History Awesome / GameOfThrones

** Additionally, it's hard not to take some satisfaction in Randyll's death due to how incredibly abusive he was towards Sam. FridgeBrilliance sets in when you realize that Randyll's [[RatedMForManly obsession]] [[HonorBeforeReason with]] [[TestosteronePoisoning manhood]] directly causes his own death -- as his pride and refusal to bend the knee gets him roasted alive for his troubles, while Sam has a loving wife, an heir, a Maester's knowledge, and his ancestral sword. LaserGuidedKarma at its finest.

* Arya is almost stabbed by Joffrey, chased down by soldiers and then dragged before the entire court and royal family. How does she respond? Repeatedly declares that Joffrey was the one who hurt Mycah and refuses to back down. Given how feared Cersei and Joffrey are, and that both Ned and Sansa fail to stand up to the royal family, it really shows you how gutsy this little eleven year old girl is.

* The Sons of the Harpy are killing people by the gates of the city... only to look up and realize that [[http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/c/d/y/a/4/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.1cdxgr.png/1466447492414.jpg the entire Dothraki horde]] is [[OhCrap bearing down on them]]. The fight between [[LightNovel/FateZero Riders and Assassins]] goes about as quickly as you would expect.

* [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething King]] [[TheStrategist Stannis]] [[WarriorPrince Baratheon]] [[TheLeader personally leads his army in the Battle of Blackwater]] [[ColonelBadass on foot]], with [[AuthorityEqualsAssKicking himself in the vanguard]], conspicuously without a [[HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic helmet]] or [[ShieldsAreUseless shield]], [[RainOfArrows straight through a hail of]] [[ArrowsOnFire flaming arrows]], and [[FourStarBadass manages to reach the wall on the far side of the landing zone well enough to take part in the siege at close proximity]].

You don't get to become HBO's most popular show ever by not being one powerful series. Here are the moments that show just why.

** This is capped off by Theon going to the water and throwing the salt water into his wounds as a reference to Greyjoy customs. [[ArcWords What is dead may never die!]]

* With his army burning in ruin and being ran down by the Dothraki, what does Jaime do when he sees an opportunity to strike at Daenerys? He does what any KnightInShiningArmor would be expected to do: have a go at the enemy commander, [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing their life if needed]], all for the chance to end the war then and there. As Stannis once said, Jaime was many terrible things... but [[VillainousValor the man was still a knight.]]

** The next morning, as [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic the music swells]], Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, Mother of Dragons, rises naked from the ashes of her husband's funeral pyre, the first three dragons to be seen in generations curled around her in a manner reminiscent of [[http://www.paintinghere.com/uploadpic/Sandro%20Botticelli/big/The%20Birth%20of%20Venus.jpg Botticelli's "Birth of Venus".]] Ser Jorah and what remains of her Khalasar fall to their knees in awe and reverence. Cut to black.

* Confronted by Dany's accusations of his record of ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, Varys demonstrates a highly insightful defense of his actions that suggests even ChronicBackstabbingDisorder can be a heroic act:

* Randyll Tarly reveals his dry wit when he delivers a cold TakeThat to the now disreputable House Lannister.

* Completely upsetting everybody's predictions, InUniverse and out, that the dragons would make overthrowing Cersei effortless, Qyburn comes up with the ultimate anti-dragon weapon: the humble ballista. It's powerful enough that a single shot is shown cleaving deep into the skull of Balerion the Dread, the biggest dragon that ever terrorized Westeros, and yet it's a cheap, simple weapon that Cersei can produce by the hundreds -- in contrast to Daenerys' dragons, which are only three and completely irreplaceable. The Mad Queen of the Lannisters isn't out of the game just yet...

* Euron proving to be quite a threat using his fleet to crush Yara's, leading his own men into battle with an awesome and brutal-looking battleaxe and recovering a bit of the Ironborn's pride. This scene just goes miles to showcase how AxCrazy Euron is and he does a BRILLIANT job of it. From having an entrance that the WWE would do well to take lessons from, to killing two of the [[TheScrappy Sand Snakes]] with their own weapons complete with a face that screams terror and awesome. This whole scene was just one big SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for Euron Greyjoy who was considered more of a SmugSnake with more bark than bite.

