The sixth season of Game of Thrones concluded on Sunday night, and two of the primary elements of this season were prominently involved – blood and fire. It’s often said that “in the game of thrones, you either win or you die,” and sure enough, that’s what happened in the finale.
IN KING’S LANDING…
At the Great Sept of Baelor, Loras Tyrell accepts all of the charges brought against him by the Faith (one of which is not “screwing my sister”, which I’m not sure was brought up in the show). The High Sparrow demands his service, and the septagram is carved into his forehead.
Meanwhile, Cersei Lannister still hasn’t shown up at the trial, and Margaery Tyrell is getting concerned. The High Sparrow sends Lancel Lannister and several other sparrows to fetch her. Lancel spots one of Qyburn’s little birds leaving the sept, follows him underground, and gets stabbed in the back (literally). As he’s lying underground, he spots…a large cache of wildfire, with a candle burning down in the middle of a puddle of the green goo. Oh shit.
Qyburn and his little birds confront Grand Maester Pycelle in Qyburn’s lab after one of the birds catches him with a prostitute, and he’s stabbed to death.
Cersei is chilling in the Red Keep, drinking wine. Ser Robert Zombie Mountain Strong Clegane prevents Tommen Baratheon from heading to the Sept for the trial. The candle burns down, the wildfire ignites, and the entire Sept explodes, presumably killing everyone inside (and looking like Nickelodeon’s slime geyser in the process). It’s revealed that Cersei has Septa Unella locked in the dungeon, and she taunts her before leaving the Septa with the Zombie Mountain for some torture.
A distraught Tommen proceeds to take his crown off, and jumps out a window to his death. Cersei commands the body to be burned at where the Sept once stood.
Jaime Lannister and Bronn arrive back at King’s Landing to see the smoke still pouring out of the rubble of the Great Sept. Jaime is in the throne room as Cersei is crowned queen by Qyburn and takes her seat on the Iron Throne. Her and Jaime make eye contact, and it’s not exactly warm.
IN THE RIVERLANDS…
Walder Frey tries to make nice with Jaime. It doesn’t go well for him when Jaime essentially says “why do we need the Freys if you keep losing the Riverlands?” and walks off.
Walder is eating alone, when a servant brings him a pie. He makes a crack about her being “too pretty” to be one of his, and complains about his sons Black Walder and Lothar Frey not being there. The servant says they are, motions towards the pie, and Walder realizes his sons were killed, butchered, and baked into the pie. The servant then unmasks as Arya Stark (holy shit!!!!!), and slits Walder’s throat.
IN OLDTOWN…
Samwell Tarly and Gilly show up at the Citadel. The secretary at the Citadel still has Jeor Mormont listed as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch (HAH, he died like three seasons ago, you idiot), and grudgingly brings Sam into the Citadel’s massive library.
IN THE NORTH…
Davos Seaworth confronts Melisandre with Shireen Baratheon’s charred stag figurine in front of Jon Snow. Melisandre admits Shireen was burned alive, and attempts to rationalize it. Instead of killing her, Jon banishes her to ride south and says he’ll have her executed if she sets foot in the North again. Jon and Sansa Stark continue to bond, and Sansa reveals that a white raven came from the Citadel, signifying that winter has arrived.
Littlefinger and Sansa discuss the future. He tries to kiss her, and is shot down. He still promises to pledge his support for House Stark in the North, and asks Sansa to realize that the North would never declare for “a motherless bastard born in the South”.
Jon and various lords and soldiers discuss what the hell happens next. Lady Mormont takes down Lords Cerwyn, Glover, and Manderly, and pledges allegiance to the King in the North, no matter if he’s a bastard or not. Lord Manderly then steps up and declares his support to Jon as King in the North, and Lords Glover and Cerwyn follow suit, and the rest of the room (including Davos) also throw their swords behind Jon. Sansa and Littlefinger share an uneasy glance.
IN DORNE…
Hey, remember Dorne? Dorne’s a thing again! And…Olenna Tyrell is there, meeting with Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes. Olenna talks about not wanting survival but vengeance (revealing she’s heard about all of the deaths at King’s Landing), and out of the curtain steps….holy shit, Varys! Varys promises fire and blood, and the camera immediately cuts…
ACROSS THE NARROW SEA…
Daenerys Targaryen tells Daario Naharis that he’s not coming with her and the Dothraki army to Westeros, because she needs him and the Second Sons to uphold peace in Meereen. He makes another desperate plea to be with her, and is shot down. Daenerys also reveals that Slaver’s Bay will now be known as the “Bay of Dragons”. The pair bid farewell to each other, presumably for the final time.
Tyrion Lannister is drinking (as expected) when Daenerys tells him the news about Naharis. Tyrion gives Daenerys a pep talk, vows his counsel to Daenerys, and is named Hand of the Queen (complete with a wicked pin Daenerys had made for him).
