Tuesday 28 June 2016

Game of Thrones: The Winds of Winter

"Winter is here."


Hello everyone!

IT'S DONE, YO! 

Ahem.

Anyone who knows me or who has been reading along with these blogs knows that I'm pretty much all over the place when it comes to Game of Thrones, but this Sunday's tenth and final episode of the sixth season was SO worth all the annoyance and tears and aggravation that came before. Most notably in season five because a lot of the stuff in five seemed to be something we would never, ever understand, only to realize it was all a huge build-up for this hour and some minutes!

Oh yeah, it was a super-sized finale. Gotta love THOSE.

And I didn't actually get to it before a friend of mine told me I better strap in for the ride, because apparently it was explosive. Like, literally explosive.

I didn't believe her until I saw through the ep, but you know what they say: seeing is believing.

I am now a firm believer. Also, I declare for House Stark, but that's beside the point.

King's Landing was the explosive bit this episode, mostly because Cersei has stopped being her usual bitchy self and turned into a mad, bitchy self. Instead of going to her trial (before which Loras Tyrell confesses everything and becomes one of the Faith, and Margaery tries to tell the High Sparrow they need to get the heck out of Dodge) she set wildfire underneath the Sept ... and blew it up.



Yup.

After which Tommen, His Royal Highness, throws himself out of the window because he can't live with what she's done. And this results in Cersei being crowned queen (which ultimately means it'll be down to her and Dany, and you know I'm so up for that).

BUT STILL.

The death toll keeps rising though, as at the Twins, Filch Walder Frey is first getting backhanded by Jaime Lannister and then eats his cooked sons (there's a Greek myth about this one) before Arya Stark, disguised as a maid, reveals herself and slashes his throat.

No one mourned this death. Except maybe Mrs. Norris.


A little bright spot of the episode were Sam and Gilly who finally, FINALLY arrived at Oldtown and got into the Citadel, whereupon we were quickly met with the bureaucracy of Westeros, aka: why were we not informed of something happening halfway around the world?

I gaped at the Maester as much as Sam. And while he needs to go and defend the lateness of the news, he is also allowed to use the library. Which I want. No joke.

Side-note: the Citadel releases white ravens into the realm. Translation: winter is here (and the Starks have a good laugh about it).

Before we dig in properly, we need to rewind a little and catch up with old Olenna Tyrell, deep in mourning and itching to kick some Cersei arse. Which might just happen as she's conversing with Ellaria Martell in Dorne, forming an alliance between her house and House Martell, only to have Varys step out of the shadows and promise her something even better:

Fire and blood.


An allegiance with the Targaryen family against the Lannisters.

This is going to be epic. You can't tell me you don't want to see Dany and Olenna face off!

NOW THE BEST PARTS!

Bran and Meera are on their way back to Westeros and the lands south of the Wall, but before they do that, Bran returns to the vision of the Tower of Joy, where a fan theory is FINALLY confirmed, as we get to see a young Ned Stark finding his sister bleeding to death after giving birth to a baby boy.

Whom he then takes as his own and brings him home from the war, as his bastard.

And the scene shifts beautifully from the infant's face to Jon Snow's.


JON IS RHAEGAR TARGARYEN'S SON, PEOPLE. IT'S CONFIRMED.

Although at that moment in time, he's trying not to lose patience with the gathered at Winterfell, who are debating going home for the winter while he knows they need to mount defences against the White Walkers.

And what do you know, but little Lady Mormont puts them all to shame with her passionate speech.

"House Mormont Remembers. The North remembers. We know no king but the King in the North whose name is Stark. He's my king from this day until his last day.
THE KING IN THE NORTH!"

Thus Jon becomes the White Wolf, and the North is once again not under the Queen's rule. Too bad, Cersei. Then again, maybe they should let her deal with the Walkers. See how she likes it.

At the same time while this is happening, though, Littlefinger finally admits what we've been guessing all along: that he wants the Iron Throne and he wants Sansa. And of course he starts whispering in her ear that her claim is stronger to the North because she's true-born.

I swear, Sansa needs to gut him. If she betrays Jon we'll all want her murdered, and we've all sympathized with her before, but that'll make her like the Lannisters.


AND FINALLY.

The epic final scene to launch us into waiting for the seventh season: Daenerys Stormborn, Breaker of Chains, Mother of Dragons, etc. etc. launches a fleet with her Unsullied, the Ironborn, and the Dothraki (leaving behind Daario, thank the Gods, and making Tyrion Hand of the Queen)), and sets sail for Westeros. Literally the face that launched a thousand ships, this scene reminded me strongly of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, when the different captains and their ships wait for the incoming armada. 

And now we have to wait a year for the smackdown that's going to happen.

Life is cruel!


This was an amazing, epic season, and while there were certain things I missed, I won't deny that most of them I enjoyed thoroughly and I cannot WAIT for season seven! Because it might just be the most epic yet with Dany finally landing in Westeros and launching her attack from Dragonstone, the ancestral seat of her house.

Cersei's face when she sees Tyrion is going to be priceless.

xx
*images not mine

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