What do you think is the series' greatest moment? *Spoilers throughout*

adhesive · 4 months

"Is there gold in the village?" She shouted as she drove the blade up through his back. "Is there silver? Gems?" She stabbed twice more. "Is there food? Where is Lord Beric?" She was on top of him by then, still stabbing. "Where did he go? How many men were with him? How many knights? How many bowmen? How many, how many, how many, how many, how many, how many? ...is there gold in the village?"

MeadowlarkLevin · 4 months

"The Wall will stop them," Jon heard himself say. He turned and said it again, louder. "The Wall will stop them. The Wall defends itself." Hollow words, but he needed to say them, almost as much as his brothers needed to hear them. "Mance wants to unman us with his numbers. Does he think we're stupid?" He was shouting now, his leg forgotten, and every man was listening. "The chariots, the horsemen, all those fools on foot . . . what are they going to do to us up here? Any of you ever see a mammoth climb a wall?" He laughed, and Pyp and Owen and half a dozen more laughed with him. "They're nothing, they're less use than our straw brothers here, they can't reach us, they can't hurt us, and they don't frighten us, do they?"

"NO!" Grenn shouted.

"They're down there and we're up here," Jon said, "and so long as we hold the gate they cannot pass. They cannot pass!" They were all shouting then, roaring his own words back at him, waving swords and longbows in the air as their cheeks flushed red. Jon saw Kegs standing there with a warhorn slung beneath his arm. "Brother," he told him, "sound for battle. "

OWylde · 4 months

"The North Remembers!"

When Doran Martell reveals his plans: ""Vengeance. Justice. Fire and blood.""

runT1ME · 4 months

When Jaime in a fevered haze tells Brienne the truth about killing Aerys and that he ended up saving the entirety of Kings Landing from being incinerated.

Let Robert be King of charred bones and cooked meat. Let him be King of Ash...

thisbusisempty · 4 months

The entire red wedding, but the thing that made me freak out the most was the end of the chapter with the Hound and Arya, and Arya takes the axe blow to her head. I was convinced she was dead too and started freaking out.

Also, when you find out Drogon's eating people. The way that was presented made a chill run down my spine.

MeadowlarkLevin · 4 months

"There sits the only king I mean to bow my knee to, m'lords," he thundered. "The King in the North!"

...

"The King in the North!"

"THE KING IN THE NORTH!"

QuickDickDean · 4 months

It's hard for me to pick the greatest moments but I'll pick some of my favorites that haven't been mentioned yet.

Tyrion fucking shit up in the Blackwater
Syrio Forel fucking up armed and arnored knights with a practice sword
Victarion fucking up Ser Talbert Serry of Southshield

ClearandSweet · 4 months

His eyes opened.

"You remember where the heart is?" he asked in a hoarse whisper. As still as stone she stood.

"I... I was only..."

"Don't lie," he growled. "I hate lies. I hate gutless frauds even worse. Go on. Do it."

When Arya did not move, he said "I killed your butcher's boy. I cut him near in half. And laughed about it after." He made a queer sound and it took her a moment to realize he was sobbing.

"And the little bird, your pretty sister. I stood there in my white cloak and let them beat her. I took the bloody song. She never gave it. I meant to take her too. I should have. I should have plucked her bloody and ripped her heart out before leaving her for that dwarf."

A spasm of pain twisted his face. "Do you mean to make me beg, bitch? Do it. The gift of mercy. Avenge your little Micheal."

"Micha." Arya stepped away from him. "You don't deserve the gift of mercy."

The Hound watched her saddle Craven through eyes white with fever. Not once did he attempt to rise and stop her, but once she mounted, he said, "A real wolf would finish a wounded animal."

Maybe a real wolf will find you, Arya thought. Maybe they'll smell you when the sun goes down. Then he would learn what wolves did to dogs.

"You shouldn't have hit me with that axe," she said. "You should've saved my mother."

She turned her horse and rode away from him, and never looked back once.

antis7ar · 4 months

As a few people have mentioned, Cersei's imprisonment. But what REALLY did it for me was Jaime burning her letter. I was literally jumping with joy after I read that.

sevj · 4 months

Jaime's final chapter in ASOS:

Jaime sat alone at the table while the shadows crept across the room. As dusk began to settle, he lit a candle and opened the White Book to his own page. Quill and ink he found in a drawer. Beneath the last line Ser Barristan had entered, he wrote in an awkward hand that might have done credit to a six-year-old being taught his first letters by a maester:

Defeated in the Whispering Wood by the Young Wolf Robb Stark during the War of the Five Kings. Held captive at Riverrun and ransomed for a promise unfulfilled. Captured again by the Brave Companions, and maimed at the word of Vargo Hoat their captain, losing his sword hand to the blade of Zollo the Fat. Returned safely to King’s Landing by Brienne, the Maid of Tarth.

