
Why it matters: One of Game of Thrones’ most famous episodes culminates in an utterly shocking development, cueing viewers’ realization that A) one character is truly unredeemable, and B) this is a show where traditional bets regarding which characters are “safe” are totally off. ** “Baelor” - season one, episode nine ** Why it matters: A few crucial plot developments happen, and we begin to understand how swiftly fates can change on this show. “You Win or You Die” - season one, episode seven Why it matters: We get to see a few key differences that set one Targaryen apart from other would-be rulers of their line - and we witness one character’s lifesaving quick wits at work. ** “A Golden Crown” - season one, episode six ** Why it matters: This is the episode that introduces all of Game of Thrones’ major players, most importantly the Stark family and their relationship to Winterfell, our emotional home base throughout the seasons to come. HBO “Winter Is Coming” - season one, episode one The essential episode guide to Game of Thrones - if you want to understand the plot The mother of dragons.

Note: If you’re worried about spoilers, we’ve done our best to stay vague in these episode descriptions, but we make no promises about keeping absolutely every detail under wraps. For your convenience, we’ve used asterisks to denote the nine episodes that appear in both parts. The second part (16 episodes) covers all of the show’s most major “Holy shit!” moments, of which there are plenty.
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To solve this problem, we’ve divided the following list of essential Game of Thrones episodes into two parts: The first part (28 episodes) covers the most important plot developments of the last seven seasons, for anyone who’s completely new to the series or looking to jog their memory before season eight begins. So if you’re looking for a refresher on Game of Thrones’ biggest spectacles and most shocking moments, you’ll need to watch different episodes from someone who’s looking to quickly get up to speed on what’s happening in the story. And on the flip side, a lot of the show’s key episodes, in terms of helping you follow the plot, aren’t the ones that have earned all the critical accolades and fan love. In other words, not only is there no single episode that will unlock Game of Thrones for you, but plenty of the show’s “must-watch” hours are tough for newcomers to get into.

As a case in point, Game of Thrones’ single most essential episode, “Rains of Castamere,” is pretty much useless as a way to understand either the show’s overall narrative trajectory or who any of its core characters are. Game of Thrones is such a sprawling series that trying to skim-watch your way through it - especially if you’re trying to catch up before season eight premieres on April 14 - isn’t as easy as it might sound.įor one thing, while its fancy high-budget battle scenes and many shocking moments have earned it plenty of buzz and fueled endless fan debates over the years, revisiting them won’t necessarily help you recall the overall plot - and if you’re a newbie, many of them will be hard to care about without the context of who’s who and what’s at stake.

Looking for a simple “essential episodes” guide to Game of Thrones before the show returns for its eighth and final season? Not so fast.
