The battle between Prince Oberyn Martell and The Mountain was one of the most long-awaited and tense moments in Game of Thrones history. After Oberyn agrees to fight on Tyrion's behalf in a battle to the death, the Prince of Dorne appears to defeat The Mountain in combat - but he waits far too long to deliver the death blow. Intent on getting The Mountain to admit that he raped and killed his sister long ago, Oberyn gives The Mountain a window of opportunity.... and boy does he take it. The Mountain punches Oberyn's teeth out of his head, before gorging his eyes out of his head and squeezing his skull so hard that it actually explodes. Awful. Fans of the book knew it was coming, of course, but did it have to be depicted in such horrific detail? You kind of feel like this was almost exploitation on the part of the showrunners, because graphic violence on such vivid terms was clearly implemented to provoke a reaction. Oberyn was a great character; it was too "much" of a death scene.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
