So the Game of Thrones Season 6 finale is over, and it’s both the best episode of the show in a long time, and the worst one ever—worse than “Sons of the Harpy,” even. “The Winds of Winter” is the Return of the King of Game of Thrones—the series’ highest highs and lowest lows, wrapped up into one. Let’s take it from the top, huge spoilers henceforth.
Game Of Thrones Season 6 Finale: The Sacred And The Profane
Let’s start with the worst part about Game of Thrones Season 6: Cersei’s terrorist attack on the Sept of Baelor (classic false flag, inside job), and the subsequent suicide of King Tommen. This one’s complicated, but all in one blow, almost every character in King’s Landing is dead. The prophecy of Maggy the Frog has been fulfilled, and Cersei stands alone. All her enemies are gone, and some of her own kin. House Tyrell is essentially extinguished, and—in something she could totally have anticipated—King Tommen went with them.
Tommen was truly blessed, a true believer and a great king. It’s only natural that he thought his life was over when his Faith and his true love were destroyed. But it’s still real dumb. How did Cersei not foresee this? Why didn’t anyone force their way out of the sept? Why did all those kids have to stab Pycelle when Qyburn could have done it himself? What was the purpose of the scene with the septa and Gregor Clegane? Most importantly of all—why did Tommen kill himself with no fanfare or buildup at all? The action itself makes sense, but it just wasn’t developed enough, so it rings false. And that’s the biggest problem with the finale. The catastrophe in King’s Landing doesn’t get enough room to breathe, or even be set up properly.
We’ll have more on the King’s Landing disaster another time, but “The Winds of Winter” did so much else right that we can perhaps forgive. The final reveal of what happened at the Tower of Joy was richly necessary—especially with the ironic coronation of Jon Snow as King in the North immediately after… Jon Snow, who isn’t the son of Ned Stark and doesn’t deserve to be king. Varys’s teleporting abilities and appearance in both Dorne and the ships departing Meereen was a little strange, but his creation of a similar pact to the one he had in the books makes sense.
The coolest moment in the Game of Thrones Season 6 finale, of course, is Walder Frey’s death at the hands of Arya Stark—who has also become quite good at teleporting. The timeframe in Game of Thrones and the distance from place to place, has truly collapsed as time went on, but that’s little matter. The episode had lots of other great stuff too: Daenerys naming Tyrion her hand. Benjen confirming he is, in fact, Coldhands. And Jon Snow being crowned King in the North out of nowhere, because of the amazing Lady Mormont. But there’s going to be trouble from that. Sansa isn’t happy… and she shouldn’t be.
It was a wild ride of a season, and a crazy finale, with huge highs and terrible lows. And now it feels like the end is beginning. There are only thirteen episodes left of Game of Thrones, and they’ll start coming out next year.
