Gamer Threwns (SPOLERS for S6ep10)

Wow. Best season finale we've ever had. Old Man Rating: 10, and I don't give them easily.

This season has been a bit variable, I thought 7 and 8 were quite weak and the writing for Tyrion has been off all season, apart from this episode. Overall though it moved everything on and thematically the main characters have gone from not really knowing who they were or what they were for to finding their purpose and their path and setting up the endgame.

Miguel Sapochnick directed the two best episodes last season (7 and 8) and two of the three best this season (for me, 5, 9 and 10). I really hope he directs at least two of next season's episodes - I know it's not logistically feasible for him to direct all of them, which is a great shame, but if he could I'd love him to.

This episode, then. A standout feature of GoT throughout has been the score and its use and this really came to the fore in the first Kings Landing segment. Understated action, few words, held together by the music. We all knew what was about to happen yet they managed to make it suspenseful - would Margaery succeed in getting away - and the CGI didn't swamp the whole thing. It was beautifully put together and shot, from script to score to visuals. Tommen's actor has done an outstanding job portraying a weak, vacillating boy-man and his end made perfect sense.

Jaime is becoming more like book Jaime - and hence more interesting/complex - as the show goes on. His scenes at Riverrun were probably the highlight of the two weak episode before these last two, and the contempt he had for Frey and shock at Cersei set up a really interesting dynamic for Season 7. I still think he'll be the one to kill Cersei, but who knows.

Sam's joy at seeing the Library, and the "computer says no" guy he was dealing with, were great, and we'll have to see what follows at the Citadel next year.

The Jon-Sansa scenes were very strong, again well written and well acted. Kit Harrington is showing much more range these days and Sophie Turner has matured into a very good actress, adept at conveying a lot with few words, often more by expression than anything. Lena Headey's always done that with Cersei and it's possible Turner has learned from her as she's grown up with the show. Sansa?s distrust of Littlefinger was very apparent ? I thought Gillan?s performance was weak but at least he finally admitted his true ambition (not, of course, including the minor detail that by killing Jon Arryn he kicked off all the events on the series including Ned?s death, or the other minor detail that it was him who held a dagger to Ned?s throat).

We got a version of ?The North Remembers? ? I hope we see a lot more of Lyanna Mormont. That scene, with all the Lords, was nicely done. The Davos-Melissandre-Jon scene was powerful too, and I did enjoy the Jon-Mel exchange before Davos came in (?when we had feasts, I was at the lowest end of the room? ? ?yes, but at least your family had feasts?).

We got Frey Pies! The cold look on Arya?s face was terrifying ? for a moment I thought she was going to take that finger she?d pushed into his neck wound and lick it. Hopefully she makes it back to Winterfell now ? though maybe she heads south to Kings Landing.

Tyrion has had poor writing all season but the Mereen piece this time was well put together and well acted by all concerned. Interesting that some Tyrell ships were there shipping Dothraki ? that?s obviously how Varys got back (it still felt teleporty, though). Dorne didn't completely and utterly suck! Mainly because it was at least 90% Diana Rigg, but still.

R+L=J not entirely explicit but mostly and that ToJ scene was nicely put together. I thought they might close with that scene, so that the series starts with Jon?s death and ends with his birth, but I also liked the way the baby opened his eyes and then cut straight to Jon in the Great Hall of Winterfell.

My only minor niggles with ep 10 were the teleportation (Varys can now teleport as well as Littlefinger) and Littlefinger's acting which I thought was very weak.

I said I didn?t think the Wall was coming down this season, and it didn?t. It?ll be down next season though.

And now ten months of tinfoil can begin!

Posted By: Old Man, Jun 27, 12:14:35