WTF, GoT: 10 Scenes That Shook Game of Thrones Fans with Unhinged Brutality

10. S1E6: Viserys’s Coronation by Khal Drogo

Let’s be real here: no one at any given point liked Viserys Targaryen. With the way he treated his younger sister Daenerys, most viewers wished him a painful death — but when it came, it was still a shocker. Khal Drogo promised Viserys a golden crown and he adorned the unfortunate heir’s head with a hell-hot crown…of melted gold.

9. S2E4: Tywin’s Rat Present for a Villager

Game of Thrones loves its torture scenes to the point of revolt, but few beat this one. The rat torture was a real-life practice and one of the most excruciatingly painful ways to go, and an unfortunate villager from Westeros happened to experience it on Tywin Lannister’s orders. Being eaten alive by a swarm of rats… That’s terrifying.

8. S3E6: Joffrey’s Live Target Practice with Ros

Joffrey Lannister was recently named the most hated TV show character ever, and deservedly so. But even though he proved to be a massive a-hole early on, few viewers recognized him for the insane sadist he really was until the unexpected and bone-chilling scene of him using his prostitute Ros as a live crossbow target practice.

7. S3E9: Lord Frey’s Red Wedding Betrayal

The Red Wedding is so notoriously iconic it needs no explanation now. But back when the episode was released, the audience was shocked by the sudden turn of events as the young King in the North, his family, and his army were brutally slaughtered in a sudden yet predictable betrayal by Lord Frey who hosted them.

6. S3E10: Ramsey’s Fun Session with Theon

All the scenes of Ramsay Snow torturing Theon Greyjoy were physically painful to watch, but the build-up to the…unwilling circumcision was even more so. Ramsay made sure to get Theon aroused before he swooped in and chopped his victim’s private parts, finalizing the sadistic journey of turning Theon into his new slave Reek.

5. S4E2: Lady Olenna’s Wedding Gift to King Joffrey

Another famous Westeros wedding gone wrong that supplied the audience with an unexpected and brutal death scene, Joffrey and Margaery’s celebration was iconic. All of us wished Joffrey death at that point but no one had anticipated he’d die on his own wedding from poison — and that his last moments would be so…unsavory.

4. S4E8: The Mountain’s Confession to the Viper

Oberyn Martell aka the Red Viper was an instantly loveable character, and his duel win against the Mountain was brilliant, but Oberyn’s hubris and desperation led to a mistake. His enemy confessed his crimes while squishing the Red Viper’s eyes out, and during that scene, our faces were very similar to Oberyn’s wife’s terrified one.

3. S4E10: Tyrion’s Revenge on Shae and Tywin

After Oberyn’s unlikely defeat in the trial by combat on Tyrion’s behalf, the latter was sentenced to death. Thanks to his friend Varys, he escaped — but not before taking his sweet time to strangle his former lover Shae and his terrible father Tywin Lannister. Though their deaths were sudden and shocking, no remorse was had.

2. S5E6: Sansa and Ramsay’s Wedding Night

Ramsay was a sadistic sociopath and we’d seen many extremely revolting things from him even before his first wedding night with Sansa Stark — but it was still such a pain to watch! The poor girl’s entire life was full of suffering at that point, and Ramsay made sure to make it worse once again by raping her in front of Theon.

1. S5E9: Stannis Baratheon’s Ultimate Sacrifice

Many of us were rooting for Stannis Baratheon during the War of the Five Kings. Stannis seemed like a harsh but decent man who loved his wholesome daughter Shireen. But after the gut-wrenching scene of Shireen burning alive on her father’s orders as a sacrifice to win the war, we stopped feeling anything but hate toward Stannis Baratheon.