Image via HBO
Published Jun 16, 2026, 5:47 PM EDT
Born with Autism (formerly classified as Asperger syndrome), Tyler B. Searle has been obsessed with storytelling since he was old enough to speak. He gravitated towards fairy tales, mythology, the fantasy genre, and animated movies and shows aimed at family audiences. When not writing, Tyler enjoys watching more cartoons and reading fantasy books in his home in Ontario, Canada.
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Game of Thrones is one of the most important fantasy shows in the history of popular culture. Based on the A Song of Ice and Fire books by George R. R. Martin, the show follows numerous noble families in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros as they vie with one another for political power, all while an exiled princess raises dragons in the east, and an army of undead descend from the north. Audiences were enthralled by its rich characters, complex schemes, and captivating writing, and even after the show suffered one of the most infamous final seasons in television history, people are willing to return to Westeros with spin-offs like House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
Like any great drama series, Game of Thrones was full of memorable and well-constructed dialogue that had audiences hooked, especially when characters would get into fierce debates about morality in an unjust world. However, many of the best moments of dialogue came through monologue, as they allowed a single character to really go all in and explain their thoughts or shed more insight on who they are as people.
10 "I grew up with soldiers. I learned how to die a long time ago."
Season 1, Episode 9, "Baelor"
Image via HBOStuck in the Black Cell after a failed attempt to stop the Lannisters from seizing power after the death of King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy), Eddard Stark (Robert Aramayo and Sean Bean) is visited by Lord Varys (Conleth Hill) who informs him that his son, Robb (Richard Madden), has marshaled his army in rebellion. Varys implores Eddard to give a false confession to treason in order to save his life and prevent the realm from plunging into war. Eddard, however, is reluctant to compromise his honor, and explains that he is ready to die if needed, only relenting when Varys brings up the lives of his daughters.
Eddard's monologue is short, but offers some good commentary on how our backgrounds shape who we grow into. Since he grew up around war and death, Eddard knows how fragile life is, and instead chooses to spend what time he has maintaining honor and integrity. This adherence to principle pays off by ensuring that, long after he dies, Eddard's memory helps his family find allies in their time of need, while the less trustworthy families find themselves with few who are willing to stand with them.
9 "Never too late to come back."
Season 6, Episode 7, "The Broken Man"
Image via HBOAfter being left for dead by Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Sandor Clegane (Rory McCann) was nursed back to help by a septon of the Faith of the Seven named Ray (Ian McShane). He enlists Sandor's help in constructing a new sept, and regularly encourages the cynical warrior not to give up on life. One day, while taking a break from work, Ray tells the workers and Sandor a story about his time as a soldier and the horrible things he did, but ends it by saying that it's never too late for someone to change their fate.
Ray's story shows the horrors of war from multiple angles, such as the innocents who suffer, and the soldiers who must commit the atrocities or be killed by their lords for insubordination. He takes full accountability for his actions and knows they can never be undone, but he still chooses to try and put more good into the world before he dies rather than more pain. This speech encapsulates several characters in Game of Thrones whose arcs see them transform from selfish people who spread pain to more selfless heroes willing to risk their lives to try and help their fellow man, and adds a bit of hope into an otherwise rather bleak world.
8 "The gods were cruel when they saw fit to test me. They waited until I was old."
Season 1, Episode 9, "Baelor"
Image via HBOShortly after Jon Snow (Kit Harington) learns of his father's arrest, he speaks with Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan), who explains to Jon that love is the death of duty, and that every man is tested at some point in life to choose between the two. At first, Jon reacts defensively, especially when Aemon claims to know the same pain he is going through, but he quiets down when Aemon reveals the moment he was tested. It was when he learned that his family house had been all but wiped out, causing Jon to realize that Aemon is a member of House Targaryen.
Aemon's speech is shocking to listen to, both because of the revelation, and because of how differently Aemon acts throughout. The normally kind Maester suddenly speaks with a cold fury as he explains the helplessness he felt when he learned of the death of the royal family, and then afterward, all he can do is tell Jon to make a choice and then live with it. It's one of the best monologues for revealing new information about a character, and goes a long way in making Aemon arguably the best character in the Night's Watch storyline.
7 "I want Cersei to know it was me."
Season 7, Episode 3, "The Queen's Justice"
Image via HBOWhile the armies of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) take Casterly Rock, Ser Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) leads an attack on Highgarden to take it from what remains of the Tyrells. After the battle, he confronts Lady Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) and offers her a poison that will let her die with dignity. She happily drinks it, then reveals that she was the one who poisoned his son, King Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson).
This monologue is, hands down, one of the show's best exits for a character. It not only lets Olenna go out with dignity, but also gets one last jab in at the Lannisters, especially Cersei (Lena Headey), who single-handedly killed Olenna's family when she blew up the Sept of Baelor. Olenna more than lives up to her title of The Queen of Thorns, and it's almost enough to make up for the fact that Highgarden fell way too easily.
Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz
Which Lord of the Rings
Character Are You?
One Quiz · Ten Questions · Your Fate Revealed
The road goes ever on. From the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Ten questions stand between you and the truth of who you are. Answer honestly — the One Ring has a way of revealing what we most want to hide.
💍Frodo
🌿Samwise
👑Aragorn
🔥Gandalf
🏹Legolas
⚒️Gimli
👁️Sauron
🪨Gollum
BEGIN YOUR QUEST →
01
You are handed a responsibility that could destroy you. What do you do? The weight of the world falls on unlikely shoulders.
AAccept it. Someone has to, and running changes nothing. BStay by the side of whoever carries it. They shouldn't go alone. CStep forward and lead. This is exactly what I was made for. DIt's mine now. I won't let anyone else have it.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
Your closest companion is heading into terrible danger. You: True loyalty is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis.
AFollow them without hesitation. I'd rather die beside them than live without them. BRally others and forge a plan to help — strength in numbers. COffer wisdom and guidance. My counsel may save them where swords cannot. DLet them go. Only the strong survive, and sentiment is a weakness.
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03
Enormous power is within your reach. Your instinct is: Power corrupts — but only those who reach for it.
ADestroy it. Nothing good comes from power this absolute. BUse it to protect those I love — just this once. CWield it wisely. I have the will and the knowledge to do good with it. DSeize it. I have waited long enough. It belongs to me.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
What does "home" mean to you? Where we long to return reveals who we truly are.
AA simple, peaceful place — green hills, good food, no adventure required. BWherever the people I love are. Home is a feeling, not a place. CA kingdom I must earn before I can truly claim it as mine. DI lost it long ago. That loss is what drives everything I do.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
When a battle is upon you, your approach is: War reveals what we are made of — whether we like it or not.
ASurvive by any means. I'm not a fighter — but I'll do what I must. BFight for the person beside me, not for glory or honour. CLead the charge. Nothing inspires an army like a king at the front. DStrike from range, fast and precise — never let them get close.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
Someone comes to you for advice in their darkest hour. You: Wisdom is not knowing all the answers — it's knowing which questions to ask.
AListen, then offer honest encouragement. Sometimes people just need belief. BGive them practical help — words are fine, but action is better. CSpeak carefully. I have seen much, and I know what counsel can cost. DTell them what they want to hear. Trust is a tool like any other.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
How do you see yourself, honestly? Self-knowledge is the most dangerous kind.
ASmall and ordinary — but perhaps that's exactly why I was chosen. BDefined entirely by who I serve and love. I am nothing without them. CForged by hardship into something the world has not yet fully seen. DDiminished from what I once was — and consumed by the need to reclaim it.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
Which of these best describes your relationship with the natural world? Middle-earth speaks to those who know how to listen.
AI find peace in it — forests, rivers, open skies. Nature restores me. BI prefer the earth underfoot — stone, mines, solid and real things. CI have watched the world change for longer than most can comprehend. DNature offers hiding places, cold water, raw fish. That's enough for me.
NEXT QUESTION →
09
You encounter a wretched, pitiable creature who has done terrible things. You: How we treat the fallen reveals the height of our character.
AShow mercy. Even the most broken souls deserve a chance at redemption. BPity them — but never trust them. They made their choices. CSee them as a tool. Their knowledge or skills may still serve a purpose. DDestroy them before they can cause more harm. Mercy is a luxury we cannot afford.
NEXT QUESTION →
10
When the quest is over and the songs are sung, what do you hope they say about you? In the end, we are all just stories.
AThat an ordinary person did an extraordinary thing — and came home. BThat I never abandoned the person who needed me most. CThat I was worthy of the crown — and everything it demanded. DNothing. I don't need songs. I needed it, and now it's gone.
REVEAL MY FATE →
The Fellowship Has Spoken Your Place in Middle-earth
The scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people.
💍 Frodo
🌿 Samwise
👑 Aragorn
🔥 Gandalf
🏹 Legolas
⚒️ Gimli
👁️ Sauron
🪨 Gollum
You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don't have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is.
You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you'd do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one.
You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you.
You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late.
Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them.
You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don't do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything.
You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you're not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct.
You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
6 "Those are brave men knocking at our door... let's go kill them."
Season 2, Episode 9, "Blackwater"
Image via HBOThe Battle of the Blackwater is not going well for the defenders of King's Landing: Sandor Clegane has broken due to his fear of fire, and King Joffrey Baratheon retreats to Maegor's Holdfast on the orders of his mother. His uncle, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), notices moral dropping, and declares that he will lead a counterattack against the soldiers trying to break down the mud gate. To motivate the defenders, Tyrion tells them to fight not for riches or honor or even the king, but because the city is their home.
Tyrion's speech works so well because it shifts the focus of the war from a macro level to a micro one. The commanders on both sides only care about the political ramifications of the battle, but to the defenders, their homes and loved ones are on the line, which matters fare more to them than whoever sits on the Iron Throne. Tyrion even ends the speech with a nod towards the courage of the attackers, which highlights that, while the characters we follow are the nobles playing the game, the smallfolk are the real beating heart of Westeros.
