pivotal moment in the saga was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier to stomach. Lord Walder Frey retaliated against Robb Stark’s decision to not marry his daughter by killing not only Robb, but also Stark matriarch Catelyn, and—to throw in something that wasn’t in the books—even Stark’s pregnant wife (and her unborn child, obviously).

Hands down, this was one of the most upsetting scenes in television history. Don’t believe us? Watch these reaction videos.

The Red Viper Gets Head Crushed by The Mountain (Season 4, Episode 8)

It was Ser Gregor Clegane (aka The Mountain) against Prince Oberyn Martell (The Red Viper). Neither of them are particularly likable characters. The Viper is a little too cocky and a lot too horny, and The Mountain is, well, The Mountain. But when Tyrion Lannister is sentenced to trial by combat, no one wants to fight Clegane (Cersei’s choice) except Oberyn, who volunteers, which automatically makes us take Red’s side. See, his sister was raped and murdered by The Mountain, who also killed her children, and Red has vengeance on his mind.

With Oberyn’s taunts of “you raped her, you murdered her, you killed her children,” taking on a “my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die” tone, he’s far more nimble than The Mountain and is able to fell the 6’8” swordsman. But just when we think he’s got it in the bag, his last bid to get The Mountain to confess gives the big guy an opportunity to literally crush his head like a grape with his bare hands in one of the more gory scenes of the series. What’s worse, Tyrion is still sentenced to die because of the loss. Pedro Pascal, who played Martell, told Entertainment Weekly that filming the intense scene took three days.

Arya Stark Kills Meryn Trant (Season 5, Episode 10)

Poor Arya Stark has been put through the ringer. She’s witnessed the death of her father, her brother’s direwolf, and nearly her brother and mom (last three at The Red Wedding). Plus tack on the butcher’s son from Season 1, and (it’s implied) Syrio Forel, the Dancing Master, who taught her how to wield a sword. While Forel’s death wasn’t shown, he’s believed to have been killed by Ser Meryn Trant. Arya keeps a mental list of those that have wronged her and her family, reciting it like a nursery rhyme (and writing it on Mountain Dew cans, apparently).

By now, she’s at the House of Black and White, in training to be No One. But when she sees Trant in Braavos, where he’s patronizing a brothel to find the youngest-looking working girls, she can’t resist stealing a face and getting selected by the creep to be abused by him. She quickly turns the tables, jumping on him to stab his eyes out, and making sure he knows who she is before he dies. It’ll temporarily cost her her vision, but it’s worth it to see this abusive tyrant, who has been on her list, die one of the more intense deaths on a show full of some seriously gory demises. In fact, her whole killing spree is worth a mention, but this one sticks out the most.

Jon Snow Dies (Season 5, Episode 10)

If there’s one thing that GoT fans caught on to over the first five seasons, it’s that everyone was expendable. But the fifth season ended with a cliffhanger that took even die-hard Thrones viewers by surprise. It was Jon Snow, arguably the main character of the show, bleeding out, stabbed to death by members of The Night’s Watch. After being named Lord Commander of the group, his first mission was to attempt to recruit Wildlings to the watch in their battle for The North.

After recruiting some and bringing them inside the wall following a tussle with the Night King and friends, Snow’s tactics don’t sit well at all with the Night’s Watch. They’ve been mortal enemies of the Wildlings for ages and already knew of Snow’s affair with wildling Ygritte. He’s branded a traitor and stabbed to death. The capper is little orphan Olly, whose parents were killed by Wildlings, and whom Snow took under his wing. Olly lured Snow to his death and even dealt one of the blows. To make things even worse, show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss made us wait until the second episode of Season 6 to see him (finally) brought back to life.

Daenerys Goes on a Khal-ing Spree (Season 6, Episode 4)

Daenerys Targaryen has become a fan favorite for a reason. Sure, the Mother of Dragons is impressive because she has three dragons that she certainly knew how to train. However, her rise from a timid girl being sold by her brother to one of the most powerful people in Westeros goes beyond that. She’s a compassionate ruler that doesn’t believe in slavery, and has evolved into a leader even without her dragons.

