All 8 Seasons of Game of Thrones, Ranked

Winter is coming.

I haven't posted in a while because I've been working on some strange things that may be coming in the next month or two. So I decided to take a break from this mysterious project to do something fun. I watched Game of Thrones for the first time last year and planned on doing a bunch of rankings of it, but just never got around to it. So I figured...why not just rank the seasons? I've reviewed the first four or five seasons, but I never got around to talking about some of the others, so this is my way of doing it. I love this show and I'm sad I never really got to talk about it on the blog, so that's what I'm doing now. Enjoy!

8. Season 8

What can I say that hasn't already been said?

Widely regarded as one of the worst seasons of TV ever, season eight caps off Game of Thrones in heartbreaking, disappointing fashion. A six-episode season is not what you want for the end of your show, and everything feels as rushed as the short runtime would imply. Game of Thrones has some of the most iconic and well-known characters in fiction, and season eight manages to ruin almost all of them. Daenerys, Jon, Jaime, Tyrion, Cersei...all of them get incredibly unsatisfying endings. The White Walkers, the thing that has been built up for seven seasons prior, are defeated in ONE EPISODE. I will never understand how badly this was botched. I pray every night that Stranger Things's fifth season does not do this to me, because it would just break my heart.

7. Season 7

A good season made worse by season eight

Season seven is good. People have hindsight bias and think it's bad because of season eight, but it's really not. Is it great? No. Is it made worse by season eight? Yeah. But this still has a lot of what makes Game of Thrones great. The characters still act like themselves. The dynamic between Jon and Daenerys is really fun. Actually, one of the things I love about this season is that we get to see the story start to converge. All of the characters that we've watched for the previous six seasons start to meet each other and interact, and it just makes for some really fun moments. Sure, it tosses the logic of traveling across Westeros out of the window and it still feels rushed, but I have fun with this season.

6. Season 5

It's not as strong as the others above it, but a supremely underrated season

I think there is a big jump in quality from season seven to season five. Season five is great. It is honestly probably the darkest season of the show, but I think that works nicely, because season six gives us the most wins for the good guys. I'm not crazy about everything here, obviously. The Sansa-Ramsay stuff gets too dark and I don't love the High Sparrow, but the final three episodes of this season are absolutely insane. You have the first true look at the Night King and the terror of the White Walkers in Hardhome. You have the fighting pit sequence and Shireen's death in The Dance of Dragons. And, of course, you have the walk of shame and Jon's death in Mother's Mercy. The end of season five rivals the final runs of any of these seasons, and I don't think people acknowledge it as much as they should.

5. Season 2

A transition season into the War of the Five Kings

Season one feels like a prologue to the entire show. Season two feels like the first true season of Game of Thrones that gets most of the plot lines that run throughout the series started. This season is probably the slowest of the show, but it uses that slower pace to really build out it's characters and it's conflict so that it can have really explosive payoff. They do a great job of establishing these flaws within the characters that will have dire consequences down the line. This season also has some of the most fun moments and dynamics in the show. Tywin and Arya's plot line is written to absolute perfection. It is an absolute clinic in how to develop characters and conflict subtly. Theon's takeover of Winterfell sets him up to be one of the most complex characters on the show. But the standout this season is Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion was great in season one, but season two is what elevates him to one of the best characters in TV history. His complex relationship with Cersei and his unsung heroism in the battle of the Blackwater just show how awesome and compelling he is. Season two may not have the strongest plots or moments of the show, but it absolutely excels in what it does with its characters.

