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

13. Sack Of Astapor

Now we're talking. Daenerys goes to Astapor to acquire an army, and comes out having finally started to make the transition into the badass leader she was always supposed to be.

There's a sense of cunning to Dany that we hadn't seen before as he tricks slave master Kraznys into trading the Unsullied for one of her dragons, and it's a thrill when the army snaps into action to turn against the people who have imprisoned them, and we get to see the cold, ruthless efficiency of the eunuch soldiers first hand.

The beginning of Daenerys' liberation of Slaver's Bay, this felt like an empowering, exciting moment - which cannot always be said for what both preceded and followed in Dany's arc - and it is all encapsulated in the utterance of a single word that really changed the game.

"Dracarys."

[JH]

James Hunt

Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.