At any rate, once Ser Loras admits his guilt, the High Sparrow demonstrates a certain mercy by having Ser Loras’ forehead carved with the symbol of the Faith Militant. Mace Tyrell attempts to protest the methodology but Queen Margaery reminds him that this is the best solution.

Pycelle receives word from a child while he is with a prostitute and follows the child away. Eventually, he’s led to Qyburn’s laboratory where he’s ambushed by Qyburn’s Little Birds who mutilate the maester with daggers. Essentially, Qyburn apparently takes Varys’ spot as the one who has Pycelle murdered.

Back in the Sept, Queen Margaery starts becoming suspicious of the missing Cersei who remains in her chambers while wearing a black armored gown. Margaery implores the High Sparrow that something is not right and is keenly aware of Cersei’s understanding of the consequences for not appearing. In turn, she tries to escape and has others attempt to leave. Yet the Faith Militant block their exit.

In the meantime, Lancel gets stabbed in the back just as he encounters the underground storage of wildfire. He attempts to crawl towards a few candles lit near a forming pool of the pernicious liquid. However, he’s too late and gets blown to bit along with the Sept and the trapped occupants.

The way the High Sparrow is blown up is quite disturbing as he’s completely eradicated by the blast. But the mistake he made was in underestimating Cersei completely and having too much faith in faith for protecting him and the others in the Sept. Although Margaery offered sage advice to evacuate the Sept, the High Sparrow ignored her and essentially allowed the destruction of other “innocent” people.

Cersei watches in celebration within the tower of the Red Keep with her signature cup of red wine. On the other hand, Tommen, who attempted to reach the Sept was blocked by Ser Gregor up until this point. Once the Sept is blown, Tommen looks at the window and sees the destruction. He removes his crown, climbs up to the window and falls to his demise.

Tommen’s own demise mostly can be attributed to knowing what happened to the person he loved the most, his wife in seeing the destruction of the sept. But at the same time, he probably understands that his rule is a farce and that his mother committed this heinous crime. All that he was made to believe from Cersei and the High Sparrow were meaningless in the end since he wanted simple peace and love. Instead, he probably realized that with Ser Gregor preventing him from joining his wife at the trial, this all was Cersei’s doing and all the foul rumors about her was true. So to absolve himself and his powerlessness, he leaps from the Red Keep.

Down below, Cersei has Septon Unella tied to a table and splashes her wine over her face, similar to how the Septon would torment Cersei. Finally, Cersei unveils the darkness in her heart about how she does things for enjoyment, similar to how Unella would take pleasure in mistreating the queen. Although Unella admits being ready for accepting her fate, Cersei does not provide her the luxury of a quick death. Instead, she introduces Ser Gregor who removes his helmet and begins torturing Unella and getting her to scream while Cersei walks out and mocks Unella with her own, “Shame.”

Before moving on, I want to say the part about King’s Landing was magnificent, amplified by the tragic score that lead to the tragic end of quite a few characters. The scenes were very heavy handed with a sense of impending doom for most people involved. There isn’t a great deal of dialog and everything is emotionally driven. Much of the beauty of the scenes are a combination of the music and attempting to guess the contemplations of each character as they witness this trial.

But you can see that the trial isn’t just about Ser Loras. It’s really Cersei’s personal trial through hell as she slowly has accepted her fate to a degree. Once she sees Tommen her reaction is extremely cold as if she has willingly embraced her prophecy. Instead, she seems to turn towards hatred/revenge as her only remaining motivation for life. Her confession to Unella demonstrates what’s really in her heart, which has always been hedonism and utter selfishness.

At the same time when she dons the black armored gown, she resembles her father in a very perverse manner. It’s the harsh heritage that she decides to embrace as being a Lannister. It’s basically her true form, this creature devoid of emotion beyond pure hatred and vile pleasure, she is the manifestation of human power and achieves the pinnacle of what she’s always wanted in her life.

After that heavy scene, we end up back in the Riverlands at the Frey’s with Walder Frey celebrating the victory over Riverrun. Ser Bronn and Jamie Lannister join the celebration. Both detect the odd, yet comely girl starring at them. However, Jamie provides a distraction of Ser Bronn with two other serving wenches. That allows Walder Frey to have a private conversation with Jamie over the victory. Jamie questions Walder about his own experiences with battle to which Walder replies that he won which is all that matters. You can see the disgust from Jamie especially as he points out that the Freys are a useless group.

In many ways, this is a discussion about Jamie’s complex notions of honor. We all know by now that Jamie’s king slaying was a far more difficult situation for him which earned him a poor reputation. Yet he still has his own code of ethics and becomes disgusted by the dishonorable Walder Frey in his own weaselly tactics. But it does show along with his previous scenes with both Brienne and how he managed to handle the Riverrun conquest without bloodshed that Jamie’s arc is one of continuing redemption.

Over at Old Town, Sam and Gilley finally manage to reach the Citadel. Sam has some bureaucratic problems attempting to gain entry into the Citadel and is promised to meet with the arch maester. However, he’s given permission to enter the library (minus Gilly and the baby). The image of the library is stunning and is absolute heaven for the bookish Sam.

From there we return to Winterfell, seeing a White Raven approach the Stark stronghold. Melisandre and Jon Snow discuss Jon’s background a bit where Melisandre reminds him that he’s still luckier than most. However, Ser Davos storms in, tossing the remnants of the charred stag toy to Melisandre and accusing her of murdering the young Princess Shireen by fire. Melisandre points out that both of Shireen’s parents agreed to the sacrificial pyre but Ser Davos counters that Shireen was a good child and Melisandre’s actions were evil. Ultimately, it’s up to Jon Snow to decide on Melisandre’s fate. So he banishes her from the North and Ser Davos swears an oath to slay the Red Priestess if he ever encounters her there again.

