Game of Thrones: All seasons ranked from worst to best

In 2011 we saw a small crew of men in black coats venturing north of a magical wall. Grotesque ice monsters killed most of them, but one escaped. He managed to get into the woods of a northern castle, but was captured and executed for leaving his post.

Millions of people met Ned Stark there for the first time, and since then Game of Thrones has been an integral part of the lives of millions of people around the world. Then, last year, we saw how the series finally ended – in a controversial way.

Completed with the story (No trouble, Maesters, a Prequel is on the way), and one year behind the final we can go back and analyze which of its chapters were the best and which were the worst.

One note: in every race, someone has to come last. Most of the following criticisms are due to the fact that the show was kept at a high level and Game of Thrones was compared to itself. game of Thrones is damn good, even in the worst of times.

It’s probably natural, but Game of Thrones spoilers below.

A bad Game of Thrones season is still good TV. Season 7, which aired a lifetime ago in 2017, had some of the great moments. The problem is that the whole season was essentially one moment Successively. Too many tent poles, not enough tent.

The season is known for playing with time and space easily. Characters travel to and from Winterfell, Dragonstone, The Wall, or King’s Landing in one or two scenes if such trips previously took at least one episode and often longer.

The pace is dizzying and most of the actions relate to a key figure that interacts with another key figure (Daenerys and Jon, Arya and Sansa, etc.). The effect on storytelling is that the world feels smaller. King’s Landing no longer feels like a city, just Cersei Lannister. Season 7 is about driving home that the world is in great danger. So it’s ironic that the world feels less than ever.

However, there is much to love. Arya Stark’s return to Winterfell, the death of Littlefinger and Jon, who meet Daenerys for the first time, are scenes that will be YouTubed in the years to come. Jon’s relief from Theon Greyjoy and the commemoration of the Stark sisters to Ned Stark were inspiring, and the whole White Walker kite thing put a lot of effort into it. There was also the expected return of hot pie.

Best parts: Arya comes home, Littlefinger dies, Jon meets Daenerys, Jon and Theon, Jaime Lannister finally collects Cersei. Hot pie.

Season 8 is possibly the most polarizing season in Game of Thrones. Over a million people signed a Change.org petition having it done again, but maybe that was inevitable. Ends are heavy.

The last season was structurally like season 7 because it was mainly injured by its pace, but remained alive by its key moments. However, it is over the seventh season because the pace is generally not that restless and the key moments are generally more satisfactory. (Once again, general.)

Brienne becomes Ser Brienne, the last 10 minutes of the Battle of Winterfell, Cleganebowl and Daenerys’ death were all outstanding, really great Game of Thrones moments.

Still, there were problems that struck me, to say the least. Jaime returned to Cersei, though Cersei sent Bronn to kill him, and Daenery’s sudden descent to the Mad Queen both had massive eyebrows raised. And both were self-inflicted wounds. It felt like D.B. Weiss and David Benioff’s decision to cut seasons 7 and 8 required the pace that hindered these stories.

How do you end a sprawling high pedigree show like Game of Thrones? It is a difficult task. The eighth season’s problems were significant, but it did enough to keep using TV intensively.

Best parts: The absurdly good last 10 minutes of the Battle of Winterfell, Ser Brienne, Daenerys’ death, Jaime and Tyrion say goodbye, Cleganebowl.

This season was hot when the previous one ended and Tyrion Lannister murdered his father Tywin. Despite some highlights like the Battle of Hardhome, the dynamics of the excellent fourth season could not really be used. It was more of a conspiracy than an extensive storytelling. (At least for Game of Thrones.)

Tyrion finally advises Daenerys, but the path to get there is not particularly pleasant. Daenerys’ exploits in Essos are, like most seasons, a low point on the Sons of the Harpy subplot. It is actually an above-average Daenerys conspiracy, thanks largely to the tense battle in which Gray Worm is injured and Ser Barristan Selmy is dead. But we know Daenerys’ fate lies in Westeros, so the Essos monkey business ultimately feels trivial, especially so late in the game.

