1) Season 1, Episode 9, 'Baelor'
The Starks and Lannisters have always had a fracturous relationship, but one little king with small man syndrome decided to throw a huge spanner in the works and make sure it was something never to be repaired. Serving as Hand of the King earlier in the series, Ned Stark was an honourable man, but one who died labelled a traitor and villain. Though he did everything the Lannister family wanted him to do, falsely confessing to conspiracy and swearing fealty to Joffrey as the true heir to the Iron Throne, King Joffrey decided that the axe would fall on Ned's neck in any case. It was brutal, wholly unexpected by anybody who hadn't yet read the book series, and a sign of what was to come in the future...
2) Season 1, Episode 10, 'Fire and Blood'
There were a lot of emotions running high in Game of Thrones' first epic season finale, but none moreso than for Daenerys Targaryen. Becoming an independent woman and one who had truly fallen for her beloved Khal Drogo, she was devastated to learn that her husband Khal and her unborn child were both either dying or already dead. Ending his life and the one of the witch who cursed him, Daenerys took her dragon eggs into the funeral pyre. The result? An unharmed, nude Daenerys emerging, with three baby dragons perched on her body. A historic moment for television.
3) Season 3, Episode 9, 'The Rains of Castamere'
Never has there been a more shocking moment in television than when much of the surviving Stark family and their followers were wiped out in a horrendous act of double-crossing betrayal. The Freys, despite welcoming the Stark army into their home, breaking bread with them and drinking wine, decided to turn a wedding into a bloodbath, stabbing Robb's wife Talisa dead along with her unborn baby, shooting arrows into Robb before Roose Bolton finished him off, and slitting the throat of matriarch Catelyn Stark. It was horrific, but utterly compelling viewing, and one we'll all be going back to for some time.
4) Season 4, Episode 2, 'The Lion and the Rose'
Though we didn't know at the time exactly who was behind the plot to poison King Joffrey and end his tyrannous reign, we couldn't have been more thankful for it. Naming the event The Purple Wedding, as he had just married Margaery Tyrell and because of the shade of purple his face turned as he was having a seizure on the ground, celebrations hit fans across the globe as we felt a little bit of justice following the Stark slaughter in season 3.
5) Season 6, Episode 9, 'Battle of the Bastards'
Only a week old so still fresh in the mind, but we think Ramsay Bolton finally getting his comeuppance will surely be cemented as one of the most memorable moments in the show's history. The episode also marked a turning point for Sansa Stark, who is now fully invested in playing 'The Great Game' at any cost - whether that's going behind her half-brother Jon Snow's back to bring in additions to his army, or going against her better nature and succumbing to the darkness inside her by allowing Ramsay's hungry hounds to feast on him until he died. Seeing Stark banners adorn Winterfell once more was one of the most satisfying moments this series has ever given - could it be all up from here?
Game of Thrones continues Sundays in the US on HBO and Mondays in the UK on Sky Atlantic.
Tagged in Game Of Thrones