There are a handful of television shows that have helped usher in a golden age in television and have become ingrained in the pop culture zeitgeist, one of the biggest of which is Game Of Thrones. It is a show (based on the books of George R. R. Martin) that was so good for so long before falling to the wayside and, to some, ruining itself with its ending.
One thing that made it so phenomenal was how it subverted expectations, with extreme twists that impacted the narrative and characters incredibly. The immediate go-to in that regard is the famous 'Red Wedding,' but the show had plenty more to offer in its eight-season run.
Season 3, Episode 9
The penultimate episode of season three presented fans one of the most jaw-dropping ten minutes of television they had ever seen in the form of the 'Red Wedding.'
The betrayal of House Frey on the Starks, murdering Robb and his wife, as well as his unborn child and the men brought with him, it is incredibly brutal and can get hard to watch yet is so hard not to have eyes glued on.
Season 8, Episode 3
Season eight of Game Of Thrones has an immense amount of issues from writing, character, and narrative standpoints, as well as overall production, with "The Long Night" being hard to see for some fans. But it also has a big twist.
The episode sees the Battle of Winterfell begin, rage on, and end, with the murder of the Night King subsequently destroying his army. The twist comes in who murders him. Arya Stark ends him with a single stab, coming out of nowhere and swiftly ending the epic battle.
Season 5, Episode 10 (& Season 6, Episode 2)
Jon Snow is not only one of the most well-known Game Of Thrones characters, but one of the most beloved by fans. His shocking death in the season five finale haunted fans.
Theories ran amok about whether or not he would come back to life, and in a twist to follow up the original twist, he was brought back to life with the help Melisandre and the Lord of the Light near the beginning of season six.
Season 4, Episode 8
Played by the excellent Pedro Pascal, Oberyn Martell was an unbelievably charismatic and brilliant character, whose death is one of the most brutal individual deaths of the entire series.
Oberyn becomes Tyrion's champion in a trial by combat, doing so as a way to get revenge against the Mountain, who raped and murdered his sister and killed her children. It seemed as though Oberyn had toppled the Mountain, but following a trip, the Mountain proceeded to crush Martell's skull by pushing his eyes into his head. It is grotesque and completely unexpected.
Season 4, Episode 10
The season four finale is a truly fantastic episode, and one that rips the heart out of the adored Tyrion Lannister with the reveal that Shae is sleeping with Tywin.
After getting sentenced to death and subsequently freed from the dungeons by Jaime, Tyrion finds Shae in Tywin's bed, chokes her to death, and then finds his father and murders him too. It may be Tyrion's darkest moment in the entire show.
Season 7, Episode 10
Fast-forwarding three seasons to the season seven finale, which left fans waiting years for a resolution, it contains a twist that, especially at the time, was one of the biggest in the entire show, and confirmed the widespread Rhaegar + Lyanna = Jon theory.
It gets revealed through Bran and Samwell Tarly that Jon Snow is, in fact, Aegon Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Not only is he not the son of Ned Stark, he is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. This colossal twist ended up not going anywhere of much significance, but was huge nonetheless.
Season 1, Episode 9
Game Of Thrones asserted itself as something spectacular in season one, with a twist that immediately let fans know this show was unlike anything they had ever seen before, breaking a seemingly set in stone rule in the penultimate episode of the season.
Sean Bean as Eddard Stark clearly was presented as the main character of the season, and when he gets into trouble and gets sentenced to death, fans were sure he would somehow get out of it. He did not. Ned Stark was executed, subverting all expectations of fans, and immediately setting viewers up to expect the unexpected.
Season 6, Episode 10
Season six of the show is one that is controversial to some, but there is no denying the cinematic nature and overall quality of the jaw-dropping finale and twist with Cersei and the Sept of Baelor.
With Cersei and Loras Tyrell set to go on trial, The High Sparrow, the Faith Militant, Margaery, Loras, and others are in the Sept of Baelor awaiting Tommen and Cersei, who will not arrive, as Cersei has set up so that her enemies are all destroyed by wildfire along with the entire Sept. It is brilliantly crafted, shocking, and pure ruthlessness, with Cersei destroying everyone who threatens her, and her own son committing suicide in the aftermath.
Season 7, Episode 1
The premiere of season seven has another mass homicide twist, but a far more contained event in the Riverlands, involving Arya and House Frey.
Alongside Cersei blowing up the Sept of Baelor, Arya Stark murdered Walder Frey. So, when Frey pops up in this premiere, it is initially confusing, but it soon becomes apparent that Arya was wearing Frey's face, and she kills Walder's men with poison as revenge for the Red Wedding.
Season 4, Episode 2
The 'Red Wedding' is not the only famous murderous wedding throughout the show, as early in season four, many fans get blessed with the 'Purple Wedding,' AKA the death of King Joffrey.
He was one of the cruelest and despised characters in the entire show, and his death was a brutal poisoning which was later revealed to be the work of Littlefinger Petyr Baelish and Lady Olenna Tyrell.