The Winds of Winter

"The Winds of Winter" is the tenth episode of the sixth season of Game of Thrones. It is the sixtieth episode of the series overall. It premiered on June 26, 2016. It was written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss and directed by Miguel Sapochnik.

Plot
Cersei stands trial for her crimes, while Jaime celebrates victory with Walder Frey at The Twins. Davos confronts Jon about Melisandre's actions, and Littlefinger reveals his intentions to Sansa. Meanwhile, Bran continues his quest for knowledge in the far North as "winter" finally arrives.

At the Twins
Jaime Lannister and Bronn arrive at The Twins to celebrate the regained control of Riverrun and the allegiance between the Freys and the Lannisters. However, Jaime had to ride north from King's Landing in order to retake the Riverrun from Blackfish Tully with the persuasion of Edmure Tully. Jaime confronts Walder Frey and asks him why do they need House Frey on their side when they cannot keep control of the Riverlands.

Some time later Walder Frey is seen eating dinner in his hall. When one of the servants serves him pie, he does not recognize her and immediately questions who she is. The servant confirms that she is new, and eventually states that his sons Black Walder and Lothar Frey are inside the pie. He opens the pie and reacts in horror: he has been served the flesh of his own sons. The servant removes her face, revealing that she is Arya Stark of Winterfell. Lord Walder is shocked and tries to escape, but Arya holds him and slits his throat, smiling as she watches the man who murdered her mother and brother bleed to death.

In King's Landing
In King's Landing, everyone is getting ready for the trial of Ser Loras Tyrell and Cersei Lannister. The small folk enter the sept, along with Queen Margaery Tyrell, Mace Tyrell, and Kevan Lannister. As Grand Maester Pycelle heads to the sept, a small child stops him and whispers something into his ear.

The sparrows bring Loras in first, as the High Sparrow awaits. Instead of having a trial, Loras confesses to his crimes and tells the High Sparrow that he wishes to devote his life to the Faith. The High Sparrow tells him that this would mean that he renounces his family name and his future lordship of Highgarden, but Loras tearfully agrees, and the sparrows carve a seven-pointed star into his forehead. Margaery is unhappy with the High Sparrow for mutilating her brother, but the High Sparrow says he only promised to allow Loras to leave after trial.

King Tommen prepares to leave the Red Keep for the trial of his mother, but Ser Gregor Clegane prevents him from leaving. Lancel tells the High Sparrow that Cersei has yet to leave the Red Keep, so the High Sparrow asks him to go retrieve her. As Lancel is walking out, another small child lures him away into the area below the Sept. Meanwhile, Pycelle follows the small child from earlier into a room where Qyburn awaits him. Qyburn apologizes to Pycelle for the inconvenience and then multiple children surround Pycelle and begin stabbing him repeatedly to his death.

Margaery, realizing something is very wrong with the fact that neither Cersei nor Tommen are at the trial, confronts the High Sparrow. She tells him that it's a trap, but he does not listen. Below the Sept, Lancel continues to follow the child, who suddenly stabs him in the spine as Lancel picks up the torch the child dropped. In pain, Lancel discovers a cache of wildfire about to be set off, and slowly starts crawling towards the end of the hall to attempt to put the candles out. Margaery tells everyone in the Sept they need to leave immediately, but the sparrows prevent anyone from exiting. Lancel does not make it to the wildfire in time, and the Sept explodes, killing everyone inside of it.

Cersei smiles at the explosion, while Tommen, who is in a different room, is in disbelief. Tommen eventually sets his crown down and jumps out of the window to his death.

Still feeling victorious, Cersei pays a visit to Septa Unella, who has been strapped down. Cersei awakens her by pouring a pitcher of wine on her face as she struggles, and prompts her to confess that she enjoyed torturing Cersei during her imprisonment, not for the sake of the gods, but because it felt good. Continuing her mockery, Cersei smugly goes down a list, "confessing" that she committed her crimes and the murder of the people in the sept because it all felt good. Finally, Septa Unella stiffly declares that she does not fear death. Cersei assures her that her death will last many days, and brings in Ser Gregor Clegane, who begins to torture her. Walking away and closing the door, Cersei echos the word "shame" three times, just as Unella did during Cersei's Walk of Atonement.

After Tommen's body is found, Cersei's triumph is greatly diminished. Standing by his covered remains with Qyburn, she insists on seeing her son's face one last time; then Qyburn asks Cersei what she wants to do about funeral arrangements. She tells him to burn the body and bury the ashes where the Great Sept of Baelor once stood, so that Tommen may rest with his brother, sister, and grandfather.

Jaime and Bronn arrive back in King's Landing to see the ruin of the city. Jaime soon walks into the throne room just in time to see Cersei being crowned by Qyburn as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

In Oldtown
Sam, Gilly, and her son finally arrive at Oldtown, spotting the Hightower, with dozens of white ravens released, signalling the arrival of winter.

After arriving at the receptionist desk, Sam informs the receptionist of his purpose: Being sent by the Night's Watch's Lord Commander Jon Snow to be trained as a maester, as well as informing the receptionist the deaths of former Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and former maester Aemon. The receptionist allows Sam access to the Citadel's library, but bars Gilly and her son from following. As Sam explores the library by himself, he is in awe at the vast collection of books in the room.

In the North
Melisandre and Jon Snow are in Winterfell's dining hall, where the latter is reminiscing, when Ser Davos Seaworth angrily strides in and tosses Princess Shireen's burned wooden stag to Melisandre, demanding that she explain herself. At first she is silent, but as Davos loses his composure, admits that she ordered King Stannis Baratheon to sacrifice his own daughter in the service of the Lord of Light. She quickly defends herself by saying that it needed to be done because Stannis's forces had been sabotaged by Ramsay's twenty good men, and Shireen's parents made the decision as well. Davos, obviously not believing her, exclaims that her god is evil and that he loved Shireen Baratheon as his own daughter. Melisandre concedes that she made a mistake.

