The characters on Game of Thrones always have a lot to say and they were especially talkative in season 6, with eloquent speeches, epic putdowns and personal tales cropping up in every episode. Today, for the Watchers on the Wall Awards, we’ll be zeroing in on the speeches that drew us in the most, the ones that had us cheering, tearing up, reflecting or just plain spellbound.
Some of the choices listed- like Brother Ray and the High Sparrow’s stories- are so long they don’t actually fit in the poll slots, so visit YouTube to watch the entire scenes if you want to refresh your memory. It’s not a bad way to burn an afternoon and remember what made season 6 so great.
The standard rules: Select up to FIVE nominees from the poll. You can choose fewer if you like, but you cannot choose more than 5.
At the end of 72 hours (Friday 9/2/16 at 1PM EDT), whichever five speeches have the most votes will continue on to the finals. The results of the poll will be revealed when it’s time to choose the winner of Best Speech in a couple weeks.
holy BALLS
How hard to choose just 5 again!
Lyanna and Davos possibly my faves though I’d forgotten how good Kinvara’s was too.
As much as I hate her, “Confess. Confess. Confess…” wins. Tyrion talking to the dragons runs a close second. Loved that scene.
I picked up two:
1) Lyanna Mormont
2) Aeron Greyjoy
i voted for the littlebear
Cersei, Ray, Kinvara, Lyanna, Yara
Yara’s speech to Theon. There’s something about it that I just love to pieces.
So many great speeches this season. I had forgotten one or two of them! In the end I went with the following five:
Brother Ray – It conveyed exactly why this character had ended up where he was, and why exactly he was helping Sandor Clegane. It also summed up the numbness that so many of the other characters that he had never met and would never meet feel six seasons into the show.
Confess. Confess. – This was Cersei at her absolute best. And scariest.
The real war is between the living and the dead – Ah, Davos! Savior of the Team Stark Recruitment Campaign! And the scene that was our first meeting with Lyanna Mormont. This speech completely summed up the importance of the fight for Winterfell, and reminded us all why Davos was an amazing Hand of the King.
Tyrion and the Dragons – I had been waiting for Tyrion to get close to a dragon since the look of wonder on his face when Drogon flew into Daznak’s Pit in The Dance of Dragons in season five. The speech was beautifully written and beautifully delivered, conveying Tyrion’s awe and obsession with dragons.
The North Remembers – This call to arms led to the proclamation of a new king, with an idea that has been around for many seasons – northerners do not forget what has been done to them! Be afraid, enemies of House Stark, be very afraid! The fact that it was Lyanna Mormont that delivered the reproach – rather than Jon or Sansa – allows for what follows, and a reconciliation between the northern houses. It takes a lot to impress this little girl, but somehow Jon Snow has succeeded.
So many good ones ! Brother Ray’s speech (and Ian McShance’s delivery of it) is as superb as I remembered it… The KitN speech is, of course, a contender and so is Davos’s.
Quick question : I can’t seem to find “your name will disappear”… I suppose it may have been too short to qualify as a speech.
A bit easier to choose than the last poll but still so many good speeches.I went with Brother Ray’s speech,only on second view I realized how good it was.The first time you hear it you go wait what this isn’t from the book.Not that I cared very much but I just had been expecting it.But then I realized it was very good and it suited the character they had created and what it meant to the hound.Plus Ian Mcshane was awsome.Then I chose Davos talking to Lyanna,Tyrion talking to the dragons and Cersei’s confess speech.Not only good writing but great acting on all accounts.The actors really sold those scenes.And obviously Lyanna’s KITN speech like I would leave that out lol.Toughest omission was Yara’s talk to Theon in Volantis I loved that scene.
Lyanna Mormont’s speech is my first choice, followed by Tyrion’s talk with the dragons and Davos’ speech to Jon after the resurrection.
I can’t go with any other than those 3.
I chose 5 for the sake of choosing, but definitely Lyanna Mormont addressing the Northern Lords for the win.
Okay, it was a bit difficult, but I got it down to these:
1. Lyanna Mormont Kingindanorf-ing.
2. Jaime’s speech to Edmure.
3. As hard to watch as this scene was, Cersei’s “confess” speech to Septa Unella.
4. Dany commanding Jorah to find a cure for his greyscale.
5. Arya talking to Lady Crane about Queen Cersei’s reaction to her son’s death.
Toughest omission: Brother Ray’s speech.
