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Game of Thrones Season 4 has some of the biggest moments of the whole series. Here are the most memorable deaths.

Just as a note, I will go back to Seasons 1 to 3 for those memorable deaths. For now, I’m finding some older content from sites that closed down, so I’m finding a new home for it. This is one of those pieces.

Season 4 of Game of Thrones was full of death and gore. Some of the death scenes were more memorable, for various reasons than others.

I know I’m very different when it comes to memorable scenes to others. I think about the poignant moments, and the irony within them. It’s more than just the killing for me, but the whole events that surround the scene. I think part of that comes from writing death scenes in fiction due to the horror and fantasy genres that I prefer.

With that in mind, here are my top five most memorable deaths in Game of Thrones season four.

Game of Thrones death #5: Tywin and Shae by Tyrion

This is technically two death scenes, but since it was by the same man and one after the other I’m treating them as the same. This is also one of my favorite moments from the season. It’s the chance for Tyrion to finally get his revenge, and he never seemed the killing sort before unless it was to save his own neck.

He’d put up with so much from his father, and it was time to get his own back. I never really saw Shae’s death though—apart from knowing that it happened in the book. Shae was likable and he loved her. Of course, the trial scene changed that, but I’d really hoped he’d figured she’d done it out of safety. Maybe he had until he saw her in Tywin’s bed and she attacked him.

Tywin’s death was even more memorable because it was while he was on the privy. Talk about an undignified death!

Season 4 death #4: Ygritte at Castle Black

The next on the list is Ygritte because of the circumstances surrounding it. She and Jon loved each other, and Jon betrayed her. While she spoke of killing Jon, I’m not sure she ever would do it. This was an excellent fighter and she could use a bow and arrow. There was no way she missed Jon’s heart previously by mistake. She wanted him alive and to suffer. And there was a hesitation when they did finally face each other while at Castle Black.

Jon didn’t want her to die either, and I don’t think he would have killed her. In fact, I think he would have let her kill him if it came down to a fight. He knew he had betrayed and hurt her.

The moment that really made this memorable was that last conversation. It was the wish that they’d stayed in the cave. They were happy there, but Jon had made his vow to the Night’s Watch and he had to return after finding out the plan of attack. I keep thinking that they missed out on the chance for them to declare their love for each other, but the more I think of it the more it was better without it. Declaring their love would be too cliche, but the moment they had was perfect.

One thing did annoy me—and it always does with scenes like this—why did nobody kill Jon while he was holding Ygritte as she died? The fighting was still going on around them!

Game of Thrones Season 4 death #3: King Joffrey’s Death at the Purple Wedding

People were rejoicing when Joffrey finally kicked the bucket at the start of Game of Thrones Season 4. The circumstances again put it into my top 5, as there were some other great death scenes.

It was almost poetic that he would die at his own wedding, after having the Starks killed at the Red Wedding a season earlier. Unfortunately, it didn’t have the same shock that the Red Wedding did. Most people knew that Joffrey’s death was coming this season.

I actually didn’t want the little brat to die. You see, he was the bad guy—the one that I loved to hate. And Jack Gleeson is an amazing actor. I keep wondering how I’m going to hate next (I can’t hate Cersei and I’ll explain that in another post), so right now there is nobody. That’s especially the case since Tywin is now dead.

Note: We now know who came next…and he was much worse than Joffrey.

Death #2: Lysa Through the Moon Door

I’ve never really liked Lysa, but I think part of that is because she wasn’t on the screen for long enough. Her backstory was also never fully explained. The books told me so much more, so I could appreciate her mental state a little more.

Something that I’d never read was that she was going to die. It was quite ironic that she went the same way countless others who annoyed her did: through the moon door. I also loved that it was Petyr Baelish who pushed her through, making her believe that they were going to be together up until that last moment.

I love Petyr’s character, and can’t wait to see more of him and Sansa Stark in Season 5. Of course, this was a turning point for both of them.

#1 death: Prince Oberyn vs. The Mountain

Of course, the number one death has to be Prince Oberyn’s at the hands (literally) of The Mountain. It seemed so certain that Oberyn was going to win after getting that jab, but it was clear that his need for vengeance and the confession was more important than winning for Tyrion. I understand that too—all he wanted from the start was to get some answers about his sister’s rape and murder.

Knowing that the death was coming definitely wasn’t a spoiler. Seeing the death was shocking. It was so graphic. I think the fingers through the eyeballs moment was worse than the smashing of the skull, but that was because the camera stayed on all of that.

At least Oberyn got that job in, and it was with a poisonous blade. There is hope that Oberyn gets his vengeance from beyond the grave.

That’s my top five death scenes from Game of Thrones Season 4. There are a few deaths that could have made the list, but some of the characters technically aren’t dead. Characters like The Hound were just left for dead, so I couldn’t include them.

MORE: Historical inspirations in Game of Thrones: Robb Stark

What do you think? Do you agree with my top five Game of Thrones death scenes?

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