Jon, upon hearing the unpleasant news, asks Melisandre if she has anything to say for herself. She replies that she only followed the Lord of Light and implies that he is also responsible for bringing Jon back to life. Still greatly displeased, Jon tells Melisandre to ride south, or he will hang her as a murderer; Davos adds that he will personally kill her himself if she ever shows up in the North again.

As Jon looks on Melisandre leaving Winterfell, he is approached by Sansa. He tells her that he has had Eddard and Catelyn's master bedroom prepared for her, though she insists that he should have it. Then, she apologizes for not telling him about Littlefinger's Knights of the Vale. He in turn asks Sansa if she trusts Littlefinger, which she firmly denies. With that, Jon tells her that they have to trust each other because the Starks have many enemies, and gently kisses her on the forehead.

Later, just outside Winterfell under its weirwood tree, Sansa meets Littlefinger and asks him what is it that he wants from her. He vigorously responds that he wants her by his side while he sits on the Iron Throne. With this statement of his ultimate dream, he attempts to kiss Sansa, who rejects him.

Afterwards in Winterfell Hall, several Stark bannermen protest that Wildlings have invaded Winterfell. Tormund counters that they were invited here and that they are not planning on invading. Most of the northern lords also want to go home and prepare for winter, but Jon insists that their war is far from over: a far worse threat than what they've just defeated is coming for them all- as Jon puts it, "The true enemy won't wait out the storm...he is the storm". Stopping the argument, Lyanna Mormont implicates on how Wyman Manderly, Robett Glover and Cley Cerwyn all refused House Stark's call for aid after the Red Wedding. Lyanna names Jon as the rightful King in North regardless if he is a Bastard or not. After explaining themselves Houses Manderly, Glover and Cerwyn all show support to Jon and House Stark and name him the White Wolf and new King in the North. As they are cheering, Sansa catches a rather sinister look from Littlefinger.

In Dorne
Ellaria and the Sand Snakes meet with Olenna Tyrell, who is now in mourning after the deaths of her son and grandchildren. Ellaria suggests that they must work together now for survival, as Cersei has declared war on both of them. Olenna objects, saying that survival is not what she is after. Ellaria agrees, and Varys reveals himself, with both of them declaring that they are after "Vengeance, Justice, Fire and Blood."

In Meereen
Queen Daenerys Targaryen orders Daario Naharis to stay in Meereen with the Second Sons, as she cannot bring her lover to Westeros. He expresses his love for her and expresses hope that someone else will make her happy, to which she replies that quite a few women will. When he departs, she goes to see Tyrion, who suggested she do that. They discuss the times to come and the Great Game, as he tries to console her. He then says that he gave up on believing in himself or in anyone or anything else, but that he believes in her. She then shows him a pin she had made for him and formally names him Hand of the Queen. Tyrion, struck with emotion, proceeds to kneel in front of her. Later, he, Daenerys, Missandei, Grey Worm and Varys, along with Yara and Theon Greyjoy are seen sailing to Westeros with hundreds of ships full of Unsullied, Dothraki and Ironborn, and with the dragons flying above.

Beyond the Wall
Benjen drops Meera and Bran off at a weirwood tree, as he can go no farther. When Bran asks why, he replies that the magic of the wall prevents the dead from crossing, and himself. He plans to do what he can to prepare for the coming war, as he still fights for the living.

After thanking his uncle, who rides off on his horse, Bran turns his attention to the weirwood tree. Meera expresses doubts on his readiness, but Bran insists that he must be the three-eyed raven, and places his hand on the face carved into the tree. He is taken to the Tower of Joy flashback, right where he left off before the old three-eyed raven interrupted. Having learned his lesson, Bran does not call after his father, who still turns around briefly before rushing into the Tower. Inside, Ned (along with Bran) discovers his sister Lyanna Stark lying in bed with blood-stained sheets, being tended to by a few handmaidens, one of which hands a newborn baby to Ned. A weakened Lyanna whispers to Ned of the baby's identity (which the audience doesn't hear) and makes him promise to keep her child safe, as Robert would kill him should his identity be known. As Ned looks at the baby, his eyes open up to reveal dark colored eyes.

First

 * Lord Cley Cerwyn
 * Lord Wyman Manderly
 * Adult Lyanna Stark

Deaths

 * Grand Maester Pycelle
 * Brother Lancel
 * The High Sparrow
 * Ser Loras Tyrell
 * Queen Margaery Tyrell
 * Lord Mace Tyrell
 * Ser Kevan Lannister
 * King Tommen Baratheon
 * Ser Walder Rivers
 * Lothar Frey
 * Lord Walder Frey
 * Lyanna Stark (vision)

Cast
Starring
 * Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
 * Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Ser Jaime Lannister
 * Lena Headey as Queen Cersei Lannister
 * Kit Harington as King Jon Snow
 * Emilia Clarke as Queen Daenerys Targaryen
 * Natalie Dormer as Queen Margaery Tyrell
 * Liam Cunningham as Ser Davos Seaworth
 * Sophie Turner as Lady Sansa Stark
 * Aidan Gillen as Lord Petyr Baelish
 * Carice van Houten as Melisandre
 * Nathalie Emmanuel as Missandei
 * Indira Varma as Ellaria Sand
 * Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
 * Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow
 * Conleth Hill as Varys
 * Dean-Charles Chapman as King Tommen Baratheon
 * Kristofer Hivju as Tormund Giantsbane
 * John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
 * Isaac Hempstead-Wright as Bran Stark
 * Jerome Flynn as Ser Bronn
 * Alfie Allen as Prince Theon Greyjoy
 * Michiel Huisman as Daario Naharis
 * Hannah Murray as Gilly

