Game of Thrones: Top 40 Quotes (All Seasons)

Season 1

"Well my brother has his sword and I have my mind. And a mind needs books like a sword needs a [sharpening stone]." – Tyrion Lannister, S1E2

"The king takes what he wants, that's why he's king." – Eddard (Ned) Stark

• Robert Baratheon became king because he took what he wanted (the throne). He overthrew the old king. 
• The successful clearly define what they want and do anything to get it. 

"When Aerys Targaryen sat on the throne, your father was a rebel and a traitor. Some day, you'll sit on the throne and the truth will be what you make it." – Queen Cersei

• History is written by the winners.

Season 2

"Do you think the path from poverty to wealth is always pure and honorable? I have done many things that a righteous man would condemn. Yet here I am, with no regrets." – Xaro, Game of Thrones S2E6

"Power resides where men believe it resides." – Lord Varys, Game of Thrones S2E3

"A man without friends is a man without power." – Renly Baratheon, Game of Thrones S2E4

"No one can survive in this world without help." – Jorah Mormont

"The only way to keep the small folk loyal is to make certain they fear you more than they do the enemy." – Cersei

Season 3

"It doesn't matter what we want. Once we get it, we only want something else." – Lord Baelish

Shae: "Why should I make up a story when I know the truth?" Sansa Stark: "Because the truth is always either terrible or boring."

"Even the bravest men fear death." – Jorah Mormont

"I try to know as many people as I can. You never know which one you'll need." – Tyrion Lannister

"You're very kind. Some day it will get you killed." – Sandor

"People work together when it suits them. They're loyal when it suits them. They love each other when it suits them. And they kill each other when it suits them." – Orell

• Humans are self-interested. Even altruistic acts are rooted in selfishness. 

"They told me I had no choice. I always have a choice." – Daario

Season 4

"So many men risk so little. They spend their lives avoiding danger...and then they die. I'd risk everything to get what I want." – Lord Baelish

"Know your strengths, use them wisely, and one man can be worth 10,000." – Lord Baelish

"Nothing like a thoughtful gift to make a new friendship grow strong." – Lord Baelish

Jaime: "Bold warrior you are, attacking a man when his guard's down." Bronn: "Best time to attack a man."

"A man with no motive is a man no one suspects. Always keep your foes confused. If they don't know who you are or what you want, they can't know what you plan to do next." – Lord Baelish

Season 5

"In my experience, eloquent men are right every bit as often as imbeciles." – Tyrion Lannister

"Any fool with a bit of luck can find his way into power. But earning it for yourself, that takes work." – Lord Varys, Game of Thrones S5E1

"Every ambitious move is a gamble." – Lord Baelish

"I tell them no one's special and they think I'm special for telling them so." – High Sparrow

"We've become a great house by entering into alliances with other houses. And parlaying those alliances into greater power. The best way to forge a lasting alliance isn't by peeling a man's skin off. The best way is marriage." – Roose Bolton

"My father used to tell me that boredom indicates a lack of inner resources." – Roose Bolton

Season 6

"I don't trust the maesters. I trust their self-interest. They're trustworthy if they're convinced that working with me is in their self-interest." – Tyrion

"For years, I pretended to love the poor, the afflicted. I had pity for them but I never loved them. They disgusted me." – Queen Margaery Tyrell

"[The poor] are hard to love. The poor disgust us because they are us, shorn of our illusions. They show us what we'd look like without our fine clothes and how we'd smell without perfume." – High Sparrow 

Season 7

"A wise man once said that you should never believe something simply because you want to believe it." – Tyrion

"Safety is never a permanent state of affairs." – Davos Seaworth

Extreme self-confidence: "I spent my life in foreign lands. So many men have tried to kill me, I don't remember all their names. I have been sold like a broodmare. I've been chained and betrayed, raped and defiled. Do you know what kept me standing, through all those years in exile? Faith. Not in any god, not in myths and legends. In myself. In Daenerys Targaryen. The world hadn't seen a dragon in centuries, until my children were born. The Dothraki hadn't crossed the sea, any sea. They did for me. I was born to rule the Seven Kingdoms, and I will." – Daenerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones S7E3

"You need to take your enemy's side to see things the way they do. And you need to see things the way they do if you're going to anticipate their actions, respond effectively, and beat them." – Tyrion

"It's better to be a coward for a minute than dead for the rest of your life." – Davos Seaworth

"When enough people make false promises, words stop meaning anything." – Jon Snow

"Fight every battle everywhere, always, in your mind. Everyone is your enemy, everyone is your friend. Every possible series of events is happening all at once. Live that way and nothing will surprise you. Everything that happens will be something that you've seen before." – Baelish

Season 8

Jaime Lannister: "Highgarden will never belong to a cutthroat!" Bronn: "No? Who were your ancestors? The ones who made your family rich? Fancy lads in silk? They were fucking cutthroats! That's how all the Great Houses started, isn't it? With a hard bastard who was good at killing people. Kill a few hundred people, they make you a lord. Kill a few thousand, they make you king. And then all your cocksucking grandsons can ruin the family with their cocksucking ways."

"If you only trust the people you grew up with, you won't make many allies." – Jon Snow

"Every good ruler needs to inspire a bit of fear." – Tyrion

"Have you considered the best ruler might be someone who doesn't want to rule?" – Varys

"It's not easy to see something that's never been before." – Daenerys

A key theme of Game of Thrones: Sometimes doing the right thing has bad consequences. Sometimes doing the morally wrong thing has good consequences. This theme inverted our understanding of good and evil.

• Everyone loved the first 4 seasons of Game of Thrones because the bad guys won and the good guys died – it was shocking and new. Everyone hated the final 4 seasons because that theme was reversed – the good guys won and the bad guys died.