5 “You are an ill-made, spiteful little creature, filled with envy, lust and low cunning."
Season 3, Episode 1, "Valar Dohaeris"
Image via HBOFollowing the Battle of the Blackwater, Tyrion meets with his father, Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), who has taken up his station as Hand of the King. Tyrion asks both for some kind of recognition for his role in defending the city, and that Tywin acknowledge Tyrion as the heir to Casterly Rock, since Jaime is in the Kingsguard. Tywin refuses the latter claim, and when pressed, goes into a tirade about how Tyrion killed his mother at birth and spends his time, in Tywin's eyes, making a mockery of House Lannister.
This monologue can be quite uncomfortable to sit through, but that's what makes it so good. It offers an unfiltered, raw look into Tyrion and Tywin's relationship, and how, no matter what Tyrion does, he will never be good enough in his father's eyes. Dance's delivery is what really sells it, as every word is delivered like a venom-coated arrow meant to pierce straight into Tyrion's heart.
4 "I have no doubt that the revenge you want will be yours in time if you have the stomach for it."
Season 3, Episode 4, "And Now His Watch Is Ended"
Image via HBOSuspecting that Cersei tried to have him killed during the Battle of the Blackwater, Tyrion went to Varys to see if his spy network could help him get proof. Varys has no proof to give, but instead tells Tyrion the story about how he was sold to a sorcerer to cut off his genitals in a magic ritual. Though he was tossed out into the streets to die afterward, Varys strove to live, and spent years cultivating his skills as a thief and spymaster until he became the Master of Whisperers.
Varys' story answers many questions audiences have had about Game of Thrones' most enigmatic character. We learn how he became a eunuch, the origin of his hatred for magic, and how determined he is when it comes to survival and achieving his goals. It is concluded by the chilling revelation that Varys managed to track down the sorcerer and have him brought to the Red Keep in a box, allowing him to take his time in enacting his revenge, and leaving Tyrion and the audience with a clear message about the virtue of patience.
3 "Chaos is a ladder."
Season 3, Episode 6, "The Climb"
Image via HBOBefore sailing to the Vale of Arryn to marry Lysa Arryn (Kate Dickie), Petyr Baelish (Aiden Gillen) has one last look at the Iron Throne and chats with Varys. It starts off with the usual exchanging of barbs, but then Littlefinger reveals that he knew Varys was spying on him via Ros (Esmé Bianco), so he gave her to King Joffrey to be tortured and killed. Varys defends his actions for the good of the Realm and staving off chaos, but Baelish retorts by saying chaos offers opportunity.
This monologue is one of the show's most philosophical, and highlights why early-seasons Petyr Baelish was one of the show's most effective villains. Littlefinger points out that society is nothing but a series of illusions, like love or religion, that make them feel safe and secure. However, those who see through the illusion know that chaos allows them to climb higher and amass more power, which hints at how humans, at their core, are always seeking to control their environments, but only those who are willing to risk the climb will do so.
2 "I'm guilty of being a dwarf."
Season 4, Episode 6, "The Laws of Gods and Men"
Image via HBOAs Tyrion's farcical trial over the murder of Joffrey comes to a close, Cersei calls Tyrion's ex-lover, Shae (Sibel Kekilli), to give false testimony about how Tyrion and Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) were planning the assassination. Not at his lowest point, Tyrion offers a confession to Tywin, but about being born a dwarf rather than killing the king. This leads to a vicious rant about how everyone still sees Tyrion as a monster despite his actions, before concluding with him demanding a Trial by Combat.
This may be Tyrion's best moment in the entire show, and an exemplary demonstration of Peter Dinklage's acting capabilities. Every word is delivered with a lifetime's worth of pain and wrath, and Tyrion calls out the hypocrisy of Westeros with all the fury of a man with nothing left to lose. Then, when all is said and done, it ends with a tense stare off between father and son, reinforcing the original sin that is Tywin's inability to love his son.
1 "By what right does the wolf judge the lion?"
Season 3, Episode 5, "Kissed by Fire"
Image via HBOAfter enduring painful surgery to save his right arm, Jaime takes a bath with Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). Delirious from the pain and the heat, Jaime confesses to Brienne why he killed the Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen (David Rintoul), the act that earned him the name Kingslayer. It was done to save the people of King's Landing from a fiery death, and the reason he never told anyone the truth was because Eddard Stark, who found him after the deed, immediately passed judgment on him.
This monologue is among the greatest scenes in Game of Thrones. Not only does it shine a light on the murky timeline of Robert's Rebellion, but it does the unthinkable and completely flips the audience's perspective of Jaime as a character. While it doesn't redeem the bad things he's done up to this point, it does shine a spotlight on Jaime's more positive traits, and sets him on the path of redemption.
English (US) ·