Game of Thrones: Top 12 episodes of all time

“Blackwater”

Blackwater was the penultimate episode of the second season. It had Stannis Baratheon invading King’s Landing with his army to claim the Iron Throne. Tywin Lannister was busy dealing with Robb Stark and his northerners somewhere and he had sent his son, the wily and mostly nice dwarf Tyrion to handle the affairs of King’s Landing and to serve as the Hand of the King in his stead. While Tyrion was no commander, he did have a sharp brain. He also had a surprise planned for Stannis. Stannis’ fleet spotted a solitary ship in the Blackwater Bay on which it closed in. It turned out to be a trap. The ship was chock full of Wildfire, an alchemical volatile substance that burns with an explosive green fire and its flames cannot be extinguished for a long time. The wildfire was set alight by Bronn. It exploded in a stunning but horrifying display of bright green, obliterating Stannis’ entire fleet, who, unperturbed, landed with his forces on the shores and began pounding the Mud Gate. His army still vastly outnumbered Lannisters’ army. King Joffrey, who was watching the battle, fled. Even the Hound, the only able commander remaining in the city, fled due to his pyrophobia. It fell on Tyrion to lead and rally the paltry Lannister army. “Those are brave men knocking at our door. Let’s go kill them!” Tyrion said in his battlecry.

“The Winds of Winter”

Game of Thrones rushed to its conclusion from the fifth season. There was no better indication to that than this episode. So much important stuff happened in this finale of sixth season that viewers wondered if the show might end in that very episode. Arya Stark returned to Westeros as a master assassin. Her first stop was the Twins, home of the Freys. She decimated the house and continued on.

Cersei Lannister similarly killed all her enemies in King’s Landing in one fell sweep. The High Sparrow and his Faith Militant, Margaery Tyrell, Loras Tyrell, every single one of them. It was the Wildfire cache beneath the Great Sept. It exploded, killing everybody. Her only remaining child, Tommen, committed suicide, and Cersei, with no grief on her face, is crowned queen.

In other parts of the world, Daenerys Targaryen (finally) sails to Westeros, and, far to the north, Bran realises Jon Snow, is neither a Snow nor a Stark. He is a Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, who married in secret. Oh, and Jon is crowned King in the North.

“Winter is Coming”

For me the first episode of the show will always have that special place. I was newly done with the first book and was interested to see how those words will come alive on the screen. It was a strong episode. With Game of Thrones, it is enough to watch the pilot and decide whether the show is for you or not. We immediately fell in love with the Starks, they just seemed so much like our own family (of course we did not expect what was going to happen to them). Then the conflicts arise. Robert Baratheon comes to Winterfell and asks Eddard, the Stark patriarch, to become the Hand of the King.

This single episode set up the chain of events in the show.

“Baelor”

Ned Stark’s death. When I read this in the books, this was a punch in the guts. The show did that even better, and Sean Bean’s brilliant acting throughout the season helped the audience sympathise with his character despite his many idiotic decisions. I knew it was coming, but Ned Stark’s death was somehow still shocking to me — so invested I was in his character. He was the anchor of Game of Thrones, its conscience. He was also the main character of the show until then. It was like killing Harry Potter at the end of Sorcerer’s Stone. And that is why, it clicked. When no character at all is safe in a story, you are constantly on your toes, bracing for another heartbreak. And, as we know, this was just the beginning.

“Beyond the Wall”

The Westerosi Avengers — Jon Snow, the Hound, Jorah Mormont, Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr, and Gendry crossed the Wall to bring back a Wight. A foolhardy quest and its setup did not look believable at all. The writing was weak, but the battle, when it came, was absolutely mind-boggling. It was one episode in which great spectacle made up for bad writing. Just when Jon and others were about to be overwhelmed, Daenerys Targaryen arrived with her three dragons. Viserion was killed effortlessly by the Night king, and the survivors had to flee on Drogon.

