We have finally arrived at the season 6 review of Game of Thrones! It’s been a very good season, in my opinion. It’s hard to say the best, but maybe? This season has been full of death, betrayal, revenge, reunions, and secrets. We have also have had some major revelations in the story, which felt long overdue. Read along as I break it down below.
The Starks
Let’s start with the first major revelation. He has risen! Words can’t describe how happy I am that Jon is, in fact alive. Watching Ghost nudge at his hand with his snout just about killed me. What I’m not happy with is how he was brought back. Melisandre just creeps me out, and anyone who condones burning a little girl alive deserves to burn in hell. At this point, I think we can conclude that Jon is a very important player in the story. He simply couldn’t just die, that would have changed everything.
Then watching him unite with Sansa brought tears to my eyes. You could see the disbelief in Jon, disbelief that his little sister was actually in front of him. He obviously didn’t believe it until she was in his arms. I can only imagine what Sansa was going through as well. After six years she is finally with family that she knows will protect her.
Watching these two together is something else entirely. If I was there with them, I would yell at them both. They are both too stubborn to see the others point of view and work effectively together. Sansa is obviously struggling with her need of control, which is very understandable. This is the first time in six years that she has an actual say in her life and what happens. The last six years have also left her extremely guarded and un-trusting of anyone that is not herself.
This is what leads her to not trusting Jon with information about Littlefinger and the knights of the Vale. I believe that she does trust Jon, but she is also waiting for the other shoe to drop. Jon, on the other hand just sees her as his little sister. He doesn’t ask her for advice against Ramsay, or how even considers she could know how to help him. He just wants to protect her. They both need to grow up a bit and open their eyes a little more.
Now for our second big revelation. Jon is not who Ned says he is. He is not even Ned’s son. He is Lyanna’s son, and I have a very good guess of who his father is. I won’t say who I think it is here, as I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. We have been getting glimpses of this scene since Bran was introduced to the Three Eyed Raven. When this little nugget was revealed to me the first time I watched Game of Thrones, I was surprised but not stunned. It made sense. As Ned said in season 1, he may not have his name, but he is still a Stark.
We know no King, but the King in the North whose name is Stark. – Lyanna Mormont
As for the rest, we have watched Arya struggle with her identity this season. She is training to be a faceless man, but when she has to kill someone for a petty reason, she can’t. This is Arya finally coming back to the surface. She can’t kill someone that isn’t on her list and doesn’t deserve it. It goes against what she believes in. She might have a different sense of honor than Ned did, but she has her own code, and this went against it. Watching her take down the Waif was wonderful. After all her beatings she finally got her revenge. Then with Walder Frey. That brought me extreme satisfaction. You could see that smirk she had, and the satisfaction as she told him what she did to his sons.
Should I be concerned with how happy these deaths make me?
Finally, there’s Bran and Meera, who have safely survived their trek beyond the wall. It still fascinates me how he was able to live. I for sure thought he was going to be dead by season 5. There was just no way. Then to have Benjen come back, I waited 5 seasons to get that answer. That’s the cruelty of this show though, they love to kill characters, and make you wait for answers.
King’s Landing
Is anyone surprised that Cersei blew up the Sept of Balor? I know I’m not. It was too great of a temptation for her. All of her enemies were in one place, and she could watch it all from afar. Her lust for power knows no end and it cost her Tommen, her last living child. I suppose she gets what she really wanted, to finally be the ruling Queen, to not have to answer to anyone. As of right now, she holds all the power. Enjoy while it’s there Cersei. Fire and Blood are coming.
The Hound
Clegane lives, though I never could have imagined him helping build a little sept in a village. That just isn’t his style to me. He also made some friends, which was a surprise. Not many people like Clegane. Except me, I loved his banter with Arya. His new little world didn’t last very long, which I felt sorry for. Clegane was obviously trying to turn over a new leaf, and find some redemption for everything he has done. He clearly feels guilty. But he was not scared at all to fully embrace who he really was again. There was no hesitation to get his revenge, so he obviously didn’t feel too guilty if revenge won so easily.
Mereen
As always, Dany is an inspiration to me. If I was there, I would not hesitate to follow her. She inspires the impossible, and she makes people believe in something bigger than themselves. That is how she rules, and, of course, with a little hint of fear as well. The scene below gave me chills as I watched it.
After six seasons, we are finally getting to see her get ready to take back Westeros. This has been a long time coming. We have waited 60 episodes for this moment. She will take back what is hers, with fire and blood and I’m here for it. Darrio is also now gone, which makes me so happy. I have always hated him; he is way too cocky and arrogant. He did take getting left behind a little too well in my opinion, I will be watching for his betrayal.
Only one more season to go before the season 8 premiere. With all that has happened in season 6, season 7 will have a lot more ground to cover, and hopefully some answers to more questions. Read my review for season 5 here. Leave your comments below about who you think Jon’s real father is. I want to hear want everyone thinks!
Game of Thrones season 8 premieres on HBO on April 14th.