(Spoiler warning: This post contains plot details from George R.R. Martin‘s “A Song of Ice and Fire.”)
The execution of Ned Stark started the War of the Five Kings. As of last week’s episode of “Game of Thrones,” all five kings are dead.
First, Renly Baratheon was killed by Melisandre’s shadow child. After that, a Red Wedding and a Purple Wedding took the lives of Robb Stark and Joffrey Lannister. Stannis Baratheon was killed in battle after his troops abandoned him in disgust for sacrificing his daughter. And now, Balon Greyjoy, King of the Iron Islands, has been slain by his brother, Euron.
Euron Greyjoy is a character who had been mentioned offhand (Tyrion refers to Balon’s brothers in season 1) but not seen on the TV show until now, but in the book, he has been around for a while. Euron gained a reputation for being one of the most vicious Ironborn warriors ever to sail the western seas of Westeros. When the Greyjoys attempted to seize Westeros shortly after Robert Baratheon took the Iron Throne, Euron hatched a successful plan to destroy the Lannisters’ immense naval fleet.
His success was short-lived, however. According to George R.R. Martin‘s books, Euron was caught seducing the wife of his brother, Victarion. To prevent bloodshed between his siblings, Balon exiled Euron and ordered him to never return as long as Balon lived.
Greyjoys are known for “paying the iron price,” or claiming the valuables of those they kill in battle as their own. Pirates do that too, so Euron spent his exile as a bloodthirsty privateer. Legends spread that Euron became so insane at sea that his men tied him to a mast during a storm to keep him from going overboard. Euron confirmed this tale to Balon during his debut last week, adding that he is not only not afraid of the storm…he is the storm.
In the books, we are never actually shown a scene where Euron throws Balon off a bridge like he does in the TV show. We are told that Balon fell from a bridge and that Euron returned a day after Balon’s death. Some speculate that Euron did indeed kill his brother, but it is never confirmed as Euron executes anyone who dares question his reign.
So now that Euron is the new King of the Iron Islands, what can we expect from him in the rest of this season? In the books, Euron declares that he has the ability to control dragons, and once he gets his hands on them, he will do what Balon couldn’t and take over Westeros. To that end, he reconciles with Victarion and asks him to sail out to find Daenerys and her dragons and bring them to the Iron Islands. Only time will tell if Euron’s arrival means even more bad news for the Targaryen queen, but it definitely doesn’t bode well for Euron’s niece, Yara. She had been planning to rule House Greyjoy for some time and had Balon’s blessing. But once Euron discovers what Balon’s plans were for the throne, he may start hatching plans to kill another member of his family.
Without spoiling anything, it doesn’t seem likely that Euron’s arc will follow the books too closely here, as there’s not enough time left on the show for the Ironborn to enter the fray as a full new faction in the game of thrones.
As we’ve seen already this year, the showrunners are probably going to get right to the point with Euron, with him going full speed ahead toward his role as a supporter of one of the established factions, as we saw in “A Dance with Dragons.”
'Game of Thrones': Top 15 Most Cringe-Inducing Moments (Photos)
"Game of Thrones" is a show that isn't afraid to cross lines. Incest, ultraviolence and sexual assault are all things that both the show and George R.R. Martin's books have tapped for narrative and shock value. TheWrap takes a look back at some of the most infamous cringe-inducing moments, starting with a certain baby killer.
15. "Do you love me, Reek?"A shockingly merciful moment from Ramsay Bolton turned into a creepy one quickly. Ramsay was only testing to see just how well Theon Greyjoy had been brainwashed into loving his tormentor and accepting his identity as Reek. If you expect this to be the only time Ramsay appears on this list, you haven't been paying attention.
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14. The wights invade Hardhome The armies of the Night's King make the walkers in "The Walking Dead" look like cupcakes. Icy blue and in various states of decay, the wights were scary enough when there was just one of them. A legion of them looks unstoppable.
Cersei's walk of atonement is one of the few moments we can actually feel bad for her. It's easy to say that she got herself into the mess by trying to manipulate the High Septon and get Maergery in trouble for far less than she's done, but Lena Headey's performance in the scene makes us sympathize for the power-hungry Queen.
