50 of the Greatest Braids From Game of Thrones
Photo: HBO
Nudity. Wars. Dragons. Oversize egos. General displays of badassery: These are the things Game of Thrones is known for. But there’s one particular aspect of the HBO show that can be appreciated by beauty lovers: the excellent braids. Worn in ponytails, half-ponies, buns, crowns, boho styles, and more, the ladies (and gentlemen) of the Seven Kingdoms are masters in hair plaits. On a functional level, it keeps hair out of their faces when fighting battles, eating raw horse hearts, or participating in activities with whores. On an aesthetic level, they are damn pretty. Now that the season finale is over, let us help you overcome your Game of Thrones withdrawal. Click through the slideshow to see some of the best braids that have been shown thus far in all three seasons (There are plenty of spoilers ahead.)
Welcome Braids Season 1, episode 1: It's the day of the royal court's arrival at the Stark family castle. And Sansa's center-parted, tightly wove...
Welcome Braids Season 1, episode 1: It's the day of the royal court's arrival at the Stark family castle. And Sansa's center-parted, tightly woven braids create a look that says, "Welcome to Winterfell, y'all."
Girly Braids Season 1, episode 1: Remember when Arya Stark acted properly, like a true daughter of a Lord?
Sibling Braids Season 1, epsiode 1: Another reason for sibling rivalry. Braid wars.
Bridal Braids Season 1, episode 1: Hair as veil.
Warrior Braids Season 1, episode 1 and 9: "When you're one of the most feared warriors in the Seven Kingdoms and machete people's heads off ...
Warrior Braids Season 1, episode 1 and 9: "When you're one of the most feared warriors in the Seven Kingdoms and machete people's heads off for fun, a braided look is one way to keep your hair out of your face." —excerpt from Warrior's Guide to Style by Khal Drogo
Psychic Braid Season 1, episode 3: Irri, Dany's handmaiden, can not only whip the Mother of Dragons' hair up into a wicked set of plaits, but she...
Psychic Braid Season 1, episode 3: Irri, Dany's handmaiden, can not only whip the Mother of Dragons' hair up into a wicked set of plaits, but she can also sense when there's a baby brewing. Here, she calls Dany out on brewing a tiny Khal Drogo.
Non-Nipple-Covering Braids Season 1, episode 1: If you live the kind of life (like Ros, here) where bedhead is an occupational hazard, then havin...
Non-Nipple-Covering Braids Season 1, episode 1: If you live the kind of life (like Ros, here) where bedhead is an occupational hazard, then having giant boobs to distract helps.
Voyeur Braids Season 1, episode 1: In the same episode, she witnesses her husband making out with someone else (left) and then gets spotted by Br...
Voyeur Braids Season 1, episode 1: In the same episode, she witnesses her husband making out with someone else (left) and then gets spotted by Bran Stark whilst getting busy with her brother (right).
Wifely Braids Season 1, episode 7: This intricate, yet sturdy look is perhaps a symbol of her regal role to be.
Activity Braids Season 1, episode 2: Life can be so boring when your mistress is off hob-nobbing with her brother. Why not spend the time perfect...
Activity Braids Season 1, episode 2: Life can be so boring when your mistress is off hob-nobbing with her brother. Why not spend the time perfecting each other's woven locks?
Farewell Braids Season 1, episode 3: Those Stark girls really love the split-braid look. Even when they have to say good-bye to departing family ...
Farewell Braids Season 1, episode 3: Those Stark girls really love the split-braid look. Even when they have to say good-bye to departing family members.
Judgy Braids Season 1, episode 4: No one throws shade like Cersei.
Nipple Covering Braids Season 1, episode 5: Before nipple tassles, there were soft, swishy tail ends of hair.
This Can't be Good Braids Season 1, epsiode 7: Cersei, your husband is dead and your twat of a son has now taken the throne. At least your hair l...
This Can't be Good Braids Season 1, epsiode 7: Cersei, your husband is dead and your twat of a son has now taken the throne. At least your hair looks good.
Beheading Braids Season 1, episode 9: How does Sansa wear her hair the day of her father's beheading? In a hefty crown of braids that says, "...
Beheading Braids Season 1, episode 9: How does Sansa wear her hair the day of her father's beheading? In a hefty crown of braids that says, "I got my head on straight."
Creepy Mom Braids Season 1, episode 8 and 9: Lysa Arryn still breast-feeds her tween-age son in public. Enough said.
"You Call That a Braid?" Braid Season 1, edpisode 9: Things are pretty nutty North of the wall. Maybe this is their take on braids: a h...
"You Call That a Braid?" Braid Season 1, edpisode 9: Things are pretty nutty North of the wall. Maybe this is their take on braids: a hot mess.
Whore to Handmaiden Braids Season 1, episode 9 (left) and season 3, episode 1: Shae is not just any whore. Tyrion Lannister is in love with her a...
