Game of Thrones finale: Winter is here

What does Cersei have left to fight for?

The body count of this season finale was extreme, even for Game of Thrones, and Cersei's attempt to keep Tommen from being one of those bodies failed. There is no king. There is no High Sparrow. The Sept of Baelor is now the Sept of No More, if you get my meaning. It's all ashes and wine.

Even Melisandre is sent away for her hand in the burning of Shireen. Every victory is pyrrhic. No one has clean hands. It's all a matter of who is left after each major event to dole out punishment and "justice."

Daenerys likewise had to send away someone she loves, and who loves her. And she felt nothing. Tyrion seems to be one of the few characters left who hasn't been hollowed out by their victories. I mean, there's also Arya Stark and the rather satisfying assassination of Walder Frey. Because everyone has to die in this episode, apparently.

We also learned that the popular fan theory was correct: that Jon Snow isn't Ned's son, but rather a mixture of the Stark and Targaryen bloodlines. Or at least, that's strongly implied, even though the words themselves are obscured. It's all but confirmed that Snow isn't who he thinks he is.

Game of Thrones has shuffled the deck yet again, with the game's board being reset in many interesting ways. Cersei is queen. Jon Snow and Sansa hold Winterfell. Arya is back in Westeros, and she's ready to kill her way through a very long list. Daenerys' invading force has launched. Lady Stoneheart didn't show up, and you can mock me in the comments to your heart's content.

Season seven of Game of Thrones will begin as a much different show, with many fan favorites dead. The question is whether we care enough about this new show that has begun, with the politics and battle lines so completely redrawn. But while the men and women play their games of power and death as they angle for the throne, the armies of the undead are gathering, and they are close.

Winter is here.

Odds and ends

• "The trial can wait. We all need to leave."
• "Even confessing feels good under the right circumstances."
• This entire series should be renamed "it could have been worse, Jon Snow."
• "Father always promised, didn't he?"
• "My name is Arya Stark. I want you to know that." That green finger gave me the chills.
• Benjen's note about the wall's magic was interesting. So he's stuck out there, not alive, not dead, but at least fighting on the side of humanity.
• That smash cut from baby Jon to grown-up Jon, though.
• Ugh, Dorne.
• See you for the next season! This was a whole lot of fun, even when we didn't agree with each other!

Telltale's Game of Thrones - TV Cast Featurette