Winter Was Coming...And Then It Didn't...I Take a Look Back At Game of Thrones (Part 8)

 The Last of the Starks...oh and the show I guess...(Spoilers Because DUH!!!!)

Daenerys Targaryen brings her entire army and entourage (including both Drogon and Rhaegal) with her to Winterfell to help in the preparation of the defense of the North from the likes of the White Walkers and the Army of the Dead.  Arya is blown away by the sight of the Dragons, as well as the feelings of joy and surprise at finding both Gendry and The Hound being among the group with Dany.  Though Dany is initially caught off guard by how cold and afraid of her the North is, the sight of the Dragons makes everyone realize she is the real deal.  Jon and Bran finally reunite, but Bran interrupts an icy meeting between Sansa and Dany by informing the new arrivals that the Night King and his army have breached the wall and the Dragon Viserion is now his undead minion.  While hosting a meeting between the Northern Lords, Dany's allies and the Vale Knights, the topic of Jon's abdication and the lack of resources cause a great deal of friction in the halls, but Dany has no intention of leaving and settles the arguments for now.  The young Lord Umber is sent back to The Last Hearth to bring the rest of his people southward.  

Cersei and Euron welcome the arrival of the Golden Company in Westeros and meet it's leader, named Harry Strickland, though Cersei admits she's a little perturbed that the Golden Company did not ferry their war elephants to fight for her.  She keeps her promise on Euron's end and agrees to marry him, with the two sleeping together that night.  She also sends Qyburn to recruit Bronn to head to the North to kill Tyrion and Jaime for betraying her and offers him Lordship of Riverrun if he succeeds.  While all this is happening, Theon manages to save Yara and take a part of Euron's fleet to escape.  However, the siblings part ways as Theon tells Yara he is headed to the North to fight for Winterfell while Yara heads to the Iron Islands to retake them in Dany's name.  

Davos, Tyrion and Varys comment on how a marriage between Jon and Dany would unite the North and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, though they fear that Dany would dominate the relationship between them.  Jon and Dany take a leisurely fly to a secluded and hidden waterfall somewhere in the North and Jon and Dany give into their passions once more.  Jon and Arya later have their reunion, but it isn't as completely positive as either had expected as Arya is curious as to why Jon trusts Dany as much as he does and Jon is surprised that Arya is defending Sansa.  Tyrion and Sansa also have a reunion, but Tyrion is unable to convince Sansa to side with him on trusting Dany.  

Samwell is brought before Daenerys for thanks in helping save Jorah and offers to give him anything he wishes.  Sam simply wishes to be pardoned for stealing the Tarly's family sword, called Heartsbane, from his father and brother.  Dany is unfortunately the one to break the news to Sam that his father and brother are dead and Sam runs away to be by himself.  Jon and Sam have their reunion, where the topics of Sam's father, Jon's relationship with Dany and ultimately Jon's true identity come to the forefront.  Jon is revealed by Sam to be Aegon Targaryen and has a more legitimate claim to the Iron Throne than Dany, though Jon isn't willing to believe it.  While Jon debates his internal issues, Winterfell is caught off guard by the sudden and unexpected arrival of Jaime Lannister.  

The defenders of The Wall that survived (Beric Dondarrion and Tormund specifically) meet up with a few survivors of The Night's Watch at The Last Hearth and find the deceased young Lord Umber, who has already been turned into a Wight.  The group decides to flee to Winterfell to warn the Starks of the incoming swarm of the undead.  

Jaime is put on trial by Dany and Sansa for basically being a Lannister, though Jaime holds his own when asked about why he came alone and insists that though Cersei broke her vows, he would honor his own.  Brienne vouches for Jaime to Sansa and Dany ultimately relents to curry favor with Sansa.  Jaime finds it difficult to find a place for himself at Winterfell, ultimately apologizing to Bran for pushing him out the window and offering to fight under Brienne (not with her or commanding her as he would have beforehand).  The Night's Watch and Tormund finally arrive at Winterfell and warn Jon that the Dead would be at Winterfell by the end of the day and Jon decides to help brace Winterfell for the end.  

Dany berates Tyrion for his multiple failures as her Hand of the Queen and threatens to fire him from his post, but chooses not to after Jorah speaks up to him.  Jorah also suggests to Dany to try to befriend Sansa again, but she fails to appeal to Sansa's emotional side by proving to be unrelatable to the Stark Woman's issues.  Dany is surprised that Theon and a few of his own Ironborn arrive and even further shocked that Theon pledges to fight for Sansa and not for her.  

In a war council meeting, Jon organizes the main defense of Winterfell, with the Dothraki Cavalry leading the charge.  Bran reveals that the Night King will be coming to destroy him as he is now the keeper of all of the world's memories.  Theon volunteers to protect Bran.  Jon and Dany would ride the Dragons to torch the Wights while the rest of the castle defends itself as long as they can.  Any who were unable to fight will be sent to the Crypts of Winterfell during the battle (we'll cover that).

Once everyone knows their parts to play, everyone breaks for the rest of the day to contemplate life and do the things they feared they would never get to do.  When Brienne tells Tormund she can never be knighted as a woman, Jaime declares that she has done more than most Westerosi Knights have ever done and knights her himself.  Arya and Gendry bond after he completes smithing the weapon she asked him to make and tells Gendry she wants to know what sleeping with a man feels like and the two make love. Sam bestows upon Jorah the Tarly sword to fight with (as it is Valyrian Steel and can kill a White Walker). Jon finds himself looking at the crypt of his mother Lyanna Stark and Dany comes down to see him, and confides that she never understood why so many people loved her brother Rhaegar if he kidnapped and raped Lyanna.  Jon tells Dany the truth, hoping to renounce his claim immediately, but Dany fears Jon means to fight her for her claim.  But any talk of this is halted when the Dead arrive at Winterfell.

