Game Of Thrones: 10 Most Satisfying Moments

The merciless Game of Thrones often goes best with a stiff drink, but the season five finale demanded something even stronger - maybe some milk of the poppy?

Lord Commander Jon Snow invited the wildling army into Castle Black in hopes that they'd help fight the looming army of the dead. Some men of the Night's Watch didn't like that, and so Jon was killed in a mutiny. Season five ended with his lifeless eyes looking up at the stunned viewer.

The sheer heartbreak of Jon Snow's death was impossible to overstate. Not only was he one of the few noble characters left on a show that often seems to reward the most disturbing acts of villainy, but he was the only person capable of mounting a defense against the worst threat humanity had ever seen. Losing Jon meant that the Seven Kingdoms were obliviously heading toward annihilation.

Ser Davos Seaworth, aware of the threat, enlisted Melisandre to try and resurrect the Lord Commander. She did her best, using chants and oils and whatever she had at her disposal, but it didn't work. Jon's cold body laid motionless, and the assembled left with dashed hopes.

Then, Ghost started to stir, the camera focused on Jon's face, and he woke up! The shot was staged perfectly, with the viewer not knowing whether something would happen to Jon, or if the screen would simply cut to black and signal the end of the episode. The tension has never been more pronounced, and the satisfaction never more relieving.

The show's purest character had cheated death and was back in the thick of things, ready to marshal humanity's forces against the terrible threat that awaited.