Game Of Thrones: Ranking EVERY Major Death Worst To Best
6. Oberyn Martell
Death: Skull literally crushed open by Gregor Clegane at their battle in Tyrion's trial by combat.
Not only was this one of the show's most shocking scenes, since it looked like Gregor had been defeated but then Oberyn got himself killed by demanding Gregor admit to what he did to Oberyn's sister (and therefore allowing Gregor to get the upper hand again), but it was by far the most gruesome scene in the show's history. Frankly, it's far nastier than most of the deaths from the Saw films.
This is an absolutely harrowing and horrifying sequence and the sight of a character we love screaming and powerless as their skull is crushed is still absolutely chilling.
More than anything else, this was just incredibly sad. Oberyn fought against the Mountain to get revenge, but not only did he not really get that revenge (yes, he fatally poisoned the Mountain but Qyburn resurrected him), but the Mountain then yelled out what he'd done to Oberyn's sister and her children as he killed him.
This was a bitter reminder that in Westeros, happy endings are rare and even the slightest mistake can have horrifying consequences. Well, pre-season eight anyway.