The concept of a trial by combat makes for one of the coolest elements of George R. R. Martin's world of Westeros. If accused of a crime, a highborn nobleman can forego a standard trial, instead replacing it with a fight, usually to the death, in order to prove guilt or innocence in the eyes of the gods. Though similar practices have occurred throughout history, the term "trial by combat" is now mostly associated with A Song of Ice and Fire.
Although rarely invoked, the trials by combat depicted on-screen throughout the various HBO series set in Westeros make for some of the best battles throughout the franchise. The stakes are inherently much higher, as the combatants are not only fighting for their own survival, but the accused character's as well. While each trial by combat seen so far makes for fantastic television, some definitively outrank others when pitted against each other.
3. Bronn vs. Ser Vardis Egen
Way back in season 1 of Game of Thrones, Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) kidnaps Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), accusing him of hiring an assassin to try to murder her young son, Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright). Catelyn takes Tyrion to the Eyrie, where her sister, Lady Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie), presides.
While awaiting his trial, Tyrion requests a trial by combat. When Ser Vardis Egen (Brendan McCormack), a knight of the Vale, volunteers to fight on Lysa's behalf, Tyrion requests to use his brother, Ser Jaime Lannister (Nikoaj Coster-Waldau), as his champion. When Lysa denies his request, saying it would take too long to contact Jaime, a sellsword named Bronn (Jerome Flynn) steps up for Tyrion. After a compelling clash, Bronn eventually kills Ser Vardis, kicking his corpse out the Eyrie's dreaded Moon Door.
This fight serves as a great introduction to the character of Bronn, and quickly establishes a key theme throughout the series. When Bronn kills Ser Vardis, Lysa accuses him of not fighting with honor, to which Bronn responds, "He did," gesturing to the Moon Door. This displays the extent to which honor can get you killed in this world. The only reason this fight ranks so low is due to the high quality of the other trials by combat, and due to the lack of suspense. At this point, audiences knew neither Bronn nor Ser Vardis well, and had no real investment in the outcome beyond hoping for Tyrion's survival.
2. The Mountain vs. the Red Viper
In Game of Thrones season 4, Tyrion once again invokes a trial by combat after his initial trial for the murder of King Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleason) goes wrong. When Jaime and Bronn both refuse to fight as Tyrion's champion, an unlikely candidate volunteers: Prince Oberyn Martell, the Red Viper of Dorne (Pedro Pascal). Oberyn says has come to King's Landing in order to avenge the murder of his sister Elia, so when Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) names Ser Gregor Clegane, aka the Mountain that Rides (Hafþór JúlÃus Björnsson), the man who killed Elia, as her champion, Oberyn sees standing in as Tyrion's champion as the perfect opportunity to take his revenge.
The fight places Oberyn's showmanship front and center, contrasting the Mountain's brute force-oriented fighting style. Oberyn constantly taunts Gregor, trying to goad him into confessing to Elia's murder. Eventually, this proves to be his downfall, as Gregor uses Oberyn's overconfidence against him, killing him by squeezing his head, thus condemning Tyrion to die.
This fight is filled to the brim with tension. If Oberyn makes one wrong move, both the fan-favorite character since season 1 and the newly introduced scene stealer are dead. Additionally, it works the characters' history into the battle, tying events that took place before Game of Thrones began into present day.
1. Ser Duncan the Tall's Trial of Seven
Acting as the climax of the newly released first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Duncan the Tall's (Peter Claffey) trial of seven not only stands out as the best trial by combat throughout the franchise, but it makes for one of the best action sequences throughout any Westeros show. When Dunk defends Tanselle (Tanzyn Crawford) from Prince Aerion Targaryen (Finn Bennett), he is tried for striking a prince. Dunk then requests for a trial by combat, but Aerion ups the ante by altering it to a trial of seven, in which each side has to assemble seven knights to fight for them, standing in for the seven gods.
Dunk struggles to find six other knights who will take his side, with Raymun Fossoway (Shaun Thomas) earning his knighthood just before the battle simply to qualify. However, Prince Baelor Targaryen (Bertie Carvel), Aerion's uncle, join's Dunk's side moments before the trial takes place.
The battle is intense and sprawling, intercut with flashbacks to Dunk's youth and his initial encounter with Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb). However, in the end, after taking severe punishment, Dunk is able to rise back up (with some rousing encouragement from his squire, Prince Aegon Targaryen [Dexter Sol Ansell], better known as "Egg"), and defeat Aerion. However, both sides suffer great losses, including the accidental death of Baelor at the hands of his brother, Maekar (Sam Spruell).
The trial of seven ranks as the best trial by combat simply because of what it means both for Dunk as a character, and for the realm as a whole. Dunk has everything to prove in this fight, and in the end, he finally pulls off the upset, solidifying him as a great knight. Additionally, Baelor's death shows how an insignificant event like the Tourney at Ashford Meadow can change the course of Westerosi history.
For more from the world of Westeros, make sure to catch House of the Dragon season 3 when it premieres on HBO Max on Sunday, June 21.
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