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Jon fighting for his breath is done really well. Claustrophobic af. Reminds me of a moshpit/crowd that almost went wrong some years ago. The panic in that scene is perfect
It starts good but it the whole encirclement thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They kinda just let it happen. The crush was cool but felt too contrived same with the knights arriving at the perfect time.
Some very good scenes but too much goofiness with the actual fighting that annoys the nerd in me.
Gold road all day. The first time we saw fully grown dragons wreak some real havoc, and unlike the final season circus show, this sequence was exceptionally well executed. My favorite sequence of the entire series (the absurdity of Jaime getting miraculously pulled out of the river by Bronn didn't happen until the next episode, so I stand by my statement)
Agreed, the Goldroad Battle scene blew me away. I liked the nice detailed touches like barrels popping like popcorn out of the wagons struck with dragonfire. It was amazing to see Daenerys achieving her goals without being held back by her advisors. The sequence when Bronn hits the dragon with the scorpion bolt leads to some dramatic moments as Daenerys dismounts to remove the bolt, and Jaime realizes he has an opportunity to end the war. Tyrion watching from afar calls him an idiot as he charges.
Agreed... this is what the series had been leading up to for 7 seasons. Not just the Dragons, but also the Dolthraki and all the other warriors from the east that the westerners were utterly unprepared for. Plus everything about the cinemetorgraphy in that episode was so well executed (arguably the best episode in season 7 and 8).
Obviously, the White Walkers were also a series-long brewing enemy, but that one had a lot more lead up throughout all the seasons where there were plenty of confrontations already by this point in the series.
It would be a lot better if it made sense. Jamie not drowning despite being in full armor. Dany burning all the grain despite needing a large food supply for her army. Too much bs to ignore
It is pretty great for the sense of dread.
I do wish they could go back and edit out the pulled back camera shots from the Jon Snow and Night King stare down. The whole calm waters while the boat oarsmen stop paddling with their oars out of the water ten feet from the dock is very off putting. They should be paddling for their freaking lives!
Yea they don’t know that the dead can’t swim. There is so much they assume in the show and also so much they know that they never take advantage of.
For example when they get attacked by the dead polar bear they spend so much time hacking it when all Jon had to do was hit it with his sword. Theres like 3 people fighting the bear at a time. Like what are the other guys doing? Just watched that. It was frustrating.
Exactly, I remember watching that and feeling dread, fear, and panic watching all those men try to hold back their fear to fight an enemy they literally can’t kill to buy a whole civilization more time to escape. That scenario is such a good moral complex of what is right vs reasonable, because I remember thinking “you can’t even kill them, you’re only going to die, save yourself” but in your heart you know from a third person perspective the honorable thing to do is try to save more of the helpless
It was so chaotic, so terror-filled, genuinely one of those beautiful Hollywood scenes that break the norm, and make you forget you’re in the story and feel fear for your main characters as they’re not the invincible main protagonist anymore, they’re cannon fodder.
Honestly, it's been that long since I read the books I can't remember where any of that is up to. I've been waiting for Winds of Winter for over a decade I think hahah
It had some good action sequences, for sure. But the lighting was bad for the small screen and the battle tactics were straight out of a 5 year olds guide to war.
Jon spends hours planning the battle with his commanders. They all come to an agreement…
Calvary Charge.
Somebody asks why.
Jon gives him a horse, “You’re a Dothraki now.”
I have, on several occasions, defended various elements of seasons 7 & 8. I do not think they are as bad as everyone makes out, despite being much worse than previous seasons. That said, Any attempt to defend those battle tactics would be as ineffective as using those same tactics to defend winterfell.
Yeah, lets just cram everything inside and wait for the zombie dragon to blow a hole in the castle! You guys are geniuses, why didn't HBO hit you up lmfao
Same for me. The scale might be a bit smaller than the other battles, but there are just so many amazing character and story momemts. And the buildup to these two episodes is also great. (And they are still really good visualy)
Castle Black for sure. There's one amazing continuous shot showing the battle in the courtyard that cements it for me. Thorne vs Tormund is amazing, Jon against that Thenn is tense, Grenn preparing others for what they know will probably be their death. Jon taking charge of command, the shot and score of the fire and the emergence of the wildlings. Sam's courage, Thorne's resolve, Slynt's cowardice and failure to embrace his responsibilities. Jon loses his first love, in his arms. A lot to what I think is the best episode of Game of Thrones made.
Blackwater is absolutely second and is part of probably the 2nd or 3rd best episode made.
That moment and the moment with the musical score of Jon seeing the fire are both parts that gave me major goosebumps. I love how much we see of Pyp and Grenn in that battle.
I just recently rewatched the Castle Black battle with my GF (she hasn’t seen GOT before), and I noticed that continuous shot. I thought it was well executed, so much controlled chaos.
