Game Of Thrones: Every Episode Ranked From Worst To Best

28. Winter Is Coming (S1E1)

Written By: David Benioff & D.B Weiss Directed By: Tim Van Patten

There are probably a few episodes lower than this that are technically better, but the context of this one, and how it establishes the show, means it deserves a place in the top 20.

A severe reworking of the failed attempt at a pilot, this episode needs to introduce us to this fantasy world, establish an incredible amount of characters, and be compelling enough to make people want to return, while also featuring ice zombies and incest. It gets a lot of credit, then, for making all of that work, and you're already invested before Bran makes his climb; his fall merely seals the deal.

27. The Dance Of Dragons (S5E9)

Written By: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss Directed By: David Nutter

Episode 9s of Game of Thrones are so good that even the worst one, which came during Season 5, is still in the best 1/3 of episodes the show has produced. While Episode 8 was bigger, this still had a couple of huge moments; one we'd long been waiting for, another that was utterly heartbreaking.

Shireen is burnt at the stake by Melisandre, while her parents look on, and her screams aren't likely to die anytime soon in the minds of fans. The other big moment comes in Meereen, and it's something we'd been waiting to se ever since Daenerys stepped out of the fire back in the Season 1 finale. Drogon flew in to save her from the Sons of the Harpy, and finally we had the Mother of Dragons flying atop one of her children.