Tyrion's trial for Joffrey's murder ends in a trial by combat with The Mountain fighting for Cersei and The Viper fighting for Tyrion (that's Ser Gregor Clegane and Oberyn Martell). We know we can expect battle scenes in GOT (and we love them), but Oberyn's smashed eyes at the end of the one-on-one fight is the definition of cringe-y.
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11. "I am the blood of the dragon" As part of a Dothraki rite of passage for pregnant women, Daenerys had to eat an entire raw heart taken fresh from the chest of a stallion. All the scene needed was Joe Rogan yelling at her to chew and swallow and it would have been something out of "Fear Factor."
We're kind of used to the incestuous relationship between Cersei and Jaime Lannister, but when Jon Snow and the Night's Watch visit Craster's Keep on the other side of the wall, the incest is even grosser. Craster marries his daughters and then has more daughters with them, and sacrifices any boys that are born to the White Walkers.
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9. The Sack of Moat Cailin-- Ramsay strikes again. After a brainwashed Theon promises them mercy if they surrender, the ironborn of Moat Cailin are massacred by Ramsay's forces. The betrayal is portrayed through gruesome shots of the flayed corpses the Boltons leave behind them.
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8. Need a hand, Jaime? "Game of Thrones" fans wanted Jaime to pay for crippling Bran and killing Ned's men in Season 1. Be careful what you wish for. The Kingslayer's forced amputation by the Brave Companions is something few would wish upon anyone.
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7. Shadow Child Few moments of death in "Game of Thrones" were as creepy as the moment when Melisandre gave life. Jaws dropped everywhere when a living shadow poured out of The Red Woman's womb and set out to kill Renly Baratheon.
One of the most infamous scenes from the show, the wedding between Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey results in a bloodbath when Lord Walder Frey betrays the Starks (because it was supposed to be Robb marrying his daughter). Robb Stark's head gets replaced with his direwolf's, Catelyn Stark's throat is slit and Robb's wife Talisa gets her pregnant belly stabbed.
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5. Jaime rapes Cersei It's already creepy enough that Joffrey is the product of incest between Jaime and Cersei. It gets even more creepy when the twins have sex next to the corpse of their dead son. Throw in the TV writers' decision to change the scene so Jaime is forcing himself on his sister, and the scene becomes utterly sickening.
We already know that Melisandre is ruthless when it comes to her faith in the Lord of Light. But she's responsible for one of the most disturbing--and saddest--moment in the series. In Season 5, she sacrifices Stannis Baratheon's daughter Shireen to R'hollor by burning her alive.
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3. "I prefer to be an only child" In Season 6, Ramsay lost confidence that he would hold on to his status as Roose Bolton's heir. So he decided to kill his father in cold blood ... and then set the dogs on Roose's wife and newborn child. Yes, Ramsay is willing to kill babies to get what he wants.
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2. Torturing Theon We could make a whole list based on what Ramsay does to Theon, but we'll compile it all together here. His atrocities include (but are not limited to) flaying and chopping off Theon's finger, castrating him, sending his genitals to Balon Greyjoy, brainwashing him, and forcing him to watch the #1 moment on our list.
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1. Sansa's rape Yes, the Bastard of Bolton takes gold, silver and bronze here, with the crown going to the controversial rape scene in Season 5. Sansa wasn't the victim in the books, but became Ramsay's abused wife after the writers called an audible. The story outraged fans everywhere, with claims that the rape served no narrative purpose and just told us what we already knew: Ramsay is the devil.
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It shouldn’t be a surprise that Ramsay Bolton makes a lot of appearances in this collection of atrocities from the HBO hit
"Game of Thrones" is a show that isn't afraid to cross lines. Incest, ultraviolence and sexual assault are all things that both the show and George R.R. Martin's books have tapped for narrative and shock value. TheWrap takes a look back at some of the most infamous cringe-inducing moments, starting with a certain baby killer.
HBO