When he was done, more than three-quarters of his page still remained to be filled between the gold lion on the crimson shield on top and the blank white shield at the bottom. Ser Gerold Hightower had begun his history, and Ser Barristan Selmy had continued it, but the rest Jaime Lannister would need to write for himself. He could write whatever he chose, henceforth.

Whatever he chose...

tulkas42 · 4 months

The discussion on the difference between broken men and outlaws between the septon and Brienne. I thought that it was a subtle but powerful conversation.

discsid · 4 months

Ser Barristan heard a door open, somewhere to his left. He turned in time to see Khrazz emerge from behind a tapestry. He moved slowly, still groggy from sleep, but his weapon of choice was in his hand: a Dothraki arakh, long and curved. A slasher’s sword, made to deliver deep, slicing cuts from horseback. A murderous blade against half-naked foes, in the pit or on the battlefield. But here at close quarters, the arakh’s length would tell against it, and Barristan Selmy was clad in plate and mail.

“I am here for Hizdahr,” the knight said. “Throw down your steel and stand aside, and no harm need come to you.”

Khrazz laughed. “Old man. I will eat your heart.” The two men were of a height, but Khrazz was two stone heavier and forty years younger, with pale skin, dead eyes, and a crest of bristly red-black hair that ran from his brow to the base of his neck.

“Then come,” said Barristan the Bold. Khrazz came.

I loved virtually every scene mentioned here, but this passage was magnificent.

zchill · 4 months

Dany using her newly purchased Unsullied to retake her dragon.

c3judge · 4 months

Lysa and the Moon door!

Joffrey's Wedding

jhudsui · 4 months

"Is there gold in the village?"

kami71 · 4 months

For me it has to be when Davos came before the Manderly court. At this point I was very invested in the Starks. Holding on as a house on a thin strand of hair, I felt as everybody is against them. That everyone had abandoned them. Thats the atmoshpere that was in Westeros at that time too as I understood, and as I recall.

But then the girl started to speak. About how much they are in debt to the Starks, how they helped them and so on... That entire amazing and beautiful god damn speech.. And I went "Fuck Yeah!". And I shed a little tear of joy. Someone remembers!!! One of the greatest moments I've ever read in a book.

But then it became even more great when Manderly talked to Davos in private!!! But that's another story point.. And there are many more great moments. But the one above is the one I want every reader to experience.

frozentedwilliams · 4 months

"Jaime Lannister sends his regards."

staplerdude · 4 months

The very end of the Theon chapter where he reveals that he had only killed the Miller's boys.

robototo · 4 months

I cheered when Stan the man turned up at the wall - "Stannis, Stannis, STANNIS!"

radiochanges · 4 months

The Red Wedding.

Oberyn and Gregor Clegane duel.

From the Tower of the Hand website recap, A Storm of Swords, Daenerys IV: "On the third day, the gates open and freed slaves begin pouring out. She has Missandei tell them to whom they owe their freedom as they walk by, and they begin to shout "mother" in many different languages. Soon she is being swarmed by freed slaves. She spurs Silver forward and rides among them as they touch her and call out to her."

From A Clash of Kings, Sansa VII: "Suddenly, a figure comes out of the shadows and grabs her; it is Sandor. He is more drunk than ever. He tells Sansa that he is leaving the city, but first he wants the song he was promised. He tells Sansa he could keep her safe so that no one would hurt her anymore. She refuses to look at his face, and he pulls a knife and tells her to sing or die. The only song she can think of is a hymn to the Mother, which she sings. Sandor begins to weep, rips off his white cloak, and leaves."

Bran discovering his abilities in ADWD, flying through past events.

The third horn, Others in ASOS.

tekn04 · 4 months

I can't believe no one's mentioned Tyrion killing Tywin yet.

classicredditaccount · 4 months

When Davos frees Robert's bastard and defends himself to Stannis by reading the letter from the wall. Powerful fucking scene.

OryBallenger · 4 months

I can't believe no one's said it yet: Dany taming Drogon in the fighting pits. The Valyrians needed powerful magic to tame dragons, and Dany did it with a whip and her maniacal laughter.

