Love a good speech? “Game of Thrones” is the show for you. Here are the show’s 10 best. (And don’t worry, none are wedding speeches. Weddings don’t go so well on “Game of Thrones.”)
10.) “I’m not going to stop the wheel. I’m going to break the wheel.”
For much of her arc, Daenerys spends time listening to her counsel of talking heads, each with their own ulterior motives. In season 5, Dany’s declaration that she will raze the status quo marks a huge step forward. But are her grand visions for revolution too naive?
9.) Aemon Targaryen
The surprise reveal of Maester Aemon’s pre-Black identity is a key moment in Jon Snow’s journey to becoming Lord Commander. It also teases the test that will lead Jon to his (possibly) tragic final fate.
8.) “What is dead may never die!”
If Theon Greyjoy were in a Tolkien novel, this would have been the speech just before a glorious battle against the forces of Sauron. But this isn’t Middle-Earth, and the moment he ends his speech, Theon learns that the hard way.
The most devilishly brilliant moments of this series come when it makes you sympathize with loathsome scumbags. Jaime Lannister is a murderous, incestuous cretin who introduces himself to us by crippling Bran. But after his harrowing journey with Brienne, he says a few words that almost make you forget that. Almost.
6.) “When you play the game of thrones…”
The most famous quote speech in the series, and for good reason. Cersei’s words to Ned Stark serve as a warning for the horrors that lie ahead. The wrong decisions will cost you your life.
Lord Varys is a very mysterious figure in both the books and the TV show. For a while, his two defining traits were being a eunuch and having lots of connections. Here, Varys gets the chance to reveal more about himself, including his willingness to join in on the bloodshed around him.
Like Jaime, Cersei gets a moment of humanity during a hard fall from grace. With the walls closing in on her and Tommen, she tells her son a tale to keep his spirits up and to remind him of his potential as a Lannister. For a brief moment, Cersei stops being a bloodthirsty queen and becomes a loving mother.
It’s hard to make a dramatic monologue work when you’re speaking in a fictional language, but that’s what Jason Momoa does in season 1. Khal Drogo’s promise to give his son the Iron Throne is delivered entirely in Dothraki and escalates from the words of a loving father to the battle cry of a vicious warlord.
Littlefinger takes Cersei’s “game of thrones” speech and builds on it, weaving a metaphor that shows just how crafty he is. Everyone else in Westeros wants power, but Littlefinger wants more than that. He wants to see everyone squirm, and that’s what he gets as he speaks to Varys.
1.) “I did not kill Joffrey, but I wish that I had!“
There is no bigger star in “Game of Thrones” than Peter Dinklage, and his speech during Tyrion’s murder trial confirms it. The Imp finally unleashes all his repressed rage at the ingrates who have hated him and screwed him over despite his sacrifices for the greater good. “Game of Thrones” is about good people struggling to survive in an evil world, and in heartbreaking fashion, Tyrion openly announces his wish to stop being good and join the world in the darkness.
