‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6 Finale: Long May She Reign

Lena Headey in “Game of Thrones.”HBO
June 26, 2016
Season 6, Episode 10, ‘The Winds of Winter’

Over 10 weeks in the sixth season of “Game of Thrones,” it has become a cliché to note that the powerful women have come to the fore. But there was one character whose trajectory seemed to be the exception to the feminist revolution remaking this story.

That would be Cersei, who since the Season 4 assassination of her son King Joffrey has been on a long slide marked by loss (her father and daughter), humiliation (her walk of shame) and most crucially, an apparent dulling of her once formidable sense of how to work the angles of power. Outflanked by first Margaery and then the High Sparrow, two master manipulators with crocodile smiles, Cersei, with her forthright, shameless spite, seemed antiquated by comparison. All that remained, it seemed, was for one last miscalculation to undo her at her trial, perhaps fatally — for the wildfire explosion to claim its architect as a victim, or at least provoke a hubbub that allowed someone like her former fiancé Loras, at some string-puller’s behest, to slide a blade between her ribs.

But Cersei had other ideas, wiping out any such notions, along with her primary nemeses, with a well-executed Wildfire Plot that suggested shameless spite is still very much in fashion in King’s Landing. Any remaining doubters can ask Margaery, or the High Septon, or the luckless Septa Unella, or even King Tommen, for whom it all was finally just too much to bear, the poor thing.

Or ask Jaime, who arrived in King’s Landing just in time to see Cersei claim the Iron Throne in her sinister leather power frock, looking like a cross between Maleficent and Thin White Duke-era David Bowie. Did he look happy that his beloved sister had finally achieved her dream of absolute power? He did not. Instead the Kingslayer, who has seemed torn this season between his twisted devotion to her and nobler impulses, seemed to be wondering if he might one day be called upon to be a Queenslayer. After all, Cersei just did a version of what Jaime reportedly killed the Mad King Aerys in order to prevent. (It was his wildfire she used.) At the very least, he seems liable to lend an ear to a certain persuasive brother currently heading his way from the east.
Whoops, I buried the lead: We’ve left Meereen! We’ve left Meereen! Well all of us except Daario, who’s sticking around to keep the peace in the city as well as the rebranded Bay of Dragons. Forget Meereen, he said (in a way), speaking for all of us.

Dany’s long, long-awaited departure, backed by a growing list of powerful allies, was but one of a host of major events on Sunday, which packed an enormous amount of plot movement into its 69 minutes as it set up the homestretch of “Game of Thrones.” Winter officially arrived, according to the weather ravens. Arguably the most popular fan theory about the show — that Jon Snow’s parents are really Lyanna Stark, Ned’s sister, and Rhaegar Targaryen, Daenerys’s older brother — was seemingly confirmed. Littlefinger announced his desires on the Iron Throne to Sansa. Arya embraced her destiny as a free-ranging assassin.Finn Jones, left, and Jonathan Pryce in “Game of Thrones.”HELEN SLOAN/HBO

Oh, and pretty much every annoying person in King’s Landing met an end or, in Septa Unella’s case, is headed there eventually. Cersei’s death roster included Margaery, Loras, Mace Tyrell and the High Sparrow, who kept on mansplaining up to the moment he realized he’d been outwitted and was turned to ash. Also: Pycelle, Uncle Kevan, Lancel the twit and finally the tragically ineffectual Tommen, who in his poignant final moments finally embraced the reality we first understood when we saw him cavorting with Ser Pounce in Season 4. The boy wasn’t cut out for the full-contact politics of King’s Landing.

His mother, however, most assuredly is. Lena Headey has always been one of the strongest performers on the show and it was a thrill to see her again with a full head of steam, culminating in Cersei’s paean to hedonism with Unella: “Even confessing feels good under the right circumstances,” she said. (“Shame! Shame!” she added later, in perhaps the highlight of the episode, after turning the septa over to a chillingly helmetless Mountainstein.)