4. Season 3

A great season with the single best moment in TV history

Season three is the perfect bridge between seasons two and four, because it pays off a bunch of stuff setup in season two and sets up a bunch of stuff for season four. And it does not disappoint in doing either. The War of the Five Kings ramps up as Joffrey becomes more evil and horrible and Robb tries to make a crippling blow to the Lannisters. Jon becomes friends with the wildlings. Daenerys starts gaining her confidence more and conquering the world outside of Westeros. Arya travels with the Hound. Jaime Lannister gets one of the most powerful redemptive arcs I've ever seen. All of these plot lines are great and develop the characters and conflict further...and they all culminate in the most horrifying and shocking scene in TV history. The Red Wedding is Game of Thrones's most iconic moment for a reason, and it single-handedly elevates season three. It somehow feels both shocking and inevitable. It's the payoff of everything we've seen before, but not the payoff we expected or wanted, and that makes it even better. It shows that nobody, and I mean nobody, is safe. It is, alongside the Running Up That Hill sequence in Stranger Things, my favorite moment in TV, although one of the most devastating and shocking.

3. Season 1

A prologue season that effectively sets up this brutal world and its fantastic characters

From the get-go, Game of Thrones knew what it was. This was cinematic television, with a huge cast of characters and a gigantic scale. Season one effectively shows us Westeros through the eyes of Ned Stark: an honorable man trying to do the honorable thing in a world where honor cannot save you. Game of Thrones sets up the expectation that the Starks will defeat the Lannisters and the good guys will win...but that is not what happens. At all. Every episode clues you in to the subversive storytelling that Game of Thrones became so known for, but it's not until Ned Stark is beheaded that you truly realize how brutal this world is. Beyond establishing Westeros, this season really gets you invested in all of its characters. We see these underdogs and outsiders who have been rejected by the world: Jon, Daenerys, Tyrion, Arya...and we see them start to gain their confidence and gain respect, which sets them on the paths that they take throughout the rest of the show. Season one feels like a different type of story than any other season simply because it stars Ned, and I kind of appreciate it for that. I like the slow build of this world will the explosive payoff of it's shocking ending. This is the way to do a first season right. If only they could've been able to show us how to do a last season right.

2. Season 6

The season that pays off most of the plot lines from the first five seasons

As much as I love the subversive storytelling and brutal twists of Game of Thrones, I am still a sucker for when the good guys win. Season six has the most wins for the heroes, and for that, it's really satisfying. This season made Jon Snow probably my favorite character in TV. For five seasons, he's gone along with authority and been the honorable man that his father was. And, after being killed and resurrected, he decides to do things his own way...and because he was so honorable and honest, people follow him. And, even if we do have tons of satisfying payoff, there are still plenty of twists and turns throughout. The Great Sept explosion. Hold the door. Jon's true parentage. Season six balances the wins and losses incredibly well, and it just makes for arguably the most fun season of the show. The one-two punch of Battle of the Bastards and The Winds of Winter to cap off your season is pretty insane, and it just reaffirms how awesome this show was at its peak. And this isn't even its peak.

1. Season 4

Basically every episode in this season is fantastic

Season four of Game of Thrones is pretty much universally regarded as the best season, and that's because it's frickin' awesome. After the brutality of the Red Wedding, season four gets going right off the bat by killing Joffrey in a gloriously drawn-out death sequence. From there, all hell breaks loose. Tyrion is put on trial and Westeros devolves into political chaos. Tywin cements himself as the best villain on the show. Elsewhere, Daenerys makes a home in Meereen and discovers Jorah's betrayal. Jon gets one of the show's best arcs as he holds down Castle Black against the invading wildlings while feeling bad for having betrayed Ygritte. Every single episode has something memorable and iconic about it. Yes, the Purple Wedding kicks off the shocks, but Tyrion's trial, Oberyn's death, Tywin's death...all of these incredible moments feel like this intoxicating crescendo of the first four seasons of the show. The writers (and more honestly George R.R. Martin) had an iron grasp on who these characters were and how this world would respond to the decisions they make. Because of that, Game of Thrones excels in its near-perfect fourth season with a perfect balance of incredible character moments with the twists and shocks that made it famous. A lot of seasons of Game of Thrones can be in the running for some of the best seasons in TV history. Season four is not in the running. It just is one of the best seasons in TV history.