All 8 Game of Thrones season finales, ranked from worst to best

4) Season 1: “Fire And Blood”

Just when we thought things couldn’t get any wilder after Ned Stark’s shocking exit the episode before, “Fire and Blood” comes along and knocks our socks off. The ending of the show’s maiden season is a stylish affair that got tongues wagging across the globe. It had everyone counting down the days until the next season, and not for the last time.

Sansa is taken hostage in King’s Landing while and Arya hot-foots it out of the city. Meanwhile, Robb and Catelyn rally their troops for a showdown against the Lannisters. Amidst all this chaos, Daenerys say farewell to her husband Khal Drogo, and emerges from his pyre as the mother of dragons.

3) Season 7: “The Dragon And The Wolf”

“The Dragon And The Wolf” is a fairly quiet finale, full of conversation and reunions between characters who hadn’t seen each other in seasons, like Brienne and the Hound. The episode showed that Game of Thrones doesn’t need to spill a drop of blood to keep us hooked.

The centerpiece of the episode is a summit between lots of characters — many of whom had never met face to face — at the Dragonpit in King’s Landing. Jon is trying to sell the lot of them on the idea of a team-up to fend off the icy undead lurking beyond the Wall.

We get callbacks to memorable moments and some firecracker verbal showdowns. And the cherry on top? Jon’s forbidden secret spilling out as Sam and Bran discovery Jon’s true lineage: he’s actually Aegon VI Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.