Game of Thrones became notorious throughout its eight season run on HBO for killing off its core cast left and right. After the death of Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean), who was seemingly the show's main character, it quickly became clear that no one in Westeros was safe.
Part of Game of Thrones' success in killing its cast boils down to the show's mastery of death scenes. Usually, when it's time for a character to die, Thrones is able to maximize the impact of their death with one last moment before writing them off. However, despite the series' strong track record, these five important characters' death scenes felt unceremonious, either because they were quickly overshadowed, or simply due to their final moments seeming underwhelming.
1. Osha
Once a fixture of Bran Stark's (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) storyline, the wildling Osha (Natalia Tena) disappeared from Game of Thrones after season 3. Rather than continue to journey beyond the wall with Bran, Hodor (Kristian Nairin), and Jojen (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) and Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick), Osha instead took Bran's younger brother Rickon (Art Parkinson) to safety.
Osha does not reappear until season 6, missing two consecutive seasons. When she finally does return, she is killed by her captor, Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), within two episodes, then forgotten entirely. Osha never really came back to the series as a full-fledged character, but instead a loose end the writers were eager to tie up.
2. Summer
Another of Bran's longtime traveling companions, his direwolf Summer, dies protecting him when the undead forces invade the cave of the Three-Eyed Raven (Max Von Sydow). Summer's sacrifice allows Bran and Meera to escape, although the attack leads to multiple other deaths, including Leaf (Kae Alexander), a Child of the Forest, and the Three-Eyed Raven himself.
However, all of these deaths feel overshadowed by another character's demise, which has become one of the most infamously sad moments in the entire series. As Hodor holds back the wights in order for Bran and Meera to run away, he hears the phrase "hold the door" through time, thanks to Bran's warging, permanently messing up his brain as it morphs those words into his signature line, "Hodor." While Hodor's gut-wrenching sacrifice is one of the later seasons' best moments, Summer's last stand deserves its flowers as well, especially since the wolf had been Bran's friend since the first episode of the series.
3. Obara and Nymeria Sand
Oberyn Martell's (Pedro Pascal) bastard daughters, collectively known as the Sand Snakes, act as a thorn in the sides of Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Bronn (Jerome Flynn) during their Dornish adventure in season 5. The trio of warrior women stick around for season 6, but all three die early on in season 7.
The youngest of the Sand Snakes, Tyene Sand (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers), ends up with a brutal death scene after Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) captures her and her mother, Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma), on behalf of Queen Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). However, Tyene's two older sisters, Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Nymeria (Jessica Henwick), are simply killed off in Euron's attack, with the scene placing more emphasis on the kidnapped characters. The Sand Snakes served as a trio throughout most of their appearances, so it seems odd that two of them are written out so unceremoniously while the third gets a grand and brutal send off.
4. The Dothraki Horde
The Battle of Winterfell resulted in several key character deaths, as the forces of the living finally faced off against the undead army. Several notable characters who don't make it out of the battle alive include Eddison Tollett (Ben Crompton), Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer), Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), and Melisandre (Carice van Houten), all of whom have a notable death scene over the course of the episode.
However, several of Daenerys Targaryen's (Emilia Clarke) Dothraki allies go out with far too little fanfare. After Melisandre ignites the screamers' swords with flames, they charge the armies of the dead, alongside Jorah and Ghost the direwolf, but few soldiers return. To make matters worse, the impact of this charge feels inconsistent throughout the season. Showrunner David Benioff infamously declared this moment as "the end of the Dothraki," and they make few other appearances throughout this episode, but the remainder of the season features several Dothraki extras, not only undermining the charge, but questioning its actual impact.
5. Qyburn
Qyburn (Anton Lesser) dies in "The Bells," one of the bloodiest episodes of the entire franchise. As Ser Gregor Clegane (Hafþór JĂşlĂus Björnsson), also known as "The Mountain," sees his younger brother, Sandor "The Hound" Clegane (Rory McCann) approach during Daenerys razing of King's Landing, Qyburn encourages Cersei's guardian to protect his queen. However, an enraged Ser Gregor ignores this instruction, brutally crushing Qyburn's head in order to face off against his brother.
Qyburn's death is quite sudden, and the show doesn't have time to dwell on it, instead focusing on the surrounding carnage and incoming "Cleganebowl" that fans had been anticipating since the start of the series. However, Qyburn himself deserved more attention. He had served as Cersei's Hand and closest ally for years, and although "The Bells" also killed off several other important characters, such as Varys (Conleth Hill), both Clegane brothers, Euron, and Jaime and Cersei themselves, Qyburn's grand finale needed a little more fanfare.
For more from the world of Westeros, make sure to stream House of the Dragon season 3, now available on HBO Max.
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