(Spoiler Alert: some plot details from the Aug. 6 episode of “Game of Thrones” are below.)
As war with the White Walkers looms on the horizon, one particular type of weapon is becoming increasingly important: Valyrian steel swords.
That’s because there are only two ways to kill a White Walker, with a dragonglass dagger or a Valyrian steel blade. In the present day of “Game of Thrones,” nobody knows how to create new Valyrian steel, since that knowledge went up in smoke with the rest of Valyria when it was destroyed in the Doom hundreds of years ago.
Thus, Valyrian steel is an incredibly rare commodity and swords made from it are going to play a key role in the future of Westeros and the rest of the world. And that means keeping track of the few Valyrian steel swords that are already in play is going to be a big deal as well. It’s worth noting, also, that even though the methods by which Valyrian steel is created has been lost, that doesn’t mean it they will stay lost. More on that later.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the Valyrian steel swords we’ve seen so far on the show, as well as those swords that have been referenced in the books that could also make an appearance at some point.
-Heartsbane. We met House Tarly’s ancestral sword this week in Sunday night’s episode “Blood of My Blood,” as it hung on the wall above the mantel at the Tarly castle Horn Hill. When Sam, Gilly and baby Sam left the castle in the episode, Sam made sure to grab Heartsbane on the way out the door.
-Longclaw. This is Jon Snow’s sword, given to him by former Night’s Watch lord commander Jeor Mormont. Jon has already put Longclaw to good use, killing a White Walker with it in the Battle of Hardhome in season 5. Longclaw is still in Jon Snow’s possession.
-Ice. The ancestral greatsword of House Stark. Though humanity has lost the knowledge of how to forge a Valyrian steel sword from scratch, a few men remain who are able to reforge new Valyrian steel swords from existing ones. In season 4, Tywin Lannister had Ice, taken from Ned Stark, melted down so as to forge two Valyrian steel longswords for House Lannister.
-Oathkeeper. One of the two Valyrian steel swords forged from Ice. Tywin gave Oathkeeper to his son Jaime, who then gave it to Brienne of Tarth. Brienne still carries it.
-Widow’s Wail. The other sword forged from Ice. Tywin gave this one to Joffrey as a wedding gift, but after Joffrey died the sword passed to his younger brother Tommen. In Season 7, Jaime Lannister carried the sword into battle when he led the Lannister armies. Lady Olenna noted he had the sword with him at Highgarden.
-Tyrion Lannister’s dagger, which was used by the assassin that attempted to kill Bran Stark in season 1. Not a sword, no. It originally belonged to Littlefinger, who lost it to Tyrion in a bet. Then Tyrion lost it, apparently because his sister Cersei stole it and gave it to the previously mentioned hired assassin to finish off Bran before he could awake from his coma — a coma that Jaime had put him in after Bran saw Jaime and Cersei having sex in Winterfell. The dagger was then in possession of Catelyn Stark, who brought it to King’s Landing and discussed it with Littlefinger. Apparently he got it back from her, and in Season 7, he gave the dagger to Bran Stark. After that, Bran gave it to Arya, who currently carries it.
These are all the Valyrian steel swords we’ve seen on “Game of Thrones” so far — at least that we know of. But they’re hardly the only ones around. These blades are rare, but there are reportedly hundreds of them still in existence even so. And there are several referenced in the “Song of Ice and Fire” novels that could come into play. These include a pair of House Targaryen swords, Blackfyre and Lost Sister, which were lost during the Blackfyre Rebellions long ago, and Brightroar, the ancestral sword of House Lannister. House Corbray also has an ancestral Valyrian steel sword called Lady Forlorn — we met a member of House Corbray in season 4, Vance Corbray, at the Vale as House Corbray is pledged to House Arryn.
There are other Valyrian steel weapons mentioned in the novels, but they belong to characters who haven’t appeared on the show, so they probably won’t factor into this.
