20. The Sons of the Harpy Mask
The Meereen plotline undoubtedly gets a little tiresome, but the Sons of the Harpy are genuinely freaky. Plenty of gruesome and horrifying things have gone down in Game of Thrones, but there are only a handful that have a genuine jump-scare sort of horror movie feel to them—and the Sons of the Harpy storyline is definitely one of them. Even on a second or third viewing those scenes in which golden-masked attackers suddenly spring out of every corner are unpleasantly spooky to watch. Season 5 is a dark place and these creeps are definitely one of the major reasons why.
19. The Unsullied Control Baton
Daenerys Targaryen loves her power plays, and one of her greatest ones to date is still her masterful duping of the slave trader Kraznys mo Nakloz, in which she manages to walk away with an army of 8000 Unsullied. She liberates them and inspires them to fight for her of their own volition. As she leads her new army out of Astapor, she drops the useless baton to the ground—she doesn’t need a stick to assert her power.
18. Beric Dondarrion’s Flaming Sword
Prior to dealing with wights, Beric’s flaming sword trick, an homage to Azor Ahai’s legendary sword Lightbringer, is just that—a flashy gimmick that, if anything, does more harm than good, making the steel so fragile that Sandor Clegane cuts right through Beric’s blade when facing him in his trial by combat. However, in facing the fire-sensitive undead, Beric’s medieval take on a lightsaber has become a whole lot more relevant.
17. The Lannister Lion Necklaces
After receiving this threat against Myrcella’s life from Ellaria Sand, Cersei tells Jaime that there are only two necklaces like it in the world—Myrcella’s and her own. However, watching the series calls Cersei’s claim into question, as the necklace seen here seems pretty identical to the one Joffrey gifts to Sansa while journeying back to King’s Landing on the Kingsroad, as well as one Tyrion gives to the whore Ros after visiting her at the Wintertown brothel. And notably, being in possession of these necklaces has not served either woman well either, particularly Ros, who was later misidentified as Tyrion’s paramour because of her lion necklace, and then kidnapped and beaten under Cersei’s orders in retaliation for Tyrion betrothing Myrcella to Trystane Martell.
16. Joffrey’s Crossbow
A weapon that requires little strength and enables the wielder to terrorize victims at a great distance, the crossbow epitomizes Joffrey’s particular brand of cowardice and cruelty.
15. The Purple Wedding Necklace
As this list has already indicated, there are a number of important necklaces in Westeros. However, this one here is the only one that has killed a king. Sansa becomes an unwitting catspaw in the whole plot, gifted the necklace by the downtrodden Ser Dontos, who claims it’s a family heirloom—a lie concocted by Petyr Baelish and Olenna Tyrell. Beyond this exchange between Sansa and Olenna right before Joffrey’s death, the similarity of the teardrop design to Margaery’s wedding necklace further hints at the Tyrell involvement in Joffrey’s death.
14. Oathkeeper
One of the two Valyrian steel blades reforged from the ancestral Stark greatsword Ice, Oathkeeper is gifted to Brienne of Tarth by Jaime Lannister. Brienne is initially reluctant to accept the sword, but Jaime convinces her by making the case that the best use of the blade would be to defend Ned Stark’s daughters—which Brienne has endeavored to do ever since.
13. Arya’s Bag of Faces
Arya Stark might have turned her back on the Faceless Men and becoming “No One,” but she still has the face-changing skills she picked up along the way. We have already gotten a glimpse of the practically endless possibilities presented by Arya’s new talent in her handling of the Freys, and one imagines she’ll find at least one more occasion to utilize this bag of tricks before the series comes to an end.
12. Baelish’s Valyrian Steel Dagger
Boy, this knife has had a long journey. It has nearly killed Starks. It has been used by Starks to kill. It has been won and lost in bets, been used to frame people for crimes… it has basically done everything except killing a White Walker at this point, but since it’s Valyrian steel and now in Arya Stark’s possession I would say it’s only a matter of time before this knife will also be able to check that off its to-do list.
11. Ice
The ancestral greatsword of House Stark, Ice is the first Valyrian steel blade introduced in Game of Thrones, but far from the last. Emblematic of the ancient legacy and power of the Starks, the sword’s own journey becomes tragically reflective of the family’s path, as it is used by Ilyn Payne to behead Ned Stark himself outside the Sept of Baelor, and ultimately melted down at the behest of Tywin Lannister and fashioned into two smaller blades, Oathkeeper and Widow’s Wail, shortly after the Red Wedding.
Related Topics: Game of Thrones