Before the Dead make their charge on Winterfell, Melisandre arrives and bestows the gifts of the Lord of Light to all and gives the Dothraki flaming swords and heads into Winterfell to aid in it's defense.  Davos is about to attack her, but she assures Davos that she will be dead before dawn regardless of who wins.  The Dothraki charge into the darkness, but are utterly routed by the undead.  The defenders of Winterfell are ultimately forced back into the castle to defend themselves, but start to take heavy losses, including Lyanna Mormont, Lord Commander Edd of the Night's Watch and Beric.  Beric dies defending Arya to atone for his betrayal of her and Arya gets an idea of what she must do from Melisandre.  

While in the Crypts, Sansa informs Tyrion that their marriage could never work out because of his loyalty to Dany and Missandei is forced to come to the defense of Dany when Sansa starts trashtalking her. While waiting for the battle to end one way or the other, the dead within the tombs of Winterfell start coming to life and he innocent women and children (plus Varys and Tyrion) are forced to fend off the dead.  

Jon and Dany lay waste to the Undead while on their dragons, but the Night King neutralizes their Dragon advantage with one of his own, despite being knocked off his dragon.  Dany attempts to burn the Night King, but he is unaffected by the fire.  When Jon races to challenge the Night King, he raises his arms and brings Winterfell's dead to life as his own minions and the battle resumes harshness.  While Dany and Jorah fend off Wights and Jon distracts the Night King's Dragon, The Night King finds Bran in the Godswood and seeks to kill him.  All of Bran's defenders, including Theon are killed, but the Night King is struck down by Arya before he can kill Bran.  With the death of the Night King, all of the undead die for good and many more on the side of the living die, including Jorah and Melisandre.  The bodies of the dead are put on a pyre, with Sam burning Edd, Dany burning Jorah, Sansa burning Theon, Jon burning Lyanna and Arya burning Beric.  

A celebration feast is held where Dany decides to play politics and wins more support for herself by legitimizing Gendry as the son of Robert Baratheon and naming him as the Lord of Storm's End while also toasting Arya as the hero.  Gendry departs to propose to Arya, but she turns him down by telling him the life of a Lady wasn't for her.  Tyrion, Brienne and Jaime drink together until Tyrion gets too close and personal and Brienne departs.  Jaime follows her back to her room and the two sleep together.  Dany's political maneuvers fail as Jon is praised more and more as a hero and a true king and she leaves the party.  Jon and Dany attempt to come together again, but Jon is very uncomfortable with sleeping with his Aunt.  Dany pleads with Jon to keep his heritage a secret, fearing it would destroy them. Meanwhile, Jaime and Tyrion share drinks at a nearby inn where they encounter Bronn.  Bronn informs the two that Cersei has ordered him to kill them, but reminds Tyrion that the dwarf would double anyone who ever offers him something to kill him.  Tyrion schemes to name Bronn as the Lord of Highgarden in Dany's new regime, which manages to keep both Lannister's heads.  

Dany continues to slip away from her faculties when she debates with Sansa the urgency to head down to King's Landing to deal with Cersei.  Dany only wins out when Jon supports her, much to both women's frustrations.  When Sansa and Arya corner Jon in the Godswood, Jon ultimately confides in them the truth about his heritage.  Arya does not betray her brother's trust and leaves with the Hound to head south and finish her kill list by killing Cersei while the Hound intends to kill his brother.  Sansa, however, immediately informs Tyrion so that word could get around and Jon could be named King instead of Dany.  Varys informs Tyrion that Jon has the stronger claim and admits he fears that Dany may not be the leader they think she is.  While on route to King's Landing, Rhaegal is shot down by one of Euron's scorpions and Dany is forced to hide out on Dragonstone while Jon marches with the remainder of her armies marching on land.  Missandei is captured by Cersei.  Upon learning that Cersei won her first battle with Dany, Jaime leaves Brienne and heads down South to be with Cersei.  

Cersei schemes to use the people of King's Landing as meat shields to prevent Dany from attacking her directly and informs Euron that the baby she is carrying is his.  Cersei then agrees to a parlay with Tyrion and Dany.  Tyrion pleads with his sister to do the right thing, insisting she isn't the monster she's acting like.  Cersei is at first willing to accept that her brother is trying to help her, but she ultimately refuses to submit and beheads Missandei in front of Dany, which begins her deep slide into the infamous "Targaryen Madness".  

Varys schemes to try and have Jon assume command of Dany's armies, but is rooted out by both Jon for his refusal to take up the throne and by Tyrion who rats his old friend out to remain in Dany's good graces.  Dany has Varys burned alive by Drogon and then threatens Tyrion would receive the same fate when she learns that Jaime has been captured while riding south.  Tyrion manages to convince Dany to call off the battle by insisting that when the Bells of King's Landing ring, it would signal that the city was ready to surrender.  But knowing his life was already likely forfeit, Tyrion heads to the mainland and frees Jaime, telling him that Jaime is the only reason he is still alive.  The two brothers embrace and Jaime continues, promising to take Cersei and leave for Essos with what little Lannister fortune remains.  

Jon once again refuses to make love to Dany, prompting her to decide that she cannot rule with love and must rule through fear.  Once the battle begins, Dany and Drogon utterly obliterate Euron's fleet and all of Cersei's Scorpions.  She also destroys the walls of King's Landing and helps her armies overwhelm the Golden Company and the Lannister forces that remained.  Seeing the battle as lost, Cersei signals for the Bells to be rung and for her men to surrender.  Overwhelmed by her personal paranoia and fears, Dany gives into her madness and begins to destroy King's Landing and it's citizens, sparing no one but her own forces.  Her Dothraki and Unsullied then proceed to slaughter the populace, with the normally level-headed Greyworm consumed by grief over Missandei's death.  Even Jon loses control of his own Northmen, who proceed to terrorize and rape the people of the city,  Jon does his best to protect the people, but he and Davos ultimately decide to get as many people out of the city as possible.  

