While Season 3's "The Red Wedding" will undoubtedly be near-immposible to top as far as viewer reaction "shock and awe" (it was even horrifying to those who knew it was coming), fans of HBO's Game of Thrones discovered that there were plenty more big moments to behold and plenty more important characters to bump off in Season 4. That's right, George R. R. Martin still had chills and thrills in store for us, and creator/writers Dan Weiss and David Benioff knew that the remainder of Martin's third book, A Storm of Swords, still remained a treasure trove of trauma.

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There wasn't necessarily a big moment, like a "Red Wedding" or a "Battle of Blackwater," to build towards this year. There were actually numerous/multiple "gotcha" moments. So these episodes required the most massaging of any season thus far. And I expect that it will be like that from here on out; each new season becoming less of a companion for a specific count of book pages. As Weiss and Benioff have stated before, and did again recently here , the show is going to have to exist on its own terms. And Martin's books will serve as their blueprint to the best of their ability.Changes to the source material had already been made during past seasons - with most changes actually being an improvement to the story. Or, in the very least, an excellent addition to the tale fitted into a previously existing gap in Martin's POV narrative style. That method of "being faithful where it counts" continued in Season 4, though I'm sure you'll have noticed some of the online rage/head-scratching regarding the omission of two notable characters from the season. Characters who should have been there had the showrunners followed the story as Martin wrote it. I won't name those characters here, but let's just say that big omissions, as far as book fans are concerned, may be the new model going forward as we head into what could be the final three (hopefully four) seasons. Yes, the story may get streamlined more and more.But what Season 4 lacked in assured direction, it made up for in some really compelling arcs for Arya, Sansa, Tyrion, and Jon Snow (or, at least, a big, impressive battle for Jon Snow). Bran may have vanished halfway through the season, but he appeared right at the end to raise the stakes as far as creepy, mind-bending supernatural elements go. And his storyline previous to that had been beefed up with more action so as to not make his long trek north feel too Tolkien-esque.But the lack of trackable goals and direction isn't the fault of the show's creators. It's just how the story is post-"Red Wedding." With no more war, and no Stark (or Baratheon) soldiers actively battling Lannisters, everything now becomes about each characters' individual journey. The only character who we came to discover was actively eyeing the Iron Throne was - perhaps - Littlefinger. But he's in the long con game right now so even he probably doesn't even know how he'll eventually wind up there. So the Lannisters faced no challengers. Still, that didn't keep people from dying in King's Landing. Including the King himself.

Game of Thrones: 11 Best Moments from Season 4

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Joffrey meeting his agonizing, and totally satisfying, end right at the top of the season was the biggest indicator that huge moments could now happen at any time. They didn't have to be saved for the traditional "episode 9" spot, or the finale. Though, of course, big things still continued to happen in both episode 9 and the finale. But still, if the poor tortured souls who we've been following for four seasons were now truly at the whim of the maniacal George R. R. Martin, then this season more than any of the others was going to drive that point home. In fact, some believe Jaime and Tyrion's off-book conversation about their simpleton cousin Orson, who spent his days smashing beetles, was a friendly jab at the author.Case in point: Oberyn Martell. Whose death, like "The Red Wedding," came off much more horrendous on TV than in the books. Sure, it shocked me when I read it in A Storm of Swords, but it took Pedro Pascal's performance and presence to make me truly feel it. These types of atrocities are always going to strike more of a raw nerve when you've become attached to a great actor or actress playing a role. And with Oberyn's head-splitting demise came another GoT lesson. Perhaps, even, our final lesson. No one is safe, even someone we've just met. Because part of the shock behind Oberyn's death wasn't just because he came so damn close to winning, but because he'd just been introduced to us in the season premiere. And we liked him because he was new, interesting, and held a deep desire to topple the Lannisters. Plus, he was royal enough to feel powerful and protected. We actually felt like he was in the position to right some wrongs.Intertwined with Oberyn's story was Tyrion's fall. From lord to prisoner, from condemned to fugitive. The victim of Cersei's blind rage (as well as every moment he'd slapped Joffrey coming back to bite him in the ass). With both Tywin and Cersei always having cursed Tyrion's existence, the opportunity arose for them to finally rid themselves of him and they conspired to end his life. Or, in Tywin's case, kill two birds with one stone (the other being finding Joffrey's "killer", which almost makes you wonder if he conspired with Olenna and Littlefinger in order to get Tommen on the throne - and no, that's not a book spoiler, just one way you could interpret Tywin's actions). For Tyrion, it was the culmination of a long plummet that started post-Blackwater. At his height, he cleaned house and did his best to rid the Red Keep of treachery as the King's Hand. But when he saved the city, he found out the hard way that he'd flown too high.And so, like many other characters on this series, it was his turn to lose everything. Which then led to him into one of his greatest speeches since the Battle of Blackwater when he cursed the very existence of everyone in the courtroom. And in the finale, it was fitting that he and Arya's big final moments were paired up next to one another. Complete with their separate exits from Westeros entirely. Both had lost all there was to lose. They both had select family who cared for them (Tyrion had Jaime, Arya - by default of death - had Jon and Sansa), but they'd also both been pushed beyond repair. For Arya, it was years spent learning that misery was life's only guarantee, and for Tyrion it was the reaffirmation that it was only a matter of time before his title and money couldn't protect him from prejudice.