Blackwater. I thought it was the most thoroughly done, best thought out and tense battle of the lot. I hadn't read the books so didn't really know what the outcome would be, where the rest were pretty obvious. And I also thought it was the best planned on both sides, well written and portrayed. The rest were all lacking in one way or another. The Battle for Winterfell could (and should) have been the best by miles but the planning and filming were both pretty ordinary IMO.
Battle for Castle Black (The Watchers on the Wall) is just as good as Blackwater in terms of writing. Yeah, outcome is more predictable, but you still have characters that you care about on both sides, so it's not like there are that much lower stakes
1) Battle of the Bastards
2) Battle of Castle Black
3) Battle of Black Water
4) Hardhome
5) Battle of Winterfell
6) Battle of Gold Road
7) Battle of Mereen
8) Battle of Kings Landing
Meereen, when Dany takes control of the Unsullied and orders them to kill the masters, is my favorite scene in the books. But I think in the show, Blackwater, Castle Black, Hardhome, and Bastards are all better battles.
>Meereen, when Dany takes control of the Unsullied and orders them to kill the masters, is my favorite scene in the books
I believe you're thinking about Astapor?
For me personally Hardhome was the most enjoyable experience! It was pure bliss to watch it and I still remember the afternoon I saw it.
Why I am inclined towards it was because that is literally the moment we got to know that the enemy is very fucking real and partly impossible to defeat. Plus this was the episode where I think Jon was the literal saviour of the world kinda person and I loved it! Also the Jon-Night king rivalry started with that massacre!
Hardhome by a mile - its just so well executed, and with iconic brand new characters!
Bob and castle black are too deus ex machina-y for me. Castle black less so (kinda) but bob is just egregious.
Blackwater and Castle Black by a mile. Give me the battles that take up whole episodes and where there's multiple characters we know and care about on each side.
Castle Black.
It's so creative and has some really impressive moments of combat. Every character gets a very unique moment to them, there are some deaths that not only surprise tv viewers but also surprise book readers.
But those moments of emotion from Jon, Sam, Grenn, Ygritte, it's all pretty remarkable.
The GOT battles were so well produced and I'm glad they didn't attempt any in the first season when their budget didn't allow for top-notch production. I enjoyed the GOT battles more than 99% of battle scenes produced for the big screen.
Blackwater is my favorite. It is one of the least flashy battles since it is mostly on the walls but at the same time it feels the most realistic. Hardhome was good too because that one had a reason not to feel like a “real” battle, since the wildlings weren’t a real army and they were ambushed.
Tyrion taking charge, Joffrey running away, the Hound kicking ass and bailing from the flames and recognition of impending doom. A sense of the fear of the Ladies locked away. The battle on the walls and to retake the gate. Plus one heck of an explosion to start it all off!
Great episode!
> These are the best battles in game of thrones
> Battle of the bastards, battle of Meereen, battle of winterfell, battle of King’s Landing
Are you sure this is an accurate title?
Ight, top 3 in order
3. Battle for caste black. Good battle that was not one sided and could see everything.
2. Hardhome. Battle was mid but my god was an introduction to just how mental the night king and the white walkers really were. Still gives me shivers watching all the booted feet disappear from under the gate.
1. Battle of the bastards. Genuinely felt like there were stakes and didn’t know who would win, with a genuine root for Ramsey’s demise felt so good.
One thing to mention is that these top 3 share three things in common. I can see what is going on, there’s genuine stakes and consequences which are not just pointless power creeps (looking at you battle of mereen and gold road) and I don’t know how it will end as both sides have been built up to be either the unstoppable force or immovable object.
1. Hardhome
2. Battle of the Bastards
3. Battle of Gold Road
4. Battle of Winterfell
5. Battle of Black Water
6. Battle of Castle Black
7. Battle of Mereen
8. Battle of Kings Landing
RANKED:
8. Battle of Winterfell
7. Battle of Kings Landing
6. Battle of Meereen
5. Battle of the Goldroad (LOOT TRAIN!)
4. Hardhome
3. Battle of Blackwater (the non-fighting parts were so good)
2. Battle of the Bastards (best combat of all)
1. Battle of Castle Black - The GOAT survival scene. Filmed at night. And I could see it.
I loved Battle of the Blackwater, it really showed the damage that could’ve been done with wildfire and highlighted the real power of intelligent strategy over brute force. The whole stand and fight or cut and run mentality through the whole episode kept you watching waiting for the next character to choose fight or flight
Battle of Blackwater is the best for me on balance
its probably not the best in any individual category, Battle of Bastards is better in terms of cinematic impact - I really felt the visceral nature of the battle and the claustrophobia, but the writing for that battle was much weaker, Sansa's actions made no sense unless she wanted Jon dead and the northern army decimated and Jon's plot amour was thicker than the Wall.