Ms. Headey’s performance was but one element in a sequence that, technically, ranks among the show’s best. Miguel Sapochnik, who directed last week’s battle-heavy episode, brought a different kind of precision and urgency to Sunday’s installment. Cersei’s scheme unspooled amid insistent strings and a series of shots — those vicious little birds taking out Pycelle, Lancel and the dwindling candle-fuse, Margaery’s growing concern and rising tension in the Sept — that built inexorably to the High Sparrow’s realization that he wasn’t as smart as he thought.Here, Septa Unella. You look thirsty...HBO

Cornered, Cersei had resorted to her credo about the “Game of Thrones” — you win or you die — and accepted her own dire fate, as prophesied by the witch years ago. Compared to her grief at the loss of Joffrey and Myrcella, she treated Tommen’s death as the price of doing business. Tired of trying to shape events as the person behind the person — be it a husband or son — she finally took the power she craved by force and dared anyone to stop her. Long may she reign.

[ Looking for something to watch now that “Game of Thrones” is done for the year?. ]

Count me among those who bought all the misdirection this year, the loss and abandonment, the failure of multiple schemes — I thought Cersei was a goner. But while her survival was genuinely surprising, the mechanics of this latest amazingly effective pyrotechnic overthrow (see also: Dany’s big blaze) were less so, thanks to Tyrion reminding us all last week about the stashes of wildfire beneath parts of the capital city.Liam Cunningham in “Game of Thrones.”HELEN SLOAN/HBO

Indeed, whether because 1) “Game of Thrones” has surpassed George R.R. Martin’s intricate plotting, 2) the story has become too big and obsessively covered, or 3) we’ve become wiser to the ways of the writers, the big moves this season seemed broader and more clearly telegraphed. Examples include Jon Snow’s return, certainly, but also the Hound’s return, Arya’s dispatching of the Waif, Ramsay’s death and the Knights of the Vale’s last-second battle-swinging attack in last week’s Battle of the Bastards. (Only the death and definition of Hodor brought the nuclear OMG factor that became the show’s signature with things like Ned Stark’s execution and the Red Wedding.)

The Sept sequence was so artfully handled that I didn’t really mind but it does make me consider how the sense of mystery will likely begin to dissipate from “Game of Thrones,” as longtime theories are confirmed and we pivot toward the final clashes. It’s unavoidable as the story begins to contract toward its conclusion. But I’m already feeling a little melancholy about the show becoming more about big battles and resolution and less about uncovering new pieces of this captivating world.

By the end of Sunday’s episode, the major contenders were lined up and ready for action. In addition to Cersei we had Jon Snow and Dany, finally positioned as the clear champions of their respective constituencies, with no one besides us and perhaps Bran aware of how deeply the two of them might be connected.Emilia Clarke and Peter Dinklage in “Game of Thrones.”HELEN SLOAN/HBO

The North is finally rallying around Jon, led by the excellent Lady Mormont. “The blood of Ned Stark runs through his veins,” Lady Mormont said. Yeah… about that…

You’ll recall that according to legend, Rhaegar abducted Lyanna, who had been promised to Robert Baratheon, kicking off the wars and rivalries that essentially created the story of “Game of Thrones.” Doubt has been thrown on the details by various characters — was it an abduction? Or two lovers running away together? — but the net result is that Jon is not who we’ve been led to believe. Ned lied about his provenance in order to protect him, presumably from the future King Robert.

This theory has been hard to avoid online, so part of the joy of having it confirmed comes from finally being able to accept it and move on. But within the story, questions include what will this powerful blood cocktail mean for Jon, going forward? The Starks and Targaryens have a number of special skills — warging, dragon-whispering — that could come in useful against a zombie army. I think Jon could also have a potential claim on the throne, if Rhaegar and Lyanna were married. (Legitimacy is always Jon’s issue.)Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, left, and David Bradley in “Game of Thrones.”HELEN SLOAN/HBO

Of course the biggest question: How will he find out? And will it happen before or after he pairs off with his own aunt? (This might not happen, of course. But Dany did throw over Daario in favor of a strategic marriage to come later.)