There’s a great part where Ser Davos accuses Melisandre, “How many have died because you were wrong?” This goes back in some ways to the High Sparrow’s own misguided faith in how he misjudged Cersei. With Jon Snow dying and seeing nothing in death despite returning, we still have no concrete evidence what faith and the gods really mean. Yet there are strong arguments that fate ends up becoming self fulfilled prophecies, which lead people to perform what normally maybe viewed as irrational actions. In this case, the outcome of Stannis’ battle against the Boltons in retrospect was unnecessary and avoidable if Melisadnre hadn’t been absurdly obsessed with her visions.

With Jon Snow’s sentencing of banishment for Melisandre, it’s somewhat reminiscent of how Daenerys banishes Ser Jorah. On the one hand, you get the feeling that he recognizes some truth to Melisandre’s statements. Also, he’s probably tired of bloodshed, not to mention somewhat grateful for being brought back by her. Yet he cannot deny the crime she did to an innocent child.

As Melisandre rides away from Winterfell, Jon Snow and Sansa watch on. They have a discussion about the future. Jon respectfully wants Sansa to take their parents’ bedroom chamber and become the lady of Winterfell. However, Sansa still believes in Jon as being a true Stark, despite how Jon recognizes (maybe a bit bitterly) that the battle was won as a result of Sansa’s involvement with the Knights of the Vale.

The discussion turns towards the topic of Littlefinger and having any trust in him. Sansa straight out admits to not trusting him. Sansa apologizes for not divulging her information about Littlefinger and the Knights of the Vale as well to Jon. Jon earnestly wants Sansa to be truthful to him above all else as they have numerous enemies. He kisses her tenderly on the forehead. But she gives him the last bit of information about the white raven arriving, signifying that winter officially is here. Both smile in melancholy knowing that while the idea is beautiful they will be facing grim odds with the army of the dead elsewhere.

Over in Dorne, Queen Olenna treats with the Snakes. It’s a bit humorous here with Olenna essentially shutting up the rather dialog-useless Sand Snakes. Her purpose though is quite obvious as Ellaria detects that her real desire is vengeance for her lost family. Ellaria rings up a special guest in Varys, who, previously had admitted to Tyrion his secret mission. So essentially, it looks as though with Queen Cersei effectively alienating herself from everyone, Queen Daenerys will be receiving quite a formidable alliance with the younger Greyjoys, Dorne and the Tyrells in the future.

Of course, when you deal with Dorne and the Snakes, you have to question what their ulterior motive maybe. At least in the near term, it seems evident that they will maintain an alliance with the Tyrells and Daenerys to clear out the remaining Lannisters (or at least Cersei). In Olenna’s case, she really has nothing to lose at this point but only vengeance and justice to gain so she will support the alliance in any manner that she can.

Back over in Meereen, Daenerys makes her final preparations to leave Meereen and start sailing for Westeros. She denies Daario in permitting him to join their quest along with the Second Sons. Instead, she wants him to stay behind with specific instructions to maintain the peace that was established in Meereen. Daario detects that Tyrion has played a hand in this situation, which is understandable considering that Tyrion’s own adventures with Shae had led him to strangling the one he loved.

Of course, an isolated Daario seems quite even more dangerous. Daario claims to love Daenerys but Daenerys in “breaking up with him” felt nothing (compared to how she felt in ordering Ser Jorah to heal himself). No one really trusts Daario so it’ll be interesting to see what role he plays next season (if any at all). Will he eventually return to take up a better off down the road in betraying Daenerys? That seems likely but we’ll have to wait on that.

The next scene occurs with Tyrion and Daenerys. Tyrion tries to console her but he’s not good at it. They talk further going into fear. Daenerys reveals that she fears how she felt nothing when she broke up with Daario. The only thing she felt was impatience to do what she needs to do. In the end, Tyrion did not provide her much in terms of making her emotionally feel better but he does tell her that he believes in her. In turn, Daenerys has the symbol of the Hand of the Queen and places it on him. For once in his life, Tyrion Lannister kneels but this time to someone worthy of respect.

In the Riverlands, Walder Frey seemingly enjoys some pie alone. The mysterious, comely servant girl provides him a larger piece. He calls out for his two sons to which the girl replies right here. She unveils a finger underneath the piece of pie, causing Walder to violently choke.

The girl unmask herself revealing Arya who slashes the elder Frey’s throat akin to how her mother’s throat was cut. He bleeds to death as Arya relishes the moment.

It seems that with her newfound skills, Arya’s revenge plot will move further along. Unfortunately, her mind is still quite damaged. This leaves two remaining names on her list that she called out this season in Ser Gregor and Cersei. It’ll be interesting to see if her plot takes her to King’s Landing. Before she couldn’t be seen since she was known to be Ned’s daughter. Older and with the ability to disguise herself, she’ll easily be able to infiltrate the city.

Up in the North, Sansa is greeted by Littlefinger in the Winterfell Godswood. Littlefinger reveals what he truly wants which ends up being him sitting on the Iron Throne with Sansa by his side. However, she denies his advances which displeases the skulking character greatly. Just before Sansa is able to leave, Littlefinger halts her in talking about the future of the kingdoms. She states how Littlefinger ultimately serves himself but he starts planting the notion of Sansa being the rightful heir to Winterfell.