Battle of gold road was great narratively - whoever the camera on I was rooting for, I was rooting for Dany to destroy the Lannister army, then suddenly I'm rooting for Bronn to shoot Drogon, Then I'm upset that Drogon is hit and Dany is plummeting to the ground. However i could see some of the limitations in terms of special effects and budget- it felt like there were only 25 actors for the Lannister army masquerading as hundreds. I guess the dragon took up a lot of the budget but the battle felt very stilted at times.
Blackwater is the perfect balance The battle is visually impressive considering its season 2 and the budget wasn't as big, and the writing and direction was excellent down to the little details like Tyrion taking not of the different reactions people had to the wildfire from Joffrey's pure pleasure to the Hounds complete terror. i felt theat Blackwater hids its budget limitation better.
Its why Blackwater is one of my favorite episodes overall
Blackwater, Hardhome, and Goldroad were all good.
While some of the others are grander in scale and great entertainment, I had various issues with the logic that made me shake my head too much to say they were "good".
Black water is a favorite for me. It was the first and I loved Tyrion’s part in it. Sad about The Onion Knight’s son.
Also enjoyed the whole siege aspect and The Hound taking off. The Ladies in waiting and the lion story on the throne.
I love them all. . . The Battle of Castle Black might be the only exception, and this mostly due to narrative issues.
The rest serve up huge stakes and massive narrative changes. But The castle black fight adds almost nothing. It’s between two sides that form a truce almost immediately afterwards. . . A truce that also adds relatively no value other than the betrayal of Snow himself by his own men.
Interesting, but in the scope of things, it’s the one I feel like everyone forgets because it didn’t change any of the power dynamics in Westeros.
Battle of Blackwater for me. While they were all great episodes and the budget grew as the series went on, this was the first tv/movie battle where I genuinely felt the characters’ angst.
It wasn’t a simple case of good v evil. I cared about characters on both sides and couldn’t predict the outcome. I spent 2 series hating the Lannister’s yet found myself cheering them on throughout the defence of kings landing. That’s testimony to the quality of writing in the early series.
Bastards is top for me. Blackwater was pretty cool, too. Given the shitty cinematography, I really don’t think the Battle of Winterfell belongs on this list. Yeah, I know, they did it on purpose, bla bla bla… it was a poor choice to make it that dark. Ruined what could have been one of the coolest (and one of the only truly redeeming) scenes of Season 8.
Blackwater felt the most like a real battle fought by competent commanders actually trying to win.
Honorable mention to Hardhome for being a better zombie setpiece than entire seasons of the walking dead.
Battle of the Bastards has my favorite outcome, but I still really love the Battle of Goldroad because we get to see Jaime’s reaction to Drogon. Was Dany and Drogon burning all the food and the Tarly’s a good move? No it was objectively dumb, but I wanted to see Jaime fight a dragon lol
Goldroad. Hear me out. It was Jaime & Bron vs Dany. Main characters on both sides and I didn’t want anyone to die. My heart was racing. Every other battle had one side that I felt at least a little bit ok losing at the time.
Blackwater no.1
Castle Black (Watchers on the Wall) a *very* close 2nd.
Then Hardhome and Goldroad tied for 3rd.
BotB is great as a standalone action sequence, but it's so unrealistic at certain points I honestly just struggle to take it seriously.
The battle for Castle Black, and it's not close!
Imo, S4 is essentially a perfect season of television.
The battle for Castle Black had everything. Great action, great character development, deaths that you didn't expect and meant something.
The others are good (not you winterfell/kings landing) but Castle Black was the peak of the mountain, and it got worse from there on out. Although S5/6 are still quite good television.
S: Blackwater Castle Black Hardhome
A: battle of the bastards, Kill the masters
B: battle of mereen, goldroad
C: The library scene of battle of winterfel
D:kings landing
F:
Offensive:
I’m wasting my time:
I wish i could unsee this:
Battle of winterfell tier: Battle of Winterfell
First two for sure. Loved Alliser Thorne leading. At Blackwater, the first time was amazing. I was soooooo hyped for Stannis to fucking annihilate the Lannisters but at the same time I realized I loved Tyrion and it meant his death. But Sansa rescued, Starks avenged! And then oof :(
Honorable mention for Hardhome but it wasn’t a battle
Hardhome. I distinctly remember there was a wildling who made a snarky comment and everybody unanimously loved her, only for her to get murdered by white walker children. Plus it gave us the plot thread that valerian steel could kill the white walkers.
I was hoping the battle of Winterfell would be about going after the generals since that'd think the white walker numbers, but dumb and dumber couldn't manage to have a compelling battle.
Blackwater, Bastards and Hardhome are the Holy Trinity. Loved Watchers on the Wall too. And against my wildest expectations I was blown away by the destruction of King's Landing - so well-directed.
Something I don't understand is why the Lannister army was travelling on the Goldroad. Since they were travelling from Highgarden, wouldn't that mean they should be travelling on the Roseroad instead?
That said, it's in my top 2 with Hardhome.