The same applies to the landing of the king, on which the Hohe Spatz and its religious cult take over the city. The High Sparrow is a compelling character, but we ultimately know that it is a distraction. Cersei’s shame is legendary at this point, but she would always win in the end; It was difficult to really invest in the High Sparrow story, as it felt more like a roadblock to Cersei. A thoughtful roadblock, but still a roadblock.

Meanwhile, it was fun that Jaime and Bronn were budding in Dorne, and Marcella’s death scene, including Jaime’s revelation, was an emotional moment, even though it was hastily built up. The rest of the Dornish adventure was a disappointment for many fans, however. Arya Stark’s faceless man training, which consisted mostly of her mopping floors, was fine at best.

However, as we would see, this training would pay off in the most spectacular way.

Best parts: Tyrion meets Daenerys, Jon is appointed Lord Commander of the Night Watch, Jon is murdered by the Night Watch, Jaime and Bronn hang out.

Season 2, like season 5, had a difficult task. Game of Thrones lost its main character in season one, or what we thought was its main character. We had the irritable, psychopathic Joffrey and no hero who could really balance him. Rob Stark is cool, but it was hard to rely on Stark after season 1.

However, Joffrey Baratheon is really a bad guy. They say the best antagonists are those with a legitimate ax to grind, but Joffrey is the exception to this rule. It is harmful for no good reason. You just can’t wait for him to die. A really effective villain.

The way he interacts with Tyrion, who takes the hand of the king, is great. The scene in which Tyrion protects Sansa from public beatings is particularly memorable. And of course, Tyrion’s brilliant moment was the epic battle of Blackwater Bay.

Another series highlight is Tywin Lannister, who uses Arya as a cup bearer. Game of Thrones is best when it shows how gray life and people are, not black and white. Although Arya desperately wanted to kill Tywin, it feels like these two might have been great buds in another dimension. The second season is part of the tragedy by Jon and Ygritte.

But the season has its drawbacks. Daenerys’ time in Qarth is a routine buzzkill. The jostling between Stannis and Renly Baratheon is fine, but we’re not invested in either character at this point. Theon’s betrayal of the Starks later becomes a key element in the history of the Thrones, but it is chaotic here.

And that’s really the problem with season two. It is quality television with many outstanding elements – and it helps afterwards if you know where everyone ends up. But it is hectic and borders on disorientation. In this regard, it is something of a sacrificial lamb that prepares future seasons for success.

Best parts: Joffrey’s amazing aversion. Arya is related to Tywin. Tyrion as the hand of the king. Battle of Blackwater Bay. Jon meets Ygritte.

The third season was really great television. It is home to the series’ most notorious scene, The Red Wedding, and what I would say is the best love story, Jon and Ygritte.

After a series of victories against Tywin, Robb’s fate is reversing this season. He loses momentum and loses his life after taking an oath to Walder Frey. He and mother Catelyn Stark are betrayed by Roose Bolton and prepare the stage for the rise of Ramsay Bolton, one of the series’ better antagonists.

Meanwhile, Jon, who is alone on the wrong side of the wall in season two, is forced to become one with the Free Folk. Eat with the Free People. Sleep with the Free People. Breed with their wives and so on. This leads to a riddle in the style of Romeo and Juliet. He falls in love with Ygritte, a free people (free person?) That he must ultimately rely on to return to Castle Black. This culminates in a touching scene in the last episode. Ygritte could have killed Jon with a bow and arrow, but she just wanted to kill him fatally. True love.

Back in King’s Landing, Tywin regains the position of the king’s hand and pushes himself into the position of the base master of coins before Tyrion. Tyrion is forced to marry Sansa, but refuses to complete the marriage and continue to traumatize his bride. As in season two, this season also supports the infinitely hate Joffrey, who tries hard to torture Tyrion (and basically everyone else).

