When it comes to shows with shocking deaths on TV shows, Game of Thrones easily takes the cake. The show made it clear in the first season that nobody was safe, even the main characters. While some of those deaths were certainly shocking and heartbreaking, others were satisfying as characters finally got hit by the karma bus.
These are the seven most satisfying deaths on Game of Thrones, one for each kingdom. We’re ranking from least satisfying to most satisfying based on how long we had to wait and the power of the poetic justice they delivered.
7. Arya Stark gets revenge against Walder Frey
Walder Frey made it clear from the first meeting that he was always going to look out for himself and his house. He made deals, but he wasn’t afraid to cross people if they crossed him. Because of Robb Stark’s decision to marry someone else after promising to marry one of Walder’s daughters, Walder and the Boltons joined the Lannisters to take out House Stark with the shocking and brutal Red Wedding.
It took four seasons, but revenge finally came. After learning how to be a Faceless Man in Braavos, Arya Stark killed Walder’s sons and fed them to him in a pie. After that, she slashed his throat and made sure he knew it was her before he died. She fed him his just desserts.
6. Viserys Targaryen gets his golden crown
Throughout Game of Thrones season 1, Viserys Targaryen was a petulant child who only thought about returning to the Seven Kingdoms so he could rule. Granted, he wanted revenge against the Baratheons for his family being murdered, but he was a spoiled prince who didn’t really have an army or a plan. He used his sister Daenerys to gain an army and was even more displeased than usual when she pulled away from him and focused on her life with her new husband Khal Drogo.
So when Viserys stormed into the tent demanding his golden crown, it was satisfying to watch Khal Drogo give him just that. After melting some gold, Drogo poured the burning hot liquid over the top of Viserys’ head and killed him on the spot. Daenerys just watched, and while she would later name a dragon for her brother, she didn’t exactly miss his tantrums.
5. Lysa Arryn is pushed out of the moon door
When it comes to Game of Thrones, family means everything and nothing. It meant little to Lysa Arryn, who would only help her sister Catelyn or niece Sansa if she got something in return, and even then, she was as like to betray them if it meant winning the affections of Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish.
However, Littlefinger turned against her when she threatened Sansa, whom Littlefinger was obsessed with. In the end, Lysa died in the way she killed many people, traitors or no: by being pushed through the moon door. There is something oddly satisfying about watching her fall through the sky, doomed to die on the rocks below.
4. Alliser Thorne is executed for treason
For five seasons of Game of Thrones, Alliser Thorne had been a literal thorn in Jon Snow’s side. He hated Jon’s family background, and he took glee in Jon not getting to be a ranger. As Jon proved himself as a capable and loyal leader, Alliser became more and more of a threat, eventually getting a group together to kill Jon.
Well, when Jon was brought back to life, Alliser was finally knocked down a peg or two. He was hanged as a traitor along with his co-conspirators, including the young Ollie. Ollie's death made this mass execution bittersweet, but Alliser had it coming for a while.
3. Tyrion takes Shae’s life in a moment of heartbroken revenge
While Tywin Lannister’s death in Game of Thrones season 4 is certainly satisfying, there is another death that happens just before that deserves a spot on this list. It’s all about Shae, the prostitute who ended up connecting on an emotional level with Tyrion Lannister. In fact, I’d go as far to say that Tyrion fell in love with her, so when Shae betrayed him and testified to make sure Tyrion was found guilty of murdering Joffrey, it hurt him to his core.
This was one of those deaths that wasn’t planned. Tyrion had managed to escape imprisonment and was finding his way out of the Red Keep, but he just couldn't help himself from seeking out his father to confront him. He came across Shae in Tywin’s bed. Tyrion killed her with his own hands and a bedsheet in a moment of heartbroken revenge — and for us, justice.
2. Joffrey gets his own fatal wedding
After the Lannisters planned the Red Wedding, there was no doubt that Game of Thrones fans needed to see something similar happen to a member of the Lannister family. At the same time, we needed to see King Jofrrey taken down after seasons of being an insolent and spoiled child who beheaded Ned Stark and caused our heroes untold pain. The good news is that his death came at his own wedding, and it was poetic justice.
It took time for us to learn who did it, but Joffrey was poisoned at his own wedding. Watching him grasp at his throat as Cersei and Jaime watched on made the death so much more satisfying. This event marked the beginning of the downfall for House Lannister.
Eventually, we learned that it was Olenna Tyrell who orchestrated Joffrey's death, all to ensure that her granddaughter Margaery didn’t have to stay married to that monster. Littlefinger, ever an agent of chaos, helped.
1. Ramsay Bolton dies the way he killed so many others
When it comes to evil characters we needed to see die, Ramsay Bolton was at the top of the list. Ramsay had worked with his dad to steal Winterfell from the Starks, and then he killed his own father, stepmother and baby brother to take over the place. On top of that, he raped and tortured Sansa Stark and almost killed Jon Snow.
Well, after the Battle of the Bastards, Jon Snow’s side came through victorious thanks to Sansa and Littlefinger. Finally, Sansa was able to get her revenge, and it was in the most poetic way possible. Ramsay, who had made a habit of feeding people — especially women — to his dogs for years, had pointed out that his dogs hadn’t been fed for days. Sansa decided to unleash them on their master. Hungry dogs won’t listen to demands, and Ramsay was killed in the way he himself had killed innocent people.
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