Close second: Genna Lannister talking with Jaime. "...but Tyrion is Tywin's son, not you. I said so once to your father's face, and he would not speak to me for half a year." Truer words have yet to be said in this series.

NotHosaniMubarak · 4 months

Drogos golden crown for Visereys.

delta4cain · 4 months

Jon - Janos Slynt.

Horn blows - Three times.

Red wedding could have been epic for me but some dumbass over at /r/got spoiled it for me :( .

Even then I didn't know the details, so out of curiosity I googled it to take a peek. And it was right there in the brief description of first search result. I facepalmed so hard, I nearly broke my nose.

jms9810 · 4 months

the battle of the Blackwater

impshakes · 4 months

This is just such an excellent thread to read, remembering all these great moments. What an amazing series of books.

Thanks for getting the thread going.

zaqr · 4 months

A lot of mine was posted already but I'll add another one

The captain was turning away when she said, "What ship is this, my lord?"

He paused long enough to give her a weary smile. "This is the galleas Titan's Daughter, of the Free City of Braavos."

"Wait," Arya said suddenly. "I have something else." She had stuffed it down inside her smallclothes to keep it safe, so she had to dig deep to find it, while the oarsmen laughed and the captain lingered with obvious impatience. "One more silver will make no difference, child." he finally said.

"It's not silver." Her fingers closed on it. "It's iron. Here." She pressed it into his hand, the small black iron coin that Jaqen H'ghar had given her, so worn the man whose head it bore had no features. It's probably worth less, but...

The captain turned it over and blinked at it, then looked at her again. "This... how...?"

Jaqen said to say the words too. Arya crossed her arms against her chest. "Valar morghulis," she said, as loud as if she'd known what it meant.

"Valar dohaeris," he replied, touching his brow with two fingers. "Of course you shall have a cabin."

admittedly not as fist-pumping inducing moment as king in the north, wall defense, dracarys! dracarys!, etc nor as shocking as the various deaths, but very very satisfying

Prometheus_Songbird · 4 months

podrick payne yelling "halfman!"at the battle of blackwater. i wish pod would make it through the series relatively unscathed.

le_canuck · 4 months

Littlefinger let Lysa sob against his chest for a moment, then put his hands on her arms and kissed her lightly.

“My sweet silly jealous wife,” he said, chuckling. “I’ve only loved one woman, I promise you.”

Lysa Arryn smiled tremulously. “Only one? Oh, Petyr, do you swear it? Only one?”

“Only Cat.” He gave her a short, sharp shove.

This was the perfect moment for me. We realized without any doubt what a huge player in the Game of Thrones that Baelish was. He started the War of the Five Kings, essentially.

packyc · 4 months

Oh, he thought. Then he began to scream.

lawanhawizy · 4 months

The Hound's duel with Lord Beric Dondarrion.

Still gutted that the Hound is dead.

AZRugger · 4 months

Gotta go with the Red Wedding. It's the single point in any book that has caused me to throw what I'm reading.

timeistickingaway · 4 months

Danny conquering Astapor, not even a contest in my eyes. It sums up everything I like about her; her motherly instincts towards her people (not willing to give up her dragon), her hatred of slavery after what she endured from Viserys (freeing the city), her intelligence (tricking the slaver) and her badassery (self explanatory).

It also shows her naivety and that she's still a child, she frees the city and expects it to stay free. Danny thinks that because she became free and that she was a better/stronger person because of the ordeal, the slaves would react the same way.

pringle444 · 4 months

The shadow of a wing falling over the arena, silence falling, and everyone as one person looking up. Gave me chills.

MsgGodzilla · 4 months

Oberyn Martell vs Gregor Clegane.

Made me rage so hard. Red Wedding has nothing on that fight.

Also the three horn blows on the first of the first men.

owned2260 · 4 months

As his men died around him, Littlefinger slid Ned's dagger from it's sheath and shoved it up under his chin "I did warn you, not to trust me, you know"

SillyBilly2 · 4 months

Victarion coming out of the cabin with Moqorro and a bloody charred arm and saying, cut that dudes throat and throw him to the drowned god. theres a billion other moments I could say are the best but for some reason this one just got me so goddam stoked.

moonmeh · 4 months

Horn blowing 3 times.

Not so epic but I admit I got a kick out of the new Septon going no at Cersei.