The Hound and Arya finally make it into the Capital City as it falls into complete chaos with Dany's attack.  Knowing he would not be leaving the Red Keep alive, he convinces Arya that living a life of vengeance isn't worth it when you have people who love you and tells her to flee the city and save herself, insisting that Cersei would die at the hands of the Dragon or the Dothraki.  Arya departs and proceeds to help the terrified people of King's Landing flee, while the Hound has his confrontation with his older brother.  Cersei and Qyburn lose control of The Mountain, who proceeds to fight with his brother until both tumble off the castle and into the inferno below them (but not before the Mountain cracks Qyburn's skull open and Cersei flees for her life).  

Jaime manages to row himself to the dungeons below the Red Keep so he could meet Cersei and help her escape, but he encounters Euron.  Euron taunts Jaime by telling him he could kill another King by killing him and the son of his that Cersei carries, compelling Jaime to fight him and kill him, but not without sustaining major wounds.  Jaime limps his way into the castle and finds Cersei.  The duo try to make it back to the boat, but the castle collapses around them.  Jaime promises to keep her safe, but the two are ultimately crushed by falling debris during Dany's attack.  

After the bloodshed had finally come and gone, Jon leads Davos and Tyrion back into the city and find Greyworm murdering their Lannister prisoners and Greyworm declares that Dany has allowed them to do this.  Tyrion leaves to seek out his brother and sister and finds their corpses, weeping uncontrollably.  Dany addresses her men and gives a fascist speech about conquering the world from "Winterfell" to the uncharted lands beyond the Dothraki Sea, with Jon realizing that Dany would use this victory to annihilate all enemies in her way, including Sansa and Arya if she felt it was needed.  Tyrion resigns as her Hand in front of her and Dany has him arrested.  As Jon watches Dany head into the ruined Red Keep, Arya insists that Daenerys has to die, but Jon is unsure if he can let another loved one die.  Jon then proceeds to Tyrion's holding cell, where the last Lannister in the world tells Jon that they should have known Dany would always act like this and that she was always like her father and his own father in being another power hungry tyrant.  Jon says his farewell to Tyrion, but the former Hand of the Queen warns Jon that Dany would kill Sansa and Arya if she sees them as enemies.  

Dany makes her way to the Iron Throne and relishes simply being in it's presence for the first time in her life.  She is about to sit in it, but finds Jon in the room with her.  Jon tries to appeal to the goodness he saw in Dany, but she tells him that destroying King's Landing was the right thing to do and that this would be the dawn of a new era for the entire world.  Both realize they are still in love with each other and come together, with Dany tempting Jon to rule by her side and they could make the world a better place.  As the two passionately kiss, Jon thrusts a dagger into her heart and she collapses to the ground dead.  Drogon, upon seeing his "mother's" corpse, loses himself in anger and scorches the Iron Throne, melting it into nothing before scooping up Dany's body and flying off, leaving Jon to grieve alone.  

Several weeks pass and Tyrion is summoned before a council of Westerosi Nobles at the Dragonpit.  Robin Arryn, Yara Greyjoy, "The New" Prince of Dorne (whoever that is), Yohn Royce, Davos Seaworth, Gendry Baratheon, Brienne of Tarth, Edmure Tully, Samwell Tarly, Sansa, Bran and Arya Stark are all present as is Greyworm.  The Nobles and Greyworm spray threats at one another, with Yara demanding Jon's head and Sansa threatening to have her own army destroy the Unsullied before they could get near him.  Davos tries to broker a peace, but no one is in the mood for peace.  Tyrion learns that no one has ruled in King's Landing since Dany and Cersei died and that they were there to figure out who should be King.  Sam toys with the idea of popular sovereignty (much to the comedic delight of those present), while Edmure tries to name himself as King, but Sansa kindly tells her Uncle he wasn't cut out for it.  Tyrion suggests that Bran be named King, establishing a Noble Hierarchy where no King or Queen's children would inherit the throne and another council of nobles would meet here when Bran dies to continue.  Everyone but Sansa agrees to this, as she insists that the North would become and Independent Kingdom once more (even though there is literally no reason for them to at this point, but Idk just get to the ending).  Bran names Tyrion as his Hand, informing him and Greyworm that this would be reparations for not only his own mistakes but those of his family as well.  The last question is ultimately about the fate of Jon.  

Tyrion informs Jon that his death or acquittal would result in a war, so Bran has declared that Jon would be sent back to the Night's Watch, though Jon points out that the Night's Watch is no longer needed.  Tyrion and Jon bid each other one last farewell before Jon sets off for Castle Black.  It turns out to be a Stark Sibling farewell, as Arya reveals she will be leaving to learn what is west of Westeros, Sansa will be headed North to become Queen of the North and Bran will remain in King's Landing as King.  The siblings bid each other goodbye and separate.  Jon returns to Castle Black and finds Tormund and Ghost waiting for him.  Jon ultimately accepts living with the Wildlings and heads beyond the wall with them, while Bran has his first Small Council Meeting (Tyrion as Hand, Davos as Master of Ships, Brienne as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Sam as Grand Maester and Bronn as Master of Coin), Sansa is crowned a Queen and Arya sets sail to see what lies beyond all known maps.  

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The End?

Winter Was Coming...And Then It Didn't...I Take a Look Back At Game of Thrones (Part 7)

 The Dragon and the Wolf (Spoilers Because DUH!)

Are those stinking Ice Zombies here yet?  

Oh...they're almost there?  Okay.  I can work with this.  