1) The Blackfish’s speech to Jaime
2) Cersei’s ‘confession’
3) The High Sparrow revealing his backstory
4) Jaime’s speech to Edmure
5) Lyanna’s speech
Sansa´s speach is not an option?! My vote goes to “Your words will disappear. Your house will disappear. Your name will disappear. All memory of you will disappear”
Yes I agree! Sansa’s “disappear” speech was my favorite GOT moment of all time….it’s the Stark’s “Reigns of Castamere”
1) Cersei’s shame…shame..shame speech. Amazing performance by Lena and excellent writing.
2) Robett Glover. THAT VOICE
3) High Sparrow speech to Margaery. Mesmerising acting by Mr. Pryce!
4) Brother Ray
5) Aeron Greyjoy (CHILLS)
1. Cersei’s “Confess” speech
2. Davos’ speech to Lady Mormont
3. Lady Mormont names Jon KITN
4. Lord Glover’s “House Stark is dead” speech
Craig,
did you nominate it?
Nice compilation. I didn’t put this much thought into my submissions for sure. But Lady Mormont shaming the Northern Lords & Ser Davos warning the Lady of Bear Island about the impending doom are the most memorable speeches for me & probably the most consequential.
Although Cersei’s confession while waterboarding the Septa was disturbingly haunting. And Brother Ray’s speech was beautiful mainly because of the brilliant delivery.
And I am also surprised that Sansa’s speech is not in the mix coz I know a lot of people here submitted it,including myself.
Tough one, again!
Dany to Jorah: somewhat cheesy with the command to heal himself, but the emotion that both Iain Glen (with barely a word) and Emilia showed was the most convincing I saw from Dany’s storyline this season.
Glover to Sansa: I cheered. Because what he said was true. We root for the Starks, but how much collateral damage have they caused with their decisions? Great speech.
Tyrion and the dragons: “It could be little, like me.” Oh gods.
Aeron: Because that barely-there character made a fantastic speech that encompassed so much in a brief span of time.
Brother Ray: Yup.
Really wish I could have picked Davos to Lyanna Mormont as well. He showed her respect, and didn’t dumb down what they were facing. Props to Davos.
Way too many to choose from. Most of these are great, and deserve votes. But I went with:
–Cersei’s speech to Septa Unella, which was just chilling.
–Tyrion to the dragons. Because it’s rare we see Dinklage get to show Tyrion’s sense of wonder or discovery; he’s mostly cynicism or realpolitik – and as a result, this is a different view of him. So that was great.
–Lady Olenna lays it all out for Cersei. Again, it differs from the usual way people speak to Cersei, and the usual way for Olenna, who can’t hide her bitterness in this speech (whereas in the past, she’s been mostly just caustic).
–Varys and his badass speech to Dala, mostly because he’s in an intimidating mode, also not his usual mode.
–And lastly Davos to Lady Mormont. She’s great here, but he’s superb, also because it’s fitting that of the 3 characters who speak to her, he’s able to be smart, strong and warm, without patronizing her for her age. It’s a great speech.
I imagine Brother Ray’s speech will get through, and it’s excellent, as is Yara to Theon, Jaime to Edmure, Dany to Jorah, her speech to the Khals, and Aeron Greyjoy’s monologue. But these above were characters in slightly different modes, which is why they got my votes.
You left out Lady Lyanna’s King of the North speech. That was the best one of all.
I’m assuming “A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell, and I’m going home.” wasn’t considered a speech. Loved that.
I also wish I could have picked the Blackfish’s speech as well. That was great. Jaime’s face.
It’s in there! 🙂
Craig,
Dee Stark,
ACME,
It’s just four lines. So I deemed it to be too short to qualify sufficiently as a speech. It will be included among the best quotes.
One line. It’ll be among the best quotes.
Pigeon,
Also “my watch has ended”, probably too short too.
no order:
Arya to Lady Crane
Cersei to Unella
Tyrion to dragons
Daenerys to Jorah
Olenna to Cersei
Should have made the Quotes nominations – that’s where I selected it, I think!
I also went for Brother Ray and of course was duty bound to select the Arya nomination 😉
Reason I like the Davos speech is not only what Alba Stark said so well but that it also captures the essence of Game of Thrones as a whole.
But Lyanna Mormont was my #1 choice.
It would be very easy to pick 12 of these at least and none of them are obvious to leave out.
I don’t see my favorite: Davos’ “Go fail again” speech to Jon. Oh well. I picked Davos’ plea to Lady Mormont instead, plus Lady Mormont’s KitN scolding, the Blackfish defying Jaime, Dany telling Jorah to find a cure and Tyrion coaxing the dragons not to eat him.
If Cersei’s obsessing over rotting corpses wins, I will certainly gag.