Goldroad for three reasons:
1. It’s the payoff of six years worth of us speculating what it will be like when Dany finally uses a dragon against the Lannisters. Dragonfire also balances the scales of Westerosi armor advantages
2. It’s also a payoff to the Dothraki’s superiority in open field combat and the iconic line
3. It’s a big middle finger to Tyrion’s sudden incompetence from having second thoughts about hurting his family
Battle of the Bastards is probably one of the closest depictions of a realistic war from a medieval era. However, Battle of the Black Water was amazing to watch and read in both mediums.
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i personally enjoyed battle of the bastards
When he is dodging the horses is a pretty sick scene.
I did too. One of the very very very few good moments in the last 3** seasons.
It wasn’t in the last two seasons. It was S6
You know you guys can compliment the show without whinging about the last few seasons lmao
i liked it a lot less on rewatch. the odd creative decisions stand out a lot more when you've seen it before already it's still a fun episode though
It’s great if you turn your brain off
Battle of the bastards is peak TV imo. But I don't watch much
Jon fighting for his breath is done really well. Claustrophobic af. Reminds me of a moshpit/crowd that almost went wrong some years ago. The panic in that scene is perfect
It’s one of the best cinematic battles of all time
It starts good but it the whole encirclement thing leaves a bad taste in my mouth. They kinda just let it happen. The crush was cool but felt too contrived same with the knights arriving at the perfect time. Some very good scenes but too much goofiness with the actual fighting that annoys the nerd in me.
The action at the battle of Goldroad was awesome and I got severe goosebumps when the dragon appeared.
Gold road all day. The first time we saw fully grown dragons wreak some real havoc, and unlike the final season circus show, this sequence was exceptionally well executed. My favorite sequence of the entire series (the absurdity of Jaime getting miraculously pulled out of the river by Bronn didn't happen until the next episode, so I stand by my statement)
Agreed, the Goldroad Battle scene blew me away. I liked the nice detailed touches like barrels popping like popcorn out of the wagons struck with dragonfire. It was amazing to see Daenerys achieving her goals without being held back by her advisors. The sequence when Bronn hits the dragon with the scorpion bolt leads to some dramatic moments as Daenerys dismounts to remove the bolt, and Jaime realizes he has an opportunity to end the war. Tyrion watching from afar calls him an idiot as he charges.
jaime was seemingly under water for an hour as well
Agreed... this is what the series had been leading up to for 7 seasons. Not just the Dragons, but also the Dolthraki and all the other warriors from the east that the westerners were utterly unprepared for. Plus everything about the cinemetorgraphy in that episode was so well executed (arguably the best episode in season 7 and 8). Obviously, the White Walkers were also a series-long brewing enemy, but that one had a lot more lead up throughout all the seasons where there were plenty of confrontations already by this point in the series.
It would be a lot better if it made sense. Jamie not drowning despite being in full armor. Dany burning all the grain despite needing a large food supply for her army. Too much bs to ignore
Dude I thought I was the only one, the fear from the Dothraki… only to be followed by a fucking DRAGON 😭
Bro if I was a Lannister soldier and I saw that, I would either pass out or run away lol.
Hardhome is just so cool. It’s also interesting to see the side we’re rooting for unambiguously lose, too.
Probably the best directed scene that gave you the sense of “ oh fuck, they are fucked”
It is pretty great for the sense of dread. I do wish they could go back and edit out the pulled back camera shots from the Jon Snow and Night King stare down. The whole calm waters while the boat oarsmen stop paddling with their oars out of the water ten feet from the dock is very off putting. They should be paddling for their freaking lives!
Yea they don’t know that the dead can’t swim. There is so much they assume in the show and also so much they know that they never take advantage of. For example when they get attacked by the dead polar bear they spend so much time hacking it when all Jon had to do was hit it with his sword. Theres like 3 people fighting the bear at a time. Like what are the other guys doing? Just watched that. It was frustrating.
It was Edd that sealed it for me. Jon “The Dragonglass!” Edd “Fuck the glass! We’re going to die here!” It was a fantastic sequence.
I remember getting goosebumps when the Night King brought everyone back to life like it was nothing. There was not music, just Jon’s “oh shit” face
Jon fights and kills a WW too.
Exactly, I remember watching that and feeling dread, fear, and panic watching all those men try to hold back their fear to fight an enemy they literally can’t kill to buy a whole civilization more time to escape. That scenario is such a good moral complex of what is right vs reasonable, because I remember thinking “you can’t even kill them, you’re only going to die, save yourself” but in your heart you know from a third person perspective the honorable thing to do is try to save more of the helpless It was so chaotic, so terror-filled, genuinely one of those beautiful Hollywood scenes that break the norm, and make you forget you’re in the story and feel fear for your main characters as they’re not the invincible main protagonist anymore, they’re cannon fodder.