Using her gifts she obtained from the Faceless Men training she received in Braavos, Arya Stark hosts a gathering posing as the late Walder Frey inviting all of the main Frey men who had a role in the infamous Red Wedding to a dinner party where she poisons and kills them all.  She spares the women, telling them to inform anyone who asks that "Winter came for House Frey."  She then sets off towards the South to settle her score with Queen Cersei, only to run into an old friend in Hot Pie at the Crossroads Inn and learns from him that Jon Snow took down Ramsay Bolton and is now King of the North.  Arya abandons her plans to head south and kill Cersei to see her brother (I mean, taking out Cersei here would have worked)

In King's Landing, Jaime observes Cersei as she glowers over a large map of her entire realm that she now rules as Queen.  Despite being Queen of Westeros, Jaime and she discuss how they are surrounded by enemies on all fronts, including to the West (Olenna Tyrell) to the North (Jon Snow and Sansa Stark), to the South (Ellaria Sand and Dorne) and to te East (Tyrion and Daenerys).  Jaime theorizes that Daenerys will settle on Dragonstone, given her family's lengthy history with the island and that Stannis Baratheon left the island unoccupied when he went North.  Cersei refuses to discuss Tommen's death and further tries to chide Jaime when he reminds her that the Lannisters had no allies anymore with the destruction of House Frey and the destruction of the Sept of Baelor last season.  Cersei tells Jaime she has plans and leaves it at that.  

Jon and Sansa continually get in each other's ways while trying to oversee the governance of the North.  Jon uses a more merciful approach to the remaining members of families that fought against the Starks and more of a focus on the White Walkers to the North than Cersei to the South.  Sansa pleads with Jon to be smarter than their father or Robb when it comes to dealing with the Sothern Kingdoms.  The two receive a summons from Cersei to come to King's Landing and bend the knee to retain their lordship over the North, but both know better than to trust Cersei and prepare for a potential war on two fronts.  

Daenerys finally arrives in Westeros and tries to make herself comfortable in Dragonstone, not finding it an exactly hospitable place, but knows it will do.  She initially mistrusts Varys when she reminds him that he had sent assassins on behalf of King Robert to murder her, but offers leniency for his actions by promising to burn him alive if he ever betrayed her.  Daenerys then is introduced to Melisandre (who I forgot to mention was banished from the North by Jon after he and Davos found out she had burned Shireen Baratheon alive), who tells Daenerys of the dark forces coming down on the Wall and that she and Jon Snow would be the keys to destroying the White Walkers and stopping the impending winter.  When Tyrion vouches for Jon to Dany, she asks Tyrion to send a letter to Jon to come and meet her, while also insisting he bend the knee.  

Cersei manages to recruit the "loyalty" of Euron Greyjoy and his Iron Fleet.  Euron pledges his loyalty to Cersei and offers to personally bring her enemies to justice, provided that Cersei agrees to marry him and make him King of the Seven Kingdoms.  Cersei is reluctant at first, but promises to consider it once he delivers on his word.  Until then, she keeps up her relationship with Jaime (ew!).  She also manages to persuade many allies of Olenna Tyrell (chiefly her commander Randyll Tarly) to turn their backs on her and pledge allegiance to fight against Dany and her savage army.  

Samwell Tarly finally arrives in Oldtown to study and become a Maester, but he finds that becoming a Maester is a very hierarchical system and he would have to do all of the grunt work before anyone would take him and his "outlandish theories" about the dead rising beyond the Wall seriously.  While cleaning and doing the duties of a servant, Samwell comes across Jorah Mormont, who was being kept in a cell so he didn't spread his Grayscale disease everywhere.  Deciding to break a few rules while he was there, Sam searches through some of the books in the library about finding ways to overcome the White Walkers and learns that not only was there a Dragonglass mine on Dragonstone that they could make weapons for, but that Dragonfire was also strong against the Wights and White Walkers.  He sends this information to Jon in the North.  

Daenerys hosts a meeting with her allies in Westeros while contemplating the first moves of war.  The Sand Snakes and Olenna urge Dany to strike at the very heart of the Kingdom and go for Cersei's throat immediately, but Tyrion offers instead an alternative strategy where Yara Greyjoy would ferry the Unsullied to Casterly Rock to take the seat of House Lannister and make Cersei's power base collapse completely.  Dany agrees to with Tyrion's plans and dispatches her forces, though Olenna takes a moment to remind Dany that she needed to take action as Queen and not leave the decision making up to her counselors.  

Jon and Sansa receive both Sam and Tyrion's letters at roughly the same time and hold a meeting with the Lords of the North and the Vale to discuss their plans.  Jon admits his intentions to head South and ally himself with Daenerys, citing their drastically low numbers and their need for a decided advantage against the Army of the Dead.  Despite the objections of his Lords and Sansa in particular, Jon departs with Davos and an entourage of his own loyal men, trusting Sansa to govern Winterfell in his absence.  Not long after Jon and Davos leave, Bran and Meera Reed finally return from Beyond the Wall and Bran reveals he has completely become the Three Eyed Rave n now and harbors no emotions and desires of his own.  He and Meera have an awkward farewell and he and his sister have an even more awkward reunion with Bran telling his sister he knows about how she was raped and tortured by Ramsay.  Littlefinger schemes to use Bran to his advantage in manipulating Sansa, but finds that Bran is indeed clairvoyant as he repeats Littlefinger's infamous phrase he said to Varys years ago during Joffrey's reign: "Chaos is a Ladder"  

While ferrying the Sand Snakes back to Dorne, Theon and Yara's ships are descended upon by their Uncle Euron's revamped Iron Fleet and a bloody battle ensues.  All but one of the Sand Snakes is killed as Obara and Ellaria are taken prisoner by Euron along with Yara.  Theon, too traumatized by his time as Ramsay's pet to be of any use, flees the battle and tries to swim away, only being picked up by a loyal ship that intends to return to Dragonstone without the Dornish Army in tow.  Euron returns to King's Landing with Ellaria Sand and her daughter, offering them as gifts to Cersei.  Cersei has both of them imprisoned in the dungeons and gives Ellaria's daughter the same poison that she had given Myrcella and forces Ellaria to watch as her daughter dies right before her eyes.  