Arya, Davos, Lyanna, Tyrion, Yara. I thought they all slayed those scenes.
Lyanna Mormont, Ser Davos, the High Sparrow. But little Lyanna is a definite winner.
Alba Stark,
I chose Lyanna’s speech too. But I don’t think it takes much to impress most little girls. Look at Sansa falling for Joffrey even as she began to realise how awful he was. But yes, it probably takes A LOT to impress this little girl, or Arya, or the younger Brienne or Olenna or Dany or even, gods help us, Cersei.
Yes, quotes! Thank you, that’s what I was thinking, but couldn’t remember it was the category. 🙂
That was such a ‘mic-drop’ moment. Brilliant. Poor Edd. 😀
I could easily have picked about 10. I have a strange feeling of guilt over the ones I love but leave out….as though my opinion actually matters. It’s not the Emmy’s! But it’s fun.
This category is another embarrassment of riches.
Who can look at this list of amazing speeches and claim that the writing this season is somehow significantly inferior to seasons past?
Yara’s “Iron Motivational” speech to Theon didn’t make my Top 5, and it still gave me chills to read it.
Best Cersei’s speech in the entire show.
“Confess. Confess. Confess. Confess. It felt good. Beating me, starving me, frightening me, humiliating me. You didn’t do it because you cared about my atonement; you did it because it felt good. I understand. I do things because they feel good. I drink because it feels good. I killed my husband because it felt good to be rid of him. I fuck my brother because it feels good to feel him inside me. I lie about fucking my brother because it feels good to keep our son safe from hateful hypocrites. I killed your High Sparrow, and all his little sparrows, all his septons, all his septas, all his filthy soldiers because it felt good to watch them burn. It felt good to imagine their shock and their pain. No thought has ever given me greater joy. Even confessing feels good under the right circumstances.” – Cersei Lannister
Yara’s speech to Theon in Volantis all the way !
This was surprisingly easy.
Cersei to Septa: Cersei has nothing left to lose, can be the evil queen to her heart’s content. Headey at her best, here.
Davos to Lady Mormont: I love both of these characters, and I love the fact that someone, finally, FINALLY!!! mentioned the impending zombie apocalypse.
Lady Mormont, for Jon as King of the North: I love Mormont, and the speech was perfect. I would have sided with Jon after hearing her, too. Of course, ten minutes later I would have remembered he nearly lost the battle of the bastards and had to be saved by his baby sister, but by then it’d be too late.
Olenna to Cersei: Two very good actresses playing off one another. This scene warmed my heart, ironic given the content.
Sansa to Jon, on Rickon: This is one of the few times that Sansa was allowed to say something concrete, and she was absolutely right: Jon must accept the fact that Rickon doesn’t have a chance. Jon must be rational, stick to plan in order to win the battle. I almost felt like Sansa was giving Jon a chance to stop and think. Had he done so, maybe she would have told him about the Vale.
–Brother Ray tells Sandor and his followers about his own violent past, and how it’s never too late to come back.
-Cersei ‘confesses’ to Septa Unella that she killed High Sparrow, and that she does things because they feel good.
-Jaime breaks Edmure by telling him how far he will go to take Riverrun and get back to Cersei.
-Lyanna Mormont calls out the Northern Lords and proclaims her support for Jon as King in the North.
-Tyrion speaks about his childhood wish for a dragon as he unchains Rhaegal and Viserion.
Also Considered/Toughest Omissions:
-Yara finally gets through to Theon by resorting to tough love.
-Davos convinces Lady Mormont to support the Northern cause.
-Kinvara recounts details from Varys’s traumatic encounter with the sorcerer, unsettling him greatly.
-The High Sparrow tells Margaery a story about his own sinful past.
-Cersei recalls her own mother’s funeral as she contemplates locking Myrcella in a crypt.
-Lady Crane unveils her new, more vengeful speech about Joffrey’s death at the end of the play.
-Olenna mocks how far Cersei has fallen, and potentially gives her an idea …
Mace Tyrell his motivational speech before his soldiers march on the sept of Baelor should have been in this category instead of in the funny scene category. Shame!
Voting for Kinvara’s speech. I swear, Kinvara was this year’s Karsi – one scene wonder, immediately memorable and perfectly capable of holding her own even when playing alongside two fan favorite veteran GOT actors. The speech itself is so hauntingly beautiful, too.
1. Yara, 2. Lyanna, 3-5 don’t know which order: Davos, Tyrion, Theon.
– “…What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger!” – Aeron Greyjoy Was I the only one who sensed a bit of repressed anger?
