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Every Episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ Ranked

When you rank the episodes of Game of Thrones, you win or you die.
Game Of Thrones Episodes Ranked
By  · Published on March 24th, 2019

10. The Mountain and The Viper (Season 4, Episode 8)

As much as I love setup episodes, we have to get to the big ones eventually. Picking a top 5 for Game of Thrones isn’t so hard, as there are a few clear standouts. “The Mountain and The Viper,” is the one that makes my heart hurt the most because of the way it ends. Oberyn Martell is spectacular, thanks in part by the way he’s written in the books, but mostly because of the translation by Weiss and Benioff combined with the electric performance of Pedro Pascal. The surprising thing about this episode, though, is how much else it accomplishes. Ramsay is legitimized after flaying a bunch of Ironborn; the hellish raid of Mole’s Town is delivered early in the episode; Dany and Ser Jorah have their big falling out, and we get that beautiful moment in which Arya bursts into laughter upon finding that her aunt has died. There’s so much more to this episode than its final fight.


9. The Children (Season 4, Episode 10)

“The Children” opens having to finish what “The Watchers on The Wall” had started, which is a burden. But once it’s done with Jon and Stannis and Melisandre glaring at Jon through the flames, this episode explodes with massive strokes of closure and all kinds of setup for season five. The titular Children are all over the map: Dany locks hers up; Tywin comes to terms with the fact that two of his have been sexing it up for years, then his third child murders him on the toilet; then the freest Stark child exist Westeros after Brienne and The Hound have a massive, beautifully shot single combat battle. Thematically, this episode written by Weiss and Benioff is so tight. It closed season four and solidified an unprecedented two-season run that will forever be looked upon as this show’s golden years.


8. The Winds of Winter (Season 6, Episode 10)

The back half of season 6 benefits greatly from six full seasons of character building. That is, perhaps, why so many of its episodes ended up in the top ten on this list. In “The Winds of Winter,” the show is not only cashing in on its own work, it’s also reaping the benefits of groundwork laid by George R.R. Martin in his books that were released two decades prior. The answer to the question that was so pivotal to Weiss and Benioff making this show in the first place — Who is Jon Snow’s mother? — is finally answered. And on top of all that, Daenerys finally sets sail for Westerns, Cersei ends politics as usual in King’s Landing, and a new King in the North is crowned. Now the real game can begin.


7. Hardhome (Season 5, Episode 8)

 

Three years after “Blackwater,” the show endeavored to top what was previously thought to be the pinnacle of its action episodes. With a much more advanced budget and a more imposing threat (sorry Stannis), they took what was essentially a secondhand sequence from the books and dropped leading characters in to make it a monster of a sequence. We shouldn’t forget, however, that this episode isn’t contained to just the Battle of Hardhome. It leads to the first meeting of Daenerys and Tyrion; Arya is getting her first assignment from her murder internship; the scene in which Sansa confronts Theon; and the scene in which Sam and Gilly finally hook up. The final 35-minutes of the episode is a balls-to-the-wall massacre scene of untold horrors. It’s one of the most impressive scenes in the show’s history on some levels. It introduces, then kills off a fantastic character (the Wildling chieftainess Karsi); it floods the screen with the undead; it delivers huge moments for the giant Wun-Wun; and it ends with a silent, eerie standoff between Jon Snow and The Night’s King. It’s a horrifying, exhilarating half hour that’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen on television. When it comes to the big battle episodes on Thrones, The Massacre at Hardhome is the most memorable.


6. Battle of the Bastards (Season 6, Episode 9)

Among the so-called “battle episodes,” there are two that stand tallest above the rest. Both “Battle of the Bastards” and “Blackwater” have one massive commonality: they each showed us that Game of Thrones has another gear when it comes to creating action set pieces. And while “Bastards” doesn’t do all of the excellent character work that “Blackwater” accomplishes, that’s not something we should really hold against it. “Bastards” exists to pay off a season’s worth of tension on two fronts. Daenerys mounts Drogon and lights up some slaver ships, securing her hold on Slaver’s Bay. Then Jon, many miles away, survives long enough to win back his home from Ramsay Bolton. It’s the most complex, massive battle episode ever constructed for television. The only thing holding it back from eclipsing “Blackwater” is that by the end of season 6, this is what we were expecting from Thrones. By the time Rickon went sprinting in an non-serpentine pattern through that battlefield, we knew that HBO had backed up dump trucks worth of cash to allow the show as much leeway as it needed to make something monumental. That doesn’t make it any less impressive, mind you.