Jon arrives at Dragonstone and reunites with Tyrion.  His initial meeting with Daenerys does not go well for either of them, as Dany demands Jon bend the knee and Jon insists he was only there to gain her support in fighting the undead that were marching on the Wall.  Tyrion tries to broker the peace between them and strikes a deal with Dany and Jon to get Jon to be allowed to mine the Dragonglass on the island so long as he was there, which Jon took to realize he and Davos were now prisoners of the Dragon Queen.  Davos teases Jon by citing how smitten he clearly is with Dany.  While mining the Dragonglass, Jon uncovers some ancient murals painted that depicted the original Long Night where the Armies of the Dead descended upon the First Men and massacred them.  He shows Dany these murals and she is shaken by the pictures.  She agrees to help Jon, but only if he surrendered his crown and pledged himself to her cause.  

Arya arrives in Winterfell and she has a cordial reunion with Bran and Sansa.  However the girl's starkly different personalities cause friction as Arya fears Sansa is going to betray Jon while he's away and Sansa is utterly horrified of what she fears her sister can do.  Littlefinger takes the opportunity to sew seeds of mistrust between Sansa and Arya, allowing Arya to find the copy of the letter Sansa had written to Robb years ago condemning their father and demanding he pledge loyalty to Joffrey.  This causes both Stark Sisters to turn on one another and prepare themselves for whatever conflict was to come.  

The Unsullied arrive at Casterly Rock and find the castle only lightly defended.  Not only do they find nothing of value at the former Lannister seat of power, but they head outside only to find the Iron Fleet had utterly decimated their entire fleet, leaving them stranded in a castle they could not possibly hold.  While that takes place, Jaime leads the Lannister Armies (with Randyll Tarly's support) to Highgarden to seize House Tyrell's land, fortunes and resources supplies to bring them to King's Landing to brace for the war with Dany.  Jaime also forces Olenna to drink a poisoned glass of wine.  Olenna drinks and without remorse, tells Jaime of her involvement in killing Joffrey.  With Olenna already dying from poison, Jaime and Cersei were robbed of avenging their son and Jaime is left to depart on his own.  

Upon squaring up the Crown's debts with the Iron Bank of Braavos, Cersei decides to use House Tyrell's vast fortune to secure a loan from them to hire a mercenary army known as The Golden Company to aid in their fight with Daenerys.  She also learns from Qyburn that he is preparing a weapon that might neutralize Dany's Dragons and also that she is indeed pregnant for the fourth time.  

Fed up with all of Tyrion's plans blowing up in her face, Daenerys departs from Dragonstone with an her Dothraki and Drogon to annihilate the Lannister armies, but not before consulting with Jon on what to do.  Jon advises her to not use her Dragons to attack King's Landing and cause innocent people to die (put a pin in that, we'll get back to that in the next part).  While Dany is away, Theon arrives on Dragonstone and Jon gets to know Missandei and the rest of Dany's entourage better, with Jon only sparing Theon because of what he did for Sansa.  

Jaime and his forces are obliterated in battle by the Dothraki and Drogon while Daenerys rides on his back.  Bronn mans one of the scorpions that Qyburn had invented to strike at Drogon, but it only forces the Dragon to descend to the ground and does superficial damage.  When Jaime rides to drive his spear through Dany's heart, Drogon nearly destroys him with dragon fire, but is saved by Bronn and the two manage to escape the battlefield with their lives.  The remaining Lannister soldiers surrender to Dany or are destroyed, including Randyll Tarly and his son Dickon.  Tyrion is horrified by the destructive capabilities of Dany's armies and Dragons and seems to be questioning his decision to align with her.  Jaime returns and informs Cersei of Olenna's treachery and that their armies were massacred, but Cersei could not seem less interested and seduces Jaime.  

Using the knowledge he uncovered in the Libraries, Sam manages to cure Jorah of his Grayscale infliction, telling him that Jorah's father Jeor had helped make him a man and he intended to ensure that he would do the same for the late Lord Commander's son.  With his affliction cured, Jorah thanks Sam and departs for Dragonstone to fight for Dany once more.  While in the Citadel, Gilly learns information for Sam that Rhaegar Targaryen apparently had his marriage to Elia Martell annulled at some point before Robert's Rebellion.  With the Maesters refusing to listen to him, Sam takes Gilly with him back to Winterfell to aid in the fight with the Armies of the Dead.  

Dany and Drogon return to Dragonstone and at first Dany fears that he would attack Jon.  But Jon surprisingly manages to calm Drogon, who feels comfortable around him and allows him to speak to his "mother".  Dany is amazed and begins to ask Jon questions about himself, including how Davos had said that Jon took a knife in the heart for his people, but Jon dodges the question.  Jon and Jorah finally meet and Dany welcomes Jorah back into her inner circle.  When Jon learns of the Armies of the Dead being seen too close to the wall for his comfort, Jon and Dany's inner circle discuss how to deal with both threats simultaneously.  Tyrion suggests that Jon send a raiding party to the North to capture a Wight to bring it South to convince Cersei of the dangers they have to face.  When the question over who would lead the expedition North arises, Jon and Jorah both volunteer to the admitted horror of Daenerys.  She allows Jon to leave after he cheekily reminds her he is a King and allows Jon and Jorah to travel North to Eastwatch.  Along the way. Davos heads into King's Landing to recruit Gendry (Robert Baratheon's bastard son) to join the expedition and to possibly ally Houses Stark and Baratheon again.  Upon arriving at Eastwatch, Tormund Giantsbane informs Jon that another group wanted to go out beyond the wall and were being kept back from doing so.  Despite a tense situation with Gendry and Beric Dondarrion, Jon recruits The Brotherhood Without Banners (including Thoros of Myr and The Hound) in their expedition to the North.  

