Game of Thrones Battles Ranked 

Also about the battle of bastards, Rickon dying and no one even bothering to mention him afterwards is still hilarious

Calling Ygritte "Rose" multiple times is both funny and heartwarming.

Like with the Battle of Winterfell, how did plot armor protect THAT MANY main characters. Just a few well known characters died…smh

I can think of a really simple change that could make the Battle of the Bastards better. Instead of Sansa not telling anyone about the knights of the Vale, make it so that Jon and his army knows they’re coming and have them wait near Winterfell for the knights to arrive. When Ramsey learns that the knights are coming, he decides to surprise attack Jon’s army while he still has the upper hand and a bigger army. This fixes the battle on so many levels. Jon still gets to be the underdog, but his objective is to hold out long enough for the knights to arrive, making it less contrived when they do. It also makes Sansa look way better. Finally, it fixes the problem of Ramsey going out of Winterfell to battle, for some reason. In this version, he’d be doing it because he knows he has no chance when Jon’s army meets up with the knights of the Vale. He’s attacking while he has the advantage and element of surprise, but he’s making a rash, in character decision which will ultimately lead to his downfall. It still doesn’t fix the fact that the Knights of the Vale show up right on time to save the day, but I think you can excuse that more when the stuff surrounding it makes much more sense.

The Watchers is a 12/10 surrounded by a bunch of 6-8/10 battles. There’s no comparison except Blackwater.

The one thing I can't understand with Battle of the Bastards, is that there are mountains of bodies which don't correlate to the actual number of men who died both on Jon's and the Bolton's side. Seriously how are there that many bodies? Neither side had that many men!

Aside from the battles, what still gets me upset is the neglect of the dire wolves :( I’d love to see everyone’s good boy decked out in dragon glass armor

I know everyone loves "The Battle of the Basterds", but for me it's hard to look passed the logical erros. I mean the Boltons should outnumber Jon's forces by a lot but throughout the battle, it almost look as if the Wildlings have a numerical advantage. I mean it doesn't really feel like anyone died, seeing how there were still so many survivors when the Boltons created the Shield wall. Also, the many bodies that lay on the field are pretty unrealistic. It looks as if both sides suffered way too many casualties. I prefer when battles make sense from a tactical point of view. This is just two cavalries blindly clashing, with a melee afterwards.

"Where does the light come from? Same place the music does" - someone on the crew of The Lord of the Rings talking about night scene lighting - I think his name was Andrew

At the end of the Battle on the Wall when the nights watch has surrounded Tormund and Jon captures him instead of killing him and Tormund says “I should’ve thrown you from the top of the wall boy!!!” And Jon even though he won but in his heart he was defeated just says “aye, you should’ve” breaks my heart man. That battle was hands down the best one

If there's anything positive to gleam from GoT's complete failure towards the end, it's that we'll never run out of quality content from fans finding new reasons to complain about it even 4 years after it ended.

Hardhome has one flaw, how everyone behind the wall died immediately without any cause. The screaming stopping is similar to Dothraki torches snuffing out, visuals over writing.

24:28 Once again accidentally said Rose instead of Ygritte. The real-life dynamic is too strong XD

You forgot to mention the plot armor flaw with hardhome. The wights had so many opportunities to kill Jon, one of them could have easily run his spear through him after disarming him, but instead he hits and pushes him, even after that while Jon was down, he could have killed him but instead grabbed him with his hand and threw him. Also how did the giant escape? Ed

As far as the battles go: 3.) The Watchers on the Wall 2.) Hardhome 1.) The Blackwater Black water is number because of how badass it was to see Tywin declaring victory to Cersei. Easily one of the best moments in the whole show.

One thing i hate about Hardhome is that Karsi told Jon that he must go with them otherwise the Night's Watch are gonna disobey his orders and kill them, but Jon being Jon decided to stay and fight completely ignoring that Ser Alliser is more likely to do just that.

Jon having plot armor after he's revived could have made sense if he was Azor Ahai. I like the idea of him surviving more and more ridiculous scenarios as long as the people around him didn't also have plot armor and they actually had Jon end the long night

Its crazy to me that Jon left Sam while he was surrounded by wights, only for Sam to live anyway and then not contribute further to the story other than becoming Westeros' least qualified Grand Maester ever somehow

My favorite was Hardhome. It was the first episode in the series that made me actually feel a sense of intimidation by these white walkers. And that final scene in the end with the resurrection just made my heart sink. The only thing going through my head was just how screwed the living were.