Speaking of the Dragon Queen, her departure from the pyramid comes with more support than she had even a few weeks ago — after years of isolated plotting and machinations by the various groups in this story, the alliances are coming together at a dizzying rate.

Last week the Greyjoy siblings made their pact with the Dragon Queen, pledging ships and an end to their pirating. This week, it seems House Tyrell and maybe even the Dorne gals came aboard, unified in their Lannister loathing. “Cersei stole the future from me,” Lady Olenna told Ellaria Sand, who offered vengeance and justice in return. Enter Varys, who seemed to broker a deal and who apparently discovered a wormhole that allows him to jaunt all over the Known World at his leisure.Maisie Williams and David Bradley in “Game of Thrones.”HELEN SLOAN/HBO

The fleet is perhaps destined to meet up with Euron Greyjoy at some point and for one week, at least, it seemed like a force to be reckoned with. But Dany isn’t so sure — it was a less bellicose Dragon Queen we saw this week.

“Are you afraid? Good,” Tyrion, the new hand of the queen said. “You’re in the great game now, and the great game is terrifying. The only men not afraid are mad men like your father.”

And, he might have added, mad queens like my sister. Winter may finally be here, but if we learned anything on Sunday, it’s that Dany’s not the only one in this tale who knows how to play with fire.Isaac Hempstead Wright in “Game of Thrones.”HELEN SLOAN/HBO
A Few Thoughts While We Check Under the Pie Crust

• Arya Stark made a fun reappearance, killing the wretched Walder Frey. In the process she confirmed a few things. She is back on the kill-list beat, which could mean trouble for a certain freshly minted queen. Also, though she ditched the Faceless Men, she apparently retained the face-shifting tricks (not sure where she’s keeping the faces). Finally, the body-prepping skills she picked up at the House of Black and White translate nicely to the kitchen.

• Sansa apologized for but didn’t really explain why she didn’t tell Jon about Littlefinger and the Knights of the Vale’s possible role in last week’s big battle — Jon seemed to chalk it up to vague trust issues. Littlefinger finally admitted to Sansa that he wants to be king and he wants her with him, but he’s already misjudging his competition. Counter to his predictions, Jon’s bastardhood didn’t keep the other houses from pledging their allegiance. (Never underestimate the persuasiveness of Lady Mormont.) What did you make of those looks Littlefinger and Sansa exchanged during the meeting?

• Davos confronted Melisandre over her immolation of Shireen, and asked Jon Snow if he could kill her. Beat it and don’t come back, Jon told her. She’ll be back.

• The Wall has magic in it that keeps the dead from crossing it, Uncle Benjen told Bran. That seems important. Will Mr. Sapochnik be directing an enormous Wall-destruction scene in the coming seasons?

• There was a macabre symmetry in Tommen plummeting out of that window, considering everything that has resulted from his father shoving Bran out of a window in the pilot.ADVERTISEMENT

• It was nice to see Sam, an object of derision at home and at Castle Black, finally attain a career goal. The Citadel, with its Maesterdome of a library holding untold White Walker-defeating secrets, was quite something to behold, even if its male-only policy is exceedingly out of step with recent developments. Also, how much credibility does an institution of learning really deserve, if its front desk still thinks Mormont and Maester Aemon are running things at Castle Black? Related: I know “Game of Thrones” can’t show us every conversation but at some point, when Sam next sees his old buddy Jon and asks, “So what did I miss?” I hope we get to see him explain it.

• Missing in Action: Jorah, presumably stonier these days unless he managed to crack the greyscale code; the Hound, perhaps still hashing out his spiritual future with the Brotherhood; and Brienne, whose meaningful final wave apparently was for us as much as Jaime. Row on, giant warrior maiden. Let us know if you bump into Gendry.