Widescreen: Six essential 'Game of Thrones' episodes
Ahead of Sunday's Season 7 premiere, here are the greatest episodes from the first six seasons of “Game of Thrones,” available on demand from HBO, HBO GO and HBO NOW:
Season 1: “A Golden Crown”
Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) finds an ally in sword-for-hire Bronn (Jerome Flynn), who wins a trial by combat at the mountain stronghold known as The Eyrie. Ned Stark (Sean Bean) deduces the truth about Prince Joffrey Baratheon's (Jack Gleeson) father. And “Game of Thrones” hits an early peak of grim satisfaction when the abusive Viserys Targaryen (Harry Lloyd) is “crowned” with a pot of molten gold by Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) - husband to Viserys' sister and eventual mother of dragons, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke).
Season 2: “Blackwater”
The most ambitious episode to this point focused solely on the failed siege of King's Landing by Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) and features my favorite line of the series, spoken by Tyrion: “Those are brave men knocking at our door. Let's go kill them!”
Season 3: “Kissed By Fire”
Noted for two intimate scenes: First, a revelatory bathhouse conversation between Kingslayer Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and his captor, the noble Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). Second, Night's Watchman Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and wildling warrior Ygritte (Rose Leslie) consummate their complicated relationship.
Season 4: “The Children”
Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) tells her father, Tywin (Charles Dance), that all those scandalous rumors about her and her brother are true. Later, Tywin is betrayed by another one of his children when Tyrion kills Dad on his way out of King's Landing after being broken out of prison by Jaime. A chance meeting between Brienne and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) leads to the show's most intense clash when Sandor “The Hound” Clegane (Rory McCann) challenges Brienne - and loses.
Season 5: “Hardhome”
Tyrion and Daenerys finally meet, and the resulting dialogue does not disappoint. The second half takes place in the titular wildling outpost where Jon and the men of Castle Black meet their match in The Night King (Richard Brake) and his army of the undead.
Season 6: “The Winds of Winter”
The last episode we've seen is the best. It begins with the most remarkable sequence of the show's run, scored to perfection by Ramin Djawadi: Cersei springs a trap that engulfs the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce), his fanatical followers, the cunning Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) and a large chunk of King's Landing in wildfire. Later, Arya gets revenge, we learn Jon's true parentage and Daenerys sets sail for Westeros.