Guest Starring
 * Diana Rigg as Lady Olenna Tyrell
 * David Bradley as Lord Walder Frey
 * Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle
 * Anton Lesser as Qyburn
 * Joseph Mawle as Benjen Stark
 * Finn Jones as Ser Loras Tyrell
 * Ian Gelder as Ser Kevan Lannister
 * Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Lord Mace Tyrell
 * Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm
 * Gemma Whelan as Princess Yara Greyjoy
 * Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed
 * Eugene Simon as Lancel
 * Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand
 * Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand
 * Jessica Henwick as Nymeria Sand
 * Rupert Vansittart as Lord Yohn Royce
 * Tim McInnerny as Lord Robett Glover
 * Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Ser Gregor Clegane
 * Hannah Waddingham as Septa Unella
 * Daniel Tuite as Lothar Frey
 * Tim Plester as Ser Walder Rivers
 * Robert Aramayo as Lord Eddard Stark
 * Aisling Franciosi as Lady Lyanna Stark
 * Frank Hvam as Citadel maester (The Winds of Winter)
 * Bella Ramsey as Lady Lyanna Mormont
 * Josephine Gillan as Marei
 * Sara Dylan as handmaiden
 * Sabrina Bartlett as Arya's disguise
 * Dermot Ward
 * Aron Hegarty as Lord Cley Cerwyn
 * Sean Blowers as Lord Wyman Manderly
 * Tom Yarey
 * Nathanael Saleh as Arthur
 * Annette Hannah as Frances
 * Jesse Magee as a little bird
 * Lucy Gallagher as a little bird
 * Fionn Kernan as a little bird
 * Michael Nevin as a little bird
 * Iona Clarke as a little bird

Cast notes

 * 23 of 27 starring cast members appear in this episode.
 * Starring cast members Rory McCann (Sandor Clegane), Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Tom Wlaschiha (Jaqen H'ghar), and Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont) are not credited and do not appear in this episode.
 * This episode is the final appearance of starring cast members Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Jonathan Pryce (High Sparrow), and Dean-Charles Chapman (Tommen Baratheon) due to the death of their characters.

General

 * The episode title is a reference to the name of the unpublished sixth novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, The Winds of Winter.
 * At 69 minutes running time, this episode is the longest episode in the entire television series so far.
 * In the Title sequence, House Stark's direwolf sigil is restored to Winterfell. The Bolton sigil replaced it from Season 4 onwards, and in Season 3 the animation showed Winterfell burning (after it was burned at the end of Season 2 - at the end of Season 3 it was revealed that Ramsay and the Boltons burned it). Thus this is the first time that Winterfell has appeared restored, with the Stark sigil, and not a burning ruin since the Season 2 opening credits.
 * The Twins returns to the title sequence for the first time since Season 3. The Wall appears in the title sequence but not in the episode itself. Oldtown appears in the episode but not in the title sequence.
 * All storylines in the TV series will have surpassed the books as of this episode. The TV series adapted certain subplots out of synch with each other, thus while Jon Snow's storyline surpassed the books starting in the Season 6 premiere, other major subplots this season such as the Greyjoy subplot and Tully/Frey subplot were holdovers from other novels. Now even these remaining subplots have caught up. The Slaver's Bay storyline surpassed the novels in the preceding episode.
 * Two subplots were omitted from the TV show but won't be introduced now: when Tyrion flees east to get to Meereen it introduces a major new political shakeup happening in the Free Cities, while the Dorne subplot in Season 5 was drastically condensed, then outright abandoned at the beginning of Season 6. Because Dorne is close to the Free Cities, preview chapters for the next novel reveal that the Dorne and Free Cities subplots are going to combine with each other into one big subplot -- all of this was removed in the TV version.
 * Jaime and Brienne each had about another chapter's worth of material involving running into the Brotherhood Without Banners in the Riverlands, but this subplot has also been omitted entirely thus far.
 * With the death of Mace Tyrell, all heads of Westeros's Great Houses at the beginning of the TV series are now dead. The heads of Houses Arryn, Targaryen, Baratheon, and Stark died in Season 1, the head of House Tully in Season 3, the head of House Lannister in Season 4, and the heads of Houses Martell, Greyjoy, and Tyrell in Season 6.
 * House Tyrell is also the last of the Great Houses to suffer the death of one of its members during the show's run.

