There are many fan-favorite characters in Game of Thrones, but there’s one that fans agree stood out as the very best. And to top it all off, this character was only on screen for 29 minutes. Fans may know Pedro Pascal from such roles as The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, and the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but back in the day he was a man named Oberyn Martell looking for vengeance. Prince Oberyn Martell had a memorable battle against the Mountain in “The Mountain and the Viper,” which of course is memorable for how the Mountain ruthlessly killed Oberyn.
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Regardless of how Oberyn Martell died, his overall character has appealed to Game of Thrones fans to this very day. A Reddit post titled “The Swagger of Oberyn Martell” perfectly captures this sentiment, with the Redditor posting, “Appeared for a total of 29 minutes across 7 episodes in 1 season. One of the best TV or cinema characters ever!” Pedro Pascal’s depiction of Oberyn Martell definitely had some swagger to him, which was on display as he fought the Mountain and put on a show for the crowd, all while demandin justice for his dead sister Elia Martell and her children.
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Oberyn Martell’s Game of Thrones history explained
Oberyn Martell was known as the Red Viper of Dorne and a member of House Martell. He appeared in Season 4 of Game of Thrones, culminating with his death in a trial by combat against the Mountain. Oberyn had a lust for sex, often spending time in Littlefinger’s brothels in King’s Landing. He comes to King’s Landing for Joffrey’s wedding but ends up staying longer when Joffrey is poisoned and killed by an unknown assailant. Oberyn is then recruited by Tywin Lannister to be a judge at Tyrion’s trial, who is the Number 1 suspect in Joffrey’s death. Oberyn agrees, and later steps up to fight for Tyrion in trial by combat against the Mountain.
The climax of “The Mountain and the Viper” sees Oberyn Martell battle the Mountain, and Oberyn gets the upper hand against the Mountain, striking him with his spear and driving Mountain to his knees. Oberyn even manages to drive his spear through the Mountain’s chest plate, and instead of killing Mountain, Oberyn prances around demanding that Mountain reveal who ordered the murder of his sister Elia Martell and her children. This gives Mountain time to knock Oberyn off his feet, climb on top of him and puncture his eyes with his thumbs and crush his head, all while admitting to his murder of Elia and the kids.
Oberyn Martell is just one of many characters to meet an untimely end in Game of Thrones. Just as you get attached to a character, they’re killed in a gruesome manner. Fans quickly learned that no one is truly safe in Westeros, and that includes Oberyn. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t resonate with fans.
For now, we pour one out for the Red Viper of Dorne. May he be remembered for his fighting spirit and hunger for revenge.
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