It is possible that the means to forge new Valyrian steel will become available to our heroes at some point. Though we don’t really know how Valyrian steel is made, some legends in the novels say its forged from dragonfire and magic — both of which are returning to the world in the present day. Daenerys’ dragons may provide the means to crafting new Valyrian steel weapons, and it could be that Bran Stark’s visions of the past could unlock the technique. But that, really, is just speculation.
All 49 'Game of Thrones' Main Characters, Ranked Worst to Best (Photos)
"Game of Thrones" has a lot of characters, and too many to rank. So we're just going to focus on the 49 characters who are or were the most important, in our humble opinion. If you don't like our list, Littlefinger will poison your wedding cake. (Many spoilers, obviously.)
49. Viserys Targaryan
A total jackass, Viserys had maybe the best death in the whole series: having molten gold dumped on his head.
48. Rickon
Who? (I feel bad for this joke after season 6, but I'm going to leave it)
47. Robb Stark
The Red Wedding was a coming of age for viewers of the show. Rewatching those early seasons knowing that's gonna happen exposes Robb for the lame dude he really is.
46. Stannis
Basically a stodgy, moralistic Southern Baptist minister. I'm from Alabama, so I was pulling for him.
45. Bran Stark
Needs to work on his pouty face and grow out his hair if he wants to be the new Jon Snow.
44. Roose Bolton
He's like the Count Dooku of this show, acting like he's working for himself though he's really just a pawn who probably will get his head cut off by young Darth Vader.
43. Daario
Was a hot blond dude, but now (after a casting change) is just a regularly attractive brown-haired dude who was banished from Dany's bed because who cares about love anyway?
42. Ned Stark
The Mark Twain of the show, giving his kids a bunch of advice that wasn't actually useful before he got murdered. Wait, how did Mark Twain die? This analogy may not track all the way but whatever.
41. Joffrey
Oh man. Remember that time the cake was too dry and it made his eyes bug out and his face turn purple and he spit foamy red drool everywhere? Hilarious.
40. Shae
Did what she needed to survive, until it turned out doing what she needed to do to survive (hooking up with Tywin Lannister) got her killed.
39. Tommen
Not the most decisive king, either before or after he had sex. But he's better than Joffrey, I guess.
38. Khal Drogo
Got fridged for the sake of Daenerys' character arc. Beautiful.
37. Gendry
Melisandre put a leech on his penis one time. It feels like that's all I should put here.
36. Theon
I'm still pulling for his post-castration power play. Or for him to just get killed already.
35. Jorah Mormont
Really sad because he still can't afford to buy Khaleesi's love.
34. King Robert
Probably the most chill and carefree character on the show, drunk most of the time, yelling a lot even though he really didn't have any problems. Well, until that time he drank too much and got killed by a boar.
33. Ramsey Bolton
Is Ramsey the most demented dude on this show? Well, he's definitely the funniest demented dude, which isn't actually funny at all when you think about it.
32. Catelyn Stark
Loses to the Lannisters both in the Game of Thrones and the Game of Angsty Overprotective Moms.
31. Talisa Stark
Every joke that comes to mind is far too reprehensible even for a "Game of Thrones" list, so I'm not going to put one here.
30. Sam
A huge nerd who predictably finds love in a house of somebody else's daughter-wives.
29. Lord Commander Mormont
Died because Sam found love in a house of somebody else's daughter-wives.
28. Ygritte
A marksman with a bow, loved Jon Snow, killed by a child. She was basically an audience surrogate.
27. Gilly
Doesn't know anything except for all the stuff Sam doesn't know how to do. Which is most things.
26. The High Sparrow
He tried pulling a huge awesome gambit, but ultimately he was not prepared for the Game as well as he thought, judging by how hard Cersei outplayed him.
25. Red Viper
His irascible lust distracted him from delivering the killing blow against the Mountain. He would be much, much higher on this list were it not for that glaring oversight.
