Game of Thrones Season 6 Finale: That Library

A fabulous finale to a fabulous sixth season of Game of Thrones, which is now my favorite season of the series, even more so than the first, which was excellent indeed.

My favorite sleeper scene - sleeper because it was brief and didn't have much to do with the action tonight - would be Samwell walking into that magnificent library. It reminded me of two other libraries very fond in my recollection - the Library of Trantor that Ebling Mis finally entered in Isaac Asimov's Foundation trilogy, and the old Duane Library (no longer a library) at Fordham University where I currently teach.  Check it out.

As to the action in tonight's episode - it was popping out all over in searingly memorable scenes, including -

• the application that deadly green fire (based on Byzantine "Greek" fire in our own history), culminating in Cersei as the Queen with ultimate power in the realm (and let me say I was nothing but happy to see Tomlin go - he was not only an ineffective young King but a really boring character)
• the birth of Jon Snow, witnessed by Bran - really touching (and important for the future story)
• Arya coming totally into her own, killing that old bastard whatever-his-name (ok, Blackfish)(note that she might have also tried to kill Jaime, had he hung around, which he very well might have done if he hadn't been called back to his sister)
• the nobles of the North pledging allegiance to Jon Snow, after being embarrassed and egged on by that superb girl Lyanna Mormont, who has emerged as one of the best characters in the series
• and of course that last scene with thew mighty fleet and the dragons setting sail for Cersei and eventually the north, with Daenerys and her newly minted "hand," Tyrion, at her side

There was at least one dumb move in the plot, though thoroughly understandable:  Jon knows he'll need all the help he can get to fight the deathly white hordes now no longer just beyond the wall, so sending Melisandra away seems not a good idea.   Further, whomever she winds up trying to help - whether Daenerys or Cersei - won't be kindly disposed to the Starks and the new North, and Jon will likely regret sending her away, even though he had more than ample reason (presumably Melisandra's terrible sacrifice of the young girl was what Jon's able second-in-command wanted him to know last week).

But yeah, this was a great end to a season, with the ships and the dragons already underway, and here's looking forward to the opening episode next year.


See also Game of Thrones 6.1: Where Are the Dragons ... Game of Thrones 6.2: The Waking ... Game of Thrones 6.5: Origin of a Name ... Game of Thrones 6.6: The Exhortation ... Game of Thrones 6.7: Giveth and Taketh ... Game of Thrones 6.8: Strategic Advantage ... Game of Thrones 6.9: A Night for the Light

And see also Game of Thrones 5.1: Unsetting the Table ... Game of Thrones 5.8: The Power of Frigid Death ... Game of Thrones 5.9: Dragon in Action; Sickening Scene with Stannis ... Game of Thrones Season 5 Finale: Punishment

And see also Games of Thrones Season 4 Premiere: Salient Points ... Game of Thrones 4.2: Whodunnit? ... Game of Thrones 4.3: Who Will Save Tyrion ...Game of Thrones 4.4: Glimpse of the Ultimate Battle ... Game of Thrones 4.6: Tyrion on Trial ... Game of Thrones 4.8: Beetles and Battle ...Game of Thrones 4.9: The Fight for Castle Black ... Games of Thrones Season 4 Finale: Woven Threads

And see also  Game of Thrones Season 3 Premiere ... Game of Thrones 3.3: The Heart of Jaime Lannister ... Game of Thrones 3.6: Extraordinary Cinematography ...Game of Thrones 3.7: Heroic Jaime ...  Game of Thrones 3.9: A Critique 

And see also Game of Thrones Back in Play for Season 2 ... Game of Thrones 2.2: Cersei vs. Tyrion

And see also A Game of Thrones: My 1996 Review of the First Novel ... Game of Thrones Begins Greatly on HBO ... Game of Thrones 1.2: Prince, Wolf, Bastard, Dwarf ... Games of Thrones 1.3: Genuine Demons ... Game of Thrones 1.4: Broken Things  ... Game of Thrones 1.5: Ned Under Seige ... Game of Thrones 1.6: Molten Ever After ... Games of Thrones 1.7: Swiveling Pieces ... Game of Thrones 1.8: Star Wars of the Realms ... Game of Thrones 1.9: Is Ned Really Dead? ... Game of Thrones 1.10 Meets True Blood

And here's a Spanish article in Semana, the leading news magazine in Colombia, in which I'm quoted about explicit sex on television, including on Game of Thrones.

And see "'Game of Thrones': Why the Buzz is So Big" article in The Christian Science Monitor, 8 April 2014, with my quotes.

Also: CNN article, "How 'Game of Thrones' Is Like America," with quote from me

 
"I was here, in Carthage, three months from now." 

#SFWApro