Whore to Handmaiden Braids Season 1, episode 9 (left) and season 3, episode 1: Shae is not just any whore. Tyrion Lannister is in love with her and Sansa Stark trusts her. That means keeping her boobs under wraps (most of the time) along with pretty, boho braids.
Snacktime Braids Season 1, episode 9: It's a good thing Dany's hair is usually pulled back in her signature pleated do. You never know when you h...
Snacktime Braids Season 1, episode 9: It's a good thing Dany's hair is usually pulled back in her signature pleated do. You never know when you have to eat the heart of a stallion.
Angry Crowd Braids Season 1, episode 9: There's no way the production team included enough hairstylists to fix all the extras' hair. Chances are ...
Angry Crowd Braids Season 1, episode 9: There's no way the production team included enough hairstylists to fix all the extras' hair. Chances are they were all lined up in a row and forced to braid each other's hair.
Losing My Head Half-Pony Season 1, episode 9: Okay, not a braid but we can't not discuss Ned Stark, who managed to wear his signature half-pony l...
Losing My Head Half-Pony Season 1, episode 9: Okay, not a braid but we can't not discuss Ned Stark, who managed to wear his signature half-pony look even on the day of his beheading.
Excuse Braids Season 1, episode 10: If the terrible, rotten, no-good man-child king is going to force you to look at your father's head on...
Excuse Braids Season 1, episode 10: If the terrible, rotten, no-good man-child king is going to force you to look at your father's head on a stake, then you're going to go for a look that's top heavy on the braids. "Sorry, king, can't look because my hair's too heavy."
Top Heavy Braids Season 1, episode 9: Cersei shows Sansa the latest in big hair.
Most Badass Moment Braids Season 1, episode 10: Dany walked into her husband's burning funeral pyre and walked out unscathed with dragons perched...
Most Badass Moment Braids Season 1, episode 10: Dany walked into her husband's burning funeral pyre and walked out unscathed with dragons perched on her shoulders. Slow clap.
The Other Woman Braids Season 2, episode 1: This lovely forehead braid belongs to the unfortunate whore whose bastard child belonged to the King ...
The Other Woman Braids Season 2, episode 1: This lovely forehead braid belongs to the unfortunate whore whose bastard child belonged to the King Baratheon, now dead.
Traveling Braids Season 2, episode 1: She's been walking for weeks in the desert, but her disheveled braids still look pretty rad.
Trendy Braids Season 2, episode 4: Halo braids, totally in at the royal court right now.
Sheisty Sister Braid Season 2, episode 2: Who tries to seduce their own long-lost brother just to prove a point? Yara Greyjoy with asymmetrical p...
Sheisty Sister Braid Season 2, episode 2: Who tries to seduce their own long-lost brother just to prove a point? Yara Greyjoy with asymmetrical plaits.
Strategic Planning Braids Season 2, episode 3: Lady Stark's singular, very thick braid means business. Like, Lannister-killing business.
Fire Braids Season 2, episode 3: Let's gaze at Melisandre's red hair, her milky white skin, her ability to shed her dress and display her slammin...
Fire Braids Season 2, episode 3: Let's gaze at Melisandre's red hair, her milky white skin, her ability to shed her dress and display her slamming, ageless body. (Does this woman own underpants?)
Sneaky Braids Season 2, episode 3: Oh, the secrets and sneakiness Margaery's braids hold.
Wet Braids Season 2, episode 7: This is when Ygritte was captured by Jon Snow and forced to walk around endlessly behind him. No better way to pa...
Wet Braids Season 2, episode 7: This is when Ygritte was captured by Jon Snow and forced to walk around endlessly behind him. No better way to pass the time than ensuring your braids are in check.
Oh Thank God Braids Season 2, episode 10: That moment when you find out you no longer have to marry the king who had your father beheaded. Behold...
Oh Thank God Braids Season 2, episode 10: That moment when you find out you no longer have to marry the king who had your father beheaded. Behold Sansa's joy, in the form of split ponytail plaits.
Catelyn Stark Season 2, episode 5: Lady Stark has just witnessed a smoke cloud murder a king's brother. A DAGGER-WIELDING SMOKE CLOUD. WTF. Even ...
Catelyn Stark Season 2, episode 5: Lady Stark has just witnessed a smoke cloud murder a king's brother. A DAGGER-WIELDING SMOKE CLOUD. WTF. Even still, her hair is nice and tight with nary a plait undone. That's a true lady move.
Dragon Power Braids Season 3, episode 1: Daenerys's loose bits are usually curled into pretty tendrils, but she's been locked up and her handmaid...
Dragon Power Braids Season 3, episode 1: Daenerys's loose bits are usually curled into pretty tendrils, but she's been locked up and her handmaiden was killed, so we'll cut her some slack for the slighty unkempt look.