“The Door”

The death of Hodor and the reveal as to why he was a half-wit and was capable of uttering ‘Hodor’ and nothing else. It was also a fitting end to the genial giant in the sense that he died a heroic death he deserved though it broke many a heart. Well, if it did not than the big reveal did. It was because Bran Stark went back in time to ask an adolescent Hodor to hold the door against the White Walkers and Wights. That scrambled the mind of the young Hodor. But hold the door, he did, until Bran and Meera escaped. This was some truly fantastic writing.

“Battle of the Bastards”

When Joffrey Baratheon died, we all thought while his death was painful, there was no payoff in it. Sansa Stark should have killed him for all the torments he inflicted upon her. We, however, did get a payoff in the stunningly shot Battle of the Bastards. Jon Snow, newly resurrected, attacked Ramsay Snow’s armies with his wildling army. When battle was about to be lost, Littlefinger arrived with the forces of the Vale and routed Ramsay. Jon beat him to a pulp. And Sansa set his own, very hungry hounds on him. Now, that’s a payoff.

“Rains of Castamere”

The House Stark had already suffered so much by the time Red Wedding happened. But in the twisted mind of Martin, not enough. Walder Frey, lord of the Twins, had offered alliance to House Stark. Catelyn Stark’s brother, Edmure Tully, was to be wed to his daughter. The Starks and their allies arrived for the wedding. Everything was going well, until Catelyn heard “The Rains of Castamere”, the unoffical anthem of the Lannisters and a warning for everyone to not antagonise them. Robb Stark is stabbed through the heart, his pregnant wife is stabbed — in the stomach repeatedly. Catelyn’s throat is cut too. Oh, and Greywind, Robb’s direwolf, is killed too.

“The Dragon and the Wolf”

Nearly all the major characters of the show came together for the first time in King’s Landing. The purpose was to showcase Cersei and other Lannisters a Wight, so that everybody will be aware of the threat of the Night King and be united against Army of the Dead when it comes. The other important point was we came to know what a dying Lyanna Stark had whispered to Ned. It was Jon Snow’s true name: Aegon Targaryen. Now, Jon Snow is not merely a Targaryen, but a true born son of Rhaegar, and the heir to the Iron Throne. The Wall came down as well and the Army of the Dead was finally in the realm of the living.

“Hardhome”

A gorgeous episode with visual effects that would put many blockbusters to shame. The event was not so much a battle as it was a slaughter by the Army of the Dead of the Wildlings and a minor counter-attack by the Night’s Watch. It was also the first time the Night King saw Jon Snow and appeared to express a mild surprise that somebody could fight back against his army. Jon also slew a damn White Walker in a duel. It was Longclaw, his Valyrian sword. Even the White Walker was surprised that Jon’s sword can stop his sword mid parry. At the end, the Night King looked straight at Jon and raised his arms, reanimating the people who looked dead until then. It was a powerful moment, and had set up something personal to come between Jon and the Night King. A beautiful, thrilling, if a bit scary, episode of the show.

“The Bells”

When Daenerys Targaryen became the Mad Queen. One could argue that it made little sense for Daenerys to target *only” the common people and burn them alive for no fault of their own instead of flying towards the Red Keep to kill Cersei, but, gosh, it was gorgeous. The visuals were breathtaking, and this is true for the entire episode. Tyrion enters a blown apart gate of King’s Landing, The Hound and the Mountain fight to death at the (metaphorical) end of the world, and my personal favourite: the stunning, fey visuals of Arya waking up and encountering a white horse.

“The Battle of Winterfell”

The Night King was predictably unstoppable on that fateful night. It was predictable, because he was teased as a primal, almost natural force before whom even the strongest could not stand. And he died at the hands of a human assassin. Despite this and the darker colour tone, The Battle of Winterfell was suitably epic. We just wish it did not end in such a way. It is not as if Arya was not capable. Her skills are not in question here. She was probably the best warrior at Winterfell that night, but her sneaking up to a preternatural monster that is Night King, who was surrounded by dozens of White Walkers, did not look right.