Just before The Wall, Benjen Stark escorts Bran and Meera to a weirwood tree. He talks about how The Wall’s magic prevents the dead from passing through, which implies that he cannot go much further. Still he will continue to fight for the living and departs the pair. Bran connects himself one last time for the season to the weirwood network and finishes up his vision of Ned Stark and the Tower of Joy. Essentially, we see the bloody Lyanna Stark on the bed with nurse maids. As Bran observes his dying aunt, he hears her mutter over and over, “Promise me Ned,” before a young baby is brought to the young lord.

The scene cuts to Jon Snow in Winterfell with the other lords of the North. There’s still conflict and unease between everyone, especially with the Wildlings, the lords that did not attend the call to battle and the Knights of the Vale. In the end, the Young Lady Mormont declares Jon Snow the King of the North and soon everyone else follows. Still Littlefinger sits in the back brooding and exchanging knowing glances with Sansa.

One thing about this scene that differed from Robb Stark’s King of the North scene was how all the lords who did not pledge found themselves humiliated by a little girl. Yet this goes along the theme of how it’s up to the young to guide the rebuild the world. On top of that their sincerity seems larger because of their regrets and Jon’s own humility in accepting their offer.

Returning to King’s Landing, Jamie along with Bronn and some Lannister men see from the outskirts the fiery remnants of the Sept and seem quite concerned. However, I think he already suspects what the outcome is and needs to confirm everything with his own eyes. What he witnesses is the coronation of Cersei as Westeros’ new Queen and Protector of the Realm. Despite his love for Cersei, Jamie is very concerned especially when they exchange glances.

It’s clear that Jamie needed to be by Cersei’s side not just to protect her, but to protect her from herself. For him history is repeating itself but in a far worse manner since it’s his own sister and lover committing this act of mass murder. Her subjects seem in awe/fear of her and she projects an aura of utter oppression. Like in the books, it’s likely that she’ll surround herself only with sycophants and those completely loyal to her. But the court she constructs is a perversion of the lessons that her own father, Tywin, attempted to instill into Tommen but that Cersei seems to ignore, which is having good advisors to receive council. Her color is almost completely black and she has discarded the red and gold colors of her house. This is significant in representing void and darkness in her soul that has finally consumed her.

The last scene involves awe inspiring shots of Daenerys’ new fleet of the Greyjoys, Unsullied, Dothraki and her Dragons with her ship leading them along with Tyrion, Missandei and the amazingly quick Varys heading towards Westeros.

It’s clear that next season will leave only a few real major players, namely the Lannisters, the Starks and Daenerys. Of course, the true foe is the White Walker army but it’s yet to be seen how they will overcome The Wall, which Benjen states contains magic wards to prevent the dead from crossing. Of course, the missing player that probably will make a huge impact on all of this is Euron, who currently is building 1000 ships. With Daenerys’ impending invasion, Cersei will most likely join forces with Euron as Cersei’s own allies have dwindled tremendously.

Another growing conflict is that of Sansa and Jon. Littlefinger, though declaring outwardly for the Starks, most likely will find some manner to betray them down the road. There isn’t any question that he sees Jon as his main threat in securing the North for himself. But Sansa’s true loyalty is uncertain as well. Her own history with Jon points at the possibility for further conflict down the road, perhaps even jealousy.

In some way, I see the Jon/Sansa potential growing conflict as being parallel to the impending division between Jamie and Cersei. The difference is that the gender on each side has been switched. Also, the way both sides have claimed their position of power are in opposition. Cersei will rule through sheer ruthlessness, wealth and the power she has while Jon does so through heart, sincere loyalty and the ability to command the respect of his peers. Yet in the middle of this are Sansa and Jamie who both are bereft of some power. Sure, Sansa has the Stark name but we’re seeing the old methods for feudalism in this world disappear. In the case of Jamie, his own nearness to Cersei increases his impotency and it’s only when he’s far enough away from her can he be his own person.

The real question is which direction will the show turn towards in terms of the initial conflict for these groups? Will Cersei assault the north in seeing Jon’s growing power base as an insult to the crown? Or will she be forced to defend herself against Daenerys’ invasion?

With winter finally arriving, there’s no question that Jon’s primary focus will be to strengthen the northern forces for the possibility of the White Walker invasion. However, the biggest immediate threat is Littlefinger. While he does have a certain amount of influence over the Knights of the Vale, that influence in itself is unpredictable as the true ruler is Lord Arryn, whose mental condition is less than stable.

They might set their attention to Edmure though considering that he’s still a prisoner of the Freys. Sansa might attempt to retake Riverrun and with Walder Frey assassinated, it implies that the Riverlands have no true power base. Of course, that could mean that Cersei through Jamie might simply annex that whole region. But it’s remains that her army would be spread thin.

And what will become of Arya? Will she attempt to return home or will she continue to cross the biggest names from her list? On top of that where are the Hound, Brienne and Podrick? Many people pointed out that Lady Stoneheart would appear tonight and that never manifested. In all likelihood at this stage, she won’t ever make an appearance. Instead, the Brotherhood without Banners looks to perhaps join the Northern cause as Berric and Thoros both know that the White Walkers might be creeping down south. Of course, that leaves the much HYPED Cleganebowl up for the grabs. So will the Hound eventually meet up with his brother? At least the much HYPED encounter for this season was put off for now in the context of what many fans had imagined it. Instead, it might be that the Hound battles his brother down the road on behalf of the Brotherhood without Banners in gaining vengeance for the Faith Militant. At this point in time though, that doesn’t seem too likely because his destiny seems to point northward.

With the Lady Stoneheart story seemingly dead in the water (pun partly intended), that leaves Brienne and Podrick meandering about. There’s no question in my mind that they will some day return to meet with Jamie. However, with Arya wandering the Riverlands at the moment, it’s entirely possible that she’ll encounter the young Stark and make a second attempt to return her to her sister.