24. The Hound
Killed the butcher's boy, then spent several seasons saying lots of mean things before being left to die on a rock. If his redemption arc goes well he might get a bump.
23. Jaime Lannister
Can I make a joke about masturbating with your off hand? There's nothing in our style guide about that. Anyway, where's the scene where Jaime learned how to do that?
22. Jaqen H'ghar
Speaks in riddles, has many faces (and many bodies), and set Arya on the path to losing her eyesight even though he would have been burned alive if she hadn't saved him. What a clown.
21. Tywin Lannister
Was killed by his hated dwarf son. Exactly what he deserved, though I secretly hoped he would at some point just be nice to his kids.
20. Ellaria Sand
Committed one of the greatest and most upsetting murders on the whole show.
19. Tormund Giantsbane
Has a great name, murder in his heart and a huge beautiful red beard. Also he was in "Fate of the Furious," the latest movie in my favorite film franchise. What's not to like?
18. Jon Snow
Well, he's dead. King of the dead ones. Definitely not coming back ever. No longer dead. Murdered a particularly irritating character. Could stand to be less nice, though.
17. Euron Greyjoy
We can't help but appreciate the (no pun intended) joy with which Euron enacts his villainy. "I AM THE STORM!" Hahaha.
16. Hodor
Shoulda been named "Meme." (Another joke I feel about bad about after season 6. I moved him way up in compensation.)
15. Margaery Tyrell
Delightfully passive-aggressive toward Cersei all the time. Sure, she was killed horribly by Cersei because she made a classic "Game of Thrones" miscalculation -- and I really should bump her down for that -- but, nah, she was too much fun.
14. Brienne
Tall, kills a lot of men, is single and celibate, takes no crap from anyone and doesn't play the game. A perfect counter to basically everything else on "Game of Thrones."
13. Tyrion Lannister
Thinks with his penis. Which is okay because his penis is so smart.
12. Varys
Slightly smarter than Tyrion because he doesn't have a penis.
11. Melisandre
Lots of people think of Melisandre as the "sexy" main character, but she's actually the "terrifying" main character. Remember that time she burned a child alive? That sucked. Now she suffers for it, finally, but she'll probably be back to do something amazing. Still waiting, though.
10. Missandei
"All men must die. But we are not men." Any questions?
9. Davos Seaworth
Easily the MVP of season 7.
8. Littlefinger
Probably the smartest character on the show, but uses all that brainpower for evil. So he's great, is what I'm saying.
7. Daenerys
Commits most of the best murders on the show, thanks to those dragons and her invulnerability to fire. and they're usually justified. Big bonus points for that.
6. Arya Stark
Never underestimate this faceless woman.
5. Olenna Tyrell
Makes a great joke about useless genitals, and constantly talks smack about everyone. And she got the absolute last word in her death scene. My dream woman.
4. Sansa Stark
A lot of viewers still underestimate here even now in season 7, thinking she's playing right into Littlefinger's hand rather than having her own plan for dealing with his machinations. Ludicrous.
3. Bronn
Enters the show in the most "Game of Thrones" way possible: by stepping out of the background of a scene to kill a guy for Tyrion.
2. Grey Worm
Just the best. Sad because his life sucks. Badass who kills a lot of his problems. Communicates a lot without saying much. Grey Worm seems like the kind of tragic "Game of Thrones" character who is going to have a brief moment of triumph before getting slaughtered. I hope that triumph is really good.
1. Cersei
Yeah, she's a terrible person, but she's the product of a terrible father and terrible environment. Through season 7, though, she's been better than everyone else at playing the game, even though every move she's made has had some kind of awful unintentional consequence for people she cares about. We'll see if she can maintain this spot as the endgame approaches, however.
1 of 50
We judge all the characters who matter (or mattered)
"Game of Thrones" has a lot of characters, and too many to rank. So we're just going to focus on the 49 characters who are or were the most important, in our humble opinion. If you don't like our list, Littlefinger will poison your wedding cake. (Many spoilers, obviously.)
