WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Dragon's Dogma, available now on Netflix.
Based on the popular video game, Netflix's Dragon's Dogma, follows Ethan, the Arisen, rampaging his way from Cassardis to find the Dragon that killed his family. Over seven episodes, this tragedy introduces many monsters and features some downright gruesome deaths. Here are the top five most brutal kills in the series, ranked.
5. The Mayor Gets Lynched
In Episode 2, "Gluttony," Ethan and Hannah save a girl, Salai, from being devoured by a giant Cyclops. It turns out every six months a human sacrifice is offered to the beast, but it's all orchestrated by the Mayor and his cronies, leading to him collecting bribes from people to protect their loved ones.
Ethan and Hannah seek the Cyclops out to slaughter it and while it's gory seeing them slashing up the Mayor's goons and then attacking the Cyclops' eye and head, the nastiest kill comes at the end when the monster's dead. The village raids the Mayor's castle, feasts on everything and then lynches him as the castle goes up in flames. Ethan's regretful, though, as the people are acting like monsters, albeit he understands why they'd want to quarter lying politicians.
4. Strangling The Succubus
Just before they get to the Dragon's Tainted Mountain, Episode 5, "Greed," ends by showing an inn with a man having sex with a woman. However, she drains him of his bodily fluid, leaving his frail body behind as if it's Mortal Kombat, revealing she's a succubus.
Now, while that's graphic, it's the episode after, "Lust," that has an even more brutal kill as Ethan stays in the inn. The creature pretends to be his wife, Olivia, and seduces him but just before they have sex, he realizes it's a lie. Ethan strangles the being but when Hannah rushes in, he shoos her away as he wants to kill this creature alone. She dishonored his wife's memory and it's very emotional as he leaves the scary body on the bed, remembering in flashbacks how Olivia cared for him when his parents died.
3. Simon And Balthazar's Bloody Impalings
Simon and Balthazar are two soldiers who befriend Ethan and Hannah, reuniting for a mission at a church where a Lich has a skeleton army in "Greed." But after they murder the evil priest, Balthazar becomes corrupted by the coins, impaling Simon with his sword so he can take the treasures. It's a heartbreaking moment as many felt they would join the quest to kill the Dragon.
However, Simon retaliates and stabs Balthazar, murdering his best friend, as he didn't want him corrupted and becoming a villain. Ethan, though, has the most crushing kill here as they discuss if Balthazar's gone to heaven or hell. It's all semantics to the Arisen, and he stabs Simon to put him out of his misery, showing Hannah that sometimes life can be very cruel and unfair.
2. Elisabeth Gets Gutted
Episode 3, "Envy," finds goblins attacking the envoy Simon and Balthazar's envoy. They're part of a contingent protecting Theo and Elisabeth, and there are some gruesome scenes where goblins devour their teammates. It gets scarier as it seems like the goblins are going to rape and maul Elisabeth, only for Ethan and Hannah to save the day.
This leads to Elisabeth trying to seduce Ethan, hoping to inspire Theo to be a heroic warrior at some point. He eventually does so when the goblins return, slicing them up in a rage, but he proceeds to kill Elisabeth out of jealousy so she could be his forever. But upon realizing she was always his, he then impales himself, leaving Hannah mortified at the selfish nature of humanity when there's no need for it at all.
1. Ethan's Family Gets Roasted
This is a two-for-one. When the Dragon comes to the village, young Louis tries to lead Olivia away but gets devoured by the Dragon in the streets. It's a shocking fatality in the first episode, "Wrath," but it only gets worse as Ethan returns from his hunt to find Olivia at the Dragon's mercy.
The beast is feeding off Ethan's pain and incinerates the woman, who's pregnant with Ethan's unborn baby. It's all part of the Dragon's plan to get Ethan to hunt him. As it rips out his heart to turn him into the Arisen, viewers are left stunned the series could be so graphic and horrifying.