Overall, I suppose if I’m disappointed by anything it’s mostly in the lack of the White Walkers or something happening to The Wall. There’s been tons of speculation (some on my part) that The Wall would fracture this season and that the White Walkers would start their invasion, leading to next season. But the way the story line is turning out, next season seems to be all about eliminating the last major players before turning everyone’s attention to the war of the dawn. The only remaining “pure” villain is Cersei. Will she partake in the war of the dawn? Will she be conquered then banished? Will Daenerys get her to surrender? That seems to be the big question. It could be that Cersei has an epiphany to simply destroy everyone as she descends into madness. Now that she has made her biggest power move yet it and eliminated all her immediate enemies in King’s Landing, I imagine that she might try a similar move with everyone else that has ever insulted her.

The post Game of Thrones: Season 6 Episode 10 The Winds of Winter Review appeared first on Kontroversial Keith.

The show starts off with Melisandre observing the melting of ice. She declares victory for Stannis by virtue that the way would be paved for his army. Unfortunately, Stannis immediately faces news of mutiny in that half his army had deserted him during the night. At that point, it becomes clear to Melisandre that her predictions were completely off the mark.

More terrible news arrives for Stannis as he’s informed that his wife Selyse has committed suicide by hanging, no doubt as a result of the burning of their daughter Shireen. With Stannis distracted by this tragedy, Melisandre is able to escape. Unmoved by these recent events, Stannis decides to continue his advance against the Boltons….

….to his utter failure. Instead of dealing with a siege, Stannis’ remaining forces must fight off the incoming, prepared forces of the Bolton army. Demoralized, the army doesn’t stand much of a chance and we see the remaining men in an utter bloodbath with Stannis’ flag broken. Stannis himself is exhausted and injured in the battle and comes across two men, one of whom cuts his leg. Although Stannis manages to slay both, he does not have the endurance to do much else and wilts against a tree.

With Stannis’ incoming forces, Podrick had spotted them and alerted Brienne who abandons Sansa Stark in the hope of exacting her revenge. As Stannis is hobbled, she easily manages to discover the wounded self-proclaimed king and sentences him to death. Stannis, the ever resolute soldier, accepts his fate and we see a cut to black with Brienne raising her blade to presumably slay him.

Back over at Castle Black, Sam requests for Jon Snow to send Gilly, little Sam and himself to Old Town to become a maester at the Citadel. With Maester Aemon gone now, it’s clear that Sam’s purpose is to replace the ancient Maester in the hopes of better serving Jon Snow and the Night’s Watch. At first, Jon is reluctant since Sam provides sage advice and is one of the few remaining true friends but recognizes the higher purpose. Of course, both share a moment of their similar situations that oddly paralleled each others’.

Amidst the chaos of the battle between the Boltons and Stannis’ army, Sansa attempted to contact her savior (Brienne) through climbing the steps and lighting the candle at the highest tower. However, since Brienne has left her post for Stannis, Sansa has no ally at that moment. Afterwards, with the Boltons returning from victory, Sansa desperately tries to find an escape, encountering the psychotically obsessed Miranda along with Reek ready to send Sansa back to her room. However, Miranda has other plans not dissimilar to her lover’s and is about to put an arrow through Sansa when Reek finally snaps out of his apprehension and shoves Miranda off the balcony. In turn, Theon Greyjoy helps Sansa and together jump from the wall. As Miranda did not survive her impact, we are left to wonder of Sansa and Theon’s fate.

Over in Braavos, we see Ser Meryn Trant in the whore house flogging underage girls. He has picked three, two of which respond in utter terror at his whippings. However, the third stoically receives his abuse without flinching nor whimper. It turns out that there’s another girl of unknown origin underneath the hair. And that little girl charges at the surprised Meryn Trant with a tiny knife, stabbing him in his right eye. She proceeds to stab him in the other eye then gags him and reveals her true identity as Arya Stark. She talks about how he is the first name on her list before filling him with more holes and declaring him as No One.

Returning to the House of Black and White, Arya replaces the mask she had taken from the hidden Hall of Faces. However, Jaqen H’ghar and the other female apprentice confront her and accuse her of still being Arya Stark. Jaqen mysteriously talks about how a wrong death must be repaid by another and swallows the contents of a tiny vial and dies. Arya panics but learns that the person who swallows the poison isn’t Jaqen but some random person with numerous faces. In turn, Arya goes blind and freaks out.

Over in Dorne, we see the last leg of Jamie and Bronn’s adventures as they manage to secure Myrcella along with Trystane. Ellaria gives Myrcella and odd prolonged kiss upon her lips before they set off while Tyene makes carnal insinuations at Bronn. On the boat back to King’s Landing, Myrcella and Jamie have a chat that seems to end well with Myrcella getting her fairy tale happy ending with Trystane and even knowing about Jamie and Cersei’s incestuous relationship. Despite that, Myrcella accepts his situation and even calls him father before falling victim to poison as she bleeds from her nose. Back by the docks, Ellaria is seen bleeding from the nose as well but possessing the antidote and walks away with the other three Sand Snakes.

Back in Mereen, we find the three deserted men from Dany’s court hanging about the throne room. There they discuss plans of the fate of Mereen and Dany. Daario convinces Ser Jorah to accompany him to find the lost Dany while Tyrion will attempt to organize the city with the aid of Missandei, Grey Worm and the surprising reemergence of Varys. Apparently, Varys’ network of spies cross the world as well.

