5 Biggest and Scariest Battle Scenes in Game of Thrones

5. S2E9: The Battle of the Blackwater

The War of the Five Kings bore some great spectacles, but Stannis Baratheon’s attack on King’s Landing was one of, if not the most impressive. The Battle of the Blackwater showed who was who, highlighting every character’s strengths and weaknesses — but most importantly, it was as intense as they come.

The first major battle scene in the entire series, the Battle of the Blackwater made the unaware Game of Thrones viewers gape in shock. It was a hard call to choose the side to root for (since Stannis hasn’t burnt a very special someone yet then), and it definitely raised the mark for the rest of Game of Thrones’ many seasons.

4. S5E8: The Battle of Hardhome

Hardhome rarely comes with the word “battle” as more often, it’s called a slaughter — and rightfully so. The Night King’s army of wights attacked the Crows and the Free Folk at the most unexpected moment, revealing its leader’s true terrifying power in the process. The undead were butchering the living swiftly and ruthlessly.

The Battle of Hardhome was more of a horror scene than a battle as the chaotic shots, the audio, and the sheer desperation of the slaughtered people caught off guard by the wights were the main characters there. And the pinnacle of that horror was the Night King’s show of power as he raised the murdered as his new warriors.

3. S6E9: The Battle of the Bastards

Often referred to as “the greatest battle in Game of Thrones” and just as often mocked for that, the Battle of the Bastards saw Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton’s face-off near Winterfell when the new King in the North came to take what was his. Even skeptics have to admit that this battle was at the very least a great scene.

Though questionable in terms of war tactics, the Battle of the Bastards saw the audience twist their hands as they watched Jon Snow step in front of the enemy’s cavalry and then get completely consumed in it. And the dread we all felt when the spearmen started closing in was incomparable to anything else in the show.

2. S7E4: The Battle of the Goldroad

The Battle of the Goldroad, too, was closer to a slaughter: the Lannister forces had never faced either the Dothraki or a dragon before and they were caught completely off guard. Daenerys Targaryen’s attack was swift and devastating, allowing her to secure the Goldroad for her army and leave the Lannisters without supplies.

The true tension of this encounter came from the duality of our experience. On the one hand, we had Daenerys who most of us were rooting for. On the other hand, we had Jaime and Bronn who, too, were many fans’ favorites. The deadly clash of these sides of the conflict had the audience scared, confused, and praying they all lived.

1. S8E3: The Battle of Winterfell

Before you start booing us, we need to clarify something. The Battle of Winterfell lacked the tactical depth of some of the previous fights but was the most important strategically, and what it didn’t have in terms of the armies’ formations and discipline it made up for with the sheer sense of inevitable doom and fear for everyone’s lives.

The Battle of Winterfell was, without a doubt, the biggest and scariest battle in the entirety of Game of Thrones. The tension of watching it for the first time, without knowing its underwhelming finale, was simply unmatched, and it was incredibly well-choreographed. It’s a bummer that to see that, we had to set our screens’ brightness to 500%.