7 most heartbreaking moments from Game of Thrones

While Game of Thrones involved some shocking moments, it also included some of the most heartbreaking TV scenes of all time. It’s time to look back and see which ones stand out as the ones that still make us cry.

Arya seeing the aftermath of the Red Wedding

It wasn’t the Red Wedding itself that was heartbreaking. Yes, there were incredibly distressing moments, such as Talisa Stark being stabbed in her pregnant belly multiple times, but it was the aftermath that really caught us. Arya Stark had just got to The Twins with the Hound as the Red Wedding took place. The sense of hope that she would soon be reunited with her mother, who got her throat slit during the event, was crushed.

To make matters worse, we had just watched as Robb Stark’s direwolf Grey Wind get shot with a crossbow bolt, only hearing his whimpering from within his cage. Arya had to watch as the head of the wolf was placed on Robb’s body and paraded around. She’d been through the execution of her father, the fear of dying along the road, being held captive by the Hound, and now this. It was too much for a young girl.

Ygritte’s death in Jon’s arms

Not every death on Game of Thrones is necessarily heartbreaking, but some definitely push through. This death stll has fans crying. It’s one of those moments that will go down as one of the best Romeo and Juliet-style endings for a star-crossed couple, cut short before they could really be together.

After being shot in the back by Ollie, Ygritte knew there wasn’t any hope. Jon rushed to her side to make sure she would at least die in his arms, and we got a reminder of the beautiful moment they shared in the cave back when they were traveling beyond the Wall. They should have stayed there. They could have been happy.

Pyp, who also died during the Battle of Castle Black at the end of the fourth season, gets an honorable mention at this point, as well. Poor Pyp!

Arya finding Nymeria

In Game of Thrones season 1, Ayra had to do the selfless thing and encourage her direwolf Nymeria to leave her, lest her companion be killed for attacking the callow prince Joffrey Baratheon. After her time in Braavos, Arya returned to Westeros and came across Nymeria again, in the season 7 episode "Stormborn."

This is a moment when Arya, who'd had everything taken from her and was living for revenge, had some hope again. She could be reunited with her loyal direwolf. Instead, Nymeria made it clear that she had done as Arya asked, and that she had found a new family. Nymeria didn’t need Arya—and in a way, it was a sign that Arya didn’t need Nymeria anymore. They had both gone their own ways.

Shireen Baratheon being sacrificed

Therea are two things I hate seeing on a TV show: the death of an animal and the death of an innocent child. Game of Thrones brought us plenty of both. The most painful instance may have been the murder of Shireen Barathaon.

Shireen's father Stannis Baratheon wanted the throne, believing that it was his right. He even used dark magic to help make it happen. When he thought the only way to win against the Boltons was to sacrifice his only daughter in the hope of breaking the storm that was keeping his army stuck in the snow, that’s what he did. It led to his wife Selyse hanging herself and left his most trusted advisor Davos absolutely heartbroken. And it didn't do anything anyway; Stannis' army still lost. He died knowing he burned his own daughter at the stake for no reason.

Hodor explained

As devastating as Hodor’s death is, it’s not actually the death itself that is heartbreaking. It’s the way the show teaches us what happened to Hodor when he was a young man, the experience that rendered him able to say only one word for the rest of this life.

In the season 6 episode "The Door," Bran Stark uses his powers of greensight to project his consciousness into the past, just as the Night King finds the cave where Bran and his companions are hiding. We watch as Bran's direwolf Summer sacrifices herself to save Bran and Meera, and then we watch as Hodor holds back a flood of undead wights by holding shut a heavy door. As Meera shouts “hold the door,” we cut to the post and watch a young Hodor collapse saying the phrase “hold the door” over and over again until it becomes “Hodor.” His name was the way he would die.

Maester Aemon’s death

There was a lot unknown about Maester Aemon, the kindly senior member of the Night's Watch who helped Jon Snow and Sam Tarly adjust to their lives at the beginning of the series. He didn’t talk too much about his past, but it would come up now and then. We learned that he was born a Targaryen prince who turned down the chance to sit the Iron Throne, deciding to become a maester instead.

In season 5, Aemond is almost at the end of his long life, reverting to the child he once was and speaking to for his long-dead brother in his final moments. It was heartbreaking because it was a natural death on a show where most everyone is killed in some gruesome way. There was also the bittersweetness that he never knew that Jon Snow was actually a relative through Rhaegar Targaryen.

Drogon’s reaction to Daenerys’ death

Look, after everything Daenerys did in King's Landing, her death wasn’t all that shocking. She massacred innocent people. However, the aftermath of her death in the series finale brought about one of the show's most heartbreaking moments.

Drogon flies into what remains of the Iron Throne room in the Red Keep find his mother on the floor, dead by the hand of Jon Snow. He tries to wake her up, just as a puppy would. When that doesn't happen, he roars in anger at Jon, melts the Iron Throne, picks her up, and flies off. Drogon may be a dragon, but he was still Daenerys’ child, and he was heartbroken over her loss. Taking her away showed us the love he had for her. Yes, animals can feel.

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