Even though rigid rulers and mad kings like Tywin and Joffrey have been disposed of, Game of Thrones is still thriving when it comes to executions. In fact, the first three episodes of Season 5 prominently featured three different institution-approved slayings. This is a show that's basically built around the "Off With His Head!" premise.
Then the fourth episode of Season 5 didn't have one. No one got sentenced to death. Had the well run dry? Nope. The fifth episode, "Kill the Boy," marked a quick return to fatal form by having Daenerys, with a little bit of her "Mad King" shining through, pass her first ever "death by dragonfire" sentence.
So let's quickly thumb through some of the most epic beheadings and flambéings on this series. Assassinations don't count. Neither does the blood spilled during "trials by combat." Public displays of murder only. Congregations of carnage. Some have shocked us to the core. Others have made us wince and think "Oooh, that was a mistake." Some even were good for a "Yippie!" or two. Here are nine notable Game of Thrones executions.
Some Dude Who Probably Deserved It
May as well starts things with the most recent. After Ser Barristan fell to them Sons o' Harpies, Dany was just in She didn't care who was guilty or innocent, she just just wanted to see someone get blowtorched by one of her babies. Dracarys!, you rotten head of a former slave-owning family. Cleanup on aisle dead.
Mossador
So what led to some of this recent Meereen mayhem? Well, Dany tried pulling a page out of the Stark book and publicly punished one of her own supporters for killing a person who totally deserved to be killed. Former slave Mossador made the mistake of trying to read between the lines when Dany said "Don't kill the prisoner." He must have thought he saw her winking or something because he totally got the wrong message. Anyhow, Dany gave the nod to Daario, Mossador got ganked, and a wave of hisses from her devoted fans assaulted her.
Ser Axell Florent
Before Stannis became extremely cool and interesting by trying to recapture the North and un-bastardize Jon Snow, he was moping around on Dragonstone and setting fire to anyone who disagreed with him. Well, with him and the Lord of Light, who was now Stannis' biggest supporter according to Melisandre. So one day on the the beach, Stannis decided to have himself a little luau. The pig with the apple in its mouth was Stannis' own brother-in-law, who had refused to renounce his belief in the Seven. No wonder Stannis was always unpopular at family gatherings.
Mance Rayder
Unfortunately, "King Beyond the Wall" Mance Rayder was too proud to do any of that stuff so he got lit up. Jon was there to put him out of his misery before things go too hot, but you know he at least pooped his pouch.
Will
It was clear way back in the pilot, at the top of the episode, that lawful beheadings would be a running/recurring theme/thing. Poor "Will" not only had to witness his two Night's Watch brothers get mauled by White Walkers, but then he had to get his head lopped off by "letter of the law" Ned. At least he was ready to die. Once he realized that there were in Westeros - on top of all the other miserable stuff - he was like "See ya!"
Lord Rickard Karstark
Oh, Robb.
Daenerys is lucky that things more or less sorted out in her favor. Sure, it took her conceding and re-opening the fighting pits, but at least there probably won't be any Red Weddings in her future.
Robb basically did the same thing Dany did, but wound up paying the ultimate price for it. Lord Karstark killed two young Lannister boys who were being held prisoner so Robb executed him for war crimes, against all advice not to. This basically killed Northern support for him and sent his followers headed to the other side to make deals. "Kill me and be cursed!" were Lord Karstark's final words. Actually, everyone should probably make those their final words. What could it hurt?
Ser Rodrik Cassel
Anyone who feels bad about Theon -- uh, we mean Reek -- these days may need to take a trip back to Season 2 when he betrayed Robb and sacked Winterfell. All so that his own awful father might not treat him so awfully.
Normally, beheadings are considered "clean" deaths. One slice and it's over. Well, not when thin-skinned Theon's wielding the sword. He hacked away at Ser Rodrik's neck like it was shawarma on a spit. And in true "curse" fashion, Rodrik was all like "Gods help you, Theon Greyjoy, now you are truly lost." Basically, if you're about to get chopped, throw in some cryptic doom prophesy.
Ser Janos Slynt
Okay, this one was awesome. Jon Snow may share a bunch of his father's stubborn qualifies, but in the case of Lord Janos, it served him well. And we as viewers actually got to see a sniveling, cowardly baby-killer fall to a noble Stark. It's not often that the wicked get what they deserve on this show.
Hell, even Alliser Thorne liked watching Janos get his head knocked off. It warmed the coldest of hearts.
Lord Eddard Stark
This was the big one, no doubt. The huge, unexpected swerve toward the end of the first season. When most viewers thought that the hero would live on and return in the second season to set things right. But Joffrey pulled a fast one and Ned lost his head. Look at the smile on that little s***'s face. I hope someone poisons him someday. So that he chokes mid-"being a dick."