The Winds of Winter (Game of Thrones)

"The Winds of Winter" is the final episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the sixtieth overall.

Cersei Lannister plots to destroy all her immediate enemies with one swift stroke; Jon Snow is declared King in the North by the lords of the Northern houses; Bran Stark learns that Jon is actually the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen; Samwell Tarly arrives at the Citadel; and Daenerys Targaryen begins heading to Westeros alongside Tyrion Lannister, her entire army, her three dragons, as well as the Ironborn loyal to Yara Greyjoy, the Tyrells, the Sand Snakes, and their respective fleets.

Critics praised the Great Sept explosion, Lena Headey's performance, Arya's revenge on the Freys, the resolution to the Tower of Joy flashback, and Daenerys going to Westeros as highlights of the episode.

The wildfire destroys the Great Sept, killing everyone inside, including Margaery, Loras, Mace, Kevan, Lancel and the High Sparrow.

An enraged Ser Davos confronts Melisandre about her role in Shireen's death; she admits to burning her alive, but declares that she did it for the Lord of Light.

Olenna Tyrell, devastated after the death of her son and grandchildren, meets with Ellaria and the Sand Snakes concerning the possibility of an alliance against Cersei.

So I think we have to be a little worried for Jon and at the same time it's a pretty big reversal and, you know, for a character who was dead at the beginning of the season to be declared king at the end of it.

'"[8] The scene reveals neither Lyanna Stark's son's name nor his father's, with the transition between the newborn's face and Jon Snow's visually conveying the identity.

[10] In regards to Arya Stark's transformation following her time as a disciple of the Many-Faced God, Weiss noted in the "Inside the Episode" featurette, "We all see where she's coming from, she's seen so many atrocities.

It's a worrisome narrative; she started as this tough and plucky girl and turned into someone who's capable of slitting a man's throat and smiling as she watches him as he bleeds out.

Chapman stated that he found out about his character's death the night before the initial table read for the season, saying "I was in my hotel, minding my own business, and I got a phone call.

In contrast to Chapman, Dormer found out about her character's impending death approximately six months before the rest of the cast, saying "I requested while making season 5 that showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss release me from working on the show earlier than usual so I could do another project, and they ended up phoning me — and that was The Call.

Pryce added, "Once I started work on Games of Thrones I was incredibly impressed with the organization, the crew and they're really good at their job and story telling so I have become a fan of the show.

[18] Finn Jones, who was cast concurrently in the leading role for the upcoming television series Marvel's Iron Fist, spoke about his departure saying, "I had been on Thrones for six years.

[26] Dean-Charles Chapman, who portrayed King Tommen Baratheon, spoke about filming his death scene, saying "I was jumping onto a crash mat.

"[20] Simon also stated about the filming of Jonathan Pryce's, who portrays the High Sparrow, final scene, "we had a very big nice round of applause when that took place.

Interestingly in the edit I still couldn't find a version I felt worked so I actually dropped the moment entirely out of my cut but David and Dan reinstated and to great effect.

Third is in production when you actually get there and have to change everything and finally, in the edit, when you realize what you thought something meant means something totally different when put before or after another juxtaposing or complementary image.

Mainly because it was unusually hot over the two days we shot it, everyone was wearing heavy furs and armor, Kit was actually pretty ill and everyone was crammed into this space full of plates of sheep's tongues and chicken carcasses so it got quite smelly and sticky.

"[24] Sapochnik was asked in an interview what the most difficult shot was to direct, responding "The final sequence of seeing the armada on its way to Westeros was complicated because it involved so many different ships, and we only had one that we had to redress and shoot again and again.

She asked me to help, so I suggested that she just hum the theme to Game of Thrones in her head while we were rolling the cameras, and apparently that worked because it's the take we used in the final cut!

"[28] Clapton, in a separate interview, was also asked about the meaning and representation of Cersei's crown, saying "I chose to make it in silver with just wisps of gold to try to show her isolation, her mental disentangling from her family.

In an interview, Djawadi spoke about the score he created for the beginning of the episode, titled "Light of the Seven", which largely consisted of piano, something unusual for the series.

[33] Critical praise was directed towards the musical score for the episode, with Lili Loofbourow of The Week calling it the "real winner" of the season finale.

[36] Game of Thrones concluded what's arguably its best season with one of its finest — and the bloodiest — episodes, "The Winds of Winter", which excelled in dramatic storytelling just as last week's "Battle of the Bastards" raised the bar for action sequences.

Though the finale shifted from the battlefield, the events were, if anything, far more seismic, with game-changing revelations and huge moves from every corner of the realm that established some very clear new conflicts going into season 7.

[38] The site's consensus reads "'The Winds of Winter' makes the most of its extended run time, and is potentially the best season finale in the series' history.

[40] Michael Calia of The Wall Street Journal similarly gave praise to the episode, writing "It's a good thing ... that the season finale was full of massive developments, tying up several plot threads while leaving some others dangling in the most tantalizing way.

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.

"[46] Willa Paskin of Slate wrote in his review, "Revenge, a dish Game of Thrones has almost always made taste awful, served hot or cold, became, in the finale, a delicacy.