24 Emmy-Worthy Game of Thrones Twists

Game of Thrones is up for a best drama award at the Emmys this year, a title it has yet to win. But while the fantasy drama may not beat out Mad Men for the top prize, it certainly should be crowned king for the most “WTF” moments. The show never disappoints when it comes to deaths, betrayals and cutting off extremities—at least for those of us non-book readers able to ignore all the tweets about how Bran’s storyline will totally pay off.

In honor of Game of Thrones’ bid for best drama, TIME has ranked the craziest twists in its history. Do you agree with our list? Obviously, spoilers ahead.

24. Myrcella Poisoned

Season 5

Let’s be real: we all saw this one coming from a mile away. Not only would the Sand Snakes have been rendered pointless if Myrcella hadn’t died, but she was doomed from the moment she told Jaime she was happy to be inbred.

23. Stannis’ “Death”

Season 5

This doesn’t rank high because it was pretty obvious that Brienne was going to miss that damn candle—you had one job!—in order to kill Stannis and avenge Renly. It’s also unclear whether Brienne actually did the deed.

22. Arya Leaves the Hound Behind

Season 4

Up until this point, we’d seen Arya do some coldblooded things on this show, but we always had faith in her ability to show mercy to those who helped her—until she left the Hound suffering on a hillside.

21. Cersei’s Walk of Shame

Season 5

We knew that Cersei’s punishment would be brutal, but this excruciatingly long scene still managed to shock.

20. White Walkers Attack the Wildlings

Season 5

Astute viewers probably realized as soon as Karsi shoved her daughters off on that boat that the Wildling and Jon Snow would soon be attacked by a White Walker army. But the sheer number of ice zombies raised the show’s stakes.

19. Arya Blinded

Season 5

Yes, Arya losing her sight was terrible. But it was overshadowed by the many other catastrophes that took place in the final episode of the latest season.

18. Shae Betrays Tyrion

Season 4

We really thought they had found true love.

17. Daenerys Survives the Fire

Season 1

This is more a triumphal moment than a twist: even non-book readers probably realized Daenerys would be sticking around for multiple seasons. Still, those dragons were a pleasant surprise.

16. Joffrey Murders a Prostitute With a Crossbow

Season 3

Joffrey’s murderous hijinks escalate to true sadism.

15. Jaime’s Hand Cut Off

Season 3

Wait, what? The kingslayer just lost his hand? That’s his whole identity!

14. Jaime Pushes Bran From a Tower

Season 1

Knowing the Lannisters as we do now, Jaime pushing a boy off a tower isn’t all that shocking. But remember, this happened in the very first episode. Back then, we had no idea what we were in for.

13. The Moon Door Murder

Season 4

As soon as Chekhov’s moon door was introduced, it was only a matter until someone fell through it. It was still shocking (and totally gratifying) to watch Lysa Arryn fall to her death.

12. Sam Kills a White Walker

Season 3

Who would have thought bookworm Sam of all people would be the one to take down a White Walker?

11. Tyrion Kills Tywin and Shae

Season 4

We knew Tyrion wouldn’t pass up the chance to kill Tywin. But Shae?

10. Ygritte Dies

Season 4

Cue an Imogen Heap song: Jon Snow’s true love was just shot by a small boy named Olly. More on him in a second…

9. Drogo Melts Viserys’ Head

Season 1

Up until now, we didn’t know that Dany could be so cutthroat—or that Game of Thrones could be so creative in its death scenes.

8. Stannis Sacrifices Shireen

Season 5

This one came as a shock even to the book readers. But what was really surprising was the fact that cold-hearted Selyse actually felt guilty about it.

7. Melisandre Births a Murderous Ghost Baby

Season 2

There are ghosts in the world? And they can murder people? What are the rules of this universe?

6. Ramsay Cuts Off Theon’s Penis

Season 3

And we thought Joffrey was bad.

5. Jon Snow “Dies”

Season 5

Points docked for trying to convince the audience this is permanent. We see you lurking Melisandre!

4. Joffrey Dies

Season 4

Ding, dong, the king is dead! And literally everyone except his mother is a suspect. Game of Thrones’ craftiest move was writing this death scene in just the second episode of season four when it had trained its audience for years to expect carnage toward the end of a season.

3. Ned Stark Beheaded

Season 1

Killing your lead character (and most famous actor) in the first season is a bold move.

2. The Skull Crushing

Season 4

The Viper won! I can’t believe they actually let a character I like wi—what? Oh no. What? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? COVER YOUR EYES!

1. The Red Wedding

Season 3

The Red Wedding was, hands down, the most shocking thing to happen on a fictional TV show in recent memory. It’s not just the high body count or the fact that the show killed off its Prince Charming. It’s how they did it. We will never be able to unsee Talisa getting stabbed in her pregnant stomach or un-hear Catelyn’s wail as her throat is slit.