The best scenes in GAME OF THRONES and HOUSE OF THE DRAGON

House of the DragonIt might not have been the second season everything everyone wanted. But regardless of its faults, it still offered some truly amazing performances. Which ones stood out in a (Narrow) sea of ​​fantastic acting how? And how do they compare to the very best Realm has offered before? To find out, we’ve compiled a list of the best acted scenes from both Game of Thrones and its dragon-filled prequel.

NOTE: We limited each character/actor for a single entrance so we could share the wealth. We also forced ourselves to cut our own massive list in half. So if someone didn’t make the cut, just know we’re mad at ourselves for not including them.

Pedro Pascal as Oberyn Martell – “I Will Be Your Champion”

Pedro Pascal only appeared in season four, but that was enough to provide one of the series’ most iconic characters. We could pick literally any of his scenes for this list. Since we’re limiting ourselves to one, we’ll give it to his prison visit with Tyrion Lannister. It was here that the vengeful Oberyn told the story of meeting Tyrion as a child. It was a quiet but utterly powerful monologue. And that’s before it ended with one of the greatest lines in the show’s history: “I will be your champion.” Just thinking about it gives us chills. Thinking about how that fight with the mountain ended doesn’t.

Michelle Fairley as Catelyn Stark – The Red Wedding

The Red Wedding is the most infamous moment in Game of Thrones story, but it wouldn’t be if not for Michelle Fairley’s all-out performance during the massacre. As Catelyn Stark’s turmoil turned to anger, fear and ultimately horror, Fairley captured all the terrible emotions a mother would experience in that unimaginable moment.

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister – Hot Tub Confession

In a single scene of raw vulnerability and honesty, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau transformed one of the show’s most loathsome characters into someone we wanted to root for. The arrogant, incestuous King-Slayer who once threw Bran Stark from a tower was secretly one of the realm’s greatest heroes, and Coster-Waldau’s confession in the hot tub to Brienne was a powerful performance that was both big and nuanced.

Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister – Walk of Shame

You could make a long list of Lena Headey’s best scenes as Cersei Lannister and it would still be incomplete, but since we’re limiting ourselves to just one, we’ll go with her iconic performance during the Queen’s “Walk of Shame.” She is both strong and weak, vulnerable but determined. It really is an incredible moment that highlighted how special the acting in the show really was.

Kit Harington as Jon Snow – Hardhome Attack

Kit Harington always excelled during fight scenes, and the old gods and the new know he wore plenty of them Game of Thrones. What makes his performance during the White Walker attack on Hardhome is what he did when the fighting stopped. As the Lord Commander’s boat sailed away as he watched the Night King raise the dead with just a quiet look of resigned awe and horror, Harington conveyed the true darkness that was coming for the living. The Night King could have walked out victorious during that scene, but it’s Harington’s stunning performance that makes the memorable moment so effective.

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen – “A Dragon Is Not a Slave”

Some actors are on this list for giving great monologues or for memorable interactions, but it’s only fitting that Emilia Clarke’s best scene stands as the opposite side of Kit Harington’s ice and fire coin. Her performance during the “exchange” of a dragon for the Unsullied Army in Astapor was an acting tour de force. Clarke has captured the anger, fury and cunning of the mother of dragons with nothing but a presence that said more than words ever could.

Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister – Confession in the Courtroom

Peter Dinklage earned an Emmy nomination for all eight seasons of Game of Tones and he’s the only member of the cast to actually win, so picking his best scene is no easy task. But the one moment that will always stand out is his “confession” during the trial for Joffrey’s murder. In a powerful, captivating monologue, Dinklage conveyed the pain and anger Tyrion has always lived with, and the defiance he has turned into armor against a hateful, malevolent world that would never forgive him for being born a dwarf.

Diana Rigg as Olenna Tyrell – “Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me.”

Olenna Tyrell was no warrior. She fought no battles. But thanks to the great Diana Rigg, she had a tongue sharper than any sword in the realm. The Lady of House Tyrell was always a powerhouse on the show, but she saved her best performance for her last on the show, when she used her last breaths to tell Jaime Lannister that she had been the one who poisoned Joffrey. In doing so, she turned, “Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me,” in an all-time iconic line.