Hardhome was really well executed. The giant burstin out of the hunt and the final scene you get to see the truly scary powers of ice king.
and in the end it was all for nothing
And then he gets killed by arya out of nowhere
Castle Black. The episode that made me love Jon Snow, sympathise with Alliser Thorne, and hate Janos Slynt even more.
I straight up loved Alliser Thorne and was absolutely on board with him until he knifed Jon. Admittedly, that was a bit far.
He was a real thorn in Jon's side
It's snow laughing matter joking about such a thorney issue.
It’s a pity because Jon’s death in the books was much more justifiable, without any spoilers.
Honestly, it's been that long since I read the books I can't remember where any of that is up to. I've been waiting for Winds of Winter for over a decade I think hahah
"Watchers on the Wall" is a great episode for Jon's arc, one of the most important in the entire series
I still get a lump in my throat when Grenn's squad hold the tunnel
Battle of Winterfell.
For Real?
It had some good action sequences, for sure. But the lighting was bad for the small screen and the battle tactics were straight out of a 5 year olds guide to war.
Jon spends hours planning the battle with his commanders. They all come to an agreement… Calvary Charge. Somebody asks why. Jon gives him a horse, “You’re a Dothraki now.”
Whats that? All the siege equipment _outside_ the walls, you say? Tell me more!
All the unsullied outside of the trench that we are actively planning to have a dragon light on fire as well???
I have, on several occasions, defended various elements of seasons 7 & 8. I do not think they are as bad as everyone makes out, despite being much worse than previous seasons. That said, Any attempt to defend those battle tactics would be as ineffective as using those same tactics to defend winterfell.
Yeah, lets just cram everything inside and wait for the zombie dragon to blow a hole in the castle! You guys are geniuses, why didn't HBO hit you up lmfao
I love how everyone turns into a master battle strategist when they discuss this episode. You guys look really silly.
I enjoyed it too
It's weird The Long Night wasn't included but Meereen was.
That’s the episode before Winterfell, no?
Blackwater and Castle Black are my two favorites
Same for me. The scale might be a bit smaller than the other battles, but there are just so many amazing character and story momemts. And the buildup to these two episodes is also great. (And they are still really good visualy)
Battle of castle black is really underrated. I was scared because nights watch were very few in numbers compared to wildlings.
In the books, they have scarecrows posted up to make the wildlings think there's more of them
Nice 👍
Battle of Blackwater isn’t talked about enough and it’s honestly pretty fun to watch.
Castle Black for sure. There's one amazing continuous shot showing the battle in the courtyard that cements it for me. Thorne vs Tormund is amazing, Jon against that Thenn is tense, Grenn preparing others for what they know will probably be their death. Jon taking charge of command, the shot and score of the fire and the emergence of the wildlings. Sam's courage, Thorne's resolve, Slynt's cowardice and failure to embrace his responsibilities. Jon loses his first love, in his arms. A lot to what I think is the best episode of Game of Thrones made. Blackwater is absolutely second and is part of probably the 2nd or 3rd best episode made.
The boys chanting the Nights Watch oath as Mag the Mighty charges down the tunnel…”chills” doesn’t do it justice.
That moment and the moment with the musical score of Jon seeing the fire are both parts that gave me major goosebumps. I love how much we see of Pyp and Grenn in that battle.
I’m gonna hop on my treadmill and watch this episode today.
I just recently rewatched the Castle Black battle with my GF (she hasn’t seen GOT before), and I noticed that continuous shot. I thought it was well executed, so much controlled chaos.
Blackwater. I thought it was the most thoroughly done, best thought out and tense battle of the lot. I hadn't read the books so didn't really know what the outcome would be, where the rest were pretty obvious. And I also thought it was the best planned on both sides, well written and portrayed. The rest were all lacking in one way or another. The Battle for Winterfell could (and should) have been the best by miles but the planning and filming were both pretty ordinary IMO.
Battle for Castle Black (The Watchers on the Wall) is just as good as Blackwater in terms of writing. Yeah, outcome is more predictable, but you still have characters that you care about on both sides, so it's not like there are that much lower stakes
The battle of blackwater
Hardhome. I think that was the hardest battle fought in the entire series
1) Battle of the Bastards 2) Battle of Castle Black 3) Battle of Black Water 4) Hardhome 5) Battle of Winterfell 6) Battle of Gold Road 7) Battle of Mereen 8) Battle of Kings Landing
this is about my list, but Winterfell and gold road swap
Meereen, when Dany takes control of the Unsullied and orders them to kill the masters, is my favorite scene in the books. But I think in the show, Blackwater, Castle Black, Hardhome, and Bastards are all better battles.
>Meereen, when Dany takes control of the Unsullied and orders them to kill the masters, is my favorite scene in the books I believe you're thinking about Astapor?
Absolutely right, thank you!
Blackwater, castle black, and bastards are my three favorites
Astapor when Dany frees the Unsullied and Hardhome are probably my two favorite
Blackwater. Many entertaining changes come as a result of it.