Surprising rude men with her proficiency in Valyrian is a fun trick Daenerys likes to pull out when she’s being disrespected, and she does something similar in her late husband’s Dothraki tongue. While being held in Vaes Dothrak, the Dothraki mock her and threaten her with rape after she tells them that only she is powerful enough to lead them. The Mother of Dragons doesn’t take kindly to that, so she sets the temple on fire, burning it and everyone in it but herself and emerging naked from the flames, as only a dragonborn can do.

Battle of the Bastards (Season 6, Episode 9)

We’d known since the beginning that GoT loved a good battle scene, but as the show gained popularity, it also gained ambition and budget.

A struggle between Ramsay Bolton’s huge army and Jon Snow’s ragtag group of Night Watchmen, wildlings, and House Mormont forces, the Battle of the Bastards is long, drawn out, and exhilarating as all hell. Between the sad death of Rickon Stark spurring Jon into action, the advancing shields and spears that producer Bryan Cogman said was their version of the Star Wars trash compactor scene, and Jon Snow emerging from a swarm of bodies and horses as if it were an ocean, this keeps piling on the thrills. The horses were real, by the way, and the scene took 25 days to film. Between that, and the eventual, extremely satisfying death of Ramsay Bolton, this was a cathartic hour of television. So much so that it’s almost hard to remember that the episode also featured all three dragons laying waste to a fleet of Meereen ships. The battle scene that took up the bulk of the episode, however, might not be topped until the inevitable battles taking place this season.

Cersei Blows Up the Sept (Season 6, Episode 10)

Remember when Tyrion Lannister used the highly flammable wildfire to help take out Stannis’ fleet of ships during the Blackwater battle back in Season 2? It turns out that wasn’t the last of the green stuff. A religious group, The Sparrows, have set trials for Cersei and Loras Tyrell for their incest and homosexuality, respectively. On the day of the trial, Cersei doesn’t show up, but instead retaliates by blowing up the Sept of Baelor, killing the High Sparrow, Loras, her rival Margaery Tyrell and countless others. It’s a cunning move by Cersei, and while she might not have intended for her son Tommen to commit suicide after hearing of his Margaery’s death, it results in her being named queen.

The Battle Beyond the Wall (Season 7, episode 6)

If the Battle of the Bastards was the Super Bowl, this battle in the penultimate episode of season 6 was the NHL winter classic: Larger than life, frozen, and lots of fighting. In this episode, we essentially find the magnificent seven (Jon, Tormund, The Hound, Thoros, Beric Dondarrion, Jorah Mormont, and some wildlings) taking on an entire army of undead. The scale of the scene, which was shot in Iceland, is spectacular, and while the undead, one on one, are no match for our warriors, they so easily outnumber Snow and co. that they can’t possibly fend all of them and the Night King off. That is until Daenerys shows up with her dragons. It’s thrilling to watch them incinerate the army of the undead—until the Night King fells Veserion with a spear, dropping him into the water, where he is revived as a zombie dragon. It’s an action scene like we’ve never seen before, and we can’t wait to see how this shakes out. 

Littlefinger’s Trial (Season 7, Episode 7)

One of the many lessons that Game of Thrones has preached throughout its run is that those that play by the rules often don’t succeed. Take Lord Peter Baelish, or Littlefinger. Throughout the run of the series, the brothel owner shifted allegiances so much that it was almost impossible to know which side he was on other than his own, although he certainly seemed partial to Catelynn and Sansa Stark. With Sansa, Bran and Arya finally united in Winterfell, he attempts to manipulate them against each other, and it seems to work, and there’s a trial called for Arya. However, once the trial begins, the tables are turned as it becomes a trial for Littlefinger. Caught off guard by his lies collapsing in on him (courtesy of a Three Eyed Raven), he helplessly gets his throat slit by Arya, drawing to a close the run of quite possibly the shadiest character on the show. Actor Aidan Gillen told the L.A. Times that Littlefinger was destined to die, but the manner in which it happens is definitely a bit of a shock. It’s particularly satisfying not just because we’re done seeing his weasel-like, duplicitous face, but also because after being separated for so long, it’s great to see those Stark kids working together so well. In fact, we could watch it for ten minutes.