– “I was a soldier once…” – Brother Ray It wasn’t the broken men one, but still…
– “As long as I’m standing, the war is not over…” – Brynden “The Blackfish” Tully BADASS.
– “I’m leaving this wretched city as fast as I can before that shoeless zealot throws me into one of his cells…You’re going to kill them all by yourself?…”- Olenna Tyrell Challenge accepted.
– “…And when we drive our swords through our enemies’ hearts, may we speak the words of our alliance: The Freys and the Lannisters send their regards.” – Walder Frey That old scumbag must be having the time of his life.
Of course, none of these speeches could be as good as they are if it weren’t for the fantastic delivery of their actors and actresses. ???
1. King in the North
2. Jaime’s speech to Edmure
3. Aeron Greyjoy
4. Brother Ray
5. Confess
Pigeon,
this will be a quote, I know, because I nominated that statement by arya for best quote haha
Wow, am I the only one who picked the Cersei death speech instead of the septa speech?
Also chose Brother Ray, Davos, the High Sparrow, and Varys.
fallofhousestark,
yes!
I’m guessing Cersei’s ‘confess’ speech or the amazing little but fierce Lyanna Mormont ‘The North Remembers’ will take this one in the end or at least be finalists. Love that Bella Ramsey! I also gave Theon’s speech my vote because it was such a great moment. Obviously Jaime’s Tywin-esque powerful reality-check on Edmure gets my vote as well but then I’m biased 😉 That is not an idle threat 😉
Arya Snark,
which death speech?
The interesting thing is, when I watch the scene back, I don’t think Jon actually knows what it is that he’s done to impress her.!
Voted for:
-Aeron Greyjoy
-Brother Ray
-Cersei to Septa Unella
-High Priestess Kinvara
-Tyrion to the dragons
Honorable Mentions: The High Sparrow, Yara to Theon, Littlefinger to Sansa.
Wow I wish all this was posted during the long winter months, with time to do a rewatch/refresh, and to keep me entertained without resorting to any and all GOT information scraps which will include spoilers :(. Summer is far too busy, haven’t even watched the last 2 eps a second time yet which is crazy! But gives me something to look forward to. Just wish I’d been prepared for nominations because I feel like some awesome things are missed, Davos speaking to Jon, Sansa to Littlefinger outside CB…and I find it really hard to vote on some categories (funniest scene, dramatic speech) without refresh, can’t do it justice!
Love reading all the dialogue this generates and I just hope there is more during the long wait to s7, besides spoilery stuff.
I am surprised that Daeny announcing Tyrion as Hand of the Queen didn’t make it…
My criteria for choosing were not just the script but also the performance and the dramatic or comedian intensity and impact the whole scene had on me.
1. “What is dead may never die, but rises again harder and stronger.” Aeron Greyjoy
2. “Confess, Confess, Confess…” Cersei Lannister
3. “Do you remember what you heard that night when the sorcerer tossed your parts in the fire?” Kinvara
4. “My son. My firstborn son. My child king, hush. Listen to the gods, for you they sing.” Lady Crane
5. “You’ve lost, Cersei. It’s the only joy I can find in all this misery.”- Olenna Tyrell
That’s not exactly a speech.
Flayed Potatoes,
A speech does not need to be 1000 words. I think that this is a pivotal scene and the few words Daeny utters could count as an informal speech. Besides there is a lot of context from both Daeny and Tyrion before it. It is the culmination of two proper speeches which where conducted by two eloquent speakers in the form of a dialogue… Strictly speaking a great deal of the nominees are not speeches at all but parts of a dialogue so…
dothrakian raven,
“Tyrion Lannister, I name you Hand of the Queen” is not a speech. It’s a performative sentence. That whole moment should be in the dramatic scene poll where it belongs.
It is the same with Walder Frey to Jaimie, Jaimie to Edmure, LF to Sansa, BF to Jaimie, Sansa about Rickon etc. If we take the speech in its litteral meaning (that is to adress a substantial number of people) then just a few of the nominees are suitable for it. But I understand this category in a broader sense that includes impactful monologues and important phrases for the plot as a whole and in that sense I could see the “Tyrion Lannister, I name you HoQ” as part of it. In any case it doesn’t really matter at this point 🙂
There were so many great speeches; it was difficult to pick just five (as was the the case with all of the categories).
But I was tough, and made it happen. I recalled how I felt the first time I heard each speech. Happy for Tyrion to realize his childhood dream; superiority when he spoke of not forgetting what happened in Dragon’s Bay; Theon speaking to the kingsmoot about his Queen; and Dany’s plea for Jorah to return to her. That last one did bring tears to my eyes. But as I read all of these great words, there was one speech which gave me goosebumps – just like it did when she delivered it. All hail Lady Mormont for giving us our king.