Littlefinger continues to manipulate the Stark Sisters and turn them on one another.  He advises Sansa to send Brienne and Podrick to the South to serve as envoys for the rumored peace talks between Daenerys and Cersei, while also insisting that Arya would indeed kill her sister.  Once Sansa is at her breaking point, she orders a tribunal to come into session and summons Arya to stand before her.  But when everyone arrives, Sansa turns things on Littlefinger and reveals that he was the one on trial.  Bran is revealed to have counseled both Arya and Sansa of Littlefinger's treachery, including his betrayal of Ned Stark and his accusation of Tyrion in the assassination plot on Bran's life.  Littlefinger crumples immediately and begs for mercy, but Arya cuts his throat and both Stark Girls publicly affirm their sisterhood.  

The expedition to the North is an unmitigated disaster as many in their group, including Thoros of Myr, are killed by Wight's in their attempts to capture one.  Though they succeed catching one, the White Walkers soon descend upon their location.  Gendry is sent back to the Wall to send word to Dany about their conditions.  The group finds a momentary reprieve when the ice breaks over a frozen lake and the White Walkers reveal they cannot swim.  But the army of the dead simply elects to bide their time and wait for the ice to freeze over and then kill their foes.  

Dany, upon receiving word of Jon's peril, flies northward with her three dragons to render as much aid as possible.  She manages to rescue Jorah, Beric, The Hound and Tormund, but Jon buys the rest of the group time by fighting off Wights before being dragged into the frozen water with them.  Dany's Dragon Viserion is struck down by the Night King hurling a frozen javelin into it's heart and killing it, prompting Dany to flee and leave Jon.  Jon manages to escape with he aid of his Uncle Benjen, who sacrifices himself to allow Jon to escape.  Jon improbably makes it back to Eastwatch and is immediately taken in and attempted to be kept alive by Davos and his friends.  Upon checking on Jon for herself, Dany sees the stab wounds he had suffered from and realizes just what Davos had meant.  She sits with Jon until he awakens and informs him that she will be fighting by his side to destroy the Night King.  Jon then in turn promises to support Daenerys as Queen and the two have a tender moment as their ship heads southward to King's Landing.  

The summit is held in the Dragon Pit in King's Landing, where it's clear there is plenty of turmoil and mistrust on both sides, with the Hound threatening the zombified Mountain, Euron chiding Theon about Yara and Cersei and Dany trying to one up each other.  The arguing manages to cease for a moment when Cersei lays eyes on the Wights.  Jaime is horrified to learn that there are nearly 100,000 of them and the number keeps growing.  Euron "abandons" Cersei by claiming he intends to flee to the Iron Islands and runs off.  Cersei agrees to a preliminary truce so Dany can focus on fighting the undead and only asks that in the future war between them that Jon and the Armies of the North remain a neutral party.  Jon, taking a page from Ned's book, reveals that he has already pledged loyalty to Dany, prompting Cersei to end negotiations.  Tyrion and Dany snap at Jon for not lying, but Tyrion volunteers to discuss things with Cersei and departs.  

Tyrion and Cersei debate over his actions (including killing their father) and Cersei insists she is ready to let the world burn so long as she and Jaime are safe, unintentionally revealing to Tyrion that she is pregnant.  Tyrion and Cersei manage to hash out a deal where Cersei agrees to not only uphold the peace, but send Jaime and the Lannister Armies northward to aid in the battle, reminding Dany that she was doing this without any reassurances of her survival or her crown.  Jon and Dany also have a brief discussion about how Dany cannot have children.  While taking their ships back to Dragonstone to then sail to White Harbor in the North, Jon advises Theon to do what is right in his heart, as he can be both a Greyjoy and a Stark, but he has to believe it.  Theon manages to convince some of Yara's leftover men to go with him to rescue Yara.  While on their own ship headed North, Jon and Dany officially sleep together.  

Jaime soon learns that Cersei intends on breaking her promise, revealing that Euron has gone to Essos to ferry The Golden Company to Westeros to fight for her.  Jaime advises her on how stupid of an idea this was, but Cersei refuses to listen.  Refusing to have his honor compromised, Jaime leaves Cersei and rides for the North to fight on his own honor.  

Upon arriving at Winterfell, Sam has a meeting with Bran for the first time in years.  The two discuss their prior journeys until Bran brings up that Jon Snow is the bastard son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark.  Sam corrects Bran by telling him of the annulment between Rhaegar and Elia, thus making Jon truly a Targaryen.  His legal name is Aegon VI of House Targeryen, son of Prince Rhaegar and Lady Lyanna and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne (also Dany's nephew so ewwww)

Finally, the White Walkers make it to the Wall.  While the Night's Watch intends to defend to the last man, The Night King arrives on an undead Viserion, who uses his dragon fire to destroy the wall, allowing the Wights and Night Walkers beyond the wall and to begin their total and complete invasion of the South.  

Winter Was Coming...And Then It Didn't...I Take a Look Back at Game of Thrones (Part 6)

 The Winds of Winter (SPOILERS BECAUSE DUH!!!!!)

Lord Commander Jon Snow's body is soon discovered by the recently demoralized Davos Seaworth and he is quickly brought to some place safe and barricaded before the mutineers of the Night's Watch can burn his body.  The Wildlings and a few loyal Night's Watch brothers manage to overpower the killers of their Lord Commander and defend both Davos and Melisandre from their wrath.  Despite her crisis of faith following Stannis's utter annihilation at the hands of the Boltons, Melisandre attempts to resurrect Jon and succeeds in restoring him to life thanks to the healing powers of The Lord of Light.  Jon chooses to hang the men who betrayed him and uses his death as an excuse to leave The Night's Watch and head South.  

