My first memory of Game of Thrones was watching the second episode of the series (“The Kingsroad”) in an auditorium with a couple of my undergrad friends. I had no idea really what this series was about but by the end of the episode, I was hooked. Looking back at the story as it nears its conclusion is a strange thing to experience, especially when I think about my own life changes over the past seven or so years.

Theoretically, top ten or even twenty-five lists are incredibly easy. For a show like Game of Thrones , it’s incredibly difficult. There are the bombastic moments – who can forget the green fire of the wildfire, lighting up the Bay of Blackwater like a nightmare? Or the heart racing dread as we wished for the beautiful pansexual hero Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) to defeat the man who had robbed so much from his family? Then there are the quiet moments – the tragedy of Ned Stark’s (Sean Bean) execution is a landmark moment in television history, while the sheer horror of the Red Wedding is another.

Below are the Top 10 moments from the first four seasons of Game of Thrones (stay tuned for our seasons 5-7 list). There are certainly dozens of other great scenes or moments that I left off of this list that we’d love to include, but please chime in on Twitter @ThatShelf and tell us your own!

10. Jacques in the Box/The History of the Sept of Baelor (Season 3, Episode 4: “And Now His Watch is Ended”)

Yes, this is a little bit of cheating because I’m combining two scenes into one post, but hey, if you’re looking for fairness, you’ve come to the wrong show. These two scenes work beautifully in comparison and contrast with one another, underlying the mirroring political powers of those on the Iron Throne and those in the shadows. They’re different types of power, the kinds that bring Lord Varys (Conleth Hill) a sorcerer in a box and the kind that Margaery (Natalie Dormer) uses to bring King Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleason) to face the public of King’s Landing. But they run in tandem with one another, relying on the other for survival in the game of thrones.

“Power is a curious thing,” says Lord Varys to Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) and indeed it is. Power is often as much a matter of perception as it is a matter of reality. That duality is often enshrouded, hiding in the alleyways until all of a sudden it is not. The Lannisters lauded to think of themselves as being ironclad, protected in tall of their endeavors by their powerful gold mines. The public of King’s Landing never registered as a threat, until the power of the masses, angered by a feudal system starving them dry, was exercised. And suddenly the ironclad grip of those in power trembled.

[nextpage title=”8. Theon Betrays Robb Stark (Season 2, Episode 3: “What is Dead May Never Die”)”]

The arc of Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) is one of redemption, trauma, and the dark places we can go to in search of an identity and a home. Theon’s story has been so sharply drawn and several times uncomfortably so, that it is easy to overlook the moment when he made the fateful choice to betray the family he knew for the family he thought he wanted. Along with one letter, dozens of lives went up in wintry, salty smoke.

[nextpage title=”7. ‘My Name is Jaime.’ (Season 3, Episode 5: “Kissed by Fire”)”]

Redemption and identity are central themes to the story that Game of Thrones is telling. Each character has a vision of who they think they are, who they want to be, and have varying degrees of understanding as to how others perceive them. Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is a man who knows who he is, doesn’t entirely know who he wants to be, and is painfully aware of what others presume him to be. When he is in the bathtub with Brienne (Gwendoline Christie), herself a character who knows a thing or two about those painful personal histories of identity, he opens up to her in a way where a mere few minutes are able to shatter the veneer of who we thought he was and seemingly bring an entirely new being to life.

[nextpage title=”6. The Battle of Blackwater (Season 2, Episode 9: “Blackwater”)”]

The first major battle on Game of Thrones was also the first episode centered around a singular location. The beauty of the battle, outside of its staging and direction, is that there were people on both sides of the conflict who had earned our sympathies. We wanted the House of Lannister to fall. But not Tyrion. We wanted Stannis (Stephen Dillane) to fail so that Tyrion would live. But we wanted Davos (Liam Cunningham) to be safe. We wanted Joffrey to fall but for Tyrion to be given clemency. But we knew that was not possible. That tension, gripped with the beautiful barbs and lessons between Cersei (Lena Headey) and Sansa kept us gripped until the very end.

