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Knowledgeable TV fans know that Game of Thrones was a special experience because of its incredible characters, political turmoil, and unforgettable twists. While it was the quiet moments that made the fantasy epic a literary masterpiece and on par with its dramatic predecessors, some action also never hurts. Enter the grandest battle sequences ever put on the small screen!
Game of Thrones was always going to require war scenes; it’s about a variety of kingdoms fighting for supremacy over Westeros, after all! The bloodshed that led to the takeover of nations and continents absorbed viewers in its grasp and left plenty of memories in its wake. These are the best battles in the HBO series that propelled the story forward and climaxed plot lines years in the making!
8. The Greyjoy Naval War
Season 7 Episode 2
Sea battles always serve as a nice change-up in the Game of Thrones universe. The naval war at the end of “Stormborn” between two sides of the Greyjoy family gets buried beneath more high-profile battles later on. It was a vital moment that demonstrated the terrorizing potential of Cersei’s newest ally, Euron (Pilou Asbæk), and the PTSD of Theon (Alfie Allen) as his sister is captured right before his helpless eyes.
7. The Wildlings and the Night’s Watch v. White Walkers
Season 5 Episode 8
The Massacre at Hardhome was the battle that gave viewers more than just a Costco-sized sample of the devastation the Night King could wield over the living. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) prepare the Free Folk for the fight of their lives as the White Walkers bear down on their armies. Jon’s seeming invulnerability helps get the good guys out without extinction, but the losses endured by the Wildlings warned both the in-universe characters and the fans at home of what was to come.
6. Daenerys’ Forces v. Cersei’s Forces
Season 8 Episode 5
The last battle in Game of Thrones isn’t much of a fair fight. Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) goes full Mad Queen on King’s Landing after Cersei (Lena Headey) beheads her advisor, Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), and the civilians of the capital are left tortured and burned. The knee-jerk heel turn in which Dany’s priorities and ethics are curb-stomped within minutes doesn’t get a lot of time to percolate thanks to HBO’s truncated six-episode order for the final season. At the same time, astute viewers could always see just a little bit that Cersei’s rabid leadership might just test what Daenerys was capable of, and it doesn’t end well at all for the Lioness of House Lannister.
5. The Battle of the Blackwater
Season 2 Episode 9
Game of Thrones didn’t have a lot of war scenes in its first two seasons, instead using the occasional skirmish to make a point about oppositional forces. That all changed during the Battle of the Blackwater. The defense of King’s Landing by Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) and his forces near the end of season 2 changed the trajectory of the series by bringing Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) into the fold with the rest of the main characters. It also set a high-standard template for every battle scene in the ensuing six seasons.
4. The Battle of Winterfell
Season 8 Episode 3
The final showdown between humanity and the undead in Game of Thrones’ fourth-to-last episode felt anticlimactic in placement, especially after the last three episodes sharply turned to focus on the Iron Throne again. That doesn’t stop us from giving credit where it’s due. The Battle of Winterfell is an exhausting, film-worthy battle of cinematic proportions. Weird lighting choices, curious plot holes (why did the Dothraki die immediately when hit with the wrath of the Dead, but Jaime and Brienne survive with their backs against the wall?), and an ambitious runtime don’t overshadow how much effort was put into this war sequence by the cast and crew. This is Game of Thrones’ budget and vitality at full display.
3. Daenerys and the Dothraki v. the Lannister Army
Season 7 Episode 4
Despite losing most of their allies by season 7, the Lannisters were still the most formidable foe in Westeros on the back of a strong army and firm leadership in battle. That’s why, when the Dothraki ambush them on Goldroad, it still feels like they’ll have a chance to survive. When Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) hears the roar of Daenerys’ dragon hurtling through the air right behind the Dothraki, it’s game over for the Lannisters. This was one of the only battles in the show where every character’s life was at stake, even Drogon’s. As fire reigned down on the mortals, Bronn’s (Jerome Flynn) sharpshooting made it feel like the most lethal weapon might belong to those on the ground rather than the skies.
2. The Battle of the Bastards
Season 6 Episode 9
The execution of the final battle between Jon Snow’s army and Ramsay Bolton’s (Iwan Rheon) in season 6’s penultimate affair is tightly wound, emotionally devastating, and perhaps the people’s choice for the best war scene in the show. It’s hard to imagine a bigger dichotomy of morals than those held by the two men leading these armies. Even though it was obvious who would take the crown (it always felt like Jon’s destiny to become King in the North, not Ramsay’s), the Battle of the Bastards is Game of Thrones at its grandest. Jon standing ready to take on the entirety of the Bolton forces has been meme’d to death, but it always gets the adrenaline pumping!
1. The Wildlings v. the Night’s Watch
Season 4 Episode 9
The storyline at Castle Black and the Wall always required a little more attention from audiences than the one at King’s Landing. Jon Snow and his men were detached from the main plot for much of the first half of the series, but the payoff resulted in the best battle in the entire show. “The Watchers on the Wall” is an hour of non-stop brutality as the courageous warriors up North defend the structure from the fearless Wildlings trying to take their home. Jon gets to go full hack-and-slash for the first time, with his former girlfriend’s death being the only thing subduing his violent intentions. This battle should be thought of as the second-best fantasy war sequence of the 21st century behind Helm’s Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
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