Game of Thrones is known for a lot of things. For its dungeons and dragons. For its gory violence and its gratuitous nudity. For some excellently written characters and some finely executed war sequences. And yes for the unexpected deaths. The show, based on the books written by George RR Martin, is known to kill off characters, some of them who we think are main ones, that too at times, we least expect them to die. Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 1 Leaked! Fans Are Already Burning With Rage, Check Out Tweets.

We have had characters killed in bed, killed at their own wedding, killed at someone else's wedding, killed while sitting on a chamberpot, killed while eating a pie that is made out, well, more murdered characters. The show finds various grisly ways to kill off characters.

Sure, some of the deaths we totally rejoiced by us. Like when that hateful prince Joeffery was poisoned in his own wedding, or when the evil Ramsay Bolton was fed to his own dogs. We even cheered when Littlefinger got caught in his own scheming and was killed by Arya Stark as her sister Sansa watched on. And there are some deaths that left us emotionally wrought because we loved the characters so much.

In this special Game of Thrones feature, we look at seven such deaths that nearly made us choke back tears in the past seven seasons. Feel free to add more in the comments section below.

Ned Stark

We thought him, the righteous Ned Stark of Winterfell, as the hero of the show. Only for him to end before the finale of the first season, betrayed by his former friend's men and executed in front of the public much to the shock of his daughters, Sansa and Arya. If you hadn't read the books then, this was the first indication that GoT has no qualms in killing off main characters, that too so early. Also, we should have seen this coming, since Ned was played by Sean Bean, an actor known for dying on screen!

Shireen Baratheon

Oh, poor Shireen! Perhaps the most innocent character in the whole series. The little child was already afflicted with the life-threatening greyscale. Her scenes with Davis Seaworth was some of the warmest sequences in a show that is primarily known for blood and b**bs. So it made our hearts wrench when little Shireen was burned alive as a sacrifice by her own father, Stannis, and watched by her mother, on the orders of the red witch Melisandre. The culprits got their comeuppance later, but at what cost!

Hodor

"Hold the Door!" Never has a phrase made GoT fans so emotional as this. The lovable hulk of a man, who only says one word, dies trying to save Bran from the wights. What makes the scene even more tragic is the realisation that came before. Moments before we find out that it is Bran's time-travelling that's the reason why Hodor lost his sense of speech as a child and could only utter only one word...'Hodor'!

Wun Wun

Jon Snow may be the face of the Battle of the Bastards, Sansa may have turned the battle in the favour of the heroes. But for us, the ultimate hero is the giant, Wun Wun, who storms into Ramsay Bolton's castle and tries to capture him but is felled by a barrage of arrows. Seriously, people, why aren't anyone talking about his death much?

Catelyn Stark

There is no doubt that the Red Wedding is one of the most shocking moments in the whole Game of Thrones series. Four main characters - Robb Stark, his wife the pregnant Talisa, his mother Catelyn and his direwolf - are killed in an act of treachery at a wedding. The most heartwrenching is to see Catelyn die because she had to see his son and daughter-in-law die first.

Ygritte

Ygritte had every reason to feel betrayed about Jon Snow; after all, he did deceive her about his identity though he loves her back. But during the battle between the wildlings and the Men of the Night Watch, Ygritte had the chance to kill Jon Snow. She hesitates, and instead gets killed by an arrow in the back, later to die in the arms of Jon Snow. While her character has a tragic demise, the actress who played Ygritte, Rose Leslie, had a happy ending in real life as she married Kit Harrington, who plays Jon Snow.

Khal Drogo

Like Ned Stark, we thought Khal Drogo to last for more than a season but doesn't! The Dothraki head was touted to be a main player. His character started off on a very negative, a ferocious barbarian who rapes his young wife, Daenerys on their wedding day. However, Daenerys makes him understand the methods of love, and they soon build a tender relationship. Which ultimately ends, Drogo gets infected from a duel and dying a slow death. Well, his death pyre is what made Daenerys what she is now - Mother of Dragons.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 28, 2019 07:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).