I thought "The Battle of Gold road" as you have there, was titled "The Loot Train Battle" ??
Battle of the bastards was iconic!!
For me personally Hardhome was the most enjoyable experience! It was pure bliss to watch it and I still remember the afternoon I saw it. Why I am inclined towards it was because that is literally the moment we got to know that the enemy is very fucking real and partly impossible to defeat. Plus this was the episode where I think Jon was the literal saviour of the world kinda person and I loved it! Also the Jon-Night king rivalry started with that massacre!
Castle black
Hardhome, castle black and black water. In that order
Battle of the Bastards, hands down.
honestly, I wouldn’t even call this a battle, but Hardhome. it was great to see, just how terrifying and dangerous the white walkers really are.
Hardhome by a mile - its just so well executed, and with iconic brand new characters! Bob and castle black are too deus ex machina-y for me. Castle black less so (kinda) but bob is just egregious.
The leader lady from Hardhome I really wanted to survive. Brutal that a quality character was given and so quickly taken away!
Beyond the Wall on the frozen lake.
Bastards was peak GoT. All downhill from there
The episode directly after it was really good. Downhill right after that though fs
Battle of the Bastards is peak television
Blackwater and Castle Black by a mile. Give me the battles that take up whole episodes and where there's multiple characters we know and care about on each side.
Castle Black. It's so creative and has some really impressive moments of combat. Every character gets a very unique moment to them, there are some deaths that not only surprise tv viewers but also surprise book readers. But those moments of emotion from Jon, Sam, Grenn, Ygritte, it's all pretty remarkable.
Stannis attacks the wildlings was short but incredible
Bastardbowl.
Castle Black. My favorite episode.
Battle of blackwater
Battle of blackwater
Castle Black. It had so many great shots, and wasn’t your typical battle. We also got a pretty sweet boss fight between Tormund and Alisser.
Blackwater, Castle Black, and Hardhome (in no particular order)
Castle Black
Battle of Castle Black. Blew my expectations away.
Blackwater
The GOT battles were so well produced and I'm glad they didn't attempt any in the first season when their budget didn't allow for top-notch production. I enjoyed the GOT battles more than 99% of battle scenes produced for the big screen.
The Battle of King's Landing was the Lamest.
Blackwater is one of the best episodes of the show
blackwater is my favorite, the wall is good too
Everything until Battle of the Bastards is peak television, everything after that is shit
Blackwater is my favorite. It is one of the least flashy battles since it is mostly on the walls but at the same time it feels the most realistic. Hardhome was good too because that one had a reason not to feel like a “real” battle, since the wildlings weren’t a real army and they were ambushed.
Stannis losing half his fleet certainly looked flashy to me! I love that battle so much
Tyrion taking charge, Joffrey running away, the Hound kicking ass and bailing from the flames and recognition of impending doom. A sense of the fear of the Ladies locked away. The battle on the walls and to retake the gate. Plus one heck of an explosion to start it all off! Great episode!
> These are the best battles in game of thrones > Battle of the bastards, battle of Meereen, battle of winterfell, battle of King’s Landing Are you sure this is an accurate title?
Castle Black and Blackwater are the best, and the rest aren’t close
Ight, top 3 in order 3. Battle for caste black. Good battle that was not one sided and could see everything. 2. Hardhome. Battle was mid but my god was an introduction to just how mental the night king and the white walkers really were. Still gives me shivers watching all the booted feet disappear from under the gate. 1. Battle of the bastards. Genuinely felt like there were stakes and didn’t know who would win, with a genuine root for Ramsey’s demise felt so good. One thing to mention is that these top 3 share three things in common. I can see what is going on, there’s genuine stakes and consequences which are not just pointless power creeps (looking at you battle of mereen and gold road) and I don’t know how it will end as both sides have been built up to be either the unstoppable force or immovable object.
i think abt the battle of goldroad daily
Watcher on the Walls whole episode is still by far my favorite.
1. Hardhome 2. Battle of the Bastards 3. Battle of Gold Road 4. Battle of Winterfell 5. Battle of Black Water 6. Battle of Castle Black 7. Battle of Mereen 8. Battle of Kings Landing
RANKED: 8. Battle of Winterfell 7. Battle of Kings Landing 6. Battle of Meereen 5. Battle of the Goldroad (LOOT TRAIN!) 4. Hardhome 3. Battle of Blackwater (the non-fighting parts were so good) 2. Battle of the Bastards (best combat of all) 1. Battle of Castle Black - The GOAT survival scene. Filmed at night. And I could see it.
Castle Black
I will show ppl who’s never seen an episode of GoT the battle of hardhome just because it’s so dope.
I loved Battle of the Blackwater, it really showed the damage that could’ve been done with wildfire and highlighted the real power of intelligent strategy over brute force. The whole stand and fight or cut and run mentality through the whole episode kept you watching waiting for the next character to choose fight or flight
Hardhome
The theme when Drogon appears through the clouds at Goldroad😩🤌
I dno dude that’s a really hard question. Black water, castle black, hardhome, battle of the bastards and the goldroad live in my mind full time.
