Five Characters from Game of Thrones
Ever since Ilyn Payne lopped of Ned Stark’s noble head back in season one, fans of HBO’s Game of Thrones have been well aware that the fates of even their most beloved characters are far from assured and “Valor Morghulis” is the one true certainty in the George R.R. Martin’s sprawling, brutal world. Yet even by Westerosi standards, season four’s body count was staggering and monumental and if this season of Game of Thrones were to have it’s own awards show-type memorial death reel, it would unfold in the following fashion (cue the violins and tempered, polite applause):
5. Ygritte
In “The Watchers on the Wall,” the season’s action laden penultimate episode, we bid adieu to the fiery-haired and hearted Ygritte (Rose Leslie), the Wilding warrior who ushered Jon Snow into manhood. While too much time had passed since we last saw the characters together for the moment to pack a true emotional gut punch (and, in truth, Jon’s lovestruck glances at her during the battle at Castle Black felt a bit silly) Ygritte was one of the series’ most fierce females – independent, brave, and cunning, with glimpses of warmth and compassion – and the world beyond The Wall suffers for the dousing of her fire.
4. Oberyn Martell
Alas, Red Viper, we hardly knew ye. Prince Oberyn’s death was the one that made me feel the most compassion for all the Game of Thrones newbies and book virgins, filled with hope that this sexy, charismatic new addition (played to perfection by Pedro Pascal) would avenge the horrific wrongs done to both his family and Tyrion by the Lannister clan. But pride always cometh before the fall and Martell squandered an almost assured victory versus The Mountain by riding out his Inigo Montoya schtick just a moment too long, robbing us of our hope that good would prevail and treating us to one of the most gruesome death scenes in Game of Thrones history (the sound of the eye gouging still haunts my dreams).
3. Sandor “The Hound” Clegane
Though we were first introduced to the Hound (Rory McCann) as Prince Joffrey’s frightening, murderous henchman, as the series progressed, we saw more and more of the man behind the beast – first, through his tragic backstory, then through his gruff gentleness towards Sansa, and finally through his protective, almost mentor-like relationship with Arya. As a result, his sad and inglorious apparent demise – abandoned by Arya and left to bleed out in the middle of nowhere – was easily season four’s most emotionally effective death, as the character seemed perched on the cusp of redemption.
2. King Joffrey Baratheon
(Cue raucous applause) Has any Game of Thrones death been more anticipated, more celebrated, or more deserved than the nuptial poisoning of the odious, inbred boy king Joffrey Baratheon? It’s a testament to how utterly stupid, cruel, and loathsome His Late Grace (and how wonderfully Jack Gleeson brought those qualities to life) was that, while watching the King choke, turn purple, bleed out of his orifices, and reach for his mommy, my husband said he wished the character had suffered more. Yet despite the moment’s delicious schadenfreude, I will certainly miss Gleeson bringing that eminently punchable face to life each week. RIP Joffrey – the perfect, hissable villain.
1. Tywin Lannister
Unequivocally, there is no death throughout the history of Game of Thrones that bears more import than the passing of Lannister patriarch and Westerosi chessmaster, Tywin Lannister. Tywin (as expertly brought to life by Charles Dance) was imposing, impervious, and integral in all of intricacies of Westerosi politics, the true Hand of the King and the engineer behind every move that built the Lannister empire. As such, his death was almost Shakespearean in its fitting irony – the mighty king, momentarily perched on a rather common throne, brought down by his lowly dwarf son. While all of the deaths mentioned above had a significant impact on the world of Game of Thrones, none shake the foundation of Westeros like Tywin’s passing, which signifies a profound changing of the guard and a new world order, indeed.
— Kimberlee Rossi-Fuchs, Senior Writer
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