Best parts: The Red Wedding, Jon and Ygritte part two, Jaimie and Brienne from Tarth’s travels, Tywin puts the king to bed.

In season six of Game of Thrones, Jon became The Man. If the first season was Ned Stark Hour, this is the Jon Snow Show.

Three episodes later, Lady Melisandre revives Jon. In the next episode, he hangs up his traitors. Five episodes later, he kills Ramsay Bolton in the battle of the bastards. The season ends with the Lords of the North appointing him King of the North.

Sansa breathed life this season. After five seasons of history, she became more actively involved in the story to you. Here we also meet Lyanna Mormont, one of the best supporting characters in the series.

The High Sparrow saga ends catastrophically, with Cersei blowing up the High Sept. The music played during this sequence still haunts my nightmares. (This would serve as a prototype for the last 10 minutes of the Battle of Winterfell, which, as mentioned, were ingenious.)

Arya’s training was still average TV, but improved over the previous season. We get a lot of Sam Tarly here, which also slows down the pace. Bran’s time with the three-eyed raven is probably the worst part of the season, but his highlight is the famous one The door Episode, is an absolute favorite.

The sixth season ends with the crowned Queen of Cersei, Jon the King in the north and Daenerys on the way to Westeros. The dominoes really fall.

Best parts: Jon is revived, “My watch has run out”, Sansa kills Ramsay, Jon is appointed king in the north, Jon reunites with Sansa, Cersei murders a city. “Open the door.”

Without D. Sweet Ned.

Season 1 of Game of Thrones was so long ago. A happy, distant dreamland. We were all so naive. It is synonymous with Ned Stark, whose ghost has been hovering over the show since then and even six seasons later forms the basis for moving moments.

The first season of Game of Thrones is extremely tempting. First, you think this is a story about two Lannister siblings who achieve shameful goals to cover up their incestuous relationship. You think the hero of this story is Ned Stark. They find out that the Lannister scandal is an important, but ultimately subordinate part of this puzzle. They find out that this is not a story in which the good guys always win.

I have trouble thinking about TV moments that I personally found more shocking than Ned’s beheading. The Red Wedding is usually tossed around as a major deviation, but it was Ned’s death that determined what Game of Thrones was really about. The red wedding only cemented it.

In the first season, seeds are also skillfully planted that become heart plants in the Game of Thrones garden. Tyrion disciplines Joffrey, the subtle differences in Varys and Littlefingers whisper, the dutiful but annoying dog.

Come back to us Ned. We miss you.

Best parts: Ned Stark.

Before I saw all the available Game of Thrones seasons again, I was sure that the first season was the best. Then, on a mild Sunday, I switched off the entire 4th season. It was the best day of my life.

Joffrey’s death is his first big moment. It was perfectly coordinated and a surprise without feeling fictitious or arbitrary. It was also a reasonably painful way for such a hideous character to die, and gave us just the right payoff without feeling free. Then there is Tyrion’s trial and his speech “I will let the gods decide” that gives everyone goosebumps.

The hits keep coming back: Bronn’s up-and-coming relationship with Jaime Lannister, Jaime’s brotherly love for Tyrion, Oberyn Martell’s fight against the mountain and of course Tyrion murdered his father with a toilet belt.

This is also where the show’s best unlikely tandem peaked: The Hound and Arya. Their semi-friendship offers many memorable scenes, including the fight with Lannister soldiers in which Arya returns, the touching scene in which The Hound shows Arya how to kill a man most efficiently, and of course the encounter with Brienne to defeat Tarth .

The season ended with Tywin’s death and Tyrion’s flight to Essos. But the emotional climax came before; The free people and night watch collide in episode 9 in a battle at Castle Black. Ygritte dies in Jon’s arms.

No you are Cry.

Best parts: Joffrey dies, Ygritte dies, Tyrion’s speech, Tyrion’s fighting process, Tyrion kills his father, Arya and The Hound.