Wow. Just wow. A show known for taking your feelings and throwing them out the window, left a few holes in the heart with “Mother’s Mercy.” Besides being one of the best shows on television, Game of Thrones has taught the viewers one important thing: no one is safe. There is no happy ending, if you were hoping for a positive last note leading into next season then as Ygritte was known for saying to Jon Snow, “you know nothing.” “Mother’s Mercy” was heartbreaking and left many questions up in the air along with a few characters fates.
First, we journey to the approaching battle for Winterfell. Multiple story arcs converge leaving large implications for the North’s future. Stannis and his quest had dire results. A deserted army and no horses, his wife Selyse hung herself after the horror of watching her daughter burn to death. Good weather came as a result of the sacrifice of his daughter, but Melisandre abandoning him and his madness to duty led to a confrontation with the Boltons. The distraction of Stannis’ army leaves Sansa some breathing room and a chance to finally get some help from Ramsay. She lights a candle to signal for help, but there is no one there to see it as Brienne of Tarth left her vigil after waiting for many days to take her revenge on Stannis (remember, he killed his brother Renly who Brienne loved). On her way back to her room, Sansa runs into trouble and then the most unlikely of scenarios happened. While at the mercy of the slightly mad Myranda, Theon overcomes Reek and tosses her from the wall. A returning victorious Bolton army causes Sansa and Theon to make a leap, leaving their fate up in the air. Wounded and on his own, Stannis is found and sentenced by Brienne. A vengeance long in the making over many seasons is given and accepted by Stannis. The thing of note for this scene is that while Brienne swung her sword at Stannis the scene cutaway leaves his ultimate fate up in the air as well.
The shame of Cersei was carried out in King’s Landing. Confessing to her sins, but not all of them, led her on a walk of shame through King’s Landing all the way to the Red Keep. Her atonement included being stripped down with her head shaved and forced to walk in front of the population that she has cruelly lorded over. Called the “Mother’s Mercy,” Cersei’s walk of shame is hard to watch and the treatment she is given from the crowd is brutal to see. In tears, bleeding and ready to collapse, Cersei falls into the arms of Qyburn as he presents her with the gift of a massive silent new Kingsguard. Cersei is a character that doesn’t forget and doesn’t forgive and I feel bad for her enemies next season.
Despite all the bad news and humiliation that Cersei faced, she had the good fortune of being surprised by her daughter Myrcella except, of course, no one gets a happy ending. Jaime Lannister and Bronn depart from Dorne on good tidings bringing with them Myrcella and Trystane. Jaime and Myrcella have a heart to heart and the truth is finally revealed as they finally meet each other as father and daughter. Sadly an unassuming kiss from Ellaria has unseen consequences when blood starts pouring from Myrcella’s nose before she collapses in Jaime’s arms. It doesn’t look good, but the camera cuts to Ellaria and the sand vipers standing on the dock as the ship continues to sail away.
Vengeance has a cost that Arya didn’t foresee in Braavos as her quest to cross a name off her list became a reality. Using Ser Meryn Trant’s weakness for young girls against him, Arya dawns one of the faces from the House of Black and White. In what is one of the more brutal and graphic scenes you will see, Arya slowly kills Meryn Trant after blinding him. She tries to sneak back in to the House of Black and White and replace the mask but gets confronted by Jaqen and the Waif. The truth of what it takes to become no one is revealed and Arya’s actions come full circle as she is blinded going into next season.
Daenerys and Drogon are stranded in the Dothraki Sea. The injuries from the spears in the fighting pits leave Drogon slow to recover and Daenerys without food. Meereen’s fate is left in the hands of Tyrion as Jorah and Daario go in search of their missing queen. An old friend shows up to help out Tyrion with his large responsibilitt and Daenerys’ search for food leads to her being on her own and surrounded by a host of Dothraki Horse Lords.
Back at The Wall, Sam asks a favor of Jon Snow that leads him and Gilly off to Oldtown as he attemps to become a Maester. The return of Davos Seaworth does little to improve Jon Snow’s mood as he denies Seaworth the men to fight that he is seeking. The arrival of Melisandre throws a damper in Davos’ plans as the truth of what happened near Winterfell is revealed. We then end up in Jon’s office where he is reading letters when he is interrupted by Olly. The mention of his Uncle Benjen leads Jon Snow out into the yard where he is led to a bunch of brothers of the nights watch. In another shocking outcome, Jon Snow is betrayed and stabbed by his brothers whom with each stab they say, “For the watch.” We are left with a man that has been stabbed half a dozen times lying in a pool of his own blood as the camera cuts away. Is Jon Snow dead? It looks likely, and we won’t have any answers until next season.
The season finale leaves many questions unanswered and many fans worried over the fate of their favorite characters going into next season. Will Arya ever see again? What will Cersei’s reaction to Myrcella’s poisioning be? How will this affect Jaime after he has changed so much? Does Jon Snow’s death signal the doom for all of Westeros with the White Walkers slow approach toThe Wall? What will become of Sansa and Theon? Did they survive the jump? Will they be able to get away or face the wrath of Ramsay? Will Tyrion be able to rule Meereen? What do the Dothraki have in store for Daenerys? A lot of questions are left unanswered and should help build the anticipation for season 6. Overall, it was a very good season that got better at the end. Certain deaths will be hard to recover from and the reintroduction of some old and probably some new characters will definitely add a new dimension to the rest of the story.