Sansa and Theon Greyjoy continue to flee from their pursuing Bolton captors, but Ramsay's hunters manage to capture the two.  But the group is beset upon by Brienne of Tarth and the squire Podrick, who kill all of the Bolton men and offer their services to Sansa to protect her until they are no longer needed.  Sansa thankfully agrees, but Theon leaves to go and set things right with his family on the Iron Islands.  Brienne ultimately brings Sansa to Castle Black in time to convince Jon not to abandon the family and stay under his protection.  The two siblings, though never close, attempt to patch things up and prepare for a stand against Ramsay and retake their home of Winterfell.  

Theon returns to the Iron Islands only to find that his father, King Balon Greyjoy, was murdered and that a Kingsmoot has been called for the Ironborn to declare someone their next King.  Despite mistrusting her brother's sudden return, Yara is touched that Theon vouches for her as their Queen and nominates her.  But Yara is ultimately defeated by their mad uncle, Euron Greyjoy, who reveals his intent to build the largest fleet in the history of the world and sail to Daenerys Targaryen to entice her to invade Westeros as his Queen.  Yara and Theon take a few loyal men and flee the Islands to warn Daenerys.  

In King's Landing, Cersei has her hands tied by the Faith Militant and the Small Council both deeply mistrusting her and her son being made a pawn of both sides.  Though the Faith plots to have Cersei tried for the crimes of incest, sex out of marriage and the murder of King Robert, Cersei insists she will choose violence and have a Trial by Combat with The Mountain fighting for her.  She also manages to convince the Small Council to fight the Faith before they make Queen Margaery make the same walk that Cersei took, but the High Sparrow ultimately tricks them by revealing that Tommen has become his faithful stooge and intends to unite the Crown and the Faith.  Jaime is ultimately sent away from King's Landing to go and aid in House Frey's retaking of the Tully Castle of Riverrun from The Blackfish.  

Daenerys is taken before the new leader of the Dothraki and is intended to be made a slave, but is later banished to a crone cabin where former Khaleesis are kept after their husbands die.  Daenerys refuses to remain a part of this and, with the unexpected support of Daario Nahaaris and Ser Jorah, manages to burn the entire gathering of the Khals of the Dothraki Sea and survives the inferno.  With the Khals dead and Daenerys having survived, the Dothraki name her their Khaleesi and Daenerys adds at least 100,000 Dothraki to her numbers and prepares to return to Meereen to confront the crisis of The Sons of the Harpy and regain control of her city.  Jorah departs from her service temporarily to find a cure for the Grayscale disease that is killing his body, though he professes his undying love and loyalty to his queen.  

Samwell Tarly continues to head further south to Oldtown to replace Maester Aemon Targaryen as the Maester of Castle Black.  While on his way, he hopes to leave Gilly and her son (posing as his bastard son and his lover) at his family home in Horn Hill.  This manages to work until his deeply bigoted father discovers that not only is his son headed to Oldtown to become a Maester (as he believed Tarlys were born warriors first) but that his apparent bastard grandson was a Wildling and he demands his son break off all contact with him.  Sam refuses to leave Gilly in the same nightmare he was in as a child and leaves, but not before stealing the family's sword and continuing his journey south.  

While hiding out at Castle Black, Jon receives a letter from Ramsay Bolton demanding that he surrender Sansa to him, informing Jon that he has killed his father Roose Bolton, claimed the lordship over the North and has also captured his and Sansa's little brother Rickon.  Jon and Sansa argue over what to do, but Jon is ultimately coerced into heading South with an army of Wildlings to fight the Boltons and reclaim the North.  At the suggestion of Davos, Jon and Sansa try to coerce other Northern Lords to join their cause, but only manage to sway the loud-mouthed yet passionate Lyanna Mormont to loaning them whatever men lived on Bear Island at the time, while the Umbers and Karstarks pledged loyalty to Ramsay and the other Houses chose neutrality.  Sansa is contacted by Littlefinger and is informed that he has brought The Knights of the Vale to support Sansa if needed and also encourages her to take Winterfell back in her own name, fearing that Jon would overshadow her.  Sansa declines, but uses Littlefinger's advice to recruit the Tully Army at Riverrun to their cause and sends Brienne south to the siege of Riverrun.  

In Meereen, Tyrion struggles to govern the city in Daenerys's name.  He attempts to bring Westerosi style politics to the Slavers Bay and seems to broker a peace between Meereen and the nearby kingdoms of Yunkai and Astapor, who have rebelled since the rise of The Son's of the Harpy.  Tyrion's success is ultimately short-lived as the the Slavers double cross Tyrion and invade Meereen with the hopes of destroying Dany's reign and bringing an end to the Dragon Queen.  Daenerys returns to Meereen in time for the battle to begin and she unleashes her wrath upon the Slavers, who are utterly annihilated by Daenerys and her dragons while Greyworm kills two of the Slavers themselves.  With the armies of her enemies crushed, Daenerys finally begins to set her sights on Westeros once more, but knows she has some final pieces to set up.  

In Braavos, Arya continues her training at the hands of The Faceless Men, with even her eyesight being restored to her.  Though she continues to struggle between deciding between choosing the life of an assassin while giving up her life as a Stark, Arya continues to defy the will of her mentors.  When the Faceless Men send an assassin to murder Arya, she manages to turn the tables against her assassin and succeeds in murdering the assassin and solidifying her rank as a Faceless Man.  However, Arya rejects the offer to become a full fledged member and instead keeps her name and uses her new skills to leave Braavos and return to Westeros.  

