4. The Red Wedding (GOT Season 3, Ep 9)
Arguably Game of Thrones’ most defining moment, the Red Wedding proved so shocking, so unimaginably brutal, that it instantly became a pop culture meme, shorthand for a seemingly upbeat event that takes a startling, sinister turn. (“It’s like the Red Wedding,” former President Obama joked at the 2016 White House Correspondents’ Dinner, as he noted how many Republicans were in attendance.) What begins as a celebratory feast ends in a massacre as Robb Stark, his mother Catelyn Stark, and his pregnant wife Talisa, are slain by their supposed allies, the Freys. The violence is graphic and thoroughly unexpected—after all, the Starks are the nucleus of the show, its heroes. It is a barbaric display, exceptional even for cable television, and ranks up there with “Who Shot J.R.?” as one of tv’s most eye-popping plot twists.
