The finale of Game of Thrones blew us all away with (yet again) notorious deaths, plot twists, surprises and more kick-ass moments from some of our favourite characters as they all make that last struggle for the Iron Throne before the apparent last season next year. Here are some of our highlights from the episode.
Spoilers Ahead.
Wildfire
The opening of the episode consisted of what was probably one of the best assassination plans of all time as Cersei succeeded in wiping out everyone she didn’t like in King’s Landing. However, it doesn’t end up as great as she would have hoped. After the abuse and humiliation she received last season from the High Sparrow and his followers, she plots to set alight the wildfire under the Sept of Baelor before her mortifying trial can begin. The whole place goes up in flames as Cersei watches safely from her palace, causing the death of a bunch of people including five long-running major characters, some we have come to know and love watching.
Queen Margaery is the first to discover Cersei’s absence as a threat and attempts to clear the sept but to no avail; a testament to Margaery’s intelligence and insightfulness. She dies along with her father and brother, Loras Tyrell, who had just confessed his guilt to the High Sparrow, sadly claiming his gay sexuality as a crime. It’s not a very nice ending for Loras but at least he was with Margaery at the very end, as the siblings have always been close on the show. Then we have Lancel, Cersei’s cousin, who turned against his family when he swore to serve the High Sparrow. Lancel was the first to go, after being lured under the sept by one of Qyburn’s child spies and being three inches from the burning candles that blow the whole place apart. It can’t be denied that the graphics of a green, blazing reflection in Lancel’s eyes before the scene was consumed with fire was incredible. The next body on the toll was the High Sparrow himself, as he was standing directly above the explosion. He was a very interesting character but an antagonist all the same and deserved some kind of comeuppance.
It was a powerfully strong moment for Cersei, who, just to add to the massacre with a little help from her mates Qyburn and The Mountain, also managed to murder Maester Pycelle, who has been on the show since Season 1, and Septa Unella, who imprisoned and tortured Cersei last season. Everything seemed to go just as planned, except for a small issue involving Tommen. The King bore witness to the great explosion at the sept from the palace windows and, without anyone to comfort him, stepped out of that window, killing himself. Irony at its most brilliant — all Cersei wanted was to protect her children and yet her act of vengeance and violence forced her remaining son’s suicide. It’s clear that Cersei has lost all hope and worth as she looks down at Tommen’s body. The assassination of all those people becomes pointless and Cersei orders Tommen to be burned and buried within the ashes and dust of the sept’s remains. Another king, and probably the nicest one, is dead. The explosion of the sept was definitely one of the biggest slaughters since the Red Wedding.
Hand of the Queen
The relationship between the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys, and the dwarf Lannister, Tyrion, has been rough ever since they were introduced to each other last season. After many disagreements over how to rule the people, it seems that the two have finally found a middle ground as Dany names Tyrion her Hand of the Queen and, therefore, her first point of counsel.
It’s a very moving speech that Tyrion gives as he admits that he has never really believed in anything before now, including himself. All these years, we have seen the hardships and prejudice that Tyrion has endured by everyone, even his own family who believe he is a useless, poisonous curse. Now, he has finally found someone and something to follow and root for, and Daenerys actually appreciates Tyrion’s wisdom and advice. They have both found someone who they can trust and help make a better world with. Their alliance is one of the best yet!
Arya is Back and Bad
The moment we’ve all been waiting for: Arya’s return to Westeros and the vengeful death of Walder Frey. Arya’s revenge trip has been highly anticipated ever since she witnessed the beheading of her father in Season 1. Since then, she has developed a mental kill list and has trained to become a lethal assassin. The first name she ticks off her list is Walder Frey, the very man who executed the murder of her brother and mother back in Season 3. Frey was a disgusting, dishonourable old man that deserved a gruesome death at the hands of a Stark. Arya also carved and baked a lovely meat pie from the bodies of Frey’s sons for him to eat for his last meal. Gross, but fair. The fact that Arya slit Frey’s throat also adds irony to the revenge murder, as that is how Arya’s mother was killed at the Red Wedding.