I opted for Lyanna for emotion and plot importance, Olenna for wit, Davos for heart-breaking outrage, Brother Ray for espousing (and dying for) loving-kindness and decency, and Cersei for sarcastic and vengeful passion. Lady Crane’s third speech was also amazing, and kudos to Essie Davis for distinguishing it so well from the two earlier versions.
Two unfortunate exclusions: Sansa’s “Your name will die” speech to Ramsay and Arya’s “They’re HERE, my lord…a Stark will be smiling down at you as you die” speech to Walder Frey. Most book readers yearned for Stark vengeance to the extent that they latched on to Lady Stoneheart and the alleged Great Northern Conspiracy and Frey Pies for solace. It’s incredible that after five mammoth books George still hasn’t given us a Stark avenging her/himself on family enemies. I’ve been impatient for some Stark to off Lord Walder for over 10 bloody years! Satisfaction at last.
Sansa’s speech on Rickon, oddly enough because I’m not the biggest Sansa fan but I look forward to seeing her develop into a hard-headed realist
I’m going to just put it out there. Lyanna Mormont For The Win.
The North Remembers!
ghost of winterfell,
My favorite 5 as well!! I think a huge part of why these speeches were so good were the accompanying performances as well… Jaime/Edmure and Arya/Crane are my favorite scenes and performances for those characters since season 3.
It was tough to choose which 5. I had a hard time leaving out Cersei’s speech about her thoughts after her mother died, among others.
One of the great things about this category is how it reminded me of how great, imo, the writing can be.
Holy smack! I can’t believe you didn’t have the main part of Sansa Stark’s smackdown speech to Littlefinger in the Molestown brothel!! You know, the whole… ‘Did you know about Ramsay? If you didn’t know, you’re an idiot. If you did know, you’re my enemy. Would you like to hear about our wedding night? He never hurt my face. He needed my face, the face of Ned Stark’s daughter. The rest of me… He did what he liked with the rest of me, as long as I could still give him an heir. What do you think he did? What do you think he did to me? [He beat you.] Yes, he did that, what else do you think he did? [Sansa…] What else? [Did he cut you?] Maybe you did know about Ramsay all along. [I did’t know.] I thought you knew everyone’s secrets. The other things he did, ladies aren’t supposed to talk about those things, but I imagine brothel keeps talk about them all the time. I can still feel it. I don’t mean in my tender heart, it still pains me so. I can still feel what he did in my body standing here right now. You said you would protect me. I don’t believe you anymore. I don’t need you anymore. You can’t protect me. You won’t even be able to protect yourself if I tell Brienne to cut you down. And why shouldn’t I.’
This is one of the best speeches EVER. Her strength and coolness while he squirms in front of her. To finally see someone with the upper hand over Littlefinger. She really does have the power to cut him down in this scene, both with her words, and with Brienne, if she chooses, but she walks away. I’m sad that this one wasn’t included. I loved Lyanna Mormont’s ‘King in the North’ speech, as well, but this speech by Sansa was so strong and so indicative of her character’s growth, it really should have been included.
As usual, an embarrassment of riches. I picked the ones that moved me the most:
Brother Ray
Cersei to Septa
Yara to Theon
Tyrion to the Dragons
Lady Crane, second speech
Visenya,
You are right that was an amazing speech. Guess no one suggested it?
ash,
Wait, that was in the most dramatic scene category – so its not left off just not where maybe it should be..
For Best Quote we might need more than 5 candidates.