* After six seasons of it being an InformedAbility, we ''finally'' get to see the Ironborn's prowess in seafaring combat, and they're rather good at it.

* Not for nothing, Euron reminds us that Jaime was once one of the greatest warriors alive when the Siege of Pyke is brought up.

** None of the lords attempt to sass the child, even though the age difference is large -- she's Lady of her house and they treat her as such. It's that Northern honor and respect -- and the fact that she's proven many times, anyone who doesn't is gonna have a bad day.

** She gets karmic justice (by killing all the Freys in the same hall where the Red Wedding was done, by inviting all of her enemies to a feast, just like Walder himself did), spares an innocent from her vengeance, and spreads a legend for herself within literally the ''first five minutes'' of the new season. By mid-episode, Cersei doesn't know that it's Arya, but knows that ''some'' phantom out there took out the whole damn Frey family at once and is ''very'' concerned.

''['''''[[ArmorPiercingSlap SLAP]]''''']''\\

* Arya's WeaponOfChoice are two weapons given to her by two of her brothers -- she was given her CoolSword Needle by Jon and receives her Valyrian steel dagger from Bran.

--->'''Arya:''' ''[to Kitty Frey]'' When people ask you what happened here... Tell them [[{{Catchphrase}} the North remembers]]. Tell them [[KillEmAll Winter came for House Frey]].

* As tragic and terrifying as it may be for [[ThenLetMeBeEvil Dany]] to finally be JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope after all her attempts not to be like her father, her and Drogon utterly [[ApocalypseWow laying waste to King's Landing is a spectacle to behold]], finally showing Cersei that, had Dany not tried so hard to do the opposite in the past, Cersei would have been annihilated within mere minutes. Seeing everything Cersei had worked to maintain under her control, everything she holds dear, all ripped away callously from her by a younger and more beautiful woman is pretty awe-inspiring -- the prophecy has finally come to pass, although admittedly in a far more [[KillEmAll nightmarish]] way than one might imagine.

** Also the reactions of the rest of the Small Council are impressive: Pycelle looks mortified, Varys smirks softly to himself ([[EvenEvilHasStandards having already voiced his own objections]] to Joffrey's plan to humiliate Sansa further) while Tyrion is [[PassThePopcorn gleefully watching]] to see which of the two relations he hates most will triumph over the other.

** Just the genius behind it all is what really sells the entire ploy; Tyrion told 3 different people he was going to marry off Mycelle to three different people...''but when Cersei confronted him over marrying her off to'' '''''Dorne''''', which Tyrion told specifically to Pycelle, he ''knew'' who the traitor was and who couldn't be trusted. [[TitleDrop The Game Of Thrones]] [[MeaningfulName indeed]].

* Rodrick giving Theon a ruthless {{The Reason You Suck Speech}} and spitting in his face, likely knowing he'll be killed for it.
** Theon's execution of him is a meta-example -- Alfie Allen's acting is just brilliant in that scene.
** Rodrick managing to reverse some of the tragedy with a heartwarming ObiWanMoment "Hush now, child. I'm off to see your father."

* Tyrion thinks that Cersei has captured Shae and is aghast and panic stricken -- and then the guards drag in Ros. Tyrion does not let his guard fall to show his immense relief for even a ''second,'' continuing to play the game and utterly dupe Cersei. There's a meta moment worked in as well, because this scene is a complete ''masterpiece'' of acting on Creator/PeterDinklage's part.

** Despite Gilly's protests that Sam would get killed, he survives the battle and returns to her as promised. Meta-wise, he managed to avert TemptingFate in the series that has become ''the'' poster child for AnyoneCanDie.

** Meta example, this is the episode where we ''finally'' get to see what Ser Barristan is capable of. Remember that other awesome scene he got, back in Season 1, where he claimed he could carve through any five of Westeros's greatest knights "like cake?" ''He wasn't lying.'' Barristan Selmy killed over a dozen armed men, who were all coming at him at once, in under a minute. Gods know what he could do in his prime. Sadly, it's the only time we'll ever see him in action.

* Olenna's threats to Littlefinger aren't bad either. Finally Lord Baelish got himself a co-conspirator who isn't stupid enough to trust him. Partially meta, since the showrunners' warnings about several cases of DeathByAdaptation this season plus the pre-released pics of the two of them alone in his house made many fans fear for her life. Don't worry, this CoolOldLady seems fine...

