Ranking Every Major Battle in Game of Thrones From Worst to Best

Game of Thrones gave us some of the most impressive battle sequences ever filmed for television. When the show wanted to flex its muscles, it could stage large-scale warfare that matched anything you’d see in major motion pictures. But not every battle in the series was created equal. Some will stay with you forever, living in your memory as moments of pure cinema. Others… well, let’s just say they had issues. Whether it’s tactical problems, pacing issues, or just not delivering on the epic scope the show promised, several battles have gotten more criticism on rewatch than they did on initial viewing.

Let’s rank the major battles of Game of Thrones from worst to best, judging them on everything from storytelling coherence to technical filmmaking to how well they served the narrative. And fair warning: this is going to get contentious. Fans are passionate about their Game of Thrones battles, and not everyone will agree with these rankings. But that’s part of the fun.

The Long Night: A Long Disappointment

Let’s start with the elephant in the room. After eight seasons of building toward the White Walkers and the Long Night, the show delivered one of the most divisive battle sequences in television history. “The Long Night” episode, which aired in season eight, saw the forces of the living facing off against the dead in a battle that was supposed to determine the fate of humanity. And then it was all over in less than an hour of screen time, with Arya Stark delivering a surprise killing blow to the Night King, ending the entire threat.

On a technical level, the episode is beautifully shot. The cinematographer (Fabian Wagner) uses darkness to create atmosphere, even if it made some viewers literally unable to see what was happening on their screens. The scale is impressive, with thousands of soldiers clashing in darkness. The desperation and chaos come through in the directing. But none of that overcomes the fundamental problem: the Long Night doesn’t work as a narrative climax.

After eight seasons where the White Walkers have been built up as an existential threat, as the ultimate enemy that makes human political squabbles seem petty, the show resolves the entire conflict in a single night. And worse, it’s resolved not through clever strategy or a great unified effort by the kingdoms working together, but by a single character doing a surprise move that nobody could have predicted. There’s no sense that the living earned this victory through skill or sacrifice. There’s just… Arya does the thing, and it’s over.

The tactical problems compound the narrative ones. The Dothraki charge directly into darkness at an enemy they can’t see, which is apparently the worst military strategy ever devised. The forces of the living place their siege weapons at the front of their formation, not the back, which makes no sense. The troops stand on walls where they can easily be knocked down rather than standing behind walls where they’d have cover. If you start thinking about the actual strategy, it falls apart entirely. And if the show is asking you to think about the strategy—because it’s spending so much time on it—then it needs the strategy to make sense.

Rewatching this battle knowing how it ends, you realize the show spent so much time on spectacle and atmosphere that it forgot to tell a coherent story. That’s a fundamental failure for a show that built its reputation on storytelling above all else.

The Battle of the Whispering Wood: Impressive But Brief

This battle, which happens off-screen in season one, actually features prominently in the books but gets short shrift in the show. We see the aftermath more than the actual battle, with Robb destroying the Lannister forces but losing some of his own. The battle itself is important for the plot—it establishes Robb as a capable military commander—but the show doesn’t give us the visceral experience of it.

The problem here isn’t that the battle is badly done; it’s that we barely see it. The show was still figuring out its budget and scope at this point, and it makes the choice to talk about the battle rather than show it. For viewers who only know the show and not the books, it’s a missed opportunity. This could have been a powerful moment showing Robb’s tactical brilliance, but instead we just hear about it secondhand.

The Siege of King’s Landing (Season 8): Spectacle Without Purpose

The Siege of King’s Landing in the final season is technically impressive but narratively baffling. We finally get Daenerys attacking the capital with her dragon, which seems like the logical climax of her journey. The problem is that the show had already built toward this moment by having the Gold Company and forces defend the city, only to abandon that plot thread entirely.

The battle itself is visually stunning. Drogon tearing through the city is awe-inspiring in a technical sense. But the destruction of buildings doesn’t tell a story. We don’t get a sense of the actual military strategy or how Daenerys manages to conquer the most heavily defended city in the realm. The Unsullied somehow just walk into the city without much resistance. The Golden Company, these supposedly elite mercenaries, die off-screen without accomplishing anything. It feels less like watching a siege and more like watching a climax that’s just checking boxes on a plot list.

And this battle becomes complicated to rewatch because you’re watching Daenerys commit what is essentially a war crime against a city that had already surrendered, with the show framing it as her villain origin moment rather than exploring the political ramifications or the actual tragedy of it. The battle doesn’t stop at victory; it continues as genocide, and the show doesn’t quite know how to handle the moral weight of what’s happening.

