Top 10 Badass Moments from the Women of Game of Thrones

The translator, advisor, and all around best friend of Daenerys Targaryen, Missandei doesn’t immediately strike most people as being particularly badass. After all, she’s from Naath, an island full of peaceful people who, unlike the rest of the world of the series, know nothing of fighting. Nevertheless, Missandei has a quiet, inner strength that comes to the forefront when Euron Greyjoy captures her and when she’s later displayed to be executed before the eyes of Daenerys and her lover, Grey Worm. With her final word, “dracarys,” Missandei tells Daenerys to burn Cersei once she’s gone. Talk about your “inner fire!”

Sansa Stark is another unexpected badass lady, since she begins the series rather naïve. However, time and many hardships teach her lessons and harden her into a force to be reckoned with. This all culminates with the Battle of the Bastards between the forces of her half-brother Jon and her former tormentor, Ramsay Bolton. Yet, Ramsay first manages to bait Jon into a literal slaughter. Thankfully, Sansa managed to save the day by rallying the knights of the Vale to their cause through Littlefinger (though it would’ve been nice if she’d shared her plan beforehand). Getting to watch her witness how Ramsay gets torn apart soon afterwards by his own hounds was the cherry on top.

Melisandre is a complex and very flawed figure in “Game of Thrones.” Many of her decisions have been morally and legally bankrupt and have led to many deaths (what kind of person burns a child alive?!). Even so, we have to give credit where credit is due – the Red Woman was one of the MVPs of the Battle of Winterfell. Her fire magic lit the blades of the Dothraki during their, admittedly disastrous, charge. She also managed to ignite a trench dug around the castle; keeping the undead at bay for a few precious minutes more. All that, and Mellisandre pointing Arya towards her destiny, had us thankful that she returned to the North after all.

Brienne of Tarth is one of a few women in Westeros who wields a weapon and fights in battle. Her sense of honor is greater than that of most men in the series and it is duty that sees her try to rescue the Stark girls after promising their mother to protect them. When she finds Arya with Sandor “The Hound” Clegane, she feels compelled to fight her apparent captor. Although Brienne begins the fight honorably, she quickly proves that she can be just as brutal, if not more so, than the Hound; even biting part of his ear off! It’s probably one of the bloodiest fights in the series that doesn’t end with someone’s death, and Brienne’s the one who comes out on top.

The famed Queen of Thorns, Lady Olenna Tyrell is a formidable elder stateswoman whose tongue is as sharp as her mind. Her ability to run verbal circles around everyone she meets makes her tremendously entertaining, as do her political skills; in fact, she made one of the bigger moves by assassinating King Joffrey with poison. Sadly, Olenna meets her end after the Lannister forces attack her castle, leaving her prisoner. Although Jaime Lannister offers her poisoned wine, he’s surprised that she downs it so quickly. The last Tyrell shocks him further by revealing her murder of Joffrey. Using her final words to instruct him to tell Cersei, she’s intent on sending one final parting blow to the woman who killed her family. Lady Olenna: savage to the end!

In her headlong rush to rid herself of any rivals to power, Cersei Lannister makes a grave mistake and grants power to religious extremists. This causes problems for not only her, but also the Tyrell family, with the religious leader gaining influence over the Crown itself and putting them all on trial. However, on the day of the trial, Cersei dresses in her best and stays back. With a slow-building song playing, it’s revealed that she’s stashed Wildfire beneath the Sept where all her enemies are gathered, and has it blown up in a masterstroke move. Granted, it’s still mass murder, but she does it with such flair that we can’t help but kind of admire Cersei for her audacity and ambition.

The Stark sisters rarely got along as children and that is slow to change once they become adults. This is a fact that the infamously manipulative Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish is quick to take advantage of by driving a wedge between them. He does so with an incriminating letter that Sansa was forced to write. However, when Arya appears to be on trial for moving against Sansa, it’s revealed that the sisters have played Littlefinger. Instead, he’s really the one who has to answer for his many crimes, which he does when Arya finally silences him for good. Granted, Bran Stark also helped quite a bit, given that his visions refute Littlefinger’s lies, but if he’s content to allow his sisters the glory, then we will too.

The young Lady of Bear Island and House Mormont, Lyanna Mormont may not have hit puberty yet, but she’s still incredibly badass. Whip smart and possessing a tongue sharp enough to rival Lady Olenna’s, Lyanna slays in just about every second she’s on-screen, but her crowning moment of awesome was sadly her last. During the Battle of Ice and Fire, a giant wight breaks through the gates, knocking Lyanna down. Rather than stay down though, the little badass charges the massive undead creature and, when it lifts her up and slowly crushes her, Lyanna stabs it in the eye with dragonglass – killing it. You were taken too soon Lady Mormont, but what a way to go out!

It was only a matter of time before the Mother of Dragons herself made it on our list and, appropriately, some of Daenerys Targaryen’s best moments involve her fire-breathing, scaly children. While there have been many fantastic moments that we could have chosen, from her last minute save beyond the Wall, to her freeing of the slaves with that first “dracarys,” we had to go with her battle against Jaime and the Lannister army. Seeing her lead her troops from dragonback is a grandiose spectacle and thoroughly badass. So often Dany is forced to play politics, but this moment is about being who she is – a dragon.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:

Catelyn Tries to Fight Off Bran’s Attacker
“The Kingsroad”

Osha Helps Bran & Rickon Escape Winterfell
“The Old Gods and the New”

Margaery Wants to be THE Queen
“The Ghost of Harrenhal”

Ygritte Tells Jon What’s What
“A Man Without Honor”

Yara Greyjoy Tries to Rescue Theon
“The Laws of Gods and Men”

Come on – you all saw this coming! Arya Stark is one of the coolest characters in “Game of Thrones” and while she has many great moments during the series, like her revenge on Walder Frey, we had to give the top spot to this one. All of Arya’s assassin training, all the dangers she’s faced, and the faces she’s taken, have led to this. The Great Battle of Winterfell becomes a slaughter, with the undead nearly overrunning the castle and the Night King poised to kill Bran. Yet it’s Arya who manages to sneak up on the Night King and take him out with that awesome blade drop trick! A lady? That’s not her. Savior of the freaking world and a complete badass? That’s her!