Game Of Thrones: Every Episode Ranked From Worst To Best
2. The Rains Of Castamere (S3E9)
Written By: David Benioff & D.B. Weiss Directed By: David Nutter
While I struggled with many parts of this list, from the oh-so-tight middling section to comparing the huge battles and barely varying degrees of sheer awesomeness, changing the order many times throughout writing, this was always going to be at least in the top 2. Rains of Castamere, Season 3 Episode 9, is the Game of Thrones episode.
Aside from that bit, it's got a lot going for it. This is the episode where Bran wargs into Hodor, which after The Door takes on added emotional significance, but was pretty major back then too. Daenerys takes Yunkai, with all of her supporting players working in unison. Jon's loyalties are tested, and he flees the wildlings and is pierced with arrows by Ygritte.
And then we get to the Twins. The worst (but also one of the best) part of this episode is the way it completely disarms you. Robb and Catelyn are protected by guest rights, and Edmure is marrying one of Frey's daughters, so everything worked out ok, right?
Oh, we were so wrong. The doors close, the musicians quietly shift to The Rains of Castamere, Catelyn notices Roose Bolton is wearing chainmail, and all hell breaks loose. The shocks keep on coming, each one piercing us like the arrows to Robb's chest. The pregnant Talisa is stabbed repeatedly in the stomach. The Lannisters send their regards. Catelyn's throat is slit open. It's utter horror and chaos and why is it so amazing?!
It's the one book readers wanted. It's the one viewers will never recover from. It's the one people always talk about. Heck, it's the one Weiss and Benioff wanted to reach, if nothing else. It's the perfect Game of Thrones episode, because it perfectly sums up the show: it's shocking, it's heartbreaking, and it's impossible not to watch. It's a masterclass of tension, of surprises, of so many twists and turns you can't possibly keep up.
You're on the edge of your seat, eyes bulging, mouth agape, a scream forming and instantly dying in your throat because you are incapable of speech, and all you can do is sit there and drink it in. This is Game of Thrones, and was the very best for a time, until a younger, more beautiful episode came along to cast it down.