In another unknown zone, we see Dany with the injured Drogon. Dany implores Drogon to carry her back to her city but Drogon is either too tired or in a food coma to listen (I came up with the food coma thing based on the bones surrounding his nest). Since in reality Drogon is useless to her, Dany goes off to search for food. Instead, she finds herself almost immediately surrounded by a familiar but perhaps not-welcomed bunch of faces in the form of the Dothraki. She drops a ring onto the ground (Merry anyone from The Two Towers???) as the riders form a vast ring around her.

Back in King’s Landing, Cersei confesses to her crime of fornication with Lancel but continues to deny charges of her incestuous relationship with Jamie. Hoping to return to see her son, Cersei instead finds herself faced with atonement for her sins. Here, she is shaven (though not completely naked as compared with the book) and brought before the entirety of King’s Landing and forced to perform a walk of penance where everyone calls her names and hurls things to shame her. At first, she stands proud but the walk is long and arduous with her feet bleeding and her pride torn asunder. She learns the truth about how the people of King’s Landing feel about her and she cries.

Eventually, she makes it back to the Red Keep where she is cloaked and carried by the HUGE, new and improved Ser Gregor-….I mean Ser Robert Strong of the King’s Guard, introduced by Qyburn as her personal bodyguard. Despite her walk, you can see through her eyes and the notions planted by Qyburn that she should take vengeance upon all her enemies through this new being.

Lastly, back at the Wall, Ser Davos shows up imploring Jon Snow to help Stannis with the newly acquired Wildlings. However, Jon Snow understands the Wildlings’ stance where they refuse to fight for anyone. As they converse, Melisandre appears and is visibly shaken. Her body language clearly indicates Stannis’ defeat and Ser Davos is particularly concerned about Shireen.

Later, Jon Snow is alerted by FUCK OLLY that his long, lost uncle Benjen Stark has returned. Jon, just as the rest of the audience, has anticipated this moment for a while but is greeted with a simple sign with the writing “Traitor.” Thereafter, Ser Alliser Thorne and other members of the Night’s Watch proceed to stab him with Olly being the last little fuckhead to do the deed. Jon Snow falls over, left bleeding as the season makes its conclusion.

So, just wow what a finale. In all honesty, I’m surprised they managed to get this much in considering how many story lines are remaining. Some people’s storylines have definitely concluded while others are now thrown way up in the air. Certainly, there’s tons of things to consider as the TV show in many ways has surpassed the books and allows us to look into the future for next year.

Let’s go area by area in examining everything. First, Stannis’ story is one of the sections where we’re now passed the books. I recall reading how George RR Martin himself mentioned that the beginning of the Winds of Winter, he intended to wrap up several cliff hangers. One obvious major one is the Stannis vs Boltons war. I suppose you can’t even call what occurred a war. It was a fleeting battle at best with Stannis suffering a crushing defeat.

More than that, we see things such as Melisandre abandoning Stannis, his immediate family decimated at his own hands and Ser Davos in limbo. Of course, one of the biggest changes is Brienne discovering Stannis, now evidently crippled and supposedly ending his life. It’s unclear though with the cut to black scene whether Brienne actually slew Stannis. Her storyline is one of the most changed this season. There’s a good chance that Stannis will return next season since we do not see his fate as of yet. On the other hand, there are many other characters whose fate are in utter purgatory that are still in limbo such as Ser Sandor Clegane, Lady Stoneheart (a subject I will return to at the end of this), Gendry, etc. So there’s also a good chance that this is the end of Team Stannis once and for all.

Part of me kinda hopes that Brienne spares Stannis. A broken Stannis makes for an interesting character. However, he’s not a major viewpoint character whereas Brienne is. On top of that having Brienne gain revenge over Stannis makes her into a darker character as well as an oath breaker since she abandoned her watch for Sansa. If they ever decide to pursue the Lady Stoneheart storyline, then Brienne slaying Stannis rather than retaining her vows for Catelyn Stark is the perfect opportunity to introduce that plot. On the other hand, since Jamie’s Riverlands story has been abandoned, there’s also the chance that Stannis’ storyline ends up becoming Jamie’s in part. Either way, the cliffhanger of Stannis’ fate gives me inclination that he will make it for at least one more season. He just seems too useful of a character to dismiss at this point.

Sam going to Old Town to become a Maester honestly felt as though they should have completed during this season. I suppose they wanted to give him more motivation to make the decision on his own rather than Jon Snow’s rather cold mandate. But his storyline just was too slow overall and felt as though nothing really moved forward nor back. Either way, at the very least I’m glad we’ll see him move away from the Wall and follow up on his storyline to become a Maester next season.

I didn’t mention Ramsay so far even though he made a quick appearance. Jon Snow did not receive the Pink Letter that supposedly was sent by Mance Rayder in the novel. But that whole storyline is completely shafted at this point so I doubt we’ll see Mance Rayder appear ever again. However, what is clear is that Ramsay is accumulating a LOT of power and the defeat over the Boltons is making him subtly one of the most powerful characters in the story. Certainly, with Miranda’s death and Sansa and Theon’s escape, Ramsay will swear vengeance and enact mass chaos next season.

One important aspect of the results of the battle is the sheer number of dead left around Winterfell. People should never forget the death toll resulting from these costly battles and wars as Winter approaches. We’ve already seen what the Night King is capable of and even Jon Snow provided that much information to Sam, indicating that those bodies left unburnt will serve as more soldiers for the White Walkers and the Army of the Dead. Unfortunately, few people outside of Jon, Sam, the Wildlings, etc. know the truth about the Army of the Dead.

Returning to the Sansa Stark storyline, one of the things we learned from this season is that Sansa did not become the super badass many predicted her character to become as hinted through her apparel and image from the end of season 4. Sophia Turner had hinted that we would see her go to a dark place, but that dark spot ended up being raped by Ramsay Snow. We did not see Sansa yet take her revenge upon the Boltons but she did grow in strength internally because of learning that her brothers Bran and Rickon still being alive. For all intents and purposes, Sansa’s character was Jeyne Poole’s for this season and we have yet to see her with Theon reuniting (at least in Theon’s case) with Yara/Asha Greyjoy.