Riskybeans · 4 months

Tower of Joy flashback.

Eunomiac · 4 months

The end of aFfC, where Doran Martell is revealed to be a patient schemer instead of a lazy fool (... not that aDwD undoes this or anything): "Vengeance. Justice. Fire and Blood."

My favorite piece of prose in the series is the last line of aCoK's prologue, after Maester Cressen fails to assassinate Melisandre: ".... the candlelight still gleaming in her red red eyes."

Something about those two comma-free "red"s gets me every time.

joshuaes · 4 months

Nobody ever mentions this one, but it's my favorite Tyrion tidbit.

From Jaime ASOS:

When she reminisced to Jaime about his father Tywin and felt less protected with him gone, Jaime tried to reassure her that Tywin had left a son, her aunt replied she knew that and that was what scared her the most. When Jaime asked why her reply was...

..."Jaime, sweetling, I have known you since you were a babe at Joanna's breast. You smile like Gerion and fight like Tyg and there's some of Kevan in you, else you would not wear that cloak...but Tyrion is Tywin's son, not you. I said so once to your father's face, and he would not speak to me for half a year."

swoshromp · 4 months

Many favorite moments have been mentioned but I haven't seen this one.

Epilogue of ADwD when Varys killed Ser Kevan Lannister which will cause the Kingdom to go into a downward spiral.

I flipped out and just took a deep breath, and closed the book after finishing the book. WoW is hopefully going to be amazing.

hoagie888 · 4 months

“They say I’m half a man,” he said. “What does that make the lot of you?”

That shamed them well enough. A knight mounted, helmetless, and rode to join the others. A pair of sellswords followed. Then more. The King’s Gate shuddered again. In a few moments the size of Tyrion’s command had doubled. He had them trapped. If I fight, they must do the same, or they are less than dwarfs.

“You won’t hear me shout out Joffrey’s name,” he told them. “You won’t hear me yell for Casterly Rock either. This is your city Stannis means to sack, and that’s your gate he’s bringing down. So come with me and kill the son of a bitch!” Tyrion unsheathed his axe, wheeled the stallion around, and trotted toward the sally port. He thought they were following, but never dared to look.

DidntClickGuy · 4 months

Tyrion was dimly aware of a maester asking if he was injured. He pushed his way across the yard to where his nephew stood, his dung-encrusted crown askew. "Traitors," Joffrey was babbling excitedly, "I'll have all their heads, I'll-"

The dwarf slapped his flushed face so hard the crown flew from Joffrey's head. Then he shoved him with both hands and knocked him sprawling. "You blind bloody fool."

"They were traitors," Joffrey squealed from the ground. "They called me names and attacked me!"

"You set your dog on them! What did you imagine they would do, bend the knee meekly while the Hound lopped off some limbs? You spoiled witless little boy, you've killed Clegane and gods know how many more, and yet you come through unscratched. Damn you!" And he kicked him. It felt so good he might have done more, but Ser Mandon Moore pulled him off as Joffrey howled, and then Bronn was there to take him in hand.

imbeingkidnapped · 4 months

These are just my personal favorites, which mainly made me go "OH SHIT NO THEY DIDN'T!": Jaime in the bear pit. Sansa building a snow replica of Winterfell in the Vale (SO touching and well done). Dany sending her dragons and Unsullied on the slavers in Astapor. Tyrion's meltdown following Jaime's confession about Tysha. Lady Stoneheart's first appearance. Jaime tossing Cersei's letter in the fire (can you tell I freaking love Jaime Lannister?). Barristan opening a can of whoopass on Krazz.

groverXIII · 4 months

Ned's execution and the Red Wedding are the two that jump out at me. I also loved Tyrion killing Tywin. And Arya receiving the ugly girl's face was a moment that I reread several times because it kinda blew my mind.

soilisav · 4 months

Jaime getting Tom to sing "The Rains of Castamere" to Edmure Tully.

Drewman43 · 4 months

Most of the ones I think are the greatest have already been mentioned (ASOS epilogue, "The north remembers" etc) but one that always got me was Davos' first chapter from ASOS when one of Salladhor Saans ships show up.

"Stannis" He shouted back at the Lyseni, "gods be good I serve King Stannis"."Aye" said the man in the boat "and so do we."

Also Sansa chapter where she's explaining her treatment from Joffrey to the Queen of Thorns.

