The Game of Thrones universe is not exactly the right place to be if you want to get attached to a character and hope they get a happy ending. Happy endings are not exactly the Game of Thrones brand. But even with that warning, it’s fair to say that some had a worse ending than others. In fact, Game of Thrones was one of the shows that directly contributed to our trust issues with TV.
We’re not saying it’s wholly responsible for our belief that “no one’s truly safe” on TV, but we’re also not saying it didn’t play a big role. Because the franchise, including House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, has given us devastating death after devastating death. And they’re not anywhere near done.
Before House of the Dragon returns to kill more of our favorites, let’s count down which Game of Thrones deaths have hurt us the most so far. This is not an exhaustive list of all the characters that have died, of course, but these ones just cut deeper.
10. Daenerys Targaryen - Game of Thrones
Seeing Daenerys die was pretty traumatic. She was one of our protagonists! We were rooting for her before she even had dragons. And to die at the hands of Jon, whom she loved? Tragic. What was even more tragic? The fact that, at that point, the show had made so many bad choices with her storyline that we couldn’t even mourn her properly. Instead, we were just angry.
It’s not even the ending. If Game of Thrones had actually set up Daenerys as a “Mad Queen,” perhaps her decision to burn down King’s Landing would have made sense. Instead, the show tried to turn her into a villain, like you flip a coin, and it didn’t even work. So, yes, it was sad. But not as sad as it would have been if the show had actually done a good job of writing it.
9. Rickon Stark - Game of Thrones
This is one of those deaths that hurts more on principle than in reality. We saw Rickon as a kid, and we were pretty invested in the Starks reuniting. Unfortunately, by the time Rickon reappeared, only to basically get killed right away, we couldn’t even recognize him and had a hard time following his story up to that point. The only reason we really cared was because Jon and Sansa cared.
Killing a Stark should have been devastating, but just like Daenerys, this was another case where the show wanted us to care more than we really did. While Rickon hurts more than some other deaths, it’s still not as bad as it could have been.
8. Shireen Baratheon - Game of Thrones
Shireen Baratheon hurt more because of how unnecessary her death was than anything else. Shireen wasn’t a character with a big role on Game of Thrones, and other than existing as Stannis’ daughter and her close relationship with Davos Seaworth, it’s not like we saw all that much of her. Still, when you see a child burned because her father thinks he needs a royal sacrifice to appease the Lord of Light, you’re going to feel something.
The actual scene is horrible to watch, too. Burned alive and all. There’s no cut to black on this one. We actually get to hear her cries. It was the beginning of the end for Stannis, and after what he did, no one really felt bad.
7. Aemma Arryn - House of the Dragon
The thing about Aemma Arryn is that we were aware the queen had to die—and so did her unborn child—if Rhaenyra was going to become the heir to the throne. But Aemma was so likeable and her death was so horrible that it kind of set the tone for House of the Dragon going forward, making it so that we would never really like Viserys all that much.
Look, if your wife is dying during childbirth and you choose to cut her open (and kill her) to save the child, and then the child dies anyway, you don’t get to call yourself a victim, Viserys. Or a good king.
6. Oberyn Martell - Game of Thrones
This one hurt because Oberyn had already won. He was home clear, and then he wasn’t. And when we thought he’d won, it felt like justice had won. Because Tyrion didn’t deserve to die, and the Mountain really did. But Oberyn’s overconfidence and his desire to hear Gregor Clegane admit what he’d done to his sister got the better of him.
Almost as bad as seeing Clegane crush Oberyn’s skull was the fallout of his death. It was another win for Cersei, and it left us feeling like there was no justice in Westeros. Devastating all the way around.
5. Rhaenys Targaryen - House of the Dragon
Rhaenys died on her own terms, so perhaps that makes it a bit better. But “The Queen Who Never Was” certainly deserved better than to die at the hands of Vhagar in a battle that would end up giving Aemond Targaryen even more power, especially because Rhaenys had basically won against Aegon Targaryen and his dragon, Sunfyre. But she couldn’t take two dragons by herself, and she especially couldn’t take a ruthless Aemond, who was willing to sacrifice his brother to win the battle.
Her death left Rhaenrya without one of her most important allies, but it threw the Greens in disarray as Aegon was severely wounded. Although Aemond being in charge isn’t exactly better.
4. Baelor Targaryen - A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Very few of these deaths have hurt because the character we’re losing is a good person, but the death of Baelor Targaryen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is one such case. While we didn’t know Baelor that well, from what we saw and the decisions he made, it feels like he would have been a really good king. If he’d lived, we probably wouldn’t have had a “Mad King” Aerys.
But he didn’t live. After he decided to join Ser Duncan the Tall and his knights during his Trial of the Seven, his brother, Maekar, accidentally delivered the killing blow while trying to hit Ser Duncan. Still, it was an accident that would change the history of the Seven Kingdoms for good.
3. Lucerys Velaryon - House of the Dragon
Rhaenyra’s second son is the first big casualty of the war that will later be known as the Dance of the Dragons. It was also the thing that finally convinced Rhaenyra that there could be no peace with the Greens. And it all happened by chance. Lucerys and Aemond were both sent on the same mission to Storm’s End, the seat of House Baratheon. That, of course, led them to a fight. However, there was never a possibility of winning for Lucerys.
His dragon, Arrax, was young, and he was going against Aemond and Vhagar, the oldest and largest dragon involved in the war. Even though in the show, Aemond didn’t really mean to kill Lucerys, he did. And thus… war.
2. Rob & Catelyn Stark - Game of Thrones
Most fans of the franchise, and indeed fans of TV, know where they were when the Red Wedding happened. It’s one of the biggest and most devastating moments in TV history. Rob Stark, Ned Stark’s heir and the oldest of the family, and his mother Catelyn, enter House Frey, thinking guest right protected them. But the Freys aligned with some of their own people to betray them, with Roose Bolton delivering the killing blow.
“The Lannisters send their regards,” Bolton said, setting up so much of what happened later. Arya Stark would go on to take revenge on House Frey, and the only Lannister to survive by the end of the show was the one who turned against his family, Tyrion. Can we really say the Starks won when their family was irrevocably broken?
1. Ned Stark - Game of Thrones
Some deaths were crueler, some perhaps had bigger ramifications, but no death on Game of Thrones, or perhaps on TV, has ever been as surprising as the death of Ned Stark near the end of Season 1. Before Joffrey Baratheon ordered Ned killed, we believed in the old rules of TV that promised a protagonist would survive, no matter what. Ned was clearly the protagonist of the show. And then, we had to reevaluate everything we understood about TV and Game of Thrones.
Now, in hindsight, it’s easy to see how Ned got there. His nobility and fairness could not truly win against people who didn’t respect the rules. But at the time, we were horrified. And we were also hooked. All bets were off, and we wanted to be part of that story—even if it hurt us.