What’s funny about Sansa not telling Jon is that she knew Rickon was there and still withheld it. She’s a major reason he died imo.

you know you're emotionally invested when you call a character by their actor's name 😂

I will never get tired of you dragging season 8

battle of blackwater for me 🔥

I love how you call Ygritte "Rose" while talking about The Watchers on the Wall lol

Battle of Blackwater stands out because it was written by the man himself, George RR Martin it has amazing dialogue too, Tyrion's speech, that dude being like "its gonna be suicidal, hundreds will die" and Stannis being like "thousands" and Tywin's badass entrance to the throne room

The Nights Watch + Wildlings is my favorite part of both the books and the show. It's this rather small scale war fought in a hellish environment, isolated from the rest of the world but it's also the most important one. Man...

One thing I like about the later seasons’ battles are the boots-on-ground POV. Jon walking around the battlefield during the Battle of the Bastards was really captivating

Hardhome is number 1 for me. It's my favorite episode in the whole show. Maybe because I get so much of my man, Tormund. Mmm I love that man.

Blackwater is my personal favorite (over Watchers), mostly because I care WAY more about Cersei, Tyrion, Sansa, the Hound, Bronn, Stannis, and Davos than I do about Jon, Pyp, Sam, Edd, Allister, Ygritte, and Tormund. Plus the characters at Blackwater get a lot of more to do emotionally than at the Wall

Blackwater has always been my favorite. The great action combined with strategy like the wildfire and the chains makes it a stand out

Lol Daemon getting hit by 3 arrows and still acting like the Black Knight in Holy Grail is 100% an example of egregious plot armor.

a big part of the battles for me was the dialogue that would happen during. watchers on the wall had that in spades. and i know there were plenty more dialogue moments from that episode that were deeper or more meaningful, but the moment when jon pulls longclaw from its sheath and yells “Come brothers, now! Fight with me!” is just ridiculously badass. Reminds me of the moment in hardhome when he makes the decision to go fight the walkers in order to buy more time for the people fleeing on the boats. He pauses and thinks for just a moment, then unsheathes longclaw (followed IMMEDIATELY by tormund drawing his own blade). He then yells “Night’s Watch! With me! Move! Move!” These moments aren’t as poetic or whatever as Ser Alliser’s speech before charging into battle, or Tyrion rallying the troops during Blackwater, but they have a very 300-esque badassery to them akin to Leonidas calling out “SPARTANS!! What is your profession??!”

Can we just ignore how Kings Landing is now in the middle of a desert one side? I thought it could only be taken by boat landing?

A very good analysis of the battles !!

Hardhome is my favorite tbh. It does such a good job setting up the white walkers as freaking gods (Jk a 14 year old girl can body them all in 10 seconds), is honestly terrifying, makes it seem like Jon is actually going to die, and really feels like a massacre. Love every bit

13:11 the thing is Jaime would never do that, that would break character.

I love the intro to this video (actually not joking, I love how you just dive right in!)

I'd love to see Pod the rod vs. ladies battle.

Great video! I like hearing you talk about more positive things as you get up the list. I'd want to put the Stepstones from HotD a bit higher, but idk if I could put the others below it... Also is there a reason you refer to Ygritte by her actor's name here?

I LOVE THESE VIDEOS WITHOUT INTRODUCTION, THANK YOU

The Battle for the wall has always been my favorite

My poor food was getting cold until you saved my morning with this upload. Thank you boss 💙🖤

I get people are down on Battle of the Bastards with the context of hindsight, but that battle, at least every time I’ve gotten to it, is THE best cathartic moment in the whole show. Yes, it’s dumb. Yes, Sansa should have told Jon. Yes, Ramsay shouldn’t have left the castle. But it’s incredibly well shot, well choreographed, and IMO perfectly completes Jon’s arc as the successor and avenger to Ned and Robb and the rest of the dead Starks. I love it, and aside from The Spoils of War in season 7, it’s the last great battle of the show.

I can’t imagine what the long night could have been if they wrote, paced, and shot it like Watchers on the Wall. It’s basically 2 battles perfectly woven into one another with all the heart, loss, and drama a battle of this magnitude SHOULD entail, all with a timeline that logically makes sense and works for every character involved

i love your choice of backround music, ac unity theme !!

I love how you use assassins creed unity theme for your background music ❤❤❤❤

Love the halo music in the background!

Watchers on the Wall was my favorite episode as well. Great episode from start to finish

Best lines of Season 7+8 lolll good luck Supercuts delight 😂😂😂 the disdain you must feel. Love your videos

Watchers on the Wall… “constant state of amazement” is a perfect description… it’s like watching a “TOOL” concert….

