The 60 Most Important Deaths on Game of Thrones

57. Viserys Targaryen

If this was a list of most memorable deaths on Game of Thrones, Viserys’ death by molten crown of gold would rank near the top.  As it is, he’s closer to the bottom, but that doesn’t mean his death wasn’t important, particularly for his sister.

Daenerys and Viserys Targaryen had an abusive relationship. Viserys was a major obstacle keeping Dany from growing into an adult and a leader. His death allowed her to conceive of a future where she was the Targaryen everyone talked about and feared, rather than one where she played second fiddle to her erratic and inept older brother. Had Viserys stuck around, Daenerys might never have even thought to consider trying to rule the Seven Kingdoms herself.

More importantly, Viserys’ death was the first hint to us viewers that Game of Thrones was not the fantasy show we were expecting. Whenever he was on screen, Viserys was always talking about taking back the Iron Throne, and  people would be forgiven for believing he would be a focal point character for seasons to come. Khal Drogo poured molten gold all over that idea and we haven’t felt safe since. Ned Stark’s death later in season 1 clinched that feeling, but Viserys got the ball rolling.

56. Rickon Stark

Rickon Stark, we barely knew ye. The youngest child of Ned and Catelyn Stark, Rickon clocked the least amount of screen time of any member of the Stark family not named Benjen. So why is he on this list?

Rickon Stark might have been the youngest Stark child, but importantly, he was the youngest male Stark child. Jon Snow was put forth as the King in the North based in part on the belief that he was the only living male child of Ned Stark. Had Rickon survived the Battle of the Bastards, that never would have happened, or at least not without a good many complications. And without Jon as king, history might have gone very differently.

Plus, even though he didn’t say a word for the entirety of season 6, Rickon’s death at the hands of Ramsay Bolton was all kinds of memorable. It was Ramsay’s last and best mind game, sprung on an unsuspecting Jon Snow. Without it, Jon probably wouldn’t have rushed into the fray like an idiot and we wouldn’t have gotten one of television’s greatest battle scenes.

Also, Rickon’s death gave us an unlimited supply of zig-zag jokes. If that’s not important, I don’t know what is.