It’s official, Arya is back and wants blood. However, what we’re all desperate to see is her reunion with her sister and brother at Winterfell. She could really show Sansa and Jon a thing or two.
The King in the North: Mark #2
The famous chant that documented the success of Robb Stark during his reign of Winterfell has re-emerged with that of the bastard crow Jon Snow, the fan-favourite protagonist who has a large number of wildlings on his side as well as the contributing houses of the North. Alongside his badass sister, Sansa, he stands before his followers at the brink of his vengeful conquering of Westeros for the death of his family and disintegration of his family name.
A highly popular theory was also confirmed in the finale with Jon’s parentage being discovered as that of Targaryen and Stark. Jon has managed to gain a following and alliances despite being seen as an illegitimate child of a prostitute that Eddard Stark had slept with, but now it is revealed that Jon is actually royalty — the child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. Bran finds out this information using his skills as the newly-formed Three-Eyed Raven, who can see past and present events. It was about time Bran returned to the great game. This flashback means that Jon is, in fact, the nephew of his assumed father, Eddard, cousins to his assumed sisters and brother, Sansa, Arya and Bran, and is also the nephew of, the one and only, Daenerys Targaryen. This could signify that Jon has a legitimate claim to the Iron Throne, being the last male Targaryen left in Westeros.
Speaking of Daenerys, this episode also forced Dany to break off her relationship with Daario Naharis out of determination to use marriage to form alliances when she conquers Westeros. Will she look to the North to marry the King there? Her own nephew? We all know the Targaryen ancestry spent years breeding with each other to keep their royal blood pure, so never say never. The books behind the show are named A Song of Ice and Fire, and fans have theorised that Jon symbolises the ice from beyond the wall, and Daenerys symbolises the fire from her dragons. A Jon and Daenerys union has been speculated for years and their combination of bravery, fairness and royalty would make the perfect rulers for the Iron Throne. This brings me to the last greatest moment in the Season 6 finale…
Daenerys’ Army
Daenerys has had the privilege of being the star of many ending scenes of the seasons of GoT. The Season 1 finale brought the birth of her dragons, and Season 3 demonstrated the number of followers she had accumulated from the slaves she had freed. But none of these moments have given Daenerys so much power as this year’s ending scene as Dany travels across the sea with a likely indestructible army. With her new Hand of the Queen by her side and her close friends Varys, Missandei and Grey Worm, she sails with what looks like thousands of ships, holding multiple armies: the Unsullied; the Dothraki; part of the Greyjoy army led by Theon and Yara; her three fully-grown dragons; and the houses of Martell and Tyrell, who are out for revenge against Cersei Lannister, the newly-crowned Queen of Westeros.
Cersei is going to be undoubtedly cornered when Jon attacks from the North and Daenerys attacks from the sea. The prophecy Cersei was told as a child appears to be coming ahead — “Queen you shall be… until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.” After believing that the woman “younger and more beautiful” was Margaery, it has come to light that it is actually Daenerys, as she is on her way to King’s Landing right now. The witch that Cersei visited also foretold of a younger brother who would strangle and murder Cersei. This explains why Cersei has so much hatred for Tyrion, as it was thought to be his destiny to kill Cersei. However, after the Season 6 finale, fans have speculated that Jaime might be that brother. After returning to King’s Landing and seeing the destruction and madness that Cersei has caused with the sept’s explosion and Tommen’s suicide, Jaime might be forced to put an end to his power-hungry twin sister and lover.
The main point is that Daenerys is finally conquering Westeros and becoming the Queen that she has always wanted to be, and it is so exciting. There is so much to look forward to in Season 7 and so many ends being tied up. R.I.P to the corpses of the Season 6 finale, and roll on next year!