Game of Thrones' Greatest Weapons

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For me, Arya's story was the best arc Season 4 had to offer. Sure, it was simply spent bumming around the Riverlands and The Eyrie with The Hound, but their pairing was so well written and acted that it managed to turn The Hound into a somewhat sympathetic character while, in turn, Arya became even harder around the edges. So, in that sense, the two of them affected one another greatly. And for once, Arya rode with a man who had nothing but hate for the world - allowing her to grow more confident and callous in the process. Sometimes the best bonding comes from simply hating the same people. At times, Arya even hated The Hound as much as he hated himself.From their scene in the premiere spent killing Lannister men and claiming their chicken (and reclaiming "Needle") to Arya sticking by The Hound's side while Brienne offered her safe passage, the two of them were a match made in murder heaven. But nothing lasts forever (or even for long) on Game of Thrones and so it was inevitable that Arya lose one more companion. But this time, she was ready to be abandoned. And ready to finally avenge Mycah by staying her hand when The Hound begged for a quick death.Arya wasn't the only Stark girl to have some of their best material this year. Sansa, though on a completely different path from Arya, finally got to escape King's Landing and become a half-willing part of Littlefinger's grand scheme to conquer the continent. His first step, we discovered, was the murder of Jon Arryn that began the series, using Lord Arryn's own wife, Lysa. The next was poisoning Joffrey with the help of Olenna Tyrell. And though Sansa may not have thought much of her new surroundings at The Eyrie, she both knew it was exponentially better than what she'd left behind and that she was being protected by a frighteningly smart, albeit creepy, man. So she learned very quickly to "play the game." And her final change of garb, from bright colors to dark shadowy mystique signaled that she'd transformed from victim to accomplice.There was less Theon this year than the last, which is for the best. Especially since the last loaded up too much on torture. Here, all we needed were a few quick scenes showing how abused and terrified Theon had become at the hands of his new master. One shaving scene, where Theon - now "Reek" - didn't dare try to end Ramsay's life, and the next a bath scene where Reek was rewarded with an actual soak in hot water after refusing to escape with his sister.Sticking with the North, I liked how they kept Locke in the mix briefly, and actually showed him being Roose Bolton's henchman. His mission to execute Bran and Jon up at The Wall was an intriguing way to shift things around, but nothing much came of it and he was dispatched without anyone even really being aware that he was a double agent out to kill Starks. Elsewhere, if I can stick with things that didn't pay off all that well, Bronn's tutoring sessions with Jaime were good fun from a banter point of view, but in the end Jaime's defeatist takeaway was that he was no use to anyone with a sword anymore.Given Jaime's banner season last year, his Season 4 exploits left a little to be desired. His best moments came from his dungeon chats with Tyrion and his worst moment came during a scene where he, overcome with desire, forced himself on Cersei right next to the corpse of their son, Joffrey. A complicated moment that, unfortunately, director Alex Graves didn't quite portray the way he thought he portrayed it. He felt Cersei merely objected (rightfully) to the setting while many who viewed it felt she objected to the entire act in general.

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Brienne, like Jaime, sort of floundered a bit during the first half of the season, but then finally found her big moment in the finale when she crossed paths with Arya and The Hound. A moment not in the books, but one that felt a natural, satisfying fit in all the right ways. Plus, it was great to see Brienne truly prove her muster in a fight. You know, outside of Renly-run tournaments and going toe-to-toe with a man whose hands were tied.Jon's and Bran's story actually came together in the first half of the season as Jon returned to take care of some Season 3 business and clean out Craster's Keep. The reasoning behind it - that should Mance happen upon there Karl and the mutineers would give away how few men guarded Castle Black - was flimsy, but it wound up being a nice way to tie up a story thread and give us some exciting action. Jon's action beats wouldn't stop there though, as he was gifted with the epic Neil Marshall-directed "The Watcher's on the Wall." A stunning, edge-of-your-seat underdog battle couldn't have happened to a more sullen, stoic character.Wait, scratch that. Stannis wound up coming to Jon's aid in the finale, finally pairing up the two most glowering characters on the series. Still, we freakin' love it when worlds collide on Game of Thrones and characters' stories finally converge. And just to have someone, anyone come to the Night's Watch's side after four seasons felt like a breath of frosty, fresh air. And it does help that the two of them can bond over noble intentions and the feeling that they're each the shafted sibling.Finally, keeping with the shafted theme, Arya and Tyrion weren't the only ones who left their home this season. In a clever bit of sabotage from afar, Tywin managed to splinter Jorah and Daenerys' relationship, causing her to coldly oust her longtime advisor. And I couldn't help but directly connect it to Tywin's own words to young Tommen about what makes a good king - that, due to the fact that ruling never comes easy and difficult choices must be made, he listens to his advisors. Well, Dany is now learning that ruling and doing "what's right" are often two very different things. And she's now kicked out the one man who's been counseling her since she walked out of the fire with baby dragons clinging to her body.Daenerys' story felt stalled this season, as it's wont to do any time she's not physically traveling the land, providing us with the illusion that she's somehow one step closer to Westeros. Though, to be fair, it looks like she's perhaps on the cusp of losing everything like so many others on the show. Some of it lost due to her own pride and some - like her dragons - due to the fact that she may have never held the control she thought she held in the first place.