Aeron’s speech in Euron’s coronation. This moment alone is a much more powerful sequence than the preceeding kingsmoot, even more so because it is interspersed with shots of Yara and Theon stealing most of the Iron Fleet. Aeron’s recitation is just perfect, not only because it fits the scene perfectly but because it matches the impression of the priestly character I got from the books (in particular the audiobooks). And we also get Euron’s steely, mad glare as he is crowned: “Let Euron, your servant, be born again from the sea as you were. Bless him with salt, bless him with stone, bless him with steel. Listen to the waves, listen to the God. He is speaking to us and he says: ‘We shall have no king but Euron Greyjoy’. Let the sea wash your follies and your vanities away. Let the old Euron drown. Let his lungs fill with sea water. Let the fish eat the scales off his eyes. What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger!” – Aeron Greyjoy
Brother Ray’s sermon. It may not be the “broken man” speech, but it’s damn close, and this version is tailor-made to awaken Sandor from his deep stupor. Just beautiful. “It’s never too late to come back.” That part is not technically included in the version for the vote, but oh well: “I was a soldier once. All my superiors thought I was brave. I wasn’t. I mean, I never ran from a fight. Only because I was afraid my friends would see I was afraid. That’s all I was, a coward. We followed orders no matter the orders. Burn that village. Fine, I’m your arsonist. Steal that farmer’s crops. Good, I’m your thief. Kill those young lads so they won’t take up arms against us. I’m your murderer. I remember once a woman screaming at us, calling us animals as we dragged her son from their hut. But we weren’t animals. Animals are true to their nature and we had betrayed ours. I cut that young boy’s throat myself as his mother screamed and my friends held her back. That night…I felt such shame. Shame was so heavy on me, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep. All I could do was stare into that dark sky and listen to that mother screaming her son’s name. I’ll hear her screaming the rest of my life.” – Brother Ray
Dany’s farewell to Jorah. Jorah has always been a favorite of mine (In the show, anyway; he’s much creepier in the books, and not just because Dany is 13 there but because of his abundant shitty words and deeds.) I can’t see his story of unrequited love ending in any way that isn’t tragic, and if Dany’s heartfelt goodbye is the definitive farewell between the two, it was a damn good one. I do hope they see each other again, hopefully so that Jorah can deliver some crucial bit of information, but until then, this is more than enough: “Do not walk away from your queen, Jorah the Andal. You have not been dismissed. You pledged yourself to me. You swore to obey my commands for the rest of your life. Well, I command you to find the cure, wherever it is in this world. I command you to heal yourself and then return to me. When I take the Seven Kingdoms, I need you by my side.” – Daenerys Targaryen
Davos convincing Lyanna. Oh Davos. Another one of my favorites, with that silver-tongue. Except he isn’t the usual archetype for a silver-tongued adviser, isn’t he? Not at all. He’s a straight-talking ex-smuggler, not a sneaky politican. Yet… he can charm everyone, including Lyanna Mormont and myself: “You never thought you’d find yourself in your position, being responsible for so many lives at such a young age. I never thought I’d be in my position. I was a crabber’s son, then I was a smuggler, and now I find myself addressing the lady of a great house in time of war but I’m here because this isn’t someone else’s war. It’s our war…Your uncle, Lord Commander Mormont, made that man his steward. He chose Jon to be his successor because he knew he had the courage to do what was right – even if it meant giving his life – because Jeor Mormont and Jon Snow both understood that the real war isn’t between a few squabbling houses. It’s between the living and the dead. And make no mistake, my lady, the dead are coming.” – Davos Seaworth
Lyanna Mormont’s king-making speech. If you don’t mind, I will group this together with Robett Glover begging Jon’s pardon during the same scene and Wyman Manderly swearing his allegiance to the “White Wolf”. If these two speeches had been included, I would have to cut out a few of the previous ones (Aeron’s and Dany’s, probably). Alas, they are not included, as they didn’t receive enough votes. Still, I’m more than happy with Lyanna Mormont’s crowning (ha ha, get it?) moment: “Your son was butchered at the Red Wedding, Lord Manderly, but you refused the call. You swore allegiance to House Stark, Lord Glover, but in their hour of greatest need, you refused the call. And you, Lord Cerwyn, your father was skinned alive by Ramsay Bolton, and still you refused the call. But House Mormont remembers; the North remembers! We know no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark. I don’t care if he’s a bastard. Ned Stark’s blood runs through his veins. He’s my king from this day until his last day!” – Lyanna Mormont
L O L That’s funny. It was good and beautifully delivered, but not one of my choices either.
I picked Brother Ray, because of it being McShane, because it was a former killer spilling his guts about being a killer no more, which moved Clegane enough to want to rejoin the world, and ultimately send him towards the BWOB, who are going North to fight the big fight. Can’t wait to see what part they make for Sandor in the upcoming season. If he does end up dead, I hope he goes out as a hero.
Davos, because he was able to convince this shrewd little girl to supply them with her 62 men. Wish we knew how many of the 62 survived. But it was a bright spot in an otherwise dismal effort of Jon and Sansa to gain support.
Dany’s speech asking the remaining Dothraki to go with her on the boats, even though many didn’t like it when the episode was first reviewed. I wasn’t crazy about it at first, but rewatched and realized what a great move it was to get them all to agree to go with her while they were so enthralled with seeing her on Drogon’s back for the first time.
Dany imploring Jorah to find a cure. She looked so beautiful, soft and caring while making that speech. We all got so used to her being angry at Jorah, it was a welcome change. Also, because Jorah had declared his love for her. The speech meant that Jorah would be back in one of the last seasons. We couldn’t see Jorah just ordered off the reservation with a wish of good luck but get lost. It was touching.
