The deaths of the Sand Snakes in Game of Thrones season 7 were extremely clever. The Sand Snakes were the bastard daughters of Prince Oberyn Martell. Even though there were eight of them, the story surrounding the Sand Snakes focused on the three eldest: Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene. Each of their deaths was brutal but also very ironic.
The Sand Snakes were introduced in Game of Thrones season 4 after the death of their father. They were very loyal to House Martell and led by Oberyn's lover, Ellaria Sand, the mother of Tyene and the younger bastard daughters. Obara, Nymeria, and Tyene were skilled in combat at the request of Oberyn so they vowed to act revenge on the Lannisters. While pledging allegiance to Ellaria, they took out Prince Doran Martell, the head of the house at the time, to claim Dorne. They also hosted Olenna Tyrell in the hopes the families would join together in the fight against House Lannister.
The Sand Snakes were the only figures ready to fight on the front lines when it came to taking on key enemies. Ellaria and her three Sand Snakes supported Daenerys Targaryen's claim to the Iron Throne and were prepared to stage a fight at King's Landing. That would never happen as their deaths occurred over the course of two episodes in season 7. Cersei Lannister ended up getting the last laugh regarding the ongoing conflict between the families with the help of the Lord Reaper of Pyke, Euron Greyjoy. Even more interesting was the exact way the Sand Snakes met their deaths.
The Sand Snakes All Died From Their Weapon Of Choice
Obara and Nymeria were the first to die in Game of Thrones season 7. The Sand Snakes joined Yara Greyjoy on her quest to Sunspear, but the ship was ambushed by Euron and his Iron Fleet. Obara, skilled with a spear, faced off with Euron directly during the fight onboard the ship. He managed to get the upper hand and impaled Obara with her own spear. Nymeria was killed in a similar fashion in that Euron used the bullwhip that served as her main weapon to strangle her. He then hung Nymeria's body from the ship's mast.
While her sisters stood their ground during the squirmish, Tyene ran to protect Ellaria Sand, her mother. The two were captured and sent to King's Landing by Euron. Since Ellaria killed the daughter of Cersei, the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms finally got her chance at revenge. Tyene was known for being a master when it came to poisons, and since Ellaria used poison to kill Myrcella, Cersei did the same. After mocking Ellaria, she kissed Tyene, giving her the poison that ultimately killed her. This last death just added to the irony since all three of the Sand Snakes were killed with the sole weapons that they had the most experience with. The detail surrounding their demise were extremely clever despite being their characters lacking depth in Game of Thrones.