However, because she learned that her brothers are alive (unlike in the books), we do not know how she will change in the TV series. My guess is that both Theon and Ramsay will go on a hunt for either of them. Supposedly, that role was relegated for Ser Davos but his storyline is in limbo as well. Since Theon does not know where either boy is, the only remaining true ally is Jon Snow. However, we’ve seen what happened to him so there’s no telling if Sansa will find out in time to avert the Wall in case she gets ambushed en route. Perhaps, one idea might be to see her Ser Davos, Theon and Yara locate Rickon. The other idea is that Bran might still attempt to contact Theon who could still mentally be Reek. If that happens, then we’ll likely see Sansa and Theon head beyond the Wall in search of Bran while Ramsay follows.

Arya’s storyline pretty much finishes her A Feast for Crows plot with her going blind, although the mechanism ended up not being milk that she drinks. With that in mind, it looks as though next season still will continue parts of A Feast for Crows and A Dance of Dragons as well as exploring a few other stories (such as the reported Euron Greyjoy). We did not get to see Samwell Tarly and Arya cross paths this season but there’s a chance to see that happen next season as Arya continues her training.

The Dorne storyline with Jamie, Myrcella, Bronn and the Sand Snakes continues to move in a very odd direction. Ellaria appears to be continuing her personal vendetta to trigger a war with the Lannister. Since Myrcella has fallen especially in her own revelation of knowledge of Jamie’s relationship with Cersei while admiring her father, it’s clear that Jamie will finally switch dispositions next season. Cersei clearly isn’t going to be any saner and in fact more vindicated through her tribulations with tonight’s penance walk. But with Myrcella’s death, that might push her over the edge.

This time though Jamie will step up. Since Tywin is dead and Tommen a weak child leader, Jamie might try to take charge of King’s Landing. At the moment, Kevan Lannister remains Hand of the King (I believe). Not sure if Varys might return to murder Kevan and Grand Maester Pycelle. But if he does (or if someone else does), then Jamie will be cleared to take charge with the aid of Cersei and Tommen. I don’t think we’ll see his storyline to make peace in the Riverlands take place any longer. Instead, it’ll be Dorne pushing forward with the much predicted grand conspiracy to gain revenge against the Lannisters. Unfortunately for the Lannisters, they’ve managed to alienate themselves from everyone and it’s doubtful that High Garden will come to their aid this time around.

With Dany seemingly captured by the Dothraki (presumably the Khaleesar that abandoned her when Khal Drogo fell), Tyrion’s storyline moves into a new oddity that has not yet surfaced in the books where he gets a second chance at ruling, this time over a city on the brink of chaos. However, this time around it seems that he will have better allies. If anything King Tyrion does make for a very exciting season 6.

That leaves the ever mysterious Daario with the infected Ser Jorah. Thus far, Ser Jorah’s infection seems very slow in spreading through the rest of this body. No mention was made tonight and no one besides himself at this stage realizes his ailment. What is apparent is his inherent distrust for Daario who might be leading the knight into a trap to secure Dany for himself. Since next season is casting a pirate who presumably will be Euron Greyjoy, some of the conspiracies surrounding Daario’s identity as Euron might fade away. Nonetheless, Daario remains a very seedy persona and Ser Jorah does detect potential foul play.

Going back to Cersei’s storyline, we’ve caught up to her situation with the books. There were no real surprises here except the fact that she wasn’t bald and we did not get to see her knock over her chamber pot (the ONLY thing I really wanted to see from her). In the books though, we do not get a firm glimpse of the psychological ramifications of her atonement and jail time. Here, we do see the vengeful eyes as Maester Qyburn suggests using Ser Robert Strong to cease the lives of her enemies. In the books, just before he is killed off, Kevan Lannister remarks how they “declawed the cat” (meaning Cesei). Even if Cersei has been humbled to a degree, it feels as though the eventual news of her daughter’s death will push her over the edge to make her overprotective of her last child in Tommen. Just as she declared to Tywin before he was shot by Tyrion, Cersei may keep true to her words in burning down all the cities in protecting her son.

Although we look at Dany as the one with the potential for madness through her genealogy as a Targaryen, the true Mad One is Cersei. Now, that she has witnessed first hand the filth of King’s Landing (whereas before her view was always protected by guards), any love of the people probably has been thrown out the window. All her vendettas and hatred towards everything will seem vindicated in her small mind and most likely she’ll cause massive death in the South just in time for the White Walkers to eventually arrive. That will, of course, be too late for her when she realizes the futility of her life’s work and succumbing to the whims of prophecies.

Returning to Ser Davos for a moment, I want to say that he’s completely lost now. In the books, Stannis has Ser Davos travel other parts of the North to rally more troops. In the Riverlands, Ser Davos is apprehended by the Manderlys. There, he learns the truth about Rickon’s survival and goes on a quest to recover Rickon on the Summer Isles. In the show, he was sent back to the Wall. However, there’s a good chance he’ll learn about the fate of Stannis. With Melisandre back at the Wall and Jon Snow seemingly murdered by his brothers, Ser Davos has no allies.

On the other hand, there’s little reason for the Men of the Night’s Watch to hate Ser Davos and the Wildlings too may feel indifferent. Nevertheless, he lacks a true purpose at this point in the TV series, although he may force Melisandre to help Jon Snow, perhaps by having him resurrected. However, Melisandre too might feel defeated by the betrayal of her own visions. Some have speculated that Ser Davos might serve the Night’s Watch but I doubt he’ll do so because of Stannis’ fate. There’s still a chance that he might go to help Rickon but there’s no clear logical line defined through tonight’s events how that may happen as of yet.