Nicely done video! Blackwater for me. It's the second ep I saw (after the Red Wedding) and it convinced me to then watch the whole series.

Great video bro!

You earned a thumbs up for the first 10 seconds alone

My only issue with watchers on the wall is that there are 100 black brothers at castle black, and the rate which we see them die on screen makes it seem like the battle should have lasted about 20 minutes and there should have been almost none left by the end. Yet, the battle apparently lasts hours and only 50 men die

The one problem I have with the Battle of Hardhome is the Other deciding to throw Jon around instead of just outright killing him. Other than that, it's a great scene. Agree with the Battle of the Bastards too. When I first watched it, I thought it was amazing, but with the benefit of hindsight the plot armour really damages it

I'm glad you chose the wall battle, that's mine as well. Unlike the Long Night, it actually had layers more akin to Helms Deep. Enemy tries to climb- gets hit by hanging archers and eventually scythed. They try a ram, gets burned, try a rear attack, nights watch counter. Get through the gate, sacrifice some men to hold it. There was always attacks and answers, not just dumbness being punished over and over. It felt like both sides were doing their utmost to win. Alliser giving Jon command, and them Jon making the decision to hand it off and fight showed his actual agency like he has in the books. He may not be the best fighter in the books, but this demonstrated his intelligence and leadership qualities well. So good

If they do the Battle Above the God’s Eye correctly it will undoubtedly be the best. By far the two most epic deaths in the GOT universe. I also am looking forward to the Battle of the Gullet

Great video!

Haven’t watched but came here to say that The Watchers on the Wall battle is the most epic cinematic battle in all GoT.

Ty for posting bro

The Dothraki in the Spoils of War terrifies me🤣

The main character vs main character duels really do a lot in these battle scenes

I've been re watching the show because I just finished reading the books again after reading them all in between seasons 1 & 2. I just finished the watchers on the wall episode and i remembered it being good when I watched it before but it really blew me away this time. So I wanted to see if there was a ranking of the battles and here we are. Someone else agrees that it is perfect. That one shot pan around the whole courtyard is beautiful. I did a rewind on that 4 times in a row just to see all the complex movements in that shot. Jon giving the key to Sam saying I need him more than I need you right now. Then Ghost getting released and just ripping out dudes throat. The reciting of the Night's Watch vows in the tunnel when facing down the giant is such a good moment as well. Also Ygritte's death is the most emotional death in the story IMO. It just hits you in the feels so hard. I remember when I read book 3 the first time I was in tears when I read "You know nothing Jon Snow."

Even with the criticisms of the Battle of the Bastards, the influence it had on cinema is undeniable. There was no other equivalent to the gritty, violent depiction of medieval combat aside from Braveheart which was 2 decades old at the time. They set a standard for medieval battles, its influences seen in The Last Duel, Outlaw King and The King

My favourite battle and overall episode is definitely the Watchers on the Wall, followed by Blackwater, I just can't overlook the flaws of the Battle of the Bastards to rank it higher than number 3

2:38 that perfectly sums up the last two seasons to me. They really fumbled the bag, man

I got to see Watchers on the Wall in an IMAX theater. It was freaking AMAZING

_That's_ how you do a video intro. I'm all for a bit of foreplay, but I appreciate brevity.

BOB is probably the greatest battle scene ever created. I get the nit picks but cinematically it’s a masterpiece

“The fire scenes weren’t done digitally” hm….are you telling me they just lit these extras on fire😂

The books go into great detail about how cold it is, every time the White Walkers are nearby. Earlier scenes in the show were most of the time able to portray that, like Hardhome, for example. Not the Battle of Winterfell though, and that was another huge problem to me. There is darkness, and there are smoke and fires, but it never feels... cold. Even in some of the shots shown in this video, the sky is in a dim but orange light, which doesn't exactly give off a feeling of cold. They don't feel like ice zombies anymore, just plain zombies. If anything, it was the opposite of what it should've been; it was either completely dark, or everything was lit by fires. It felt like they were fighting against creatures of fire.

Spoils of War makes me really hyped for whats to come in House of the Dragon

Upvote for The Mummy love 👍❤️ About the battle of blackwater, it was written from Sansa and Tyrion's perspective. That is why we see her and the queen.