Beyond the Wall

 * This episode confirms the longstanding theory hinted at in the novels that Jon Snow is actually the secret child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen. It is also heavily implied, but not outright confirmed just yet, that Rhaegar didn't abduct and rape Lyanna, but instead she ran off with him, and Jon was their secret love child (although the possibility remains that her pregnancy was the product of rape). Given that Rhaegar was Daenerys's older brother, and Jon is his male heir, if Rhaegar married Lyanna in secret, then by all the different inheritance laws of Westeros Jon Snow technically ranks ahead of Daenerys Targaryen in line of succession to the Iron Throne.
 * Complicating matters is if Jon was a Stark bastard, but a Targaryen bastard or not. Daenerys would still rank ahead of Jon if he was merely Rhaegar's bastard son, and Rhaegar was already married to Elia Martell. On the other hand, the Targaryens were known to practice polygamy in past centuries when they thought they could get away with it - always a contentious issue with the Faith of the Seven which forced them to abandon it. Nonetheless it is possible that Rhaegar entered into a second marriage to Lyanna in secret, making Jon his legitimate son. Of course, as Renly Baratheon pointed out in Season 1, the "line of succession" is often just a legal fiction decided at the point of a sword: Robert Baratheon claimed the Iron Throne on the token pretext that he was Rhaegar's second cousin (his grandmother was a Targaryen), but it was ultimately decided on the battlefield.
 * As implied in their brief dialogue, Lyanna Stark feared that Robert Baratheon would kill her baby if he found out that Jon was actually Rhaegar Targaryen's son, and she made Ned promise to protect him. As a result, when Ned Stark returned north to Winterfell from the war, he passed off Jon as his own bastard son, when he was in fact his nephew. The only thing he'd ever say about Jon's mother was a vaguely concocted explanation that he fathered her on a servant girl named "Wylla". Ned came very close to telling Jon the truth about his mother when they last saw each other at the beginning of Season 1, but ended by emphatically saying that "you might not have my name, but you have my blood".
 * It was mentioned multiple times in both the books and TV series that it would have been out of character for Ned Stark to father Jon on some camp-follower prostitute as he claimed - Robert Baratheon enjoyed whores, but Ned was very restrained and honorable and didn't, particularly because he had just married Catelyn Tully and felt their vows were binding. In Season 5, Stannis Baratheon remarked to his wife that he doubted Jon was just some random whore's son because he knew Eddard for years and that really wasn't his way.
 * Recall the scene in Season 1 episode 2 "The Kingsroad", closely following the books, when King Robert absent-mindedly asked Ned what the name of his bastard son's mother was, and he got a hesitant look on his face and said "Wylla". Even Robert joked that she must have been quite a woman to make Ned break his marriage vows - not the most observant of characters, it didn't occur to Robert that Ned's story was therefore outright implausible.
 * In the first novel alone, several different rumors are given about who Jon's mother is, and Ned himself even gives somewhat conflicting accounts about it, hinting early on that he was lying about it. Some said he was the product of an affair Ned had not just with some random servant, but with Lady Ashara Dayne - sister of Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, others that "Wylla" was a maid in service to Ashara, along with other rumors. It's possible that "Wylla" was the name of one of the midwives who attended Lyanna in childbirth.
 * Lyanna actually told Ned what to name her baby, but the audio is hidden from the audience as she whispers it to him. It's possible that "Jon" isn't even the actual first name she intended for him. The novels heavily imply that Ned Stark named him "Jon" after his great friend and mentor Jon Arryn, a man who was like a second father to him but was nothing to Lyanna. It's possible that Ned choose this name because the name chosen by Lyanna was too Targaryen for the child's sake and that he intended to reveal to Jon his full and true name when he reached adulthood.
 * In the books, no one doubts that Jon is related to Ned because he looks just like Ned in his youth: Jon inherited the very strong Stark physical features of dark hair and a long face. Indeed, Ned's other children with Catelyn Tully mostly took after her Tully features of auburn hair and blue eyes. In Catelyn's first POV chapter at the beginning of the first book, she even pointed out how painful it was that Jon Snow actually looks more like his "father" Ned than her own son Robb Stark. Arya was the only one of their children to inherit dark Stark features, and Ned said she looked like her aunt Lyanna when she was young - which could have been a hint that just as Arya took after her aunt in appearance, Jon took after his uncle, not his real father, in appearance. The TV show apparently also made some effort to match this: TV-Robb had somewhat brown/auburn hair like Catelyn, while TV-Jon also closely resembles Ned.
 * Given that Jon Snow is actually the son of Lyanna Stark, this means that his believed siblings Sansa, Arya, and Bran are actually his first cousins. Jon's future political career as King in the North may hinge on marriage-alliances: first cousins marriages are not considered Incest in Westeros and are actually fairly common among the nobility. Tywin Lannister married his own first-cousin Joanna Lannister (her maiden name was already "Lannister" before they married). Indeed, in the novels, even the Starks have had first cousin marriages in recent times: Ned Stark's own parents Rickard Stark and Lyarra Stark were first cousins once removed (her name was already "Lyarra Stark" before they married). Thus it is not implausible that if this revelation came to light, Jon could legally marry Sansa or Arya to cement his claim over the North.
 * Another potential marriage-alliance for political goals by Jon Snow may of course be with Daenerys Targaryen herself. Due to Jon Snow actually being the son of Daenerys's eldest brother Rhaegar Targaryen, Daenerys is actually Jon's aunt. Nonetheless, the Targaryens were known to practice uncle-niece or aunt-nephew marriages in the past (which aren't quite as incestuous as brother-sister marriages). Rhaenyra Targaryen married her own uncle, Daemon Targaryen. Thus according to Targaryen laws and customs it would also be perfectly legal for Jon Snow to marry his aunt Daenerys Targaryen to secure a political alliance.
 * Given that the legality of Jon's birth hinges on if his father Rhaegar Targaryen entered into a polygamous marriage, it isn't even outside the realm of possibility that Jon might invoke Targaryen custom to marry both Sansa, Arya or/and Daenerys.
 * Correspondingly, Jon Snow being the son of Lyanna Stark actually means that Bran Stark is ahead of both Sansa and Jon in line of succession, regardless of whether Jon is a bastard or later legitimized by decree. Ned Stark was Lyanna's older brother, meaning that all of Ned's children rank ahead of Lyanna's son Jon according to the succession laws of Westeros. Thus while a rift seems to be developing between Jon and Sansa about which of them should rule the North - Sansa the trueborn daughter or Jon the male bastard - Bran's revelation of Jon's parentage when he returns south may put all of this to rest. Sansa wouldn't resent Bran ruling ahead of her, because he was always ahead of her in line of succession as a trueborn son. Technically even Rickon ranked ahead of Sansa, due to their male-preference primogeniture system of inheritance.
 * This revelation now clearly raises the possibility that Jon Snow is The Prince That Was Promised, the messiah who will save the world from the return of the White Walkers. In the books, the prophecy about the Prince That Was Promised more clearly states that the Prince will be someone of the Targaryen bloodline.
 * Stannis Baratheon met the requirement for this because his grandmother was a Targaryen, as noted by his followers in the books.
 * The fact that Daenerys is female does not rule her out as a candidate, however: in the novels Maester Aemon analyzes the prophecy and concludes that his great-niece Daenerys is "the Prince That Was Promised", explaining that in High Valyrian the word for "Prince" is gender-neutral (like "ruler", it can refer to a man or woman).
 * Another major part of the prophecy also states that "the dragon has three heads": that "the Prince That Was Promised" isn't actually one person but three people acting together. Even when Aegon I Targaryen conquered and united the Seven Kingdoms with dragons, he didn't actually do it alone, but united with his two sister-wives - which is why the official heraldry that he designed for House Targaryen from that day forward is of a red three-headed dragon. The prophecy is in their very logo.
 * It remains unclear if Benjen Stark actually is the character "Coldhands" from the novels, or a similar revenant, or if the TV series is condensing the two characters together. Coldhands in the novels similarly appears to be a dead human who was being turned into an undead wight, but the Children of the Forest intervened, so that he retains his consciousness and free will. Whatever the case, Coldhands in the novels gives the same explanation that Benjen does: the Children worked strong spells into the foundations of The Wall when it was constructed which prevent dead things animated by magic, such as himself, from passing through it.
 * Even in the novels, the corpses of Othor and Jafer Flowers reanimated as wights inside Castle Black - but they had to be brought through the Wall by the Night's Watch when they found their bodies. It's possible that even if Coldhands and/or Benjen were brought through the Wall by someone else, they might only reanimate as a mindless wight, which is why they avoid it

