NOTE: Spoilers up to and including the season five Game of Thrones finale
Little Olly has to be the most hated boy in the world right now. Dealing the killing blow to one of Game of Thrones' most beloved characters - Jon Snow - he ensured that no 'traitorous' deed in the Night's Watch would go unpunished, as the Lord Commander was brought to his knees by those who were supposed to follow him. With Sam and Gilly sent off to protect their lives from the White Walkers that would soon be upon them and Maester Aemon now long gone, there was nobody left to defend poor Jon as the foolish Watch pushed their daggers deep.
This all after a compelling watch which pushed lead characters to their very limits. After what some have called a slow burning first half of the season, we were certainly not left feeling as if we'd been cheated out of an action-packed curtain call with some stellar acting, chemistry and revelations delivered.
Stannis' army was defeated and Brienne of Tarth looked to capitalise, finally getting her revenge for Renly who had succumbed to a dark shadow and died all the way back in the first season. We saw her swing her blade at Stannis as he lay withered and defeated against a tree, but with the scene cutting to elsewhere, we can't really be sure that Stannis' storyline is done with.
But what of his mistress Melisandre? Well, she left the 'saviour' behind and fled to The Wall, what business could she possibly have left there? She does of course honour the Lord of Light, who we have seen works in mysterious ways, even granting the powers of resurrection to followers in the past. Could Jon Snow be the new saviour? Will he be granted new life? Not according to actor Kit Harington, who said to EW that he's "not coming back", but he was never going to confirm it if so, was he? For now, we'll believe Kit and join the millions across the world in mourning.
Any potential happiness in this finale was eradicated. Even Cersei Lannister getting some comeuppance for all of her wicked deeds didn't feel right. The walk of shame she had to endure was definitely a better option than death, and while viewers have for years mostly hated the way in which she operates, seeing Lena Headey's character in such distress was uneasy. Props to Headey for being such a wonderful actress throughout the entire season. What did we learn? Religion can be a scary, scary thing.
When we thought Arya Stark was finally going to enjoy the sweet taste of revenge against one of the most vile men the series has seen, she returned to the House of Black and White to instead be punished and blinded for killing someone whose life was not hers to take.
Further twists came in the form of Myrcella getting the kiss of death from Oberyn's widow Ellaria Sand, the young Lannister dying from poison placed on her lips just after accepting Jaime as her incestuous father and Daenerys landing on Drogon just feet away from some Dothraki soldiers. These open strands will of course be addressed in next year's sixth season. The show continues to ensure we remain hooked - it leaves us with just the right amount of questions each and every season while answering those we had from seasons past.
Though complaints about slow storytelling really have plagued much of this season it's definitely played out better than the books. If we followed them precisely, we'd have had a lot of meandering around with these ten episodes. I've enjoyed the character building, tensions, action and suspense. There have been memorable quotes, iconic moments and unique match-ups to push forward storytelling. Game of Thrones continues to be for me the best series television has ever seen, and I have no complaints about this season finale. It did exactly what a season finale should do - left us pandering for more.
Game of Thrones will return for its sixth season to HBO and Sky Atlantic next year.
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