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Game of Thrones: The Best Scenes by Season

For your inspection and discussion: the best scenes from each of the 7 seasons.
Game Of Thrones Moments
By  · Published on March 27th, 2019

Season Two

The King’s Landing Riot

Kings Landing Riot

“And now I’ve struck a king! Did my hand fall from my wrist?”

Some of the finest GoT scenes are the ones of comeuppance, and while Joffrey doesn’t quite get his just desserts in Season 2, the riot of starving citizens under his rule that leads to him getting a face full of poo, a slap, and a serious talking to, is a very satisfying way to tide us over until the Purple Wedding. As an added bonus we get to see Tyrion really come into his own as the Hand of the King. No one in King’s Landing may notice or care, but we sure do, and it’s a whole different kind of satisfying to see him in action.


Daenerys’ Vision in the House of the Undying

Daenerys Vision

“That sounds like something you would do.”

What exactly does Dany see in the House of the Undying? The throne room of the Red Keep, a place she’s never actually seen, with the ceiling burned out and winter finally come. And the Iron Throne, which she approaches but never actually couches. Now that we’ve seen Viserion taken by the Night King, that burned out roof of the throne room is looking less and less like her doing. And now that we’ve seen her put her quest for the throne on hold to go beyond the Wall, it’s starting to look even more like a prophecy. It’ll be hard to say fore sure what Dany’s vision means until the show is finally done, but as it stands in season 2, when winter still seems so far and King’s Landing seems so solid, it’s a remarkably eerie and unsettling glimpse into an unknown and frightening future.


Melisandre Gives Birth

Davos And Mel

“Shadows cannot live in the dark, Ser Davos.”

This is a weird one, especially for the early days of the show. We haven’t been sure, up to this point, whether Melisandre’s Lord of Light talk has any substance behind it. If anything, she’s given off strong vibes of a charlatan feeding off Stannis’ power-hungry clouded judgment. But this scene proves once and for all that the Lord of Light delivers, and he’s got a very off-putting sense of style. It’s a wise choice to have Davos in the room as our frame of reference — the plainest, nicest, most down-to-earth character in the show is forced to bear witness to this truly bizarre and unsettling spectacle, and we’re right there with him. All of a sudden we’re much more confident in Stannis’ cause, and much less happy about it.


Tyrion Takes Command

Tyrion Blackwater

“Those are brave men knocking at our door. Let’s go kill them!”

In the shock of the century, Joffrey is neither a brave nor an inspiring leader on the battlefield, choosing literally to run to his mother. But Tyrion, in the culmination of a season-long arc of coming into his own, takes charge of the defense of King’s Landing. He rallies the men with a speech that is oh-so-him: don’t fight for your king, don’t fight for money, don’t fight for anyone else or because you think someone will reward you. Fight only for yourself, because you have to. It’s pragmatic and heartening and just what the despairing soldiers before him need to hear. Just by being himself, and encouraging the army to be a bit more like him, he inspires the defense of the city. It might be his proudest moment. It’s a damn shame no one will recognize it, but as it’s happening, it’s glorious.


Cersei Tells Tommen a Story

Cersei And Tommen

“I will keep you safe.”

Say what you will about Cersei. (And there are a lot of things to say about Cersei). She loves her children. And while that love has driven her to some of the show’s most heinous acts, this scene is something apart. Certain that King’s Landing is going to fall, she resigns herself to protecting her youngest child Tommen in the only way she can. Perching him on her lap on the Iron Throne, she tells him a story about a brave little lion who would grow up to rule over all the evil animals in the forest, as she prepares to poison him. Would the Cersei of today behave the same way? Probably not. Loss has made her hard and desperate and unwilling to admit defeat. But this Cersei is different. It’s hard to look at a woman about to kill her own child and call her hopeful, but that’s what this Cersei is. She believes she can protect Tommen, and she can make his last moments good ones. It’s a powerful scene on its own, and all the more powerful knowing Tommen’s eventual fate and Cersei’s role in it.


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Liz Baessler is a frequent contributor and infrequent columnist at Film School Rejects. She has an MA in English and a lot of time on her hands. (She/Her)