[nextpage title=”5. “Look, the Pie!” (Season 4, Episode 2: “The Lion and the Rose”)”]

There were few, if any individuals, who had expected another wedding death to happen after the infamous screams and clangs of the Red Wedding. George R. R. Martin, in what would be his last script for the show, layers in poignant moment after moment, laden and dripping with Joffrey’s truly uninhabited cruelty. One moment of shameful conduct was followed by another, until Margaery loudly declared the arrival of a magnificent pie. The declared pie was cut, a pigeon within the pie died, and then the King of course needed some wine to wash the dryness pie down. The wine washed the dryness of the pie away but also took the King’s life along with it. Cersei’s first-born child died in her arms and Tyrion suddenly found a noose hanging around his own neck.

[nextpage title=”4. The Sack of Astapor (Season 3, Episode 4: “And Now His Watch is Ended”)”]

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) came into her own and then lost everything. When she arrived at the boardwalk of Astapor, she was hardened, determined, and stronger than ever before. Her experiences had imparted upon her lessons of great value and when she struck what appeared to be a shocking bargain, she had a plan in the back of her mind. She was, for the first time it seemed, going to take her destiny fully into her own hands, the words of the men around her be damned. She, like many women before and after her, was underestimated. Those who underestimated her paid the ultimate fiery price, learning the hard way that a dragon was not a slave and that loyalty earned is far more powerful than loyalty bought. Dracarys.

[nextpage title=”3. The Execution of Lord Eddard Stark (Season 1, Episode 9: “Baelor”)”]

Even before we approach the fateful steps of the Sept of Baelor, the penultimate episode of season one was one soaked in an impending aura of tragedy and despair. For a brief moment, it seemed that Joffrey would indeed spare the life of poor, honorable Ned. He does not and with one brief stroke of Ser Ilyn Payne’s (Wilko Johnson) sword, the protagonist of Game of Thrones is dead. Sansa’s screams for mercy and the quiet terror upon Arya’s (Maisie Williams) face are forever evocative of that moment, the moment where the story announced that it was true to its menacingly spoken word: “You win the game of thrones, or you die.” And storytelling changed forever.

[nextpage title=”2. “Don’t Leave Me Alone in this World” (Season 4, Episode 8: “The Mountain and the Viper”)”]

Tyrion is arguably the most beloved character on Game of Thrones . He is witty, dangerous, and sympathetic, a man who is unduly hated by his family for being a dwarf. The Viper’s (Pedro Pascal) promise to champion him in a trial by combat kept the flicker of hope for Tyrion’s survival alive. It was snuffed out a mere episode later. The beautiful pansexual hero was fast and in a surprise brought the Mountain down onto his back. He just couldn’t keep him there, lacking the foresight Lord Varys would rightfully lament. His bloodied remains stained the ground, Tyrion was sentenced to death, and the cycle of vengeance continued onwards, fueled and unabated. Ellaria’s (Indira Varma) expression of utter horror became a cultural milestone in its own right, but the anguish within her voice has never left.

[nextpage title=”1. The Red Wedding (Season 3, Episode 9: “The Rains of Castamere”)”]

This is the moment that heralded something else for storytelling in the television medium. It was one thing for Ned to lose his head, but then the show seemed to be shifting towards another traditional story: one where the son is forced to become a man and avenge the injustice upon his father. That did not happen. A horrifying tragedy – a massacre – awaited our protagonists, finally done in by their commitment to honor that blindsided them to the treachery hiding beneath one man’s sleeve. And who can forget that cry of despair that emitted Catelyn Stark’s (Michelle Fairley) throat? Millions shed tears, many swore off the show before coming back for the finale, and many more made their peace that virtues are indeed a double-edged sword. Valar Morghulis, indeed.

Bonus: The Stark Men Getting Shaved (Season 1, Episode 1, “Winter is Coming”)

I was closeted when I saw this scene for the first time. I am no longer. I hereby appreciate this scene a lot more.