Major spoilers for the Season 6 finale ofGame of Thronesto follow . Abandon all Bob Hope , ye who accede here who have yet to watch over " The Winds of Winter . "

Last week’sGame of Thrones , " Battle of the whoreson , " was one ofthe most electrifying time of day in the series ' history , full of tumid - plate action and crashing fun payoff . How would showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff wrap up Season 6 with even half as much fire ?   By blow up the narrative from the inside – courtesy of the worst kept secret in King ’s landing place .

" The Winds of Winter , " the longestThronesepisode to date , pulled the trigger on the telescoped explosion of King Aerys II Targaryen ’s secret cache of wildfire – and that was just the first 10 minutes . Nearly every scene in this satisfying hour - plus provide some turn of events or plow that shook the very foundations of George R.R. Martin ’s human beings . Here are the moments that ’ll keep our imaginativeness racing over the farsighted , cruel months until Season 7 arrives .

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10. Wildfire literally disintegrating the High Sparrow

All signs point to the disturbed King ’s weapons of mass destruction lighting up the High Sparrow and his trust of the Seven cronies , though I could n’t have predicted Cersei ’s terrorist act would happen right off the chiropteran , or that the devastation would be so controlled . Now that I cogitate about it , yeah , that is what happen to the lad aboard Stannis ' fleet during the Battle of Blackwater , so the High Sparrow ’s skin dissolving off his bones should n’t have been that surprising . Props to the High Sparrow for playing it nerveless until the very end .

9. Varys appearing in Dorne

A few episode back , Varys go on a underground mission . Some speculated that he was off to court a young U. S. Army . Others think he was a double-crosser , zipping back to King ’s landing place to alert the Lannisters . Whatever he was off to do , he hold that if he failed , Tyrion would n’t see him again . But Varys is back – and now he ’s fake an alliance with the Dornish warrior women AND Olenna , the Queen of Thorns . No one will ever be able to adequately explain how Varys then made it all the way from Dorne to Meereen in time to join Daenerys and Tyrion as they set canvass for Westeros , but I ’m felicitous the Spider did , because Varys dominate .

8. Cersei taking her place on the Iron Throne

It ’s what she always wanted , and we never thought we ’d see the day . So many children died to make Cersei ’s partnerless materfamilias a possible action , and even still , the prize will come with a cost . The image of her coronation , transformed into an evil Disney queen by a newly minted crown , tingled the spine . The scene wrick the gut when Jaime walked in . commemorate , the knight murdered a sit king in gild to prevent the same fiery destruction that his babe / lover now carried through . I can only envisage how that will play out in Season 7 .

7. Jon Snow becoming the King of the North

Last time of year , Jon Snow bled to death on the snow-covered grounds of Castle Black , deceive by his own soldiers . split second ahead 10 episodes , and a resurrected mother fucker is now leading the freshly reformed House Stark . The shock here was two - fold : one , who expected Jon to wax through the ranks so quickly , and be so all right with the musical theme ? The second fit back to Sansa , who clearly expects her due in the immediate future . As Benioff mentioned in the post - show chatter , Sansa does n’t swear Jon , and the feelings should be mutual in Season 7 . A scene opening with Lyanna Mormont’sSmall Wonder - dash badassery and finish with Jon cracking a grinning at his hard - earned accomplishment is ting by a murky future tense .

6. Sansa denying Littlefinger like a boss

Littlefinger ’s kinship with Catelyn Stark , and now her girl Sansa , is so gnarly , I was n’t indisputable if he was going to wedge himself on her in " The farting of Winter " or murder her in cold roue . The finale give way us a third , more interesting option – even though the latter is undoubtedly a dawdle theory next season . Sansa is formally in " no bullshit " mode ; she ’ll take advantage of Littlefinger without caving in to his aggressive , lustful demeanour and weird scheme - dreaming . The player is now the pawn , and vice versa . How many diabolical smiles can two actors have in one episode ? Sophie Turner and Aidan Gillen set a novel record this workweek .

5. Qyburn’s “little birds” murdering Maester Pycelle

They sing ! They trip the light fantastic ! They reap selective information from the tiniest corners of Westeros ! And it turns out , the Little Birds ai n’t bad with knives , either . If you hold back patiently this season to see these child handmaid freed in aGame of Thronesversion ofChitty Chitty Bang Bang , " The Winds of the Winter " failed you . If you did n’t actualise you want to see these little patsy stab Maester Pycelle to death for fart at the Small Council table , then clap in sadistic glee as it come about , then you ’re like me .

4. Bran discovering that Jon is Lyanna Stark’s son

" R + L = J " has beena backboneGame of Thronestheoryfor so long that it ’s not even really a theory . If the show ’s go anywhere , it ’s with Jon Snow bond into the Targaryen line of descent by way of Ned Stark ’s sis . He himself is the vocal of ice and fire – but oh , boy , was Bran ’s imaginativeness in the Tower of Joy a sight for sore eyes . And yet even as it divulge the biggest tress in the series to date , it still sustain a little closed book – all that rustle ! Such was the mantrap of this episode ofThrones : no one utters the Book of Revelation instantaneously , with theatre director Miguel Sapochnik or else connect the fact via redaction . If Bran makes it to the Winterfell side of the Wall in Season 7 , Jon will learn his lineage – if it is n’t too later , that is .

3. Margaery dying in the blast

2. Arya assassinating Walder Frey

Game of Thronesdoesn’t bedevil a bone to viewers too often , but when it does , the sports fan service makes you stand up and hearten . If the Arya - in - Braavos game spin its wheels this season with repetitious competitiveness scene vs. the Waif and the comic chicane of a troupe of break wind yuksters , we ca n’t argue against how it all pay off : Arya is now a freaking bravo . If she wants to infiltrate House Frey , chop up up the imposing sons into mincemeat pies , course the scorched goods to their unholy founder , and then slice his pharynx , Arya can do that . The whole thing ’s disturbing – even D.B. Weiss felt compelled to remind the hearing that Arya is 100 % a murderer now and we should all be worried about her future . But bloody if the Red hymeneals revenge was n’t a vicious , fulfilling surprise .

1. Tommen jumping to his death

Tommen the King was not a vital character . He was a marionette hang back around by multiple puppeteers , a kid forced into an sr. view of mightiness , a role that kept him in the crosshairs ofThrones ' merciless Almighty . It was pretty clear that he was going to pass this season . But the suspect method acting seemed likely to be expiry by wildfire . When that did n’t bump , all bets were off , and after an encounter with the Mountain did n’t end in bloodshed , it look like young Tommen might puzzle around . The weight of his impossible life history ultimately took its toll on Tommen , and that clear balcony was just too alluring . Yes , the death was abrupt and borderline whacky . But Weiss and Benioff stand their primer coat . This is the price of playing Tyrion ’s so - call in " great game , " and it ’s brutal .

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