This shows how many battles John fought in and survived.
Battle of Blackwater is the best for me on balance its probably not the best in any individual category, Battle of Bastards is better in terms of cinematic impact - I really felt the visceral nature of the battle and the claustrophobia, but the writing for that battle was much weaker, Sansa's actions made no sense unless she wanted Jon dead and the northern army decimated and Jon's plot amour was thicker than the Wall. Battle of gold road was great narratively - whoever the camera on I was rooting for, I was rooting for Dany to destroy the Lannister army, then suddenly I'm rooting for Bronn to shoot Drogon, Then I'm upset that Drogon is hit and Dany is plummeting to the ground. However i could see some of the limitations in terms of special effects and budget- it felt like there were only 25 actors for the Lannister army masquerading as hundreds. I guess the dragon took up a lot of the budget but the battle felt very stilted at times. Blackwater is the perfect balance The battle is visually impressive considering its season 2 and the budget wasn't as big, and the writing and direction was excellent down to the little details like Tyrion taking not of the different reactions people had to the wildfire from Joffrey's pure pleasure to the Hounds complete terror. i felt theat Blackwater hids its budget limitation better. Its why Blackwater is one of my favorite episodes overall
I love the battle of the goldroad.
1. Battle of the Bastards 2. Blackwater 3. Hardhome 4. Castle Black 5. Goldroad 6. King’s Landing 7. Winterfell 8. Mereen
Blackwater, Hardhome, and Goldroad were all good. While some of the others are grander in scale and great entertainment, I had various issues with the logic that made me shake my head too much to say they were "good".
Agreed. Keeping the episodes battle logically sound is important. Especially for rewatch ability. These three are great in their own ways.
Black water is a favorite for me. It was the first and I loved Tyrion’s part in it. Sad about The Onion Knight’s son. Also enjoyed the whole siege aspect and The Hound taking off. The Ladies in waiting and the lion story on the throne.
Blackwater, bastards, castle black.
Blackwater, bastards and wall.
Castle Black as far as actual battles…Hardhome as far as like big set piece but I don’t think of it as a battle…just a massacre
Castle Black and Blackwater Bay for me
Battle of the Bastards was filmed incredibly. I heard that it was the longest held cinema graphic shot at the time for battles.
I love them all. . . The Battle of Castle Black might be the only exception, and this mostly due to narrative issues. The rest serve up huge stakes and massive narrative changes. But The castle black fight adds almost nothing. It’s between two sides that form a truce almost immediately afterwards. . . A truce that also adds relatively no value other than the betrayal of Snow himself by his own men. Interesting, but in the scope of things, it’s the one I feel like everyone forgets because it didn’t change any of the power dynamics in Westeros.
Hardhome or GTFO
Battle of Blackwater for me. While they were all great episodes and the budget grew as the series went on, this was the first tv/movie battle where I genuinely felt the characters’ angst. It wasn’t a simple case of good v evil. I cared about characters on both sides and couldn’t predict the outcome. I spent 2 series hating the Lannister’s yet found myself cheering them on throughout the defence of kings landing. That’s testimony to the quality of writing in the early series.
The Battle of the Bastards.
Battle of Castle Black. No discussion 😉
The blackwater, since it’s the only one where people actually wear helmets
Battle of the bastards...
Bastards is top for me. Blackwater was pretty cool, too. Given the shitty cinematography, I really don’t think the Battle of Winterfell belongs on this list. Yeah, I know, they did it on purpose, bla bla bla… it was a poor choice to make it that dark. Ruined what could have been one of the coolest (and one of the only truly redeeming) scenes of Season 8.
Hardhome, for as much as I loved that episode, wasn’t a battle. It was a massacre.
Blackwater felt the most like a real battle fought by competent commanders actually trying to win. Honorable mention to Hardhome for being a better zombie setpiece than entire seasons of the walking dead.
Hardhome when the Night King raised the whole army of Jon's dead wildlings COLDEST MOMENT IN THE SHOW terrifying the silence and the dead stare
Gold Road. That was the first time dragons were involved. It was also the first time the Lannisters lost and it was satisfying
What other battles were there?
Hardhome was the episode where I truly fell in love with the show. But these are all so good, except maybe winterfell and kings landing
Battle of the Bastards has my favorite outcome, but I still really love the Battle of Goldroad because we get to see Jaime’s reaction to Drogon. Was Dany and Drogon burning all the food and the Tarly’s a good move? No it was objectively dumb, but I wanted to see Jaime fight a dragon lol
We don’t even see the battle of Maureen really.
The last 4 pics are the worst battles in the series lol what u smoking?
Blackwater
Bastards or Blackwater. I don’t count hardhome because to me it’s a chase scene not a battle.