Theon and Yara Greyjoy lead the fleet of Greyjoy ships out of the Bay of Dragons, and they’re joined by ships bearing the black and red sails of House Targaryen *and* the orange and red House Martell sails. At the head of the fleet is Daenerys, Missandei, Tyrion, and Varys, along with the three dragons flying overhead.
BEYOND THE WALL…
Benjen Stark takes Bran Stark and Meera Reed to The Wall, revealing he cannot pass because of the magic in The Wall. Bran connects with a weirwood tree, and we go back to the Tower of Joy from a few episodes ago. Young Ned Stark rushes up to the tower, finds his sister Lyanna after a rough child birth. A dying Lyanna begs Ned to promise her he won’t reveal the rue parentage of her baby, and while it’s not explicitly stated, the next cut is back to Jon at Winterfell.
IT IS KNOWN…
So, some stuff happened this week.
-Cersei is the new Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
-The bulk of the Frey family has been wiped out.
-The Baratheon line has been officially wiped out, aside from Gendry the bastard rowing to nowhere.
-Almost all of the Tyrells have been wiped out.
-Jon Snow is King in the North despite being a bastard, to the chagrin of Littlefinger and (possibly) Sansa Stark.
-Jon technically *is* a Stark though, after it was revealed his mother is Lyanna Stark and his father is (presumably) Rhaegar Targaryen.
-Dorne has pledged their support to Daenerys Targaryen, and the rest of the Tyrells have presumably followed suit following Olenna’s meeting with Ellaria Sand.
-Arya Stark is back in Westeros, and she’s got some more names to cross off her list (including the new Queen)
-Sam’s going to be a maester! Maybe. Possibly. Eventually.
With all of that being said, and though a lot of threads were wrapped up or tied together in the finale, there are still some loose ends out there. Without even going into the characters that vanished in prior seasons (hey, Gendry), we have the following issues that need to be addressed: where the hell are Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne? What was the point of bringing back the Hound and the Brotherhood Without Banners if they only figured in to two midseason episodes? What’s going on at The Wall after Jon executed the usurpers and left with the wildling army? Is Euron Greyjoy still just chilling on Pyke trying to build a fleet and seduce Daenerys? Is Jorah Mormont dead yet, or is he still wandering around the Dothraki Sea?
However, the dominoes are falling into place for the endgame. Daenerys is finally sailing across the Narrow Sea to claim the Iron Throne, and she (importantly) has allies on the continent. However, I think she’s playing a dangerous game – she’s already promised freedom to the Greyjoys on the Iron Islands, and I assume the Dornish are craving independence once again as well. She wouldn’t be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, she’d be the Queen of the Five Kingdoms, and maybe make that Four Kingdoms if the North wants to bail as well if they form an alliance.
Cersei finally has the crown she’s desired for years – but it only cost her all three of her children, her father, her (hated) husband, and possibly, the love of her brother as well. Congratulations, you have power! You have nothing else…but you’ve got power! Yay? I have a feeling that her reign isn’t going to be very long or productive, even compared to her late sons Joffrey and Tommen.
The North has rallied behind Jon Snow, rather than Sansa Stark, as the King in the North. Littlefinger isn’t pleased with this, but he’s not going to outright attack Jon – even though he has the better trained, more well-armed soldiers in the Knights of the Vale, it would be a political disaster and tantamount to a declaration of war, right after the North just got through an ugly war with a warden they despised.
So…who in the hell is going to run the Riverlands now? Brynden Tully is dead. Walder Frey is dead. Walder Frey’s two oldest (only? The show never really spelled that out) sons are dead. Is control reverting back to Edmure Tully through his wife, Walder Frey’s daughter? The same situation is true for Highgarden, thanks to Cersei wiping out Mace Tyrell and his two most prominent children.
The final seasons of Game of Thrones are going to be insane. Cersei has nothing left except for the only thing she’s ever wanted, and it’s going to be interested to see how she reacts when confronted with her sins by Jaime. The North is truly unified for the first time since Ned Stark’s head was chopped off, but Littlefinger is still around and determined to drive a wedge in between Sansa and her brother. Daenerys finally has a plan and alliances, and has finally put that plan into motion instead of just trying to be a morality cop in Essos.
So instead of sitting here dealing with smaller, compartmentalized issues, characters are uniting to deal with grander problems – well, except for the White Walkers. The only people who know the seriousness of that issue are Bran and Meera, and they’re still north of The Wall. When they finally go south again, is anyone going to actually believe them, and what will the overall response be?
AND NOW, THEIR WATCH HAS ENDED: /deep breath/ High Sparrow, Lancel Lannister, Margaery Tyrell, Mace Tyrell, Loras Tyrell, Kevan Lannister, every sparrow and commoner in the Great Sept of Baelor, Grand Maester Pycelle, Tommen Baratheon, Black Walder Frey, Lothar Frey, Walder Frey