In King's Landing

 * Cersei Lannister's storyline has surpassed the novels, but it is indeed possible that she will kill the High Sparrow and the Tyrells in this manner. She won't kill her uncle Kevan this way, because in the books he was killed along with Pycelle - and by Varys instead of Cersei.
 * In the books, Tyrion actually gathered up all of the old wildfire caches around the city to use in the Battle of the Blackwater, but Cersei did commission the Alchemist's Guild to keep producing increasingly large quantities, which she later used to burn the Tower of the Hand to the ground, becoming almost erotically excited at the sight of it burning - hinting at developments in future books. Thus in the books, the wildfire caches were removed but Cersei would probably replace them, while in the TV version, they simplified the plot mechanics to just have the original wildfire caches always there.
 * Cersei probably won't kill Loras Tyrell in this manner, though he does indeed receive mortal burn wounds in the latest novel. In the fourth book, Euron Greyjoy begins attacking the west coasts and is threatening Highgarden itself, so the Lannister-Tyrell alliance needs to move its fleet west to intercept them. The problem is that their fleets are still tied up besieging Stannis's remaining garrison at Dragonstone island. Realizing he needs to force a quick end to the siege at Dragonstone to save his homeland, Loras boldly volunteers to Cersei that he will lead the assault. Cersei is only too happy to agree, knowing full well that it will be a bloodbath and she hopes he gets killed. Loras's performance in the ensuing battle at Dragonstone leaves many in awe, as he fought like the Warrior himself. Towards the end, however, Loras became badly wounded and trapped under an archway from which the enemy poured boiling oil on him. Loras was horrifically burned over most of his body and not expected to live. On the other hand, by the end of the fifth novel, Loras has stubbornly managed to cling to life - barely - against all odds and all predictions of the maesters, so it is not clear if he will pull through. Ultimately, however, in both the books and TV series, Loras ends up being horrifically burned.
 * Cersei in this TV episode, particularly when she torments Unella, behaves much more like Cersei from the novels than before, flippantly remarking on the joy she takes in crushing her enemies. A difficulty is that much of this came across in Cersei's POV narration chapters in the novels - things from her inner mental narration that wouldn't actually dare say aloud. Now Cersei isn't bothering to put up an act anymore, and openly admitting how she actually feels.
 * Lena Headey vaguely mentioned in a subsequent interview with Entertainment Weekly that the scene in which Cersei toys with Septa Unella then leaves her to be tortured was originally going to be much more graphic: "It’s so depraved, it’s brilliant. The scene was meant to be worse, but they couldn’t do it. This is like the tame version. It’s pretty bad still though."
 * Tommen Baratheon's death in this episode renders "House Baratheon of King's Landing" extinct - the cadet branch of House Baratheon which was going to hold the Iron Throne as the new dynasty founded by Robert Baratheon. Of course, after Robert's death, the royal House was "Baratheon" in name only, as all of Cersei's children were actually Jaime's bastard children.
 * Tommen's death fulfills the prophecy that Cersei received from Maggy in her youth, that all three of her children would predecease her: they would have golden crowns (hair) but also golden (burial) shrouds - and indeed Tommen's burial shroud in this episode is gold colored.  Of course, this may have been a self-fulfilling prophecy, given that the deaths of all three of Cersei's children were directly or indirectly due to her own actions.
 * Cersei crowning herself as the new Ruling Queen on the Iron Throne is farcical in-universe, comparable to two men on a sinking ship fighting over who gets to be the captain. With all of her children dead she has absolutely no claim to the throne whatsoever, not even the token explanation she was using before that she was ruling on behalf of her children by King Robert (all of whom actually weren't Robert's children). Cersei simply seized control of the capital city with whatever is left of the Lannister armies.
 * Cersei isn't even functionally the queen over more than half of the "Seven Kingdoms" anymore: The North has just successfully risen in revolt again, the Vale has openly declared for the Starks, and Frey control over the Riverlands has been shattered thanks to Arya; the Iron Islands remain independent and weren't even controlled by her son Joffrey, and now both the Reach and Dorne are openly declaring for Daenerys Targaryen. Essentially, the only parts of Westeros that Cersei actually controls anymore are King's Landing and the Crownlands, the Westerlands, and maybe a bit of the Riverlands between to connect the two - supplemented by the Stormlands, which surrendered after the Battle of the Blackwater and has no military strength left at all.
 * In effect, with the destruction of the Lannister-Tyrell alliance and resurgence of the North, the Lannisters' zone of control has shrunk back to more or less what it right after Joffrey first took power: they're no better off than they were originally (in early Season 2). In fact they're actually far worse off then they were in early Season 2: Cersei has zero actual right to rule, half of the Lannister armies were destroyed by Robb Stark, and the Lannisters are financially bankrupt from heavy wartime spending. Winter has finally begun, but they don't have access to either of the two main breadbasket regions of Westeros anymore: the Riverlands are a burned out husk, and the Reach has outright turned against them.  Olenna even tried to warn Cersei in Season 5 how ridiculous it was to turn against the Tyrells, given that the Lannisters are directly reliant upon them for money and even shipments of basic food supplies.  Cersei apparently didn't realize or simply didn't care that killing the ruler of House Tyrell and his two children would turn the Reach to open war against her.

