Game of Thrones is mostly loved by fans for the thrills and spills of the early seasons, but it’s the fight scenes that also drive home the real action and suspense of the show. Many strong and capable characters are introduced along the way with varying levels of swordsmanship — this allows for a wide variety of different battle scenarios.
While some fights are evenly matched, others are finished almost immediately, or have someone defying the odds by completely overwhelming their opponents. There are plenty of altercations involving swords that teeter on the edge of either being called a fight or a one-sided massacre — such as the Red Wedding — but fights should have both parties at least prepared to hurt the other.
10 Brienne Effortlessly Cut Down Three Stark Men When Taking Jaime Back To King’s Landing
Catelyn Stark defies her son Robb by releasing Jaime Lannister and charging Brienne of Tarth with delivering him back to King’s Landing in return for the guaranteed safety of her two daughters. However, Jaime and Brienne are stopped and challenged by a trio of Stark men.
Brienne and Jaime try to play undercover roles but are quickly noticed, forcing Brienne to leap into action. Brienne quickly cuts down two of the men with two fluid motions before giving the third a painfully slow death — a reward for his insults and sadistic nature. This sequence is the moment that Jaime starts to respect Brienne’s resolve and commitment to Catelyn Stark.
9 The Zombified Ser Gregor Tore Apart A Member Of The Sparrows
Also known as the Mountain, Ser Gregor Clegane is a brute of man known for his overwhelming power and strength. When he is on the verge of death following his intense and gruesome fight with Prince Oberyn Martell, he is somehow transformed into an even more formidable force of nature thanks to Qyburn letting loose with his questionable methods of experimentation.
Ser Gregor becomes a zombie-like shell of his former self, having an apparent immunity to conventional attacks. This makes him a formidable bodyguard for Cersei as she plots to retaliate against her many enemies. One such example of Ser Gregor’s power and danger in his new form is when he simply rips apart a member of the Sparrows following a feeble attempt that merely leaves a dent in his armor.
8 The Hound Cut Through Multiple People On A Vengeful Rampage
Just like his brother Gregor, Sandor Glegane is shown to be a brute whenever he gets in a fight. Also known as the Hound, he is known for his foul mouth, burning temper, and surprising fear of fire. Despite his hard nature and skill with a sword, however, he does still find himself on the wrong side of a beating, with his brother and Brienne of Tarth being too much for him to handle.
In spite of these moments, the Hound does still get his fair share of rampages, from protecting Sansa at King’s Landing to cutting his way through Lannister soldiers while journeying with Arya, but his crowning moment is arguably when he cuts through the corrupt few members of the Brotherhood who are responsible for killing Sandor’s only friend in Brother Ray.
7 Daario Naharis Made Short Work Of Meereen’s Champion
When Daenerys Targaryen and her followers arrive at Meereen they are immediately greeted with a challenge to pit champion against champion, with it simply being seen as a sport by the people of Meereen.
Meereen’s chosen champion appears arrogant, but is quickly humbled by Daenerys’s champion Daario Naharis. Naharis simply throws a knife at the charging horse before quickly finishing off his opponent with one swing of his blade while the opponent is blinded by a cloud of sand. It isn’t the most honorable of victories, but it is certainly quick and efficient.
6 Euron Quickly Eliminated Two Of Daenerys’s Allies In One Go
When Daenerys establishes her new alliance upon her arrival in Westeros, they all seem to be prepared for the wars to come — even when facing Cersei Lannister and her allies. However, with Euron Greyjoy quickly ambushing the fleet carrying the Sand Snakes of Dorne, as well as Yara and Theon Greyjoy, chaos ensues.
Euron’s ambush is messy, but he quickly kills Obara and Nymeria of the Sand Snakes, while capturing Ellaria, Tyene, and Yara Greyjoy; Theon flees. In a matter of minutes, Daenerys loses two houses from her alliance and Cersei gains some valuable prisoners.
5 Daenerys Unleashed Her Dragons & Newly Acquired Unsullied At Astapor
It takes Daenerys until the seventh season for her to finally end up in Westeros, but her journey from powerless gift-wife to Khal Drogo to being a queen with three dragons and a huge army made up of Dothraki and Unsullied is nothing short of remarkable. While her exploits in Meereen are among the most memorable, her acquisition of both the Unsullied army and Missandei as an advisor during her time in Astapor is a crucial step in her climb to absolute power.
Daenerys tricks the main master of Astapor into giving her control of the Unsullied soldiers while pretending to give up one of her dragons in return, only to reveal her deception in one fell swoop.
4 Stannis Suffered A Spectacular Defeat To The Boltons
When fans of Game Of Thrones think about the battles that took place outside of the walls of Winterfell, the two that immediately spring to mind are Jon Snow versus Ramsay Bolton and the final battle pitting the living against the dead in the last season. However, there is one more important battle that takes place in the same setting, but isn’t entirely shown: the Boltons versus Stannis Baratheon.
Stannis goes through hell over the course of the show. Despite being supported by Ned Stark as the rightful heir to the throne, he is forced to resort to Lady Melisandre’s dark arts in order to make waves in the struggle for power in Westeros. He sacrifices morals, friendships, and even the life of his own daughter, but as he nears Winterfell for the big battle against the Boltons, Melisandre and most of his soldiers abandon him and others succumb to the harsh conditions. Those that remain are simply picked off by the Bolton army. Brienne of Tarth gets retribution for Renly’s murder by killing Stannis herself.
3 Hardhome Saw The Night King Issue His Challenge
Right up until their demise at the hands of Arya Stark in the final season of Game Of Thrones, the White Walkers are shown as terrifying and almost unstoppable enemies that are a severe threat to humanity. Even after the discovery of their weaknesses being fire and Dragonglass, they command and terrify in almost every scene, with Hardhome being the most terrifying of all.
When Jon and Tormund journey to Hardhome in an attempt to recruit allies for the impending fight to come, they don’t count on being interrupted by a horde of wights and White Walkers. After suffering catastrophic losses, they retreat to the ships and flee.
2 The Lannister & Tarly Forces Were Decimated By Drogon & The Dothraki On The Goldroad
Fresh from the victorious and supposedly easy sacking of Highgarden, the joint Lannister and Tarly alliance are making their way back to King’s Landing with their substantial forces escorting a supply line. They are set upon by Daenerys’s Dothraki horde and she also joins the fight on the back of Drogon.
The combination of the flames from the dragon and the ruthless assault from the Dothraki leaves the supply line in tatters with all of their plunder destroyed; most of their army is captured or killed. Cersei had previously scored a couple of victories over Daenerys, but this was the Dragon Queen’s first major triumph since landing in Westeros.
1 Daenerys Ignored The Cries Of Civilians & Surrendering Lannister Forces As She Burned Everything
After reaching tipping point upon seeing Missandei beheaded and learning of Varys’s betrayal, Daenerys threatens to follow in her father, the Mad King’s footsteps. In “The Bells,” she ignores the surrendering cries of the Lannister soldiers and the masses of innocent civilians trapped in the streets of King’s Landing, opting instead to burn it all to the ground.
Cersei was initially confident that they could put up a fight, with her recent acquisition of the elite mercenaries known as The Golden Company, but they were wiped out in an instant, with Cersei following later in the episode.
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