Charles Dance as Tywin Lannister and Maisie Williams as Arya Stark – “My Lord”

Two of the show’s best characters, played by two of its best actors, came to match minds when Arya Stark secretly served as Tywin Lannister’s servant during his time at Harrenhal. Their interactions—nothing but loaded words, hidden agendas, and unspoken tensions in a single room—were everything we loved about the show. Game of Thrones excelled not because of magic and dragons, but because of the people at the heart of the story. And Charles and Dance and Maisie Williams were among the very best to call Westeros home.

Sean Bean as Ned Stark and Mark Addy as Robert Baratheon – “There’s a War Coming, Ned”

Neither Sean Bean nor Mark Addy made it a full season after Game of Thronesbut both made a lasting impression on the show as Ned Stark and Robert Baratheon. So it’s only fitting that they share a post with a great scene that established that while the series existed in a fantasy world, it was full of very real people, people with pasts and secrets, people with meaningful friendships who could disagree even with those they loved. . There private meal in the woods is a quieter scene that said as much thanks to their layered performances.

David Bradley as Fake Walder Frey – Winter Comes for House Frey

David Bradley helped make Walder Frey a thoroughly great villain, but his best performance yet Game Of Thrones when he was technically playing someone else. The show tasked him with playing Arya Stark, pretending to be Walder Frey as she used her Faceless Men abilities to get revenge for the Red Wedding. Bradley is truly incredible on stage, in a completely believable performance where we as viewers know what is really going on. It is perhaps the most underrated play in the history of the kingdom.

Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower – An Eye for an Eye

The two figures at the center of Dance of the Dragons are also responsible for two of the best performances in Westeros history. Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke’s conflicted frenemy Queens are both excellent in all their scenes, but they’re even better when they tear up the screen. And the best of their best moments came during their intense showdown after Rhaenyra’s young son took Alicent’s eye. In that moment, years of frustration and anger boiled over into a truly amazing moment that showed just how good both D’Arcy and Cooke really are.

Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys – Battle of Rook’s Rest

House of the Dragonlike its predecessor, overflows with excellent acting throughout the kingdom. But even amidst all that grandeur, the aptly named Eve Best managed to stand out every time she was on screen. That was especially true during her last episode. She put on an acting clinic without even speaking during Princess Rhaenys’ fateful dragon battle over Rook’s Rest. Best’s emotional performance powerfully conveyed all the many emotions she experienced in her final moments.

Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower – Aegon fires Otto as Hand

It’s really hard to love Otto Hightower, but it’s really easy to love Rhys Ifans’ portrayal of the man who served three separate kings as the Hand. But for all his success, Otto’s greatest moment came when his own grandson stripped him of his position. The intense scene earned Best Performance in Best Single Episode of House of the Dragon. Ifans captured Otto’s exhaustion, disgust, regret, anger and even his honor perfectly, with both humor and deep humanity, in a unique sequence.

Paddy Considine as King Viserys and Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen – Two brothers defend Rhaenyra’s honor

George RR Martin has constantly praised Paddy Considine to bring a far superior version of King Viserys to life. It was easy to see why during the actor’s most memorable sequence. An ailing Viserys surprised his royal court when he appeared to defend his daughter’s honor. His emotional performance was only made stronger by his brother Daemon, played by the great Matt Smith. He was shown both his Daemon’s gentler side as well as his fury. During the intense scene before the Iron Throne, every Targaryen got a chance to blaze with fire and blood. Vaemond Velaryon’s insults to Rhaenyra turned an already great sequence into an all-time Westeros moment.

Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II – The king learns of his son’s murder

King Aegon II is an unworthy monarch, a monster. Only below House of the DragonIn his second season, Tom Glynn-Carney added layers to the character that we didn’t even know he had. He turned an utterly despicable villain into a complex, rounded figure. And no moment better captured Aegon’s depth—or, in some ways, his lack of it—than the king’s response to his son’s murder. The best actors make a character’s emotions feel real. But Glynn-Carney’s performance underneath was so incredible because he perfectly captured how Aegon didn’t know how to feel real emotions. It was a truly remarkable scene from a remarkable actor.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He is so upset about some of the performances that he had to stop. You can follow him further Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere anyone ranks the Targaryen kings.