Gazzam · 4 months

Jon Getting Stabbed I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING!!!!!!!

hotliquortank · 4 months

The attempted assassination of Bran.
The birth of Dany's dragons.
Arya slitting the throat of that guard as they escape from Harrenhal (it was Harrenhall right?)
Tyrion killing Tywin.
Theon-turned-Reek's introduction.

gbacardi · 4 months

Not reading anything because I have put DWD on hold about halfway through for the sake of school/friends/etc. but wanted to say my pick for greatest moment is Stannis coming to save the wall. I did a lame "whoop whoop" whilst reading.

frostflowers · 4 months

"We never found the Horn of Winter to bring this cold thing down" - Ygritte, on the apparent failure of Mance's quest for Joramun's horn.

At least I remember her saying that - I could be misquoting. But that bit, where the desperation of the wildings becomes clear, and then the subsequent defence of the wall by Jon and the Watch and the people of Mole's Town... Yeah. One of my favourite sequences in the books.

There's something about the Wall and the Others and the wildings that really gets to me. I'm not sure I like how they handled the situation in ADWD, but I'm eager to see where we go from there.

lostonrails · 4 months

Dany's vision: "He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire." Every time I read ACoK, I stare at that line. It's what the series is about, after all, and I feel like it has so many answers hidden behind it.

1mfa0 · 4 months

Gotta go with the Barristan reveal

HippyGeek · 4 months

Dany Hatching the Dragons

Red Wedding

Tyrion's Chain

Lyssa ---> Moon Door

Arya's coin kill.

Theon's taking of Winterfell

Aemon's Lineage revelation

Cercei's imprisonment

I_Said · 4 months

I'm with OP. Oberyn Martell vs Gregor.

Breadmanjiro · 4 months

Red Wedding. No Doubt.

Lazook · 4 months

The epilogue of ASOS. "Up into the air he jerked, kicking and twisting, up and up and up".

marmosetohmarmoset · 4 months

I know it's obvious- but the dragons hatching. What a way to end the book.

FedaykinII · 4 months

When Jon and Ghost are reunited and he realizes who he is.

i_like_jam · 4 months

The Red Wedding, easily. It's the one moment in the books that hit almost every single reader like a brick wall. It has the biggest impact of any event in the books, and I think GRRM wrote the first 3 books entirely with the Red Wedding in mind and making it a powerful moment. That's why I think it's 'series' greatest moment'.

Odog · 4 months

There is a scene in the second book when Tyrion needs to go talk to Joffrey for some reason, and Joff is in the courtyard, practicing how to use his new crossbow. On kittens. So Tyrion is picking his way across the square, stepping over dead and dying kittens with crossbow bolts through them.

For some reason this is my favorite scene in the series, so sadistic, darkly funny and fucked up.

Emperor_Zach · 4 months

Vengeance. Justice. Fire and Blood. The North remembers.

EddieSt86 · 4 months

"the Eunuch turned his back on the steel-tipped rain, lowered his trousers, and shat in the direction of the city. He wiped himself with Oznak's striped cloak..."

theLiddle · 4 months

The confrontation between Jaime Lannister and Ned Stark in King's Landing as a result of Catelyn's capture of Tyrion. I had more or less considered GoT an average fantasy novel at that point, but as soon as I read this chapter, I realized shit was going DOWN. This event hooked me on the entire series. Important to note that I was very high while reading that part. Actually, every chapter I read high is fucking amazing.

Jadis · 4 months

The Red Wedding. It dumbfounded me and made me happy. I was really getting sick of any Robb/Catelyn chapters (as much as that might get me downboated).

RobbyV · 4 months

When Jon or Victarion become Azor Ahai.

tranceboy81 · 4 months

The third horn.

Alcanis · 4 months

the hatching of the dragons
Stannis pulling a Cavalry At Last Minute
Frey Pies

Sirtubb · 4 months

When Littlefinger reveals his plan to Sansa is one of my favorite moments. Just got the feeling that this will reunite the stark children and bring on some ass whopin.

And Doran Martells plan got me all giddy aswell.

leoavalon · 4 months

I got chills when Daenerys yelled "Dracarys!", and I always think back on it when I call up memorable moments. I actually yelled "HELL YEAH" aloud and pumped my fist in the air.

Not_Homeless · 4 months

...and then the axe took her in the back of the head... i flipped forward to her next Perspective to be sure.

kingerp · 4 months

Sansa singing to The Hound during the battle of the Blackwater. Really hoping that scene makes it into the show.

cedargrove · 4 months

"Bastard"

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