Game Of Thrones: Ranking All Episodes From Worst To Best

15. Valar Morghulis (Season 2 Episode 10)

Coming in at #15 is the Season 2 finale Valar Morghulis, meaning "all men must die" in the language of Old Valyria, and is filled to the brim with important events. First off, King Joffrey grants Tywin official recognition for saving King's Landing from Stannis, completely overlooking Tyrion's accomplishments during the battle. He also accepts a marriage pact between himself and Margaery Tyrell, setting Sansa free from a terrifying betrothal. Near Harrenhal, Arya Stark is given a coin by Jaqen and told to give it to a Braavosi and say "Valar Morghulis" (something that hasn't happened until the most recent episode). Jaqen then awesomely changes his face and leaves Arya. Jaime Lannister continues his journey to King's Landing as a captive of Brienne of Tarth, and Robb Stark marries Talisa in secret, dooming his campaign. Across the sea in Essos, a standout sequence takes place in the Daenerys story (for the first time in the season). Dany reclaims her dragons from the House of the Undying and burns the warlock Pyat Pree alive, but not before experiencing a set of visions in which she sees Khal Drogo (in a welcome return) and visits the Wall. Finally, beyond the Wall, Jon Snow kills Qhorin Halfhand in a duel in order to cement his place amongst the wildlings, and Sam witnesses a massive army of wights and White Walkers marching on the Night's Watch (who are camped on the Fist Of The First Men), epically ending the episode. All of these events mesh together excellently and give Valar Morghulis the #15 spot.

14. The Wolf And The Lion (Season 1 Episode 5)

Easily the most action-packed episode of the early first season, The Wolf and the Lion refers to Ned Stark and Jaime Lannister's epic confrontation in the streets of King's Landing following Tyrion's arrest. Jaime's men butcher Ned's and then Ned and Jaime cross blades themselves, leading to a stalemate until one of Jaime's men hits Ned with a cheap shot in the leg. It's the first really urgent fight in Game of Thrones and does a good job of showing how things are progressing. Other scenes of note include Catelyn Stark's party being ambushed on the way to the Eyrie and Tyrion saving her life by killing a man with a shield. Loras Tyrell's joust against the Mountain, the Mountain's rampage, and the Hound's rescue of Loras do a good job of setting up the Mountain's insanity, the Clegane brothers' hatred of each other, and Loras and Renly's relationship. Besides for these scenes, a dramatic moment that helps earn this episode its high placing is a small council meeting in which Ned resigns his position as Hand of the King in protest of Robert's ordered assassination of the Targaryens. Ned's honor may be getting in the way here, as Daenerys becomes much more of a pressing threat to the throne in later seasons, but he is trying to save a young girl and her unborn child so for that we must give him props.

13. Kissed By Fire (Season 3 Episode 5)

Four things in particular give this episode such a high ranking, and we'll get to them one at a time. First, the Hound faces Beric Dondarrion in a trial by combat and is forced to duel against Beric's flaming sword, which makes it difficult since the Hound has an intense fire phobia. The Hound overcomes Beric after an epic duel, but the Lord of Light's magic resurrects Beric, and not for the first time. This does a good job of reinforcing the Hound's prowess with a sword while also giving the Lord of Light more mysterious power. The second of the four involves Jon Snow and Ygritte becoming a true couple (it turns out Jon does know something), while the third of the four is Robb executing Lord Karstark for treason. It's a very well done scene with excellent acting, and the rain pouring down somehow makes it seem even more real. The last awesome scene of the episode is Jaime Lannister's big moment - the revelation of why he killed the Mad King and became known as Kingslayer. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's acting in this scene is absolutely phenomenal and really Emmy-worthy (unfortunately, he was unrecognised). Without his excellent performance, Kissed by Fire would have not have reached #13.

12. You Win Or You Die (Season 1 Episode 7)

"When you play the game of thrones, you either win or you die." It's a lesson that many of our beloved characters should have taken to heart. You Win Or You Die lands at #12 because this is where the show really starts picking up. Robert's death catalyses the rest of the season, and really all of the next one as well. Ned's dialogue with Cersei reveals Ned's honourable streak once again but also his naïveté, as he believes that Cersei will simply run instead of fighting back. This episode is also the one that introduces Tywin Lannister, a man who would go on to be a huge force in the show for the next three seasons until his untimely demise (Happy Father's Day!). Tywin skinning a stag, the Baratheon house sigil, is symbolic of the Lannisters' impending takeover of the Iron Throne. He'd keep up the symbolism in season 3 when he's found fishing in a deleted scene, emphasising the imminent downfall of House Tully. The real highlight of the episode is Ned's attempted coup at the end. Ned marches into the throne room like a boss, entourage behind him, and attempts to get the City Watch to arrest Cersei and Joffrey, thinking Littlefinger had paid them off as asked. Instead, the City Watch butchers Ned's men and Littlefinger personally holds a knife to Ned's throat. This is one of the first times Game of Thrones massively subverts our expectations and has the main character massively fail when in any other series, he likely would have succeeded.

11. Winter Is Coming (Season 1 Episode 1)

Any great TV series needs a great pilot to get going, and Game of Thrones delivers with Winter is Coming, a phenomenal start to the show that ranks just outside of the top 10 of all episodes thus far. The episode stays extremely loyal to the beginning of Martin's novel, depicting the introduction to the Night's Watch and White Walkers with uneasy tension throughout the scene. The introduction to the Starks and the Baratheon/Lannister families is also handled well and even though this episode is relatively short on "big events", it's still full of great character drama. One such "big event", however, is Game of Thrones first cliffhanger ending - Bran being pushed from Winterfell's tower by Jaime Lannister for witnessing his incestuous acts with Cersei. Our introduction to the Targaryens is also very cool, as Daenerys marries Drogo and an intense Dothraki wedding occurs. It is amazing to see our future iron-willed Khaleesi as a weak, timid girl bullied by her brother, and the show does a great job of showing her transformation over the years. All in all, Winter is Coming is a great introduction to a show we've come to love and easily earns its place at #11.