9 Times 'Game of Thrones' Messed Us Up for Life
WARNING: Spoilers ahead! HBO’s “Game of Thrones” might compel millions of viewers to tune in each week, but it’s not exactly the most pleasant TV experience. The show is filled with torture, violence, and ice zombies. Here are nine times our favorite show was pure nightmare fuel.
The White Walker Girl (Season 1)
The very first episode of “Game of Thrones” gave us a taste of the White Walkers and the threat they pose. There’s something intensely creepy about seeing a young girl devouring human flesh and sending grown, armed men fleeing in terror.
The Shadow Baby (Season 2)
How can one woman defeat a massive army on her own? If you’re the mysterious witch Melisandre, all you have to do is weave a little magic (courtesy of the Lord of Light) and give birth to a shadow demon that feasts on the blood of kings like its Gerber. This easily qualifies as one of the most unsettling scenes of childbirth in the history of ever. Now, if you'll excuse us... *rocks back and forth under the shower
Joffrey’s Death Rattle (Season 4)
This episode offered one of those rare situations on this show where a character got exactly the death they deserved. But as much as we had grown to despise the spoiled, vindictive Joffrey, it was still hard to watch as King Asshat slowly spasmed and turned purple before finally heaving his last, tortured breath. RIP. Ish.
The Battle of Hardhome (Season 5)
This battle features several moments full of weapons-grade Nooooooope. The defining moment, though, is when Jon Snow and his comrades fought a losing battle to save a Wildling village from an army of White Walkers. As epic as this sequence was, it ended on a profoundly depressing note. This episode closed with Jon having a "Come at me, bro!" staring contest with the Night’s King, a silent enemy who merely waved his arms and converted the scores of dead men, women and children into new members of his undead army. How is anyone supposed to beat an enemy like that?
That Baby Sacrifice (Season 4)
As much as we love this show, the people that come up with this stuff are just a tad on the eff'd up side. In a show full of heinous villains, the hermit Craster is among the very worst. Incest and rape are just two of his many crimes. But perhaps worst of all is his habit of sacrificing his infant sons to the White Walkers -- in exchange for continued survival beyond the wall. What a chilling scene and horrible fate.
Arya Loses Her Sight (Season 5)
Arya made the mistake of offending the Many-Faced God by stealing a face from the House of Black and White and assassinating Ser Meryn Trant. She learned the hard way that there are always consequences to every action when she was struck blind and left with scary, can't-watch, cloudy eyes.
RIP, Oberyn (Season 4)
We took quite a liking to the valiant, charismatic Oberyn Martell over the course of Season 4, which in hindsight should have made it obvious that he was destined for a terrible fate. And by "terrible fate," we mean having the Mountain and his banana fingers turning Oberyn's head into Sloppy Joe.
The Death of Shireen (Season 5)
For a while, it seemed as though Stannis Baratheon might be the one to untie the Seven Kingdoms and save Westeros from itself. But Stannis’ arc of redemption came to a screeching (and burning) halt in the penultimate chapter of Season 5, as he reluctantly agreed to burn his daughter Shireen at the stake in order to appease the Lord of Light. We’re not sure which haunts us more, Shirreen’s tortured screams or the sight of her mother breaking down as she realizes what a horrible mistake she’s made.
The Red Wedding (Season 3)
You were expecting something else? We wish there was something less disturbing and so full of wrong that the series' most infamous murder death kill. Thanks to this episode, we’ll forever be on our guard when we attend weddings. Aaaaand now we return to rocking back and forth under the shower.