* On a meta-level, after a string of controversial episodes, this episode is the first of Season 5 to be universally praised by both fans and critics alike. As of June 2016, it's scored 9.9/10 of over 50000 votes on [=IMDb=]. IGN and AV Club critics also gave it the highest score, 10/10 and A respectively.

** From a meta perspective, the choreography could be a [=PhD=] thesis. A participant with two swords, and a five vs two fight melting into a five vs one that manages to make Arthur Dayne look like a god without making any of the attackers look useless. Neither of those things are easy to choreograph, and in spite of that the fight is incredible.

** It also moves to a meta level, as the episode's director has said the part he's proudest of isn't any of his amazing achievements during the battle scenes, but the very simple shot of Sansa starting to walk away as the hounds get going, but then deciding to stay and watch a bit.

** It's also much more deserved, since Tyene was complicit in the plot to kill Myrcella.
** Also awesome on the meta level. Considering that Ellaria's actions were totally driven by petty spite, this scene is one of the ''very'' rare moments in which viewers are likely to agree that Cersei is answering a legitimate grievance with an appropriate response.

** The Dothraki crest the horizon resembling nothing so much as the Hun army's charge in ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', a vast horde of light cavalry charging, weapons drawn and screaming, towards blood and glory. And then you see them standing at their saddles and fire arrows while riding (The awesome of this is also doubled when you read the related item on "Meta" below). One can hardly blame the Lannister men for trembling in their boots as they prepare to meet the wave.

** From a meta perspective, many fans assumed that Jon or Dany would be the one to kill the Night King. Nope, turns out it was Arya all along. Bonus points if this makes her [[TheChosenOne The Prince or Princess that was Promised.]]

* Euron proving to be quite a threat using his fleet to crush Yara's, leading his own men into battle with [[AnAxToGrind an awesome and brutal-looking battleaxe]] and recovering a bit of the Ironborn's pride. This scene just goes miles to showcase how AxCrazy Euron is and he does a BRILLIANT job of it. From having an entrance that the WWE would do well to take lessons from, to killing two of the [[TheScrappy Sand Snakes]] with their own weapons complete with a face that screams terror and awesome. This whole scene was just one big SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome for Euron Greyjoy who was considered more of a SmugSnake with more bark than bite.

* Things are looking bad for Jon Snow. His army is surrounded by a wall of corpses and infantry on one side, and shields and pikes on the other three. Then Sansa arrives, with Littlefinger and the [[TheCavalry Knights of The Vale]], and Ramsay is quickly routed.

--->"I'd hate to die like your son--clawing at my neck, foam and bile spilling from my mouth, eyes blood red, skin purple. It must have been horrible for you, as a Kingsguard, as a father. It was horrible enough for me. A shocking scene. Not at all what I intended. You see, I'd never seen the poison work before. ''(Beat)'' Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was ''me."''

* Catelyn pulling a knife on Littlefinger. What makes this scene great is the fact that one of Littlefinger's motivations for betraying Ned was so he would have a chance to woo Catelyn. This scene, however, makes it very clear to that MagnificentBastard that his beloved Cat now knows just [[ManipulativeBastard what kind of man he is]] and hates his guts for betraying her husband. In that moment it is made clear to him that he absolutely will not have his way in this regard, in spite of all of his manipulations.

* The Red Wedding. The way the scene plays out is so brilliant and disturbing, made more so by the music, the acting of every single cast member, and the evil death stare of Walder Frey. Also, the fact that the scene is something of a legend and is pretty much the scene that everybody was waiting for. It did not disappoint. Despite its Tearjerker and NightmareFuel content, the Red Wedding could be argued as a crowning moment for Tywin Lannister. Arguably one of his greatest and most brutally cunning plans to end the Stark campaign in ''one night'', without even having to battle them. Just another indicator of his {{Magnificent Bastard}}ry.

** The Dothraki crest the horizon resembling nothing so much as the Hun army's charge in ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', a vast horde of light cavalry charging, weapons drawn and screaming, towards blood and glory. [[UpToEleven And then you see them standing at their saddles and fire arrows while riding]] (The awesome of this is also doubled when you read the related item on "Meta" below). One can hardly blame the Lannister men for trembling in their boots as they prepare to meet the wave.