Lady Mormont chastising the Northern Lords for not joining Jon in the first place. KITN. Hope they use this character wisely. She’s a gem, both the character and the actress.
I had to go with the ones that really gave me chills or pulled hardest at my heartstrings:
Lyanna Mormont (of course)
Davos to Lyanna (Davos and his wisdom)
Cersei to Unella (So. Dang. Creepy.)
Dany to Jorah (poor loyal bear)
Yara to Theon (made me want to jump through the screen and hug them both)
Another tough category. In my order of ranking, I choose the following:
1) Aeron Greyjoy
2) Arya to Lady Crane
3) Brother Ray
4) Lady Crane re: Joffrey, v2
5) Tyrion to the dragons
Visenya–You’re right. That was one of the best speeches of the season–I wanted to cheer, but held off because, as GRRM often says, “words are wind.” As I expected, she went groveling to him when push came to shove. She had to do that for some good reasons, but she still couldn’t even give him a proper rejection in the Godswood at Winterfell.
Offtopic, but i have a problem with the site since a couple of months. I need to be constantly deleting the browser’s cache to be able to see the new posts (like every two days or so), or enter using a private tab. It’s the only site where this happens, i have already deleted cookies, and it happens both on my cellphone (using Chrome) and on my PC (using Opera). This didn’t happen before, it started all of the suden
My choices were: 1.) Davos convincing speech to Lyanna Mormont 2.) Lyanna Mormont´s My King speech to the Northeners 3:) Cersei´s sad memory about her mother´s death 4.) BlackFish fierce speech about his home and 5.) Robbet Glover barking at Sansa 😉
I went with Aeron’s drowning speech as it brilliantly sums up the Iron Born Culture. The whole sequence was brilliant and Michael Feasts delivery was just sooooo good. Someone mentioned a repressed anger in his words. I dont know if it was anger, but definately a slight worry that he was crowning this flamboyant, unpredictable man and asking the god to change him and make him fit for the crown. I’m also honoring the fact, that they delved into this part of the Iron Born, the religion, by giving us Aeron Greyjoy. Michael Feast was perfect and I hope he gets acknowledged in the best guest actor category even though his role was very minor. I think, he’s gonna be fleshed out a little more, since there has gotta be conclusion to that arc with Dany and the Iron Fleet ariving at the islands, and because Yara specifically mentioned her wanting to murder TWO uncles, not just one.
So many great speeches and only 5 to choose from…
Lyanna Mormont’s KITN speech, Davos a close 2nd Tyrion with the dragons…This isn’t getting any easier for me but the little “Bear” and dear Davos are definitely my favs!
Lyanna for Queen in the North!
Surprised that Davos’ charge against Melisandre did not make the cut. It did make many of us tear up.
I hope we see Kinvara again. I went with her upsetting and terrifying Varys, that’s not easily done.
Then Davos at Bear Island.
Lyanna Mormont.
Lady Crane the second round about Joffrey, calling for vengeance.
And probably my favourite: Cersei’s confession.
The speech Sansa gave Ramsay when she killed him is missing, and it’s probably the best one of the season!
Dee Stark,
The one about her mother and Myrcella.
Arya Snark,
No you aren’t 🙂
I don’t get why people think Lyanna Mormont’s speech is good. Is it just because it’s a feel good moment and “good guy wins”?
It was really stupid.
She chastises the northern lords for not answering the call to serve Jon Snow and house Stark. She talks about how she doesn’t care he’s a bastard, he has Stark blood in his veins, yay yay King in the north!
…Did she forget how her first meeting with Jon went? Did everyone forget?
Because as I recall, she called him a bastard, not really representing House Stark, and called Sansa a Lannister/Bolton, still not fit to lead the Stark.
Then she refused to help them…. All up to the point where DAVOS made a speech about the white walker. That’s the only reason she joined.
She has not ground to blame anyone for not joining, she didn’t want to join either.
And the Glover suffered much from the war while the Stark did nothing, of course they’ll be less inclined to join the Stark. And they didn’t get that sweet Davos words, which again, is the only reason Mormont joined in the first place.
As for the Cerwyn? If you rewind a few episodes, they did NOT go to the Cerwyn; Sansa tells Jon right before the battle that “They should’ve asked the Cerwyn”.
They might have sent a raven I guess, but how impersonal that is. Jon Snow was right in front of Lyanna Mormont, with Sansa Stark, and she just insulted them to their faces and almost refused. Yet she’s there blaming Cerwyn for not commiting his entire army, family, and himself to some cause after only receiving a letter?
