Game Of Thrones: Ranking Every Major Battle From Worst To Best

There are a number of elements that go into making Game of Thrones one of the biggest and best shows to ever grace television.

There's the rich fantasy world spilling out of the pages of George R.R. Martin's novels, the brilliant performances from the likes of Lena Headey and Peter Dinklage, the grey morality, the political machinations, family dramas, and a whole lot of sex and violence.

And, of course, there are the battles.

With a budget upwards of $100 million for most of its seasons, the show has basically redefined what a battle sequence on the small screen can be like, delivering epic, large-scale action on par with those seen in the cinema. Season 8, with an estimated budget of $15m per episode, has given us two huge battle sequences to join the ranks, but how do they stack up to what came before?

23. Battle Of The Green Fork

You really have to feel for the 2000 bannermen Robb Stark deemed reasonable bait for his tactical feint at Green Fork. They were lambs to the slaughter, sent to face a military leader of the prowess of Tywin Lannister and walked confidently to their complete defeat and destruction so that their King In The North could trick the Lannisters and defeat and capture Jaime elsewhere.

The battle was almost comically uneven with Tywin's forces predictably smashing the smaller force, but it at least represented Robb's tactical nous and his single-mindedness to meet his goals. And those tragic few will probably be lamented in heroic songs in the future, should a Stark or their ally end up sitting on the Iron Throne.

At least we got the tragi-comic moment of seeing Tyrion knocked out by one of his own men as the battle kicked off. That was sort of fitting at this point, even if his wild tribesmen did make a good show of themselves in his unconscious absence.

[Simon Gallagher]