With HBO’s new Game of Thrones spinoff series now hitting the air, there’s been a massive revival of interest in its parent series. While many were not fans of the rapid and rushed conclusion to season 8, the series remains an iconic and controversial masterpiece people love. But it’s also a series that pushed the envelope, especially for its 2011 release date (for the first season). Incest, torture, murder, and beheadings- and that was just the first season! Today, we recap some of the most shocking moments from the Game of Thrones series.
Exit Viserys
Ah, the tangled Targaryen family tree! Daenerys Targaryen had a long road to become the iconic queen she did, and it started with moving from her overbearing brother’s shadow. Her new husband, Khal Drogo, tired of the whiny and entitled young man, has him ‘crowned’ with molten gold. Most of us were rooting for Viserys to exit stage-left, but that’s a gory and painful way to die for sure.
The Last of Littlefinger
Many of us thought Littlefinger was too conniving and cunning to die, and many expected him to make it all the way to the Iron Throne itself. But it was not to be, despite how satisfying it would have been to see a villain win the day for once. Littlefinger left us in season 7, via Arya Stark’s dagger- well earned,after he tried to split the sisters apart.
The Heart of the Horse
We’ve all heard of pregnancy cravings, but this one takes them a little too far. Pregnant with her new husband, Khal Drogo’s child, Daenerys is ordered by the Dosh Khaleen to eat a horses heart- whole and raw. Apparently she will bear a healthy heir if she manages it, and failing brings doom to the community. She manages to perform the grotesque feat, swearing she will bear the heir who will be called The Stallion Who Mounts the World.
‘Death’ of Snow
Jon Snow has a few iconic reveals, including that of his being the son of Rhaegar Targaryen, but as one of the main characters through the entire series, much of his plot development is slow and steady. Not so at the end of season 5, however, when his Night’s Watch turns viciously on him, blaming him for weakness against the Wildings. Each of the mutineers sticks a dagger in him, and watching timid little Olly deliver a savage blow has to be one of the most shocking moments of the series. Of course, he was coming back, but we had no idea at the time, and it’s a great example of the paranoia rampant in the series.
Tyrion’s Revenge
Unlike most of the self-centered and wicked Game of Thrones cast, Tyrion Lannister always came across as intelligent, amusing, and actually owning a moral compass, even if he sometimes chose to ignore it. However, he reaches his break point in season 4, when his adored mistress is found to be following around behind his back with his father, Tywin- despite the man shaming Tyrion for promiscuity and constantly pouring water on his abilities. He embarks on a murderous rampage, stangling the mistress and murdering his own father with a bow and arrow as he sits on what we’d euphemistically call the ‘porcelin throne’.
Hodor
Even the hardest fan hearts melted when the true story behind beloved character Hodor was revealed. A garbled and misunderstood version of ‘Hold the Door’, the legacy of him saving Meera and Bran from wights, this tragic moment may have spotlighted Bran’s specific powers and the complex interactions between past and present, but it was also one of the saddest, and possibly most shocking, moments in the series. The poor man had been doomed from childhood simply for his loyalty.
Shireen’s Fate
Poor Shireen Baratheon always seemed fated for a bad end, but what she got still shocked us. Living in virtual isolation with a gross skin disease, she’s a lonely princess fated to isolation- and it all gets worse when Melisandre convinces Stannis she’d make a fitting human sacrifice to guarantee his victory in battle for the Iron Throne.
Defenestration of Stark
Defenestration, or throwing someone to his death through a window, is a brutal death indeed. Guilty of nothing but being a child and catching the incestuous love affair between the twins Cersei and Jaimie, he gets brutally thrown from the window. While Bran manages to survive and keep his psychic powers, he is forever crippled by the experience.
Losing your Head
They do say Sean Bean never gets a happy ending in his shows! Ned stark was noble, heroic, and a great leader that fans adored. But he was fated to die a gory death-by-execution in the last moments of season 1, at the orders of intolerably smug child-king Joffery. It’s all the more shocking because we expect popular characters like this to have ‘plot armor’ to see them through the action.
The Red Wedding
Would this list be complete without the Red Wedding? Based loosely on historical events, this horrific gore-fest and betrayal is now one of the most infamous moments of brutality in any series, even gore-laced Game of Thrones. With wedding attendees slaughtered mercilessly left and right, it remains an iconic image for the series- and proof of how brutal and over the top life in Westeros really could be, all in one. It’s a moment that will linger in fan’s imaginations- and popular consciousness- for many years to come, and in many ways defines the tone of Game of Thrones, too. With the entire Northern army destroyed, and a disgusting desecration of Robb Stark’s corpse, it’s a moment that will linger in our imaginations forever. Bloody Mayhem indeed.
Of course, these are far from the only shocking moments in Game of Thrones, but they’re certainly some of the ones that leave us with the most drama- and trauma!
What was your iconic Game of Thrones moment? Did we miss something from the list you think should be there? Be sure to let us know in the comments!