Lyanna Mormont should’ve kept really, really quiet. The showrunners just thought it’d make good television to have that little girl insulting grown men, but it was just really bad if you think about it a second. She had no cause to talk.
Hell, she might just be the worst of them. The reason the Glover didn’t join in is because they got destroyed real bad in the war and resented the Stark for not helping them. Wouldn’t you feel that way if your family was killed/emprisoned by your enemy and your liege lord didn’t lift a finger about it, THEN asked your help? I think I’d learn dothraki and Valyrian just to tell them to go fuck themselves in as many languages as possible.
Mormont didn’t want to join just because she wanted to keep her men and her lands safe, and only did it afterward becuase Davos convinced her not by praising the Stark, but by talking about some vague threat.
Also worth mentioning that the threat talk was stupid. I mean Jon wanted to “unite the north against the white walker, because as divided north stood no chance”?
Well guess what, the north WAS united. United with the Bolton.
Everyone beside 2-3 extremely small house told jon to fuck off, that they’d rather stay with the Bolton.
The north was really united.
Now the north is crushed, the bolton are dead, the umbers and karstark are dead… or if any survivors, they’ll be divided, just like before.
These three MAJOR house could’ve worked together to stop the white walker. More than the remains of the butchered wilding army, Mormont’s 62 men ( minus casualties ) and the Mazin, whoever that is. (They did not expect to have the Vale, so that’s what they’d thought they would have – not to mention that they were about to be annihilated without the Vale, so there would be exactly 0 men to fight the white walkers. in their alliance anyway).
All in all, it was just a feel good moment but if you think about it a minute it’s really stupid, from start to finish.
To the many folks who have asked:
Most of your “this was left out” comments relate specifically to monologues that were not nominated in the first place, or were too short to serve as an actual monologue and were therefore slotted among the best quotes – including Sansa’s words to Littlefinger in Mole’s Town. That’s one of the longer quotes among the best quotes, but it was interrupted fairly often by Baelish, and therefore was put in that category. Sansa’s words to Ramsay, too, were over there, as that’s just four sentences.
aiad,
No, the North was not united under the Boltons. Ramsey murdered his own father, half brother and stepmother. As Ramsey, himself, said in a prior episode .. people FEARED him and no one liked him Everyone feared him (except Myranda who also liked him). But that’s it. No one else. They would not have been “united by the Boltons” via fear for very long. You can’t rule by fear alone — that’s a central message of GOT (e.g. Stannis vs Renly; Dany vs the Mad King; Cersei; etc) And as Jon Snow said during the parley .. would Ramsey’s men be willing to fight for him knowing that he would never fight for them? And if they didn’t know yet, they would soon find out. No one liked the Boltons .. Small John Umber refused to kneel to Ramsey. There is no way anyone can ever say that the North was united with the Boltons. It was not. It was a ticking time bomb.
Lyanna Mormont had every reason to make the speech. Yes, she was reluctant to join their cause at first, but the result is SHE JOINED. Another central message of GOT is that — good intentions alone are meaningless and not always preferred. It’s the result that matters. And the result is that House Mormont was one of the only houses that joined their cause — doesn’t matter how they got there — they got there and that’s what matters.
One of the reasons everyone rallies around Jon Snow is because they know that — what he asks of people, he is willing to do himself. (The Boltons do not. They are known turn cloaks. No one trusts them and especially not under Ramsey.) That is another central message of GOT first echoed via Ned Stark “The man who passes the sentence must swing the sword”. Jon Snow never shirks from “what must be done” even though he does make strategic mistakes at times.
ACME,
It’s to bad that one of the most powerful and brutal speeches in S6 didn’t make the cut. I find Sansa’s confrontation to LF (her abuser by proxy) to be one of the highlights of this season:
Arya Snark,
I voted for that one as well…something sad about hearing her talk for the first time about her mother in that way
Tough category. I went with Dany to Jorah, Arya to Lady Crane, Lyanna Mormont to The Northern Lords, Tyrion to the Dragons, and Brother Ray. Man… I loved season 6.
Al Swerengen lives!!!!! Brother Ray hands down! The true mark of a great actor…Ian McShane killed it in one episode!
All Season 5 I was thinking, Cersei is going to make Septa Unella pay, she is gonna make her pay. And did the holy ones take my advice, no. Before she died, pretty sure Septa Unella was wishing she had been at the High Sept. (cue the music for “Bad Girls”)
maria,
Omergerd please let’s not hash out Jon-Sansa thing again 🙂 It’s voting time!