In the North

 * WhiteRaven.jpg isn't a spoiler because it appears in the episode preview: a white [[Ravens|messenger-raven]] is seen flying north to Winterfell. White messenger-ravens are a special sub-breed kept by the Maesters from The Citadel in Oldtown, which are larger, stronger, and smarter than normal ravens: they are only sent out to carry the important official announcement across Westeros that the seasons have changed. The Citadel gathers reports about weather from maesters all over Westeros, and after much deliberation determines when one season can be considered to have officially ended and the next begun. A white raven previously appeared in the Season 2 premiere, "The North Remembers", when it was delivered to the Small Council to inform them that the ten year long summer had officially ended and turned to autumn (though the episode didn't explain in dialogue why the raven was white, this is a detail from the books). For six seasons, the TV series has been promising the Stark words that "Winter is Coming". The white ravens in this episode officially announce that winter has come.
 * In the books, the white ravens announcing the arrival of winter are sent out soon after Cersei's Walk of atonement. The TV series adapted several storylines out of synch with each other, thus the white ravens only arrive at the time of her trial.
 * Cersei previously mentioned to Littlefinger in Season 5 that they could tell autumn would be ending relatively soon, noting that the weather had started to turn. The length of the years-long seasons in Westeros can be unpredictable, but they can get a general sense when a season is drawing to a close, i.e. cold weather in early November/early December still technically isn't "winter", but people can observe the gradual shift.

In the Riverlands

 * In the books, Jaime Lannister's army doesn't advance all the way north to The Twins after the Second Siege of Riverrun, and thus he never personally met Walder Frey. After leaving Riverrun in the books, his army does advance north but only as far as Raventree Hall, the seat of House Blackwood (earlier episodes in Season 6 did mention in passing that the Blackwoods were also in revolt like the Tullys).
 * Instead of advancing to Raventree Hall as in the books, in the TV version Jaime travels all the way to the Twins, then returns back south to King's Landing. Given his comments to Lord Walder, and because Raventree Hall is between Riverrun and the Twins, it's possible that they're implying the other rebelling Riverlands Houses (Blackwood and Mallister) were subdued again off-screen.
 * When the Twins first appear in the episode and Lord Walder's voice is heard toasting "To House Lannister!", the Lannister soldiers gathered in the feast hall shout back "Hear me roar!" (it is a little indistinct, but confirmed by the subtitles). This is actually the first time that the Lannisters' official House words have appeared in a live-action TV episode. As explained in a scene between Maester Luwin and Bran back in Season 1, the Lannisters' unofficial motto - "A Lannister always pays his debts" - is just as popular if not more so than their official one. That the TV show hasn't used the official motto frequently before is unsurprising: even in the novels, the official motto "Hear me roar!" is typically only mentioned specifically just to point out that the unofficial motto is very popular too. Previously the official motto was only confirmed by one of the Histories & Lore animated featuretes from Season 1, narrated by Tywin Lannister.
 * In the same scene, Lord Walder toasts House Frey, to which others respond "We stand together," indicating that this is the motto of House Frey.
 * Arya Stark feeding Walder Frey his own sons to him baked in a pie is a reference to a larger subplot in the novels, the infamous "Frey pie" incident, which takes place in the North and doesn't involve Arya. Wyman Manderly - who actually appears in this episode - grudgingly had to feign peace with the Lannisters and their Frey allies, but was planning to betray them. A large contingent of Frey soldiers in the books accompany the Boltons into the North to help them grind down the surviving lords. Three of them are sent as envoys to White Harbor but disappear soon afterwards. Later, during the Ramsay Bolton's wedding feast at Winterfell, Wyman gleefully serves the remaining Freys a large meat pie, and to assure them that it isn't poisoned he happily eats a large portion of it himself. When they ask Lord Manderly where the three missing Freys are, he says that they are actually quite close - heavily implying that they were cooked into the pie.
 * Feeding Lord Walder a pie containing his own sons, in both books and TV series, may be an in-universe reference to the legend of the Rat Cook, which Bran Stark brought up in Season 3. The Rat Cook was a member of the Night's Watch who felt insulted by a visiting king, so he broke Guest right by killing the king's sons and feeding them back to him cooked into a pie. For this the gods cursed him by turning him into a rat, doomed to eat his own young. In the TV version Bran brings this up right after the Red Wedding, insisting that violation of guest right (as Walder Frey did) is the one thing above all others that the gods will punish.
 * Out of universe, the "Frey pie" incident with Lord Manderly from the novels may be a reference to the infamous climax of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus, in which Titus avenges himself on Tamora by killing her sons Chiron and Demetrius and feeding them back to her baked into a meat pie (Why there they are! Both baked in that pie!...)
 * In the novels, after the Freys take Riverrun several of Lord Walder's more prominent sons are given possession of the castle - but several newly hired servants who are observed in Jaime's POV narration match the physical description of members of the Brotherhood Without Banners, hinting that the Brotherhood is going to orchestrate it's own reverse-Red Wedding, to ambush and kill the Freys inside Riverrun. When she eventually returns to Westeros, Arya Stark may indeed link up with the Brotherhood again and help them take revenge on the Freys: obviously, certain scenes have been condensed and moved around, but it is unclear how large of a condensation it is that Arya will personally kill Walder Frey (for all anyone knows, she may in fact personally kill him in the next book).
 * Arya also killed Walder's two most prominent sons in the TV series, Lame Lothar Frey and Black Walder Rivers. Lord Walder has several dozen descendants, about a dozen of whom are prominent recurring characters in the novels, but their actions were understandably condensed into just these two in the TV version. Lame Lothar is the Steward of the Twins and his father's right hand, coordinating the day to day activities of the castle; Black Walder Frey and Walder Rivers are two of their prominent army commanders (condensed in the TV version into just one character, "Black Walder Frey").
 * In the novels, several characters express their fear that when old Lord Walder eventually dies, it will lead to a fratricidal bloodbath within House Frey, as different internal rivalries play out for who will rule. Similarly, in the TV version, House Frey continues to exist in some fashion: Lord Walder has numerous descendants and Arya didn't kill them all. Still, she has taken revenge on those most directly responsible for planning and carrying out the Red Wedding in the TV version, and decapitated House Frey's central leadership. With the loss of not only Lord Walder but also his two most trusted sons, the TV version of the Freys may dissolve into infighting as well.
 * Walder Frey directly states that Arya's uncle Edmure Tully is for the moment being kept in the dungeons at The Twins - even though Jaime promised him gentle imprisonment at Casterly Rock (perhaps he meant in the long term). It's possible that next season will begin with Arya descending to the lower levels of the castle and freeing her uncle Edmure.

