The 60 Most Important Deaths on Game of Thrones

55. Dickon and Randyll Tarly

Those silly Tarly boys: play with dragonfire and you’re bound to get incinerated.

We met Samwell Tarly’s immediate family in season 6 and took an instant dislike to Randyll, his father. Not only was he an outright racist (poor Gilly), but we’d known since season 1 that Randyll had sent Sam to the Wall in the first place for the crime of not being good with a sword. Randyll’s execution on Daenerys’ order was satisfying, and it’s important to give the audience what they want every once in a while.

That said, we did like Dickon, Randyll’s affable son. His choice to die with his father made their death scene knottier and more interesting than it would be otherwise.

Parenting skills aside, Randyll Tarly was one of the most skilled leaders in Westeros. Famous for being the only man to ever best Robert Baratheon in battle, Randyll was a ruthless warrior who probably would have come in handy in the coming battle against the White Walkers. But his death was also part of a trend that involved wiping away the older generation of Westerosi leaders to make room for a younger, more forward-thinking crop, of which Sam is a member.

The deaths of his father and brother mean Sam is the only male Tarly left alive, which puts him in a position to inherit a great deal of wealth and power. His pledge to the Night’s Watch could complicate that, but given the Night King’s destruction of the Wall in the season 7 finale, we’re guessing its days are numbered. By the end of the series, Sam could occupy the spot Randyll sent him to the Wall to avoid. Oh, the irony.

54. Melisandre

Melisandre has one of the more poetic deaths on Game of Thrones. After centuries of fighting against the gathering dark, she survives the Battle of Winterfell, doing her part to make sure it’s won. Humanity is safe. Her mission fulfilled, she walks towards the horizon as morning rises on the North, removes her necklace, and collapses on the snow, an impossibly ancient warrior whose long labor is complete at last.

Melisandre’s death may not move the plot forward — I don’t think she’s mentioned after this — but it’s the perfect capstone to the long-running plotline about the White Walkers; finally, a new day dawns for the world, and the existential part of the story is over. It’s powerful and beautiful, which is important enough. – Dan