Boo Yah! Braids Season 3, episode 4: Guess who speaks fluent Valeryian, owns three dragons, your entire army, and can nail a double-temple braid?...
Boo Yah! Braids Season 3, episode 4: Guess who speaks fluent Valeryian, owns three dragons, your entire army, and can nail a double-temple braid? Yeah.
Translator Braids Season 3, episode 4: While Missandei's own hairstyle is less of a braid and more of a decorated solo-dread, she is now a handma...
Translator Braids Season 3, episode 4: While Missandei's own hairstyle is less of a braid and more of a decorated solo-dread, she is now a handmaiden and confidant of Daenerys. We hope this doesn't mean she'll be messing up Dany's beloved braids.
Conniving Braids Season 3, episode 4: Renly is dead and now Margaery's moving in on Joffrey. The tighter the twists, the sneakier the plans....
Conniving Braids Season 3, episode 4: Renly is dead and now Margaery's moving in on Joffrey. The tighter the twists, the sneakier the plans.
Friendly Braids Season 3, episode 2: Sansa (right) starts wearing her hair in a looser style, like Margaery (left), who just cannot be trus...
Friendly Braids Season 3, episode 2: Sansa (right) starts wearing her hair in a looser style, like Margaery (left), who just cannot be trusted. Don't do it, Sansa.
Incest Braids Season 2, episode 3: Despite the fact that Myrcella Baratheon's true father is most likely also her uncle, she's completely ow...
Incest Braids Season 2, episode 3: Despite the fact that Myrcella Baratheon's true father is most likely also her uncle, she's completely owning the show's version of music festival hair. Way before her time.
Seductive Braids Season 3, episode 2: Talisa is not from the North but ends up seducing and marrying the king of the North. Was it true love? Now...
Seductive Braids Season 3, episode 2: Talisa is not from the North but ends up seducing and marrying the king of the North. Was it true love? Now we'll never know. R.I.P. Talisa.
Sad Wedding Braids Season 3, episode 8: It's the return of Sansa's halo/crown braids from season 1, the same period when she watched her father g...
Sad Wedding Braids Season 3, episode 8: It's the return of Sansa's halo/crown braids from season 1, the same period when she watched her father get beheaded. Fitting then that she'd return to such a hairstyle for her arranged marriage.
Studly Man Braid Season 3, episode 8: Daario swears his army, life, and heart to you. Also shows he knows his way around some legit braiding skil...
Studly Man Braid Season 3, episode 8: Daario swears his army, life, and heart to you. Also shows he knows his way around some legit braiding skills. Swoon, Deanerys, swoon. They don't make them like that anymore.
Emotional Showcase Braids Season 3, episode 9: This is a pretty horriffic way to go: to get stabbed in the belly while pregnant. Having all of he...
Emotional Showcase Braids Season 3, episode 9: This is a pretty horriffic way to go: to get stabbed in the belly while pregnant. Having all of her hair pulled back certainly frames Talisa's shock face rather clearly.
Gut-Wrenching Braids Season 3, episode 9: Your daughter-in-law and son were both killed right before your eyes. You, too, will have only seconds ...
Gut-Wrenching Braids Season 3, episode 9: Your daughter-in-law and son were both killed right before your eyes. You, too, will have only seconds before your own life is taken. But for one brief moment, you're still the badass Lady Stark who's managed to keep her do in place, all the while dealing with an arrow piercing through your chest.
"You Can't Buy Me" Braids Season 3, episode 10: Shae is a prostitute-cum-handmaiden with a heart of gold. And she cannot be bought and ...
"You Can't Buy Me" Braids Season 3, episode 10: Shae is a prostitute-cum-handmaiden with a heart of gold. And she cannot be bought and sent away, regardless of how many diamonds you give her.
Betrayal Braids Season 3, episode 10: What do you do when the man you thought you loved isn't the man you want him to be? You shoot him in the ba...
Betrayal Braids Season 3, episode 10: What do you do when the man you thought you loved isn't the man you want him to be? You shoot him in the back with some arrows. Bravo, Ygritte.
Reunited Braids Season 3, episode 10: Cersei's hair is always a vision of conniving perfection. Which is good for that unexpected moment when you...
Reunited Braids Season 3, episode 10: Cersei's hair is always a vision of conniving perfection. Which is good for that unexpected moment when your MIA brother/lover walks in the door.
"Oh No He Didn't" Braids Season 3, episode 10: One does not cross Melisandre. Just look at her temple braids glowing by the fire's light.
"We are the Champions" Braids Season 3, episode 10: Only the Mother of Dragons can sack a city, release all of its slaves, and still ha...
"We are the Champions" Braids Season 3, episode 10: Only the Mother of Dragons can sack a city, release all of its slaves, and still have perfect hair.
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