'Game of Thrones': The Winds of Winter are blowing wild and free

Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t seen the finale (10th episode) of Game of Thrones Season 6, do not read further. Seriously, it’s for your own good.  Take a bow. That was an exquisite episode — uncharacteristically musical, theatrical and dramatic and poignant. The finale was everything it should have been and more.

Cersei Lannister makes an explosive (sorry) comeback and knowing that the “little birds” are in fact, tiny evil murderers was a joyous revelation. There had been much speculation about how Cersei would use wild fire to take down the entire city and she did, without an ounce of regret, not even after Tommen killed himself. Cersei has always been capable of causing great harm  — she is power-hungry, greedy for wine, lustful towards her brother and wants the Iron Throne, but her children were the only humans keeping her in check. Cersei’s love for her children was greater than her love for power — both Jaime and Cersei have claimed so throughout the various seasons of the show. Killing everyone — Margaery Tyrell, Loras Tyrell the entire High Sparrow membership and innocent city dwellers, Cersei emerged not just victorious, powerful and truly diabolical. With Tommen (he kills himself soon after he realises that his wife and the High Sparrow are dead) dead, Cersei doesn’t have any relations left, except with Jaime and all that she has as purpose is to avenge the muders of her children. Cersei is no longer going to have a human streak or a soft side to her, that part of her got charred to death (sorry) in the wildfire. When Jaime returns to King’s Landing, he is not pleased, he looks afraid of what Cersei can be capable of. And this emotionless, revenge seeking Cersei is bound to unleash havoc upon Danaerys and Jon. Sidebar: Tommen’s death was a visual spectacle. Of all the deaths that have occurred on the show, Tommen’s was unexpected and his death was swathed in melancholia. He wasn’t a bright king, he was young and malleable. There was nothing truly wrong with him and that makes his suicide one of the most prominent and hard-hitting deaths on the show. It also shows how perhaps Tommen was one of the last pure-hearted characters on the show — for him, the Westeros world was not worth living in.  Danaerys too had to bid farewell to her lover, Daario Naharis. While she let go (as gently as possible) of one kind of loyalty, she gained another in Tyrion. And, it was a very big moment for Tyrion, after having always been thought of as ’less-than’ in his entire life. The son his father never wanted, the dwarf who was of no use, the brother Cersei never wanted, for the first time Tyrion was respectfully asked to be the Queen’s hand — a job he gained not because of his last name but because of his wits and hard work. Validation in its best form. Danaerys has taken on the ’lone wolf’ tag, she is now thinking politically, about alliances not lovers. And, here’s the thing, Danaerys doesn’t feel much saying goodbye to her lover — her mind is on other goals. Olenna Tyrell and Ellaria Sand have revenge on their mind and a deep-seated hatred for Cersei Lannister. This is going to bring them closer to Danaerys who is going to forge strong alliances with rich families of the South, from Dorne and Highgarden. Sidebar: Olenna is the best. The Duchess of Diss, the Oligarch of Oh Please! And the Queen of Quiet you! Bearer of the best insults. Less of a monarch, more of a mon-snark. Mother of sassiness, may she thrive, I pray to the Lord of Light/Dark/Old Gods and the New.   Sansa Stark is busy helping her brother reclaim the north while successfully and bravely warding off the creepy advances of Lord Baelish. And apparently, Arya didn’t waste all her time in Braavos, she did end up learning something in the world’s worst internship. She exacts glorious revenge on the Frey family in disguise and it was beautiful. Sidebar: Can the show-runners please shed some light on how she manages to reach Riverrun faster than the speed of light?  The women are arriving and the men should be worried. Best feminist line: As Danaerys breaks up with Daario, he asks her about who would ever rule Mereen. With a straight face and a beautiful smirk she says, “A great number of women, I am sure.” Perhaps the most beautiful thing about the season finale was Jon Snow’s smile that lit up the screen as he shared a tender moment with his sister. A smile that had left his face ever since Ygritte’s demise.

Jon Snow's smile ♥ priceless#GameofThrones #GoTFinale #GoTAtlantic pic.twitter.com/0OUoBUxEpW

— sanja♡ (@_sanja___) June 27, 2016

And this smile isn’t shortlived, even though he tells Sansa that she deserves the throne:

“You’re the Lady of Winterfell. You deserve it. We’re standing here because of you. The battle was lost until the Knights of the Vale rode in. They came because of you." 

The (young, fierce) Lady Mormont screams and hails him the King of the North, forever and ever, others follow suit. His status as a bastard according to Mormont is a non-issue and the new-three-eyed Raven aka Bran Stark takes us to the Tower of Joy (finally!) and… Great job Internet! Pat yourself on the back. R+L= J indeed. What this means for the Sansa Stark-Jon Snow arc needs to be seen. The North recognises that there is a bigger danger — the army of the dead, whitewalkers and The Night’s King who are out to annhilate the world and are not particularly bothered about the politics of Westeros (rightfully so). Who is pitted against the other? Will it be Danaerys, Jon, Olenna and Ellaria against Cersei? There are enough theories to work on during the year long break before the show-runners break it to us. Bran Stark has accepted his fate as the three-eyed Raven. Up until now, it is the others who have called him the three-eyed raven, but this time, rightfully so, he calls himself one and it will be exciting to see how he understands his power, his role in the past and future and how he plans to put those powers to use. I was the most sad for Jamie who seemed genuinely perturbed by Cersei. Remember in the last episode? How he tells Edmure Tully that all that he cares about truly is Cersei. Cersei also ‘confesses’ to the High Sparrow’s nun about how she cares only about Jamie. But in the final scene, there is not just worry on Jamie’s face but also disgust, disdain and it is almost as if he is finally done with her and wants no more.