Highest-Rated Game of Thrones Episodes Ranked by IMDb Score

Showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss faced an enormous task. They had to bring George R.R. Martin’s dark fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire to television. Fans still argue over how well they succeeded, especially with the ending. Even so, Benioff and Weiss produced some masterful episodes along the way.

The 10 highest-rated Game of Thrones episodes on IMDb are an easy way to revisit the best of their fantasy work. Everyone has favorites. I’m still partial to the very first episode, “Winter is Coming,” and its shocking ending. Still, these ten episodes are widely regarded as the peak of the series.

10. Blackwater (Season 2, Episode 9)

IMDb score: 9.7

If you thought “The Battle of the Bastards” went the extra mile with its combat, “Blackwater” won’t surprise you. The focus here is on Tyrion and the Lannisters, who must fight off Stannis Baratheon’s (Stephen Dillane) fleet as it assaults King’s Landing.

Before season 6 of Game of Thrones pushed production costs higher, “Blackwater” was one of the show’s most expensive episodes. The intense naval combat and striking visuals drove much of that cost. Years later, few battles in the series are as mesmerizing as the wildfire explosion at Blackwater Bay.

9. The Lion and the Rose (Season 4, Episode 2)

IMDb score: 9.7

Some Game of Thrones deaths leave viewers weeping in despair, like Catelyn and Robb’s at the Red Wedding. Others bring tears of joy. Most audiences felt the second kind during “The Lion and the Rose,” an episode built around Joffrey Baratheon’s (Jack Gleeson) wedding to Margaery Tyrell.

For four seasons, viewers had quietly waited for Joffrey to get what was coming to him. The episode finally delivered, combining an assassination and a “whodunit” in one stroke.

8. The Mountain and the Viper (Season 4, Episode 8)

IMDb score: 9.7

Oberyn Martell’s (Pedro Pascal) introduction is one of the most fascinating and iconic moments in Thrones history. Pascal played Oberyn as a fierce, determined warrior seeking justice for his sister, Elia Martell, and fans embraced him at once. After Ned Stark’s (Sean Bean) death in the first season, it seemed the show wouldn’t offer another honorable character to follow anytime soon. Then Oberyn arrived, a very different kind of noble hero.

His time on the show was short. In one of the bloodiest one-on-one fights the series ever staged, Oberyn clashes with the Mountain. He seems to have won, but his demand for a confession gives the Mountain an opening to catch him off guard. The result is a swift, sad end for one of the show’s most memorable short-lived characters. At least it helped kick-start Pascal’s eventual domination of the acting world.

7. The Laws of Gods and Men (Season 4, Episode 6)

IMDb score: 9.7

Considering what some Game of Thrones characters have been through, they deserve to crash out as much as they like. It rarely happens, except during Tyrion Lannister’s trial in “The Laws of Gods and Men.”

Accused of murdering his nephew, King Joffrey Baratheon, Tyrion has to watch everyone he thought he could trust turn against him. That includes his lover, Shae (Sibel Kekilli). Peter Dinklage then delivers a masterclass performance. The heartache and ferocity he brings to Tyrion’s confession that his only crime was ‘being a dwarf’ make the scene a show-stopper from start to finish.

6. The Door (Season 6, Episode 5)

IMDb score: 9.7

For most of Game of Thrones, Hodor (Kristian Nairn) was a sweet, bumbling giant who would stop at nothing to protect Bran Stark, his charge. By the end of “The Door,” many viewers saw him differently for good.

The episode surprised audiences with its many reveals. Sansa and Jon’s plans to take on the Lannisters came out, and so did Jorah’s (Iain Glen) confession of love to Daenerys. The biggest reveal was Hodor’s origins, which came directly from George R.R. Martin himself and earned seemingly universal praise.

5. The Spoils of War (Season 7, Episode 4)

IMDb score: 9.7

Game of Thrones loves a dynamic, hard-fought battle, and “The Spoils of War” has one. Daenerys turns her dragons on the Lannister and Tarly armies. The episode gives equal weight to Arya Stark’s (Maisie Williams) return to Winterfell and her reunion with her siblings Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright).

After seasons apart, the Starks’ reunion is one of the series’ most heartfelt moments, even with tension lingering between the siblings. Fans also get to see Arya and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) interact. The Starks’ unification spells trouble for the dastardly forces hoping to exploit the siblings’ individual weaknesses.

4. Hardhome (Season 5, Episode 8)

IMDb score: 9.8

Game of Thrones has mostly presented itself as a dark, gritty, politically focused fantasy, and it lives up to that reputation. “Hardhome” shows it well. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) proves himself an essential ally to Daenerys and her rule in Meereen.

The big event, though, is Jon Snow’s encounter with the Night King (Vladimír Furdík). It quickly turns the dark fantasy into something resembling a zombie movie, in the best way possible.

3. The Rains of Castamere (Season 3, Episode 9)

IMDb score: 9.9

Game of Thrones has plenty of devastating moments, but none puts dread in a viewer quite like “The Rains of Castamere.” Robb Stark (Richard Madden) attends the wedding of Roslin Frey (Alexandra Dowling) and Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies), alongside his family and closest allies. He apologizes to Walder Frey (David Bradley) for breaking his oath. He doesn’t know that his broken promise will lead to the bloodiest wedding in Thrones history, the Red Wedding.

When “The Rains of Castamere” first aired, it quickly became one of pop culture’s most tragic moments. For book fans, it marked the beginning of a new act. Viewers who hadn’t read the books felt the loss of Robb Stark, one of the show’s more empathetic and noble characters, all the more. What could possibly come next?

Years later, the Lannister theme song still leaves viewers with a pit in their stomachs when the first melancholic notes begin to play.

2. The Winds of Winter (Season 6, Episode 10)

IMDb score: 9.9

Bloodshed and trickery run wild in “The Winds of Winter.” Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) skips her trial before the Faith, where the Tyrells would be present. She schemes instead to eliminate her enemies and secure her place as ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, with disastrous consequences.

The episode is epic from start to finish. Several well-loved characters, including Margaery (Natalie Dormer) and Olenna (Diana Rigg) Tyrell, are snuffed out in mere seconds. Headey gives a masterclass, and her powerful presence as Cersei shows why the Lannister heiress is a force to be reckoned with.

1. Battle of the Bastards (Season 6, Episode 9)

IMDb score: 9.9

Game of Thrones has two types of episodes. Some are epic, show-stopping battles that make you wonder how much money went into making them look so good. Others are quieter but just as intense, driven by scheming, with allies and enemies switching faster than you can blink.

“Battle of the Bastards” is the first type. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) finally faces the despicable Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) on the snow-covered fields of Winterfell. Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) fights her own battle in Meereen, with dragonfire and corpses piling up as the minutes tick by. Brutal and mesmerizing in equal measure, it is one of the most action-packed episodes in Thrones history.

Source: Polygon