House of the Dragon closed out its exhilarating first season with the heartbreaking death of Lucerys Velaryon and his dragon Arrax, setting the stage for the Targaryen civil war, the Dance of the Dragons. The sequel follows in the strong footsteps of Game of Thrones with a refined take on violence and death. Game of Thrones made a name for itself with how graphic and alarming certain deaths were and still are years later.
Some characters got noble deaths like Jorah Mormont and Hodor, while others like the Blackfish or Shaggydog happened off-screen. Viewers were left utterly flabbergasted by the most shocking and unexpected deaths – Ned Stark takes that crown – but they were also satisfied greatly by other deaths like those of Stannis Baratheon and Littlefinger. When it comes to the most gruesome and brutal onscreen deaths, there are too many to pick from, but whether from fire, steel, fang, or stone, these are the most horrific to witness.
10 Qyburn
Season 8, Episode 5: "The Bells"
While many on these lists are gruesome in how violent and languid they are, in the case of Qyburn, his death earns its spot here by its stark and sudden quickness. He is killed by the reanimated Mountain with a single push, cracking open his skull as he falls down the stairs in front of Cersei.
This harkens back to when the Mountain does the same to a peasant who had sexually harassed the Queen on her traumatizing walk of atonement. His skull was utterly crushed by the demonically powerful knight. It was a fitting end for Qyburn – a mad scientist killed by his creation.
9 Rodrik Cassel
Season 2, Episode 6: "The Old Gods And The New"
Although not the most memorable of the bunch, Rodrik Cassel’s death was brutal and quite thematically important. It is what set Theon on his long and horrific downfall. Cassel was the Master-at-Arms of Winterfell, Ned and Catelyn’s most staunch and loyal advisor, and a mentor to Theon during his time in the North. He was decapitated to signal Theon and the Ironborn’s control over Winterfell.
However, whether due to a blunted sword or an incompetent wielder, Theon does not strike off Cassel’s head in one fell swoop. Instead, he must hack at it horrifically. Interestingly, the gore of the scene was kept just off-camera, keeping the focus on Theon at the moment and that makes it land all the more effectively.
8 Shae
Season 4, Episode 10: "The Children"
Shae’s death is a very special one among the rest as it does not come during battle or from dragonfire. Rather it is perhaps the most intimate death shown on Game of Thrones – Tyrion discovering her treachery chokes her to death. There is no blood drawn, yet it is still heartbreaking and horrific to watch, even more so than Tyrion’s subsequent murder of his father.
Overall, this is what makes the season four finale one of Tyrion’s very best episodes. The only death that could match Shae’s death in tone and subtle brutality is Daenerys’ but that still came swiftly with a knife. Here it is long, laborious, and more impactful.
7 Viserys Targaryen
Season 1, Episode 6: "A Golden Crown"
One of the best things in House of the Dragon is the deeply compelling characterization of King Viserys I Targaryen and the fact that he dreams like Daenerys and Aegon. While it catalyzes war, his death is peaceful – something that can’t be said for his descendent, Viserys who gets his own special golden crown.
This one is both horrific yet riveting as he was clearly a character designed to be reviled in favor of his sister and her journey. Nevertheless, his screams of horror as Khal Drogo pours the molten gold on his head are haunting. In the end, he wasn’t the dragon he had long claimed to be.
6 Ramsay Bolton
Season 6, Episode 9: "Battle Of The Bastards"
Another big death that many were eagerly anticipating from the moment of the character’s introduction was Ramsay Bolton’s. He had developed into one of the best villains in Game of Thrones, emulating chaotic evil energy. As such, when the Battle of the Bastards concluded fans were excited to see him get taken off the game board, but they probably didn’t anticipate how it would happen or who would be behind it.
He didn’t get the sword or an arrow to the heart, but rather, he was fed to his own hungry dogs by Sansa. There was a moment when the dog was sniffing his face, tasting the blood pooling down his face, and most expected it to cut away to his dying screams. However, before that, they showed the first horrific bite to make it land even harder. This was true comeuppance for Ramsay who had fed his half-brother and step-mother, Walda, to the dogs, and it firmly established Sansa as a true player in this Game of Thrones.
5 Meryn Trant
Season 5, Episode 10: "Mother's Mercy"
Of course, one of Arya’s many victims has to get some representation here. Meryn Trant was supposed to be a knight, a noble member of the Kingsguard. However, he was a cruel and sadistic man with a disgusting sexual appetite, and Arya, thankfully, delivered his just rewards. From stabbing his eyes and torturing him to the final slice of her knife in his throat, Trant’s death is easily one of the goriest in Game of Thrones.
In fact, it is the most outwardly violent of Arya’s victims shown on-screen – she did murder and then bake two of Walder Frey’s kids into meat pie later, but that wasn’t actually shown.
4 The Tickler's Victims
Season 2, Episode 4: "Garden Of Bones"
While some met their end to dragons, direwolves, or other cool mystical creatures of this world, the Tickler’s victims truly suffered a horrific fate. He would force rats to eat through living bodies, torturing his victims to extract any information he could use. There is nothing really like it in Game of Thrones or Heart of the Dragon.
Gendry would’ve been one of those victims if not for the timely arrival of Tywin Lannister, and the Tickler was later killed by Jaqen H’ghar at the behest of Arya – although in the books she is the one to murder him.
3 Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark, Talisa Stark, & Grey Wind
Season 3, Episode 9: "The Rains Of Castamere"
House of the Dragon certainly has its own shocking deaths, like Luke’s in the finale, but nothing will ever compare to the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones. It is still probably the most legendary and recognizable moment from the series, beating out Ned’s beheading, the destruction of the Great Sept, or even the finale. This was the moment the showrunners were hoping to get to, and it is what firmly solidified Game of Thrones' legacy in the television landscape.
Each death in the Red Wedding is brutal and horrific from the multiple arrows that strike Robb or Roose Bolton slicing Catelyn’s neck. However, it is Talisa’s death that really takes the cake. She is pregnant and Frey’s son stabs her repeatedly in the belly, killing her and her unborn child. This will probably stand the test of time as the defining moment for the entire Game of Thrones franchise.
2 Shireen Baratheon
Season 5, Episode 9: "The Dance Of Dragons"
It might be surprising to see something outrank the Red Wedding, but the case can be made for other deaths to be even more disturbingly brutal. Shireen Baratheon’s is one of those. Her death by sacrificial flame is horrendous for so many reasons, but most of all for the fact that it was done on her father’s orders with her mother’s initial consent.
Shireen was the most innocent and kindest character in Game of Thrones – the most inherently good person in this dark world – and she didn’t deserve to be killed like this. That’s what makes her death stand out from her family members or others like Varys and the citizens of King’s Landing who died by fire too.
1 Oberyn Martell
Season 4, Episode 8: "The Mountain And The Viper"
Season four had a lot to live up to following the Red Wedding in season three, and it was able to keep up the momentum with the epic deaths of Joffrey, Twin, and Oberyn Martell. The former two were justified and riveting, but the latter still stands as the most violent and gruesome death in Game of Thrones. In retrospect, he was built up like Ned Stark as a character who unaware fans were likely expecting to be around for the long haul – the Mountain had other ideas.
While he got his licks in, and it looked like he was going to win thanks to his poison-tipped spear, it was over when the Mountain grabbed hold of him. To the horrific screams of Oberyn Martell himself, the characters attending the trial by combat, and the audiences watching in real life, his head was crushed by the behemoth. The sound, the blood, the practical effects, and the stakes in the story all earn Oberyn his title here.