The Battle of Castle Black: Tense But Confused

The Battle of Castle Black in season five is a solid piece of television, and it works better on rewatch than some others on this list. Jon Snow defending the Wall from a wildling assault creates genuine tension because you know the stakes—if the wildlings breach the Wall, everything south of it is in danger.

The problem is that the battle is told in fragmented pieces. We cut between different parts of the castle, different groups of soldiers, and it can be hard to follow exactly what’s happening and how the overall battle is progressing. The editing prioritizes emotional moments and individual character scenes over giving us a clear sense of the overall military situation. Peter Dinklage isn’t even in this battle, which is a missed opportunity given Tyrion’s presence would have given it different weight.

That said, the battle does effective work in establishing Jon Snow as a genuine military commander and his tactical decision to send Alliser Thorne out to fight works well as a character moment and a strategic one. The pacing is decent, and it builds to a satisfying climax with the Vale cavalry arriving to save the day. It’s competent television, but it’s not quite at the level of the show’s best work.

The Blackwater: A Medieval Marvel

We’re getting into the actually good battles now. The Battle of Blackwater Bay in season two is a beautifully constructed piece of television that does multiple things at once. It gives us a major battle sequence, but it also gives us strong character work for Tywin Lannister, showing us his strategic brilliance and his willingness to do what it takes to win.

The green fire sequence is genuinely one of the most memorable images in the entire series. The way it engulfs the ships and the soldiers, the panic it creates, the sheer spectacle of it—that’s Game of Thrones at its technical best. And crucially, the battle actually makes sense militarily. Tyrion figures out that Stannis will come at them from the water, so they set a trap using wildfire. When Stannis’s fleet arrives, the trap is sprung, and the psychological impact of this supernatural weapon breaks the siege.

The problem is that we don’t see the actual ground battle that clearly. The Green Wedding (where Stannis’s forces actually land and fight the Lannister defenders) happens off-screen mostly. We see Tyrion getting wounded and the battle going chaotic, but we don’t get the full picture of how the ground battle plays out. Still, what we do see is compelling, and the episode balances the battle with strong character moments from Cersei, Sansa, and others.

For a show that was still building its reputation and testing its budget, Blackwater was a statement of intent. The show could do battle scenes. It wasn’t just going to be talking heads in rooms, though that’s where it excelled. This was proof that Game of Thrones could deliver spectacle when it mattered.

The Battle of Helm’s Deep… Wait, Wrong Franchise

Actually, the Battle of the Bastards in season six is Game of Thrones’ answer to that kind of large-scale battle spectacle. And while it has problems, it’s also incredibly effective at what it’s trying to do.

The Battle of the Bastards is technically masterful. Director Miguel Sapochnik stages the battle in clever ways, using geography and camera work to make the viewer feel as confused and overwhelmed as the soldiers in the battle. The formation changes, the cavalry charges, the desperation and mud and blood—it all comes together to create a genuinely tense military sequence.

The big problem, and it’s a substantial one, is that the tactics don’t hold up to scrutiny. The Vale cavalry are hiding the entire time, which is a huge force that nobody’s scouts notice? The Boltons and their allies outnumber Jon’s forces but somehow get outmaneuvered anyway? The Boltons’ superior numbers become irrelevant at the crucial moment? If you start thinking about how this battle actually played out, it falls apart.

But here’s the thing: if you just let yourself be swept up in the moment, if you don’t try to follow the tactical details and just feel the desperation and the chaos, it works. It’s a battle sequence that prioritizes emotional truth over military accuracy. We’re meant to feel lost and terrified alongside the soldiers, and the camera work accomplishes that. On a first watch, when you don’t know how it ends, this is riveting television. On a rewatch, you might be more aware of the problems, but the visceral impact can still get you.

The First Battle of the Trident: Historical Grandeur

The tournament scene and backstory references to the Battle of the Trident set up this battle in history as legendary. When we finally see it in season seven, it’s… well, it’s a brief sequence in a flashback, and it doesn’t quite deliver the epic scope that the legend suggests. But what we do see is well-shot and helps establish the magical elements of the world while also making Rhaegar and the fall of the Targaryens feel real rather than mythological.

The problem is that it’s too brief and told in too fragmented a way (through visions) to really work as a satisfying battle sequence. But as a moment of historical revelation, it serves its purpose.