At the Siege of Riverrun, Jaime and Brienne reunite with Brienne asking if she could go into Riverrun to convince the Blackfish to abandons the siege and take his armies to the North to fight the Boltons.  Jaime allows this, but insists that if she fails he has to storm the castle and kill the Tully men.  Jaime also interrogates Catelyn Stark's brother Edmure and threatens to murder his wife and newborn son if he doesn't aid in his attempt to take Riverrun from his uncle.  Brienne ultimately fails to convince The Blackfish to fight for his great niece (as he neither has the men nor the gumption to head north) and dies fighting the Lannister Men after Edmure agrees to aid in the surrender of the castle to the Freys. Brienne and Podrick return North feeling dejected.  Jaime is welcomed to celebrate their victory at The Twins in the Riverlands, but he departs quickly after it begins.  While at the Twins, Walder Frey and his two most trusted sons are murdered by Arya for revenge over The Red Wedding.  

After being nursed back to health by a former knight who has found religion, The Hound has come to find himself attached to the new village he has come to live in.  Despite this, several shady members of The Brotherhood Without Banners slaughter his village, prompting the Hound to go on a murder spree, which brings him back into contact with the leaders if the Brotherhood, including  Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr.  After hanging the murderers, the Brotherhood convinces The Hound go join forces with them and head North for the "real battles" to come.  

Jon and Sansa hold a parlay with Ramsay before battle and Jon offers to fight Ramsay in a single combat setting, but Ramsay rejects this by citing his vast numbers in comparisons to Jon's meager numbers.  Despite a failure to reach a settlement, Sansa tells Ramsay he would die the following day and the talks end.  When Jon refuses to listen to Sansa's warnings regarding Ramsay, Sansa secretly dispatches a message to Littlefinger for his aid.  The Battle of the Bastards takes place outside the walls of Winterfell.  Ramsay tricks Jon into riding out to rescue his brother who is set free to run to his side, but Ramsay puts an arrow through the boys chest and kills him.  Jon leads his men angrily into battle, but the Bolton's employ shrewd tactics to pin Jon's ragtag army and prevent a retreat.  But the Knights of the Vale arrive in time to scatter Ramsay's army and force him to retreat back into Winterfell.  Jon pursues with his supporters and pummels Ramsay until he sees how he was acting in front of his sister.  Jon has Rickon buried alongside the remains of their father Ned, while Sansa feeds Ramsay to his own dogs after he had boasted about not feeding them for several days in preparation for the battle.  House Bolton is extinct.  

Far beyond the Wall, Bran Stark continues his training with the Three Eyed Raven, who tries to implore upon Bran all that he would need to know to prevent the rise of the White Walkers and their numbers beyond the Wall.  He learns about the original pact between the Children of the Forest and the First Men, which accidentally resulted in the birthing of the first White Walker (known as the Night King), as well as uncovering a few hidden truths about his own family's history, including how his father was dispatched as a boy to the Eyrie to be fostered alongside Robert Baratheon and how his father and Meera's father had joined forces to defeat the great Ser Arthur Dayne during the waning days of Robert's Rebellion.  One day, while attempting to go off on his own, Bran is found and marked by The Night King, who sends his army of wights after him.  His Direwolf Summer, the Three Eyed Raven and even the lovable Hodor give up their lives to protect Bran and Meera as they escape south, but the wights manage to catch up with them, until the duo are saved by a half-dead Benjen Stark, who agrees to help guide them as far south as he can go.  

As Cersei's trial comes to pass, she enacts a plot to dispatch of all of her enemies in one fell swoop.  Using her new ally in Qyburn and his connections to the pyromancers that had once served The Mad King, Cersei manages to set up nearly the entire city's stocks of Wildfyre beneath the Sept of Baelor and has an unintentionally led astray Lancel Lannister light it.  Cersei's coup is remarkably successful, as her traitorous family members, Grand Maester Pycelle, The High Sparrow, and all of House Tyrell apart from Lady Olenna are utterly obliterated when the Sept of Baelor explodes, including her son's wife Margaery.  Unable to bear the loss of his beloved wife, Tommen commits suicide, rendering Cersei a mother with no children.  With House Baratheon extinct (Robert, Joffrey, Tommen, Myrcella, Stannis, Shireen and Renly all dead), Cersei claims the throne as the first Queen of the Lannister Dynasty, though half of King's Landing remains in ruins for her to rule, with a country on the verge of complete chaos.  

Daenerys asks Daario to remain behind in Meereen and govern for her as she intends to marry a Westerosi Nobleman.  She further forges an alliance with Yara and Theon upon their arrival in Meereen, sends Varys to Dorne to recruit the rebellious Sand Snakes and Olenna Tyrell to their cause and names Tyrion Lannister as the Hand of the Queen before setting sail with her immense army and dragons, intent on conquering Westeros and restoring the Targaryen Dynasty to full power.  

After retaking Winterfell, Jon Snow manages to compel the Wildlings and Northern/Vale Lords to work together to fight the common enemy of all mankind: the White Walkers.  During a moment of silence, Lyanna Mormont rises and declares Jon as the heir to Robb Stark and the King of the North, to which all present but Littlefinger cheer for.  After a moment of reconciliation between Jon and Sansa, where Sansa affirms that Jon is a Stark despite his bastard ranking at birth, she informs her brother that Winter has finally come to Westeros.  

Now the Three Eyed Raven on his own, Bran attempts to uncover the truth about his father's venture to the Tower of Joy where he bested Arthur Dayne in combat.  He follows the memory to find his father sadly grieving over the dying body of his sister, Lyanna Stark, whom the entire rebellion that dethroned the Targaryens and brought Robert Baratheon's rise to power had been about.  Lyanna asks her brother to protect "him" from the wrath of Robert, revealing that she has indeed had a child by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen before she would die.  Ned, unable to deny his sister this dying wish, agrees and shields the boy, raising him up as his own bastard son and naming him: Jon Snow.