The sheer size of the battle of the bastards ruins it for me. They go from talking about hundreds or thousands of men like it’s a lot and then cut to mountains of 10s if not 100s of dead bodies practically blotting out the sun for those on the ground which is honestly just absurd in every way imaginable and then John Snow being untouched by the arrows falling around him multiple times is just the cherry on top that makes this battle so hard to watch

A friend of mine was an extra in hardhome, we were watching episode 3 and someone was like "ugh when is winter gonna come" "Episode 8" my friend said"

Couldn't agree more with this list.

Bob peaked more for me but after a second watch I appreciate your number 1 selection

The Dothraki being sent to slaughter was unintentionally hilarious, they would never have been used so recklessly if that was a real battle. And they never have been in snow like that or faced any white walkers. They should’ve been used as a last resort once the lines had inevitably failed.

The only thing Jamie was ever afraid of was losing his family or his father's approval. He's been shown to be far too keen to die to run away, especially if he has a chance to succeed Dayne as the greatest hero of Westeros who slew a dragon with the tip of his lance.

They are historical examples that surprise attacks of Reinforcements turned the tide of battles drastically. One of the most important one was the Prussian Flank attack at Waterloo against Napoleons Army who believed them beaten..But Wellington knew that the Prussians were coming. He did not knew if they would arrive in time before the battle would be over. That Battle of the Badtards would have been more convincible with this example. The Stark Loyalists would have been also heroic to hold long enough against the superior numbers of Ramsay until the Knight of the Vale were coming

Top 3 is a tough one but i think I'd still say blackwater, hardhome and then watchers on the wall I love the direction in blackwater and think maybe i dont mind cerseis scenes in it as much Also probably wouldve put the long night higher, i felt the literal darkness was immersive though undercut by most every named character surviving i have my own headcanon of how it couldve ended which elevates it i guess idk Otherwise agreed with everything again engaging video nice reminder during this long winter of how great the show version once was Nice job 😁

The top 2 are pretty clear Some of the best battle scenes ever made from top to bottom Not only on TV

NO INTRODUCTION STRAIGHT TO THE POINT THANK YOUUU finally one person doing it right

Nice episode.

I completely disagree about the Cersei/Sanaa scenes in Blackwater. The dialogue and acting are spectacular. In the books, they serve as a perspective outside of the battle to show what those point of view characters were experiencing. That translated so well over to the screen. It helps tremendously with pacing, and it would have made no sense whatsoever to keep those parts out of the episode. I don’t know how anyone could watch those scenes and think that they’re superfluous.

So this isn’t just ranking the battles, your ranking your favorite battle plot points

Blackwater and Watchers on the Wall are my favorite episodes.

idk if it was intentional, but it made me laugh how you kept using the actress' name instead of Ygritte

The Watchers on the Wall is the 🐐 Greatest episode of the show, and in general one of the greatest episodes ever made. As well as being the best battle in GoT.

Wish we would’ve got a stark vs Lannister battle during season 2 or 3

I think Hardhomes got my number one spot just from the sheer shock and awe of seeing the full force of the Night King’s army 😮‍💨

I never comment, so I don’t have much to say. All I have to say is, every single thing you said is correct. Especially at the end with the Watchers on the Wall. 100% correct

I always loved The Spoils of War for actually showing good tactics. You see military logistics (wagon trains, soldiers marching who aren't immediately ready to fight and out of formation). You have a good reason for a large army to be ambushed -- Dany's army is entirely fast moving cavalry and dragons. You see improvised formations (shield walls), you see Dothraki trying to counter those formations (using bows, or dismounting behind the line to break up the formation), and archers focus-firing on a high priority target. The ending is dumb, but there's so much good stuff about that battle. #5 is probably still fine, I think I would've gone Top 3 with it though.

Yea spot on wit number 4. Fight choreography was amazing but the battle strategy made 0 sense and goes against everything that makes the show great.

Everytime i rewatch the show and get to the battle of castle black i always wonder how in the seven hells 100 men composed by elders, bakers and civilians, and almost no real knights, won against an army of +100k composed by wildings, giants and mammoths, that battle is just amazingly written

I love how Jaime sank 30 ft. in 2 ft. of water! 🤣

I think that in the battle of the bastards, the bodies appearing in only minutes was an intentional choice to show how quickly their poor strategies fell apart into chaos

Is that Halo's soundtrack I hear? Based. Great video.

I think Sansa not telling Jon about the knights of the vale is a good move. Jon would insist to wait for them and don't fight with worse odds, but Ramsey always has the option to just run back to Winterfell if he sees the heavy armoured cavalry. They would never get him out from there. Worst case scenario she sacrafice wildlings, thieves and rapists(nights watch) and a half brother

goat posted again