Game of Thrones was a show that all my friends used to talk about during class in high school, some of my teachers would even chime in. After hearing everyone hype the show up, I decided I needed to give it a try. I just recently finished it yesterday, and I couldn't be more upset that it's over. I always looked forward to watching the new episodes the next day after I had already binged 5 to 6 episodes the day prior. While watching the show as a newcomer, I have made a mental list of all the moments that left me with my jaw on the floor.
Bran's Fall
https://watchersonthewall.com/bran-stark-long-fall/
I feel like this was the initial scene we had that truly introduced us to the horrible people of the Lannister house. This was a moment that really left me feeling so much hatred for a character I just met. If you are unfamiliar with this scene, with as much censor as possible, I will try to explain it. This scene is where the Lannister siblings, Jaime and Cerci, are found making love in the high tower of Winterfell. Young Brandon Stark of Winterfell is a world class climber and comes across this uncomfortable scene happening in his normally vacant playground. With worry of Bran letting out their dirty secret, Jaime Lannister pushes Bran out of the window he climbed into, the fall paralyzes Bran for the rest of his life leaving him to live in a wheelchair. This scene just baffles me because of the ignorance and lack of sympathy for anyone but themselves. This is definitely one of the first shocking moments of the entire show.
Daenerys Targaryen's Rise as the Mother of Dragons
https://www.businessinsider.com/game-of-thrones-dragon-evolution-2016-6
This scene is a very pivotal scene for the entire show. This introduces the newest threat to the Lannisters and the possible new woman that may become the Queen of the 7 Kingdoms. This also introduces us to a new version of one of the seemingly weakest characters we have met so far in the show. This scene shows us the true power that she possesses and it is also very cinematically mesmerizing. Although this show does include a lot of nudity, there is something about this scene that doesn't seem as perverted as others. This really shows her as a woman and how she truly is a mother that nurtures her children. Also, just how badass are those dragons.
The Red Wedding
https://www.nerdinfinite.com/the-red-wedding-vs-negan-lucille/
I think this was one of the hardest scenes for me to get through in the entire show. This scene was very gory and it left me in tears because of the loss of so many original characters and even the murder of a pregnant woman and her child. Seeing how ruthless Walder Frey is and how he will stop at nothing to keep his kingdom under his power. The fact that they killed innocent men, a pregnant woman and her fetus child, a mother and her son all at once, it is just traumatizing. I think this was one of the moments that lead to many other changes in many of the characters in the show. It caused a fire to be born in many of the Stark family members. It also created an allegiance and an enemy at the exact same moment: the Freys gained allegiance with the Lannisters for killing the Starks and they created an enemy with the remaining Starks for killing their family members. Just a very memorable scene overall.
The Killing of Ned Stark
https://gameofthrones.fandom.com/wiki/Execution_of_Eddard_Stark
Again, another scene from the beginning of the show that was truly a moment of surprise. Early in the episode we see that King Joffrey promises to Sansa that her father will be given mercy for pledging his allegiance to Joffrey and bending the knee. After hearing Ned Stark obey those orders in order to save his life, Joffrey decides to change his mind last minute. With the constant yells of the crowd, Joffrey feels the need to gain more praise from his citizens by beheading Ned Stark for his treason. This scene not only is upsetting because it is the death of a beloved character of the show, but both of Ned's daughters watched as their father was beheaded by the King. This scene, again like many others, creates a new relationship between Sansa Stark who is supposed to marry the King and Arya Stark, this action just furthers her hatred towards the Lannisters and sets up her character development throughout the show.
The End of the Night King
https://www.insider.com/game-of-thrones-how-arya-jumped-so-high-to-kill-night-king-2019-5
This scene was one of the ending scenes of the show that really caught me by surprise. Going into this show I already had known some things about it because of the constant talk about it. Some things I did forget about while watching the show. I did know beforehand that Arya was the one to kill the Night King, but I completely forgot how it happened while I was watching it in the moment. As soon as Arya came up behind the Night King, he grabbed her by the neck, and at this point I thought she was going to die. Then, the swift movement of her dropping her dagger from her top hand to her bottom hand was the moment I was at a loss for words. The fact that in that moment when she was being choked by the Night King, she knew exactly what she had to do in order to outsmart him, and she did it. Little Arya Stark, the wannabe soldier killed the Night King. One of the most rewarding moments in the show as well to see her working all her life up to become a warrior and then killing the most dangerous character in the series was very satisfying to watch. Definitely my favorite scene.