Lastly, we come to Jon Snow’s fate. Any book reader probably isn’t surprised but there’s no question non-book readers are probably up in arms. Yet it’s pretty obvious that Jon Snow is too important of a character to leave hanging on the chopping block for no purpose. If the theories are true then Jon Snow will become Azor Ahai reborn. In actuality, both Stannis and Jon are in a good position for that fate, but Jon Snow is by far the more obvious choice.

During a talk over at Oxford with Dan, David, Jon Bradley and Kit Harrington, the producers hinted that Kit would come back as a wolf in season 6. Whether or not Kit knew that beforehand is anyone’s guess (most likely yes). So there’s a chance that we’ll see Jon Snow running around as Ghost. After all, Ghost did show up to help Sam a few episodes ago and it’s clear in the book that all the Starks have some form of worg power. Here, Jon Snow will most likely discover that power and live through Ghost while Melisandre raises him from the dead (most likely through a funeral pyre, thus fulfilling the prophecy).

At the same time, Kit Harrington himself has hinted that he might not appear in season 6. Or if he does, it might happen in some limited capacity. By the looks of things, we’ll see a few major stories from A Feast for Crows and A Dance of Dragons take place next season like Euron Greyjoy’s, Samwell’s quest to become a Maester, Arya’s training, etc. Part of it might be to help buy some much needed time for George RR Martin to put the finishing touches on at least The Winds of Winter. However, A Dream of Spring most likely won’t be done until after the last episode which quite possibly will be in season 7. Nonetheless, it’s time to digest all of this and get back to a sad reality as well wait another full year.

One last thing that I almost failed to mention is Lady Stoneheart. Despite all indications of a possible return, we did not get that final moment. If there’s any hope of seeing the return of Catelyn Stark/Michelle Fairley, it’s pretty much out the window at this stage. Even with Brienne’s story and the absent Men without Banners part, more than likely the show runners won’t incorporate Lady Stoneheart. The perfect moment really was at the end of season 4 and tonight’s episode should’ve ended with her as a glimmer of hope.

People are speculating that Sophia Turner/Sansa Stark will replace the image/mood of Lady Stoneheart, perhaps in rallying the Men without Banners. Sansa did hint to Theon that her family still had allies in the North and the Men without Banners still are around, if not unheard of for a while. I suppose it makes far more sense just to convert Sansa into a single symbol of filial revenge rather than moving through potentially three or four muddied stories. I will say that it was really deflating not to get that last moment but the show really is its own beast at this point.

The post Game of Thrones: Season 5 Episode 10 Review appeared first on Kontroversial Keith.

First, let’s look at the plot summary. “Stannis marches. Dany is surrounded by strangers. Cersei seeks forgiveness. Jon is challenged.” I think with regards to the books, the main storylines will be as follows:

• Stannis will continue to head towards Winterfell. He may encounter Ramsay Bolton as Ramsay sounds like he’s preparing to ambush them and/or set a trap. However, I seriously doubt we’ll see the highly anticipated battle this year. That more than likely will occur in Season 6. If anything, Ramsay will probably enact a few ruthless murders to send a message to Stannis in attempt to dissuade him. However, Stannis will continue his relentless mission while Melisandre and Seleyse will attempt to convince him to use his daughter to gain victory in a near hopeless situation. Originally, Seleyse and Shireen were supposed to stay at Castle Black so it’s possible that Stannis may send Shireen back for her own safety along with Davos, which may eventually lead Davos into pursuing Rickon. Because the storyline has changed significantly for Sansa, it’s possible that she and Theon/Reek will escape with Davos (in lieu of Mance Rayder) to locate Rickon.
• I think Ramsay doing his little plot against Stannis will result in Reek and Sansa being left unguarded at Winterfell. It’s highly likely that Reek finally (through Bran) will become Theon once again and aid Sansa in escaping. Instead of Mance and his spearwives, Brienne and Podrick will be the ones to come to her aid. On a side note, for those thinking that Sansa will enact the whole stew thing this season against the Boltons, think again. I believe many people thought she would become this horrible person based on some hints about what happens with her character. However, I think the horrible things that become of her character isn’t her transforming into a ruthless manipulator. Instead, that character development mostly was in the rape scene that makes her go into a darker place (for instance, desiring the horrors that Theon was exposed to at the hands of Ramsay).
• Cersei seeking forgiveness most likely means that by episode 10 she will be completely broken in spirit, emotion and psychology. While she will beg for forgiveness from the High Sparrow, she still will undergo her walk of punishment that will eradicate her cruel streak as she now (like many others in the story) will be broken to the point of changing herself as a person. Of course, that will lead to the introduction of Ser Robert Strong (aka The Mountain, aka Ser Gregor Clegane, aka the new Frankenstein) with the aid of the Maester Qyburn (although that might not exactly happen because Qyburn isn’t listed in the credits). In short, I doubt that her story up until that portion will vary that drastically from the books.
• Jon Snow being challenged is pretty vague. I don’t think we’ll see him at this stage get assaulted by the Men of the Night’s Watch, unless they decide to cut the whole arc of the integration of the Wildlings into the Night’s Watch very short (very possible). There’s been a lot of indicators that Olly, among others, will make a move against Jon Snow. Another major hint is that in a separate interview, Kit Harrington almost accidentally admitted to “desiring to worg into a wolf.” During that interview, Dan and David (the producers) said it will happen in season 6. Considering that Jon Snow’s story arc at the end of A Dance with Dragons becomes a major cliff hanger, it’s very likely that they’ll cut to the chase. Also, recently in an interview, Kit Harrington has warned audiences that Jon Snow isn’t necessarily safe. There’s been a lot of foreshadowing that something will happen to him this season so this might be the moment.
• Dany is surrounded by strangers sounds like her encounter with the Dothraki. My guess is that in episode 9 during the chaos that erupts from the Fighting Pit situation, Dany’s dragon, Drogon, will come to save her and lead her to his secret nest. However, she still has not mastered Drogon and he will leave her. In turn, that makes her vulnerable and the Dothraki that abandoned her and Khal Drogo will capture her.