In the Reach

 * This is the first time that Oldtown has appeared on-screen in the TV series. It is the second largest city in Westeros, nearly as large as King's Landing itself, but many thousands of years older and therefore much better organized. King's Landing was rapidly constructed by the Targaryens 300 years ago without much thought to organized "city planning" leading to slum districts like Flea Bottom, but Oldtown doesn't have these problems.
 * This is also the first time that any other city in Westeros other than King's Landing itself has appeared on-screen. There are five settlements in Westeros big enough to be called cities, which in descending order of size are King's Landing, Oldtown, Lannisport, Gulltown, and White Harbor (the seat of House Manderly). King's Landing is stated to have a population of around 500,000, and Oldtown is nearly as large. Lannisport is of comparatively medium size, perhaps half as large, while Gulltown and White Harbor are much smaller (White Harbor might only have a population in the low tens of thousands).
 * The large structure that Sam and Gilly see when they arrive at Oldtown is the aptly named Hightower, from which the city's rulers take their name: House Hightower of Oldtown. The tower is a lighthouse for ships at sea and a defensive structure. It is also the tallest structure in Westeros, even taller than the Wall (the Hightower is 800 feet tall compared to the Wall's 700 feet).
 * This is also the first time that the Citadel has appeared on-screen, the university-like headquarters of the entire Order of Maesters which is located in Oldtown. The Citadel has been mentioned in passing since Season 1.
 * Notice the large astrolabes hung like chandeliers in the Citadel's vast library: they are clearly the basis for the astrolabe which appears in the Title sequence of the TV series, with filigree depicting the history of Westeros (conquest by dragons then the dragons dying, etc.). The showrunners have always said that their conception for the title sequence is that, somewhere, there is a master who toiled away in his cell constructing a magnificent astrolabe which the camera is simply moving around during the opening credits.