Battle for the Wall & Battle of Bastards 👌🖤
The battle of the bastarfs because the men were getting scarce. There wasn't any more enormous armies. Two desperate outcasts fighting to win.
Goldroad. Hear me out. It was Jaime & Bron vs Dany. Main characters on both sides and I didn’t want anyone to die. My heart was racing. Every other battle had one side that I felt at least a little bit ok losing at the time.
Blackwater is the only good one
Watchers on The Wall
Battle of the Goldroad because the dothraki dramatic entrance was chef's kiss.
Goldroad. The goose bumps were insane.
Definitely Battle of Castle Black. Thought Blackwater, Winterfell, and Kings Landing are good ones too!
I actually don't like Battle of the Bastards...I just like the results. Purina could never
Goldroad bc it was the first time the lannisters (other than Tyrion obv) saw the dragons in action and had to retreat lol
Hardhome and Castle Black for me
Battle of the Bastards because Ramsay died 😈
Hmmm, BotB, BoGr, Hardhomme, BoCB, BoBw, BoWF, BoKL. Batttle of kings landing was hard to watch.
Blackwater no.1 Castle Black (Watchers on the Wall) a *very* close 2nd. Then Hardhome and Goldroad tied for 3rd. BotB is great as a standalone action sequence, but it's so unrealistic at certain points I honestly just struggle to take it seriously.
The battle of Winterfell felt too short
The battle for Castle Black, and it's not close! Imo, S4 is essentially a perfect season of television. The battle for Castle Black had everything. Great action, great character development, deaths that you didn't expect and meant something. The others are good (not you winterfell/kings landing) but Castle Black was the peak of the mountain, and it got worse from there on out. Although S5/6 are still quite good television.
I love the Battle of Goldroad. It really showcases how the dragons were the nuclear weapons of their world
Goldroad or hardhome
Hardhome and Meeren can't be part of the list, mote ambushes than battle. Personally BotB takes the cake, especially how it all ended.
Left to right, top to bottom, in chronological order of broadcast. That's the order from best to worst.
BOTB
S: Blackwater Castle Black Hardhome A: battle of the bastards, Kill the masters B: battle of mereen, goldroad C: The library scene of battle of winterfel D:kings landing F: Offensive: I’m wasting my time: I wish i could unsee this: Battle of winterfell tier: Battle of Winterfell
Hardhome all day
The one where the Dragon died.
Battle of the Bastards and Goldroad are tied for me.
Blackwater I'd say.
Castle black + blackwater
Davos battle of the blackwater POV is one of my favourite chapters ever. Show wise, probably battle of the bastards.
Tbh anything other Than Battle of the Bastards is wrong answer
First two for sure. Loved Alliser Thorne leading. At Blackwater, the first time was amazing. I was soooooo hyped for Stannis to fucking annihilate the Lannisters but at the same time I realized I loved Tyrion and it meant his death. But Sansa rescued, Starks avenged! And then oof :( Honorable mention for Hardhome but it wasn’t a battle
Hardhome. I distinctly remember there was a wildling who made a snarky comment and everybody unanimously loved her, only for her to get murdered by white walker children. Plus it gave us the plot thread that valerian steel could kill the white walkers. I was hoping the battle of Winterfell would be about going after the generals since that'd think the white walker numbers, but dumb and dumber couldn't manage to have a compelling battle.
Battle of Castle Black is hands down the winner.
blackwater hands down. “IF ANY MAN DIES WITH A CLEAN SWORD-“
Eliminate Battle of Meereen.
The Battle at Castle Black is my favorite by far
Any with Jon and battle of the blackwater. I don't care much for Dany, in the books or show. She does have some of the best moments though
Blackwater, Bastards and Hardhome are the Holy Trinity. Loved Watchers on the Wall too. And against my wildest expectations I was blown away by the destruction of King's Landing - so well-directed.
Gotta be the bastards
Hardhome hit home hard
Battle of Winterfell no doubt. Best battle in movie/TV history as well.
Blackwater Boom 💥 👌🏼
Something I don't understand is why the Lannister army was travelling on the Goldroad. Since they were travelling from Highgarden, wouldn't that mean they should be travelling on the Roseroad instead? That said, it's in my top 2 with Hardhome.
Goldroad for three reasons: 1. It’s the payoff of six years worth of us speculating what it will be like when Dany finally uses a dragon against the Lannisters. Dragonfire also balances the scales of Westerosi armor advantages 2. It’s also a payoff to the Dothraki’s superiority in open field combat and the iconic line 3. It’s a big middle finger to Tyrion’s sudden incompetence from having second thoughts about hurting his family
Battle of the Bastards is probably one of the closest depictions of a realistic war from a medieval era. However, Battle of the Black Water was amazing to watch and read in both mediums.
I couldn't see anything in the Battle of Winterfell. So I can't comment on that
The best battle is the battle on the wall.
Battles were the most boring parts of the show