For the other storylines, I’m going to guess based on the cast listing (as well as a few who are not mentioned).

• For Samwell and Gilly, they will be sent by Jon Snow to the Citadel so that Samwell can become a Maester. Jon Snow will detect that he has more enemies within the Night’s Watch and requires Sam to learn more about the White Walkers, dragonglass and Valyrian Steel. Since Maester Aemon has died, Jon Snow will require a new Maester. In turn, that will allow Samwell to keep Gilly and baby Sam safe (not to mention start a new adventure for them).
• Just like in the books, Varys will assassinate Kevan Lannister and Grand Maester Pycelle, which will lead to Tommen regaining the crown. However, there will be no Hand of the King, leaving Tommen vulnerable since Cersei still is around. The big question, of course, is whether Cersei has truly changed or if she’ll revert to her old wicked ways (or worse), especially because the Sparrows more than likely still will be empowered in the city.
• Balon Greyjoy is noted to appear in this episode. More than likely, he’ll fall to his death similar to in the books, leading to the calling of the Greyjoy Moot to select a new leader. Since rumors are afloat about a major casting call for a pirate-like figure, most people are speculating that we will see hints of Euron Greyjoy. Since the casting call hasn’t been finalized, what we might see instead is his instrument that can take control over dragons since they obviously will be a key against the fight with the White Walkers.
• The Sand Snakes along with Ellaria Sand and Doran Martell will show up. I do not see Jamie Lannister nor Bronn. I think Bronn will die in episode 9 when Tyene attempts to manipulate him to try and help break the Sand Snakes out along with capturing Myrcella (similar to Arianne’s plot in the books). That attempt will fail, resulting in a very gruesome death for Bronn (which will suck). Also, Jamie Lannister will somehow return to the capital to work with Doran in securing peace with the Martells in episode 9 since his mission is an utter failure at this point. With Jamie returning to the capital and Bronn dead, Doran will unveil his master plot to the Sands and a frustrated Ellaria where he will send the Sands as Dorne’s new ambassadors, especially since Tommen now is vulnerable with the Small Council demolished and Cersei weakened from her incompetence and humiliation at the hands of the Sparrows. Since the Quentyn story looks completely hosed, I’m going to venture to say we won’t even have to worry about that, unless Trystane is sent to marry Dany instead (highly unlikely given the events). The big thing will be Ellaria becoming part of the Small Council, which will probably lead to a conflict either between her and Cersei and/or Margaery and the Tyrells.
• Arya will continue her training but we’ll see her drink the milk and wake up  blind similar to the end of A Feast for Crows. It seems like her story will be one of the slower ones that won’t catch up until season 6.
• The White Walkers is also mentioned as part of the credits. Not sure if it’ll be the Night King, but it’s possible that they’ll invade Westeros or at least send a massive blizzard over Castle Black right as Jon Snow gets assaulted by his so-called brothers. If they don’t attack Castle Black, they might try to attack another unprotected outpost. But the key thing here is that mythical horn that can bring down the Wall still has not been revealed and most likely won’t be seen this season. So as long as the Wall stays up, there will be enough magic to prevent the White Walkers from a full invasion.
• I do believe Bran Stark will make a small cameo. It could possibly just be a voice over to awaken Reek into Theon similar to the books. I don’t see Theon and Sophia in Episode 9, so if Bran does anything this season just to remind us that he’s alive some place, it’ll be at this juncture. I do believe that the producers hinted that Bran would show up for a very tiny part and my guess is that it’ll be for this.
• Lastly, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the climax of the show will be the highly anticipated return of Catelyn Stark, or as book readers will recognize her as Lady Stoneheart. A while back, fans claimed that for a very brief period they spotted Michelle Fairley’s name appeared as a hooded woman or something obscure like that. Thereafter, her name was quickly taken down and her agency denied any affiliation with the show. Still, considering the title of this episode and the bad need of some form of hope, it’s one of the few things that makes sense. This season needs to conclude really big and Michelle was such a strong actress and Catelyn was a highly remembered character that it’s only fitting to see her return. Of course, if she is Lady Stoneheart, the audience might be horrified to see what she has become. Considering that Brienne’s story and Jamie’s story arcs have diverged so much from the books, there’s a good chance that season 6 will end up returning to the original story with Jamie in the Riverlands for the fateful meetup.

Overall, I’m sure most of these predictions ought to come true. If they don’t, more than likely it’s because of lack of time. One thing I feel with this season is that the story has diverged to the point where the pacing is definitely off from the books. Some stories have caught up too much or even exceeded in some cases while others are still behind. But I think that part of this is intentional since it might be the producers’ way of giving George RR Martin some time to finish The Winds of Winter. I’m guessing that A Dream of Spring won’t finish before the end of the TV series though at this rate, unless George RR Martin goes into isolation and uber writing mode. It’ll be fun to see how many of my predictions are accurate.

The post Game of Thrones: My Predictions on the End of Season 5 appeared first on Kontroversial Keith.