Death is a part of life for fans of Game of Thrones – people die – sometimes quietly, but usually the deaths are long, slow, brutal, bloody, and full of vengeance. Here are the most horrific deaths of the series so far. The images used are pretty graphic, so consider this a warning.
10. Rat-Interrogation Victim
Season 2, Episode 4, “Garden of Bones”
Cause of Death: Death by vermin.
While we don’t see blood, guts, or gore (thankfully), but we know exactly what’s going to happen when one of the Mountain’s henchmen grabs a rat, casually tosses it in a metal bucket, and straps it to the abdomen of the guy who’s being interrogated for information on the whereabouts of the Brotherhood. After a few rounds of back and forth, our victim spills the beans to his amused torturers and, we can only imagine what kind of damage the rat did.
9. Jory Cassel
Season 1, Episode 5, “The Wolf and the Lion”
Cause of death: Swords through the eye socket. What is it with the Game of Thrones and bloody, empty eye sockets? Jory Cassel is one of the first victims of this method of death. While it looks like a quick simple death (there’s not that much blood), there are a few seconds where Jamie has his huge sword lodged in Jory’s eye socket.
8. Catelyn Stark
Season 3, Episode 9, “The Rains of Castamere”
Cause of death: Her neck was sliced open.
Poor Catelyn Stark – another casualty of the bloody Red Wedding – a betrayal where you would least expect one. After she’s robbed of her eldest son, Catelyn is taken from behind and has her neck sliced like a hot knife on butter, but by this time, she already gave up – not knowing, like the viewer, that her other kids were still alive. Also, all that blood pouring out of her neck – it looked like a crimson Niagara Falls.
7. Ros
Season 3, Episode 6, “The Climb”
Cause of death: Killed by Joffrey’s with his crossbow with an arrow through her heart.
While we don’t actually she her final moments, we see the aftermath of the work Joffrey and his crossbow did to Ros. As he get up from his chase lounge with his bow, we get a sweeping shot of Ros tied up, arms above her head, and Joffrey’s arrows plunged into hear head, her heart, and it looks like her vagina. This one’s sadistic.
6. Ramsay Bolton
Season 6, Episode 9, “Battle of the Bastards”
Cause of death: Death by his own dogs.
Oh, this was a brutal death, and it had several layers of brutality to it. First off, Ramsay Bolton, strapped to a chair, was already a bloody mess after being beaten by Jon Snow. Secondly, the dogs that ate him were his – the betrayal! Then, the gnashing sounds of Bolton’s hounds chewing his face was really descriptive. And finally, the faint smile on Sansa Stack as she walks away from him as Ramsay’s beasts finish him off.
5. Viserys Targaryen
Season 1, Episode 6, “A Golden Crown”
Cause of death: A crock of hot molten gold poured over the head.
Viserys Targaryen’s violent demise came early in the series, and it set the paces for all other violent deaths in the series. This death was so creative and out of the ordinary, this episode was named after it. In short, Khal Drogo poured a cauldron of hot molten gold over Targaryen’s head, in essence, giving him the “crown” he demanded. Hearing his gold-covered head clank against the ground as he died was a nice touch.
4. Talisa Stark
Season 3, Episode 9, “The Rains of Castamere”
Cause of death: Stabbed in her stomach – while she’s pregnant – at the infamous Red Wedding.
Like a lot of Game of Throne’s “best” worst deaths, the murder of Talisa Stark isn’t graphic as much as it is shocking. We don’t see any blood or gore, just a man approaching her from the back, then swiftly jabbing her stomach 5 times with a knife during the Red Wedding. Of course, the most shocking element of her brutal death was that she was visibly pregnant with Robb Stark’s baby. What a way to start the massacre.
3. Ser Rodrik Cassel
Season 2, Episode 8, “The Old Gods and the New”
Cause of Death: A very difficult beheading – four hacks to the neck and a boot to the head to finish him off.
Ser Rodrik’s death almost didn’t happen, but because Theon Greyjoy got caught up in pride and respect (actually, lack of respect – from Rodrik), Theon opted to sentence his elder to a beheading. But Rodrik didn’t go meekly – he mocked Theon into beheading him as opposed to having one of his men doing the dirty work. Rodrik was a badass until the very end.
2. Meryn Trant
Season 5, Episode 10, “Mother’s Mercy”
Cause of death: Multiple stab wounds, gouged out eyes, and one final slit across the throat, all with a relatively small knife.
This is one of Game of Thrones more grizzly deaths because it sort of came out of nowhere. One minute, Meryn Trant is whipping three young brothel girls because that’s what he’s into, the next minute, Arya stabs him a dozen or so time in the torso, and eye sockets. It’s sweet revenge, and Arya really drags the torture out for maximum intensity. The finishes him off with one long, slow swipe across his neck with her knife.
1. Oberyn Martell
Season 4, Episode 8, “The Mountain and the Viper”
Cause of Death: A crushed head by the Mountain, although the thumbs in the eye sockets into the brain didn’t help.
It seemed like Oberyn Martell was going to win the trial by combat over the Mountain. The Mountain was on his back, and for all intents and purposes, the fight was over. Then, as Oberyn was waxing philosophically and looking for a confession, the Mountain took the Red Vipers legs out from under him and, well… thumbs in the skull.
Images: HBO