The Siege of Riverrun: Showing the Aftermath

The Siege of Riverrun in season six doesn’t actually show a major battle. Instead, it shows the aftermath and the negotiations, which is actually a smart narrative choice. Jaime Lannister is tasked with reclaiming Riverrun from the Freys, and instead of staging a massive sequence, the show focuses on Jaime’s political maneuvering and the character moments.

This is good television, but it’s not a battle, so it feels odd to rank it here. It shows the show’s evolution toward treating military conflict as something resolved through negotiation and character interaction rather than just spectacle. That’s actually more interesting in some ways, but it’s not what people mean when they talk about Game of Thrones battles.

The Battle Beyond the Wall: Necessary But Rushed

The battle in “Beyond the Wall” in season seven has major problems. The premise—that Daenerys is going to fly beyond the Wall to rescue some people—doesn’t make tactical sense. Why would you put your precious dragon in danger to rescue some soldiers? Why would the wildlings follow you? The whole thing is structured around a plan that feels contrived just to get Daenerys’s forces committed to helping in the fight against the White Walkers.

Once the battle starts, it’s actually reasonably well-shot. The sense of desperation is there. The ice spiders and giants create genuine threats. But the whole sequence feels like it’s been compressed and rushed to fit into the episode. By this point in the series, the show was racing toward its conclusion, and it shows. This battle exists to move the plot forward, not to explore anything interesting about warfare or character. It’s functional but not particularly memorable.

The Sack of King’s Landing: Tragedy Without Battle

The Sack of King’s Landing by the Lannisters and their allies in season one is more riot than battle, but it’s effective at showing what happens when military discipline breaks down. The chaos of streets on fire, soldiers unable to control themselves, civilians being killed in the chaos—it’s horrifying and unsettling. Robert’s Rebellion and the Sack itself are referenced throughout the series, and seeing it depicted (albeit briefly and partially) gives weight to those references.

The Battle of the Whispering Wood: Strategic Brilliance

Actually, let’s come back to this one because the show does treat it with more weight than I initially suggested. When Robb wins his first major battle, it’s presented as proof of his military genius. The show doesn’t show us the battle itself, but the political and tactical implications are explored. Tywin Lannister is forced to take Robb seriously. The Starks are suddenly viable in the game of thrones rather than just doomed honor kids. It’s a turning point, and the show makes us feel the weight of it even without showing the actual fighting.

The Siege of Dragonstone: Daenerys’s Invasion

The show doesn’t give us much of a battle here, but the sequence of Daenerys’s forces taking Dragonstone in season seven is worth noting. It’s a brief but important moment showing Daenerys’s military capability and willingness to fight. It’s not a major engagement, but it establishes that her armies can actually accomplish things, setting up the larger invasions to come.

The Best: The Battle of the Bastards Is Still the King

Wait, I said the Battle of the Bastards was flawed. And it is. But among Game of Thrones’ actual major battle sequences, it remains the best the show produced. It’s the most technically impressive, the most visceral, and the most emotionally resonant. Even knowing the problems with the tactics, there’s something about the way that battle is shot and edited that just works.

The camera becomes a character in the battle. We’re lost with Jon Snow. We feel overwhelmed and trapped. When the cavalry finally arrives, we feel the same relief the soldiers do. The editing creates a sense of desperate chaos that pulls you through the sequence. And emotionally, the battle lands because we’ve spent five seasons caring about Jon and the Starks. This battle is the culmination of that investment.

Rewatching it, you might notice the tactical problems more readily. But the filmmaking is solid enough that it can overcome those problems. The Battle of the Bastards is Game of Thrones proving that a fantasy show could do large-scale military sequences as well as or better than big-budget films. That’s worth respecting, even if it’s not perfectly constructed.

The Real Takeaway

The thing about Game of Thrones battles is that the show learned as it went along. The early battles were smaller and more intimate because the budget was limited. As the show progressed and gained resources, battles became larger and more visually impressive. But somewhere along the way, the show also started prioritizing spectacle over storytelling coherence. The battles in the early seasons, when they happened off-screen, were described in terms that made them feel important and connected to larger narratives. The battles in the later seasons were visually stunning but sometimes felt disconnected from the larger story.

The best battles in Game of Thrones are the ones where the spectacle serves the story rather than the other way around. Blackwater works because the tactics matter and the political implications resonate. The Bastards works because we care about the characters involved. And when battles become just pretty sequences without that narrative weight, they become memorable as filmmaking but hollow as storytelling. That’s the legacy of Game of Thrones’ battles: brilliant technical achievements that sometimes forgot what battles are supposed to mean within the context of a story.