Game of Thrones: Eight things we learned from season six

SPOILER ALERT. Game of Thrones’ sixth season finally blew past the plot in George R.R. Martin’s books. That means it was full of important revelations.

SPOILER ALERT. We’re about to discuss the Game of Thrones season finale.

If you aren’t up to date, it’s time to flee, before you’re caught in an explosion of spoilers. We’ll hold the door for you on the way out.

Pic: HBO

Season finale recap: The Winds of Winter

So, season six is over. It was the first to advance beyond the detailed road map set forth by George R.R. Martin’s novels, which means we learned plenty of important new stuff. Yes book fans, that includes you.

These were the season’s most interesting revelations.

1. R+L=J

Fans have long suspected Ned Stark was not Jon Snow’s real father. In the finale, those doubters were finally proven right.

One of Bran’s flashbacks took us years into the past, where Ned found his sister, Lyanna, on her deathbed. She’d just given birth to a baby boy, and before she died, she made Ned promise her something.

Her exact words: “If Robert finds out he’ll kill him. You know he will. You have to protect him. Promise me Ned. Promise me.”

The scene ended with a shot of the baby’s face, then cut to a close-up of Jon in the present, making the connection pretty obvious.

There’s more. We’ve always been told Lyanna was abducted and raped by the Targaryen prince, Rhaegar. Their relationship may actually have been consensual, but either way, that almost certainly makes Rhaegar Jon’s father.

Lyanna’s dying words back that up. Her fear that Robert — Ned’s friend and the new king — would want the boy killed makes sense, because the Targaryen blood in his veins would give him a stronger claim on the Iron Throne.

TLDR: Jon Snow is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, which makes him a Targaryen with a legitimate claim on the throne.

Even back then, he knew nothing.

2. The origin of Hodor’s name

The harrowing final scene of episode five answered another long-running question by showing us how Hodor became Hodor.

The White Walkers attacked Bloodraven’s cave while Bran was stuck in a vision, forcing him to warg into Hodor from that vision — with young Hodor, then known as Wyllis, nearby. This was fine until present day Hodor sacrificed himself to help Meera, who urged him to “hold the door” to keep the wights at bay.

Through some weird time travel physics that are never really explained, Wyllis was caught up in the incident, and started having a seizure on the ground. He kept repeating Meera’s words, “hold the door,” until they