**WARNING: Spoilers about Euphoria season 3 below.
It’s not every day that a TV show can leave you head in hands, staring at your expression in a blank screen and questioning your own sanity.
But when a major character suddenly and brutally dies in a series, there’s not a lot that you can do to prepare.
On Monday, Euphoria fans were left with that similar kind of feeling after Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) suffered one of the most gruesome deaths to date.
Over his head in debt to Naz (Jack Topalian), the construction business owner gets buried alive and bitten by a venomous rattlesnake who slithers its way into the coffin’s air hole.
In a series littered with controversies, after Euphoria fans claimed creator Sam Levinson ‘needs to be locked up’ after a disturbing fetish scene, Nate’s death was hailed by viewers for its ‘devastating’ impact.
However, I am here to say that Nate’s unfortunate demise is nothing compared to the most shocking tragedy of all time in a fellow HBO series.
Across its eight seasons, Game of Thrones saw its fair share of major characters vanish in gruesome ways.
From the infamous Red Wedding to Ned Stark’s beheading and Hodor’s sacrifice, the HBO series is unmatched in its willingness to kill off cast members.
But one death in particular remains permanently seared into my brain… and that is Prince Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal).
The Fantastic Four star is certainly no stranger to being killed in a series following his death as Joel in the second season of The Last Of Us.
But Oberyn’s gruesome battle against Ser Gregor ‘The Mountain’ Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) takes the cake.
Fighting on behalf of Peter Dinklage’s Tyrion Lannister as part of a battle trial, Oberyn dominates The Mountain with a poisoned spear before demanding a confession that he raped and killed his sister, Elia Martell, and her children.
However, after losing his focus for a split second, Clegane manages to grab him, knocking out his teeth and gouging his eyes out before he crushes his skull with his bare hands.
Straddling him, he then screams: ‘I smashed her head in like this!’
As the final credits rolled with no signature Game of Thrones music to accompany it, I can’t remember ever being more shocked by an episode of TV.
Having adored Oberyn and wanted him to so badly enact revenge on The Mountain, this was just one of numerous frustratingly devastating moments in the series.
But even now, his death hurts more than any other I can remember.
Euphoria and Game of Thrones are available to watch on Sky Atlantic.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.