5. The Spoils of War (Season 7, Episode 4)

“The Spoils of War” isn’t the best of Thrones‘ battle episodes, but it does contain the best battle sequence the show has ever delivered. There’s no arguing that there’s a grit and inspirational vibe to “Blackwater,” which we’ll talk about below, but there’s nothing in any Thrones episode that comes close to meticulously managed chaos of The Loot Train sequence. The battle itself is relatively small and not protracted, but seeing multiple characters we care about on opposite sides of the battle is a newly thrilling Thrones thing. Jaime Lannister almost getting roasted by Daenerys and Drogon is a heart-stopping moment that comes at the end of a long stretch of ferocious action. It’s hard to imagine what the Thrones brain trust will try in season 8 that will outdo this episode, but I for one can’t wait to watch them try.


4. Blackwater (Season 2, Episode 9)

What was the moment when you knew that Game of Thrones was a great show? Not just a good show, but a great show. For those who hadn’t read the books, perhaps it was earlier than the end of season two. But for book readers, the answer is most likely Blackwater. The way it’s written in Martin’s books — from a sheer notion of scale — is almost impossible to imagine. But they did it. And they did it beautifully thanks to a script from Martin and their big-ass battle ringer, director Neil Marshall. The battle itself is monstrous, and that big green explosion is a real “oh shit, this show is going big” moment, but there are also so many great character moments in this episode. Tyrion and Joffrey; Cersei and Sansa; Ser Illyn Payne and mean-mugging; The Hound and Sansa; Cersei almost poisons Tommen; and then it closes with Tywin Lannister waltzing into the Throne Room like a boss, declaring victory over Stannis. No matter how many times I watch this episode, it remains one of the most impressive things this show has ever done. When you factor in the budget, they were working within season two and the countless unknowns heading into this battle, it’s pretty impossible to imagine it working out as well as it did.


3. The Rains of Castamere (Season 3, Episode 9)

The most surprising accomplishment of “The Rains of Castamere” is how it succeeds, like Martin’s book, in lulling the audience into a false sense of safety before Walder Frey’s betrayal. The episode leads to Dany and friends taking Yunkai then casually stumbles into the scene in which Jon betrays the Wildlings, gets shot by Ygritte and narrowly misses an encounter with Bran. All of this before any unborn Stark children are stabbed, before Robb is cut down, and before Catelyn Stark lets out that blood-curdling scream. The execution of The Red Wedding itself plays into this brilliantly, to the point where you don’t see the worst of it coming until it’s far too late. This is the episode that showrunners Weiss and Benioff wanted to get to when they began this journey, and they killed it. Pun intended.


2. Baelor (Season 1, Episode 9)

At some point down the line, Game of Thrones will find room to tell us more about Robert’s Rebellion and the events that truly started The Song of Ice and Fire. From a narrative standpoint, it was Robert and Rhaegar Targaryen’s dispute that set things in motion. But for the show and its lasting popularity, there is no greater event than the execution of Ned Stark. This episode set the tone for the entire series, expressing clearly and elegantly the notion that no one character is ever safe. It took a few years and a few more massacres to solidify this concept, but “Baelor” was where we first learned Game of Thrones’ most important lesson. The Alan Taylor-directed episode was also very productive in pushing other elements of the story forward. From Jon Snow receiving Longclaw from Lord Commander Mormont to Drogo’s fall from his horse to Jaime Lannister being captured by Robb Stark, a lot happens in this episode. It’s also the episode that sets up The Red Wedding, as Catelyn strikes a deal with Walder Frey so that the Stark army can pass through The Twins. In Westeros, all roads lead back to “Baelor” and the death of Lord Eddard Stark.


1. The Door (Season 6, Episode 5)

Trauma and triumph. That’s the heart of what Game of Thrones delivers on a grand scale. It’s often a matter subverting the order in which experience the trauma and triumph. Robb Stark was winning up until the moment he lost it all. Jon Snow was saving lives until the moment when his (first one) was taken from him. The difference between these kinds of traumas and what happens in “The Door” is a matter of mass expectation. This is likely the book reader in me talking, but there was a large portion of the Thrones audience that knew The Red Wedding was coming. At that point, it was all about seeing how Weiss and Benioff would execute George’s most sinister reception. In “The Door,” the full audience of Game of Thrones got to experience an ouroboros of triumph and trauma simultaneously, executed under the masterful eye of Lost veteran Jack Bender. The explanation behind why Hodor is always hodoring is both a heroic moment in which he gives his life to save his friend Bran and a horrific example of the plight of the lower people of Westeros. Their lives are fodder in the great game where Starks and Lannisters and Targaryens are the heroes. Hodor reminds us, in an overwhelmingly heartbreaking way, that sacrifices are being made. It’s an execution of a storyline six seasons in the making, a result that no one saw coming. A freight train of heartbreak.

 

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Neil Miller is the persistently-bearded Publisher of Film School Rejects, Nonfics, and One Perfect Shot. He's also the Executive Producer of the One Perfect Shot TV show (currently streaming on HBO Max) and the co-host of Trial By Content on The Ringer Podcast Network. He can be found on Twitter here: @rejects (He/Him)