In Dorne

 * This episode marks the first time that Dorne has reappeared since the Season 6 premiere, when half of the recurring Dornish characters were hastily killed off in ways that do not match the books at all (see "Ellaria Sand's coup in Dorne"). It appears that the showrunners abandoned the Dorne subplot when Season 6 began because they realized it wasn't working in Season 5 (it was widely condemned by critics).
 * Many professional reviews criticized the lackluster dialogue given to the Sand Snakes in Season 5. In particular, Tyene Sand's line in the Season 5 finale that "You want a good girl, but you need the bad pussy!" was widely cited as possibly the worst line in the history of the TV series, and near-universally described as "cringe-worthy" or "cringe inducing". The showrunners may have picked up on these criticisms: ultimately Tyene Sand didn't have a single speaking line during the two episodes she appeared in Season 6. In this episode Tyene even tries to start speaking at one point but Olenna cuts her off and says she doesn't want to hear whatever she has to say - possibly a direct wink at the audience by the scriptwriters.
 * In the books, Prince Doran Martell was actually a secret Targaryen loyalist this entire time, only feigning peace while planning to betray the Lannisters. In his final chapter with his daughter and heir Arianne Martell (also cut from the TV series) he explains this and says that he is sending envoys to Slaver's Bay, to bring their heart's desire (this line was given to Ellaria in the TV version). Arianne then asks him what he means, at which he quotes the Targaryen motto "Fire and Blood" - these lines were shifted to Varys in the TV version.
 * Olenna remarks that the last time a Tyrell came to Dorne he was assassinated, with 100 red scorpions. This refers to Lyonel Tyrell, who has been mentioned before in the animated Histories & Lore featurettes, and lived about 140 years ago. During the Conquest of Dorne, the young King Daeron I Targaryen managed to subdue the Martells through a brilliant military campaign, but this was followed by a bitter Dornish insurgency which costs many thousands more men due to attrition. Daeron I left Lord Lyonel Tyrell behind as governor of occupied Dorne, but the Dornish so hated his rule that one day they laid a trap which dumped over a hundred poisonous scorpions onto his bed, killing him.
 * Two episodes ago Varys was shown leaving Meereen in a ship to head back to Westeros, explaining he was going to woo potential allies there. In the novels, it wasn't really clear where Varys went after Tyrion killed Tywin Lannister: he didn't appear again when Tyrion was let out of his crate in Pentos, nor did he travel to Meereen. Varys does reappear later in Westeros, but it is unclear if he traveled east to the Free Cities and then returned, or if he was in hiding in Westeros the entire time, still orchestrating his spy network.
 * In the books, it is actually Varys who kills Kevan Lannister and Pycelle, using his Little birds, in the epilogue of the fifth novel. He sneaks back into the Red Keep - or perhaps was hiding in the secret passages the entire time? - and shoots Pycelle dead with a crossbow. Kevan later arrives in the room and Varys shoots him as well, mortally wounding him. Varys then apologizes to Kevan that he's a good man who happens to be supporting the wrong side and he bears him no ill will. He explains that Kevan and Pycelle were doing too good of a job of undoing the damage which Cersei had caused the Lannister faction - and not only is he removing them, but he will frame their deaths on the Tyrells, further driving a wedge between Cersei and her few potential remaining allies. Varys then has his little birds come in and finish off the wounded Kevan. The TV version shifted this around so that Kevan dies in the Great Sept, while Pycelle gets more or less the same death he did in the book version - but in this case ordered by Varys's replacement Qyburn, and ultimately Cersei. It does make sense that Cersei would kill Pycelle in a purge, given that even he abandoned her and brought Kevan back to King's Landing to rule after he realized that Cersei's inept leadership was running the crown into the ground. Later parts of Varys's activities in the next novel will probably involve trying to court Dorne as an ally.
 * It is unclear how Varys could travel so quickly between Meereen a few episodes ago to Dorne, then from Dorne back to Meereen in this same episode. However, the closing scene implies that some time has passed, and also, the fact that ships with Tyrell and Martell sails are with Daenerys's fleet somewhat imply that there has been a time jump and they are near Westeros's waters in this closing shot (we don't actually see "Meereen" in the closing shot, they are on the open ocean). For all we know Varys took a Martell ship heading east which rendezvoused with Daenerys's fleet heading west somewhere south of the Free Cities. Also, Dorne is much closer to Slaver's Bay than the rest of the Seven Kingdoms.

In Meereen

 * Tyrion Lannister has now been formally named as Daenerys Targaryen's Hand of the Queen. The title shifts from "King" to "Queen" if the current monarch is female, as seen with previous references to Daenerys's "Queensguard" (Kingsguard). It is unclear if she also named Yara Greyjoy as her new Master of Ships on the rival Small Council she is forming.
 * As Daenerys directly explains, her followers have renamed "Slaver's Bay" as the "Bay of Dragons", because with slavery being abolished the old name doesn't really fit anymore. In ancient times this actually was the heart of the Valyrian Freehold as they flew dragons over the bay to conquer the Ghiscari Empire - so the bay has seen a large number of dragons throughout history.
 * Daenerys previously dressed in bright blue riding outfits, because blue is the Dothraki power color (as it is the most expensive color dye). Then in Season 5 she shifted to white dresses, to emphasize how removed and above it all she seems from the sectarian violence in Meereen. BY the end of this episode, Daenerys is wearing the same cut of dress she wore in Season 5, but now in all black - from the red and black colors of the Targaryen heraldry. Apparently this signifies Daenerys embracing her legacy as a Targaryen and a conqueror as she sails back to Westeros. See "Costumes: Major Characters - Daenerys Targaryen" for more information.

In the books

 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Feast for Crows:
 * Chapter 40, The Princess in the Tower: The ruler of Dorne reveals he's aligned with House Targaryen and that its time for "Vengeance. Justice. Fire and blood."
 * Chapter 45, Samwell V: Samwell Tarly arrives at the Citadel and has to deal with a bureacrat of the Order of Maesters.


 * The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Dance with Dragons:
 * Chapter 19, Davos III: Davos Seaworth and Lord Wyman Manderly witness a young northern noblewoman deliver a moving a speech about loyalty to House Stark.
 * Chapter 24: Davos IV: Lord Wyman Manderly confirms his loyalty to House Stark.
 * Chapter 37, The Prince of Winterfell: Meat pies made with missing Freys are served by a member of the northern nobility in revenge for the Red Wedding to other Freys.
 * Epilogue: Grand Maester Pycelle is killed. Varys's little birds stab a member of the Small Council to death. The master of the little birds tells their victims that he doesn't bear any will towards their victim and that he doesn't deserve to die alone. Ser Kevan Lannister is killed. Varys is back in Westeros to pave the way for the restoration of House Targaryen. White ravens sent by the Citadel arrive on a castle, confirming that winter has arrived.


 * The rest of the episode appears to draw material from what will come in the sixth novel, The Winds of Winter.

Memorable quotes
Lyanna Mormont: "House Mormont remembers, The North remembers."

Lyanna Stark: "His name is [...] If Robert finds out, he'll kill him! You know he will! You have to protect him. Promise me Ned!"