Relive The Highlights of GAME OF THRONES Season 6 With These Gifs
By: Aaron Goins
The sixth season of Game of Thrones was full of huge moments: epic battles, character deaths, betrayals, alliances, even a little time travel. There were too many great moments to list them all, so I picked ten, one from each episode. Spoilers ahead!
Brienne To The Rescue
In the season opener “The Red Woman,” we were shown that Jon Snow was very much dead, and they were going to leave him that way for a bit. We saw a lot of death and a change of leadership in Dorne. Melisandre was revealed...in a different way than we had seen her revealed before.
But the moment that makes the list is Brienne fulfilling her desire to protect and serve another Stark. She showed up just in time to save Sansa and Theon from the fate of being brought back to the maniac Ramsay Bolton. With the help of Podrick, and even a little from Theon Greyjoy, Brienne fought off their pursuers. This allowed her to once again offer her sword to Sansa.
Don't Eat The Help
In “Home,” Jon Snow is still dead. Ramsay Bolton killed his dad and baby brother in ways that only Ramsay could. Balon Greyjoy also met his end at his brother’s hand. By the end of the episode, Jon was resurrected.
You may think Jon Snow taking his first breath would be the hands down top moment of the episode, but something else really stood out to me. Tyrion’s interaction with the dragons was so good. His fear was real, but his awe of the creatures eclipsed his fear. Tyrion’s story of wanting a little dragon of his own was perfect as he set the creatures free.
Sword of The Morning
In the previous episode, we saw Bran’s ability to experience the past with the help of the Three-Eyed Raven. In “Oathbreaker,” we got to see him use that ability again, but in a more exciting way. He brought us to the place where his father faced off against Ser Arthur Dayne in the legendary battle. The fight lived up to expectation but had an ending that surprised Bran. And just when we thought a popular fan theory would be proven, Bran woke up.
Trial By Fire
As the Lannisters and Tyrells continued to spar with the High Sparrow in “Book of the Stranger,” Dany is a prisoner of the Dothraki. Her fate seemed to be that she would have to retire with the other khal widows, but that wasn’t going to work for the Mother of Dragons. Instead, she set the khals’ tent on fire, killing them all, and taking her place as Khaleesi once again.
Hold The Door
“The Door” revealed to us the origin of the White Walkers. I never trusted those creepy Children of the Forest. Bran also made the mistake of being touched by the Night King during a vision. This ended up being a huge mistake which led to the deaths of the remaining Children, the Three-Eyed Raven, and Summer the direwolf.
The big moment of the episode was the reveal that Hodor’s name and catchphrase was just a slurred version of “hold the door.” Holding the door was his last act of bravery and allowed Meera and Bran to escape.
Holy Alliance
In “Blood of My Blood,” Sam took Gilly home to meet his parents. His mom seemed nice enough, but his dad could have worked on his manners. Gilly stood up to Lord Tarly and Sam had enough. Sam, Gilly, and child left in the night, but not before Sam took the sword that was rightfully his.
The return of Benjen Stark and Dany’s inspirational speech were other big moments in this episode, but the game changer was the High Sparrow getting the advantage in his chess match against Cersei. Just when Jaime thought he was going to put the zealot in his place, the High Sparrow revealed his latest convert.
Return of The Hound
This I did not see coming. When Sandor Clegane was beaten by Brienne and left for dead by Arya, I thought we would never see him again. Imagine my surprise when he showed up helping a cute little community of villagers.
Other big moments in “The Broken Man,” were the negotiation with Lyanna Mormont and the surprise stabbing of Arya Stark.
In The Dark
“No One” gave us the reuniting of Brienne and Jaime at Riverrun and the eventual death of The Blackfish. The Brotherhood Without Banners made a return and crossed paths with Sandor Clegane. The Brotherhood and the Hound have no current allegiances, so it will be interesting to see how they play into the upcoming war.
Arya sought the help of Lady Crane, but couldn’t hide from the waif for long. An exciting chase through Braavos led to Arya setting a trap for the waif. All that blind training really came in handy.
Face Your Mistakes
“Battle of The Bastards” was packed full of huge moments. I could almost make a list of ten from this episode alone: Dany making a pact with the Greyjoys, Rickon Stark taking an arrow to the heart, Ramsay Bolton finally getting what was coming to him...to name just a few.
Visually, the moment that really stuck out to me was Jon Snow standing alone on the battlefield facing down the charging horses of the Bolton army. Sure, it was his impulsiveness and bad decision-making that led him to his likely death, but it made for a great hero pose.
Beyond The Sea
The explosive season finale “The Winds of Winter” set the stage for what is to come in Game of Thrones. House Frey joined House Bolton in being nearly eliminated from the game. Cersei blew up the Sept, taking out the young Tyrells, the High Sparrow, and most of his forces. Tommen jumped out of a window, leaving the throne open to his mom. Jon Targary—I mean Snow was proclaimed the King of the North. Everyone else seemed to be Team Daenerys. The season ended with a fantastic view of dragons and ships crossing the Narrow Sea.
What were your favorite moments from this season?