Actually, the Red Wedding Wasn't the Most Shocking 'Game of Thrones' Death

Game of Thrones fans’ relationship to the show was defined by the Red Wedding. That singular moment in "The Rains of Castamere" from season three instantly devastated viewers-especially the non-book fans who didn’t see it coming-and intrigued everyone else, helping the HBO fantasy series propel itself to the most talked-about program currently on TV.

But that was hardly a fluke. In the same vein of author George R.R. Martin’s source material, HBO's Game of Thrones has no qualms about extinguishing its most beloved (or otherwise) characters. As we approach the eighth and final season premiering April 14, in which many more heads are sure to quite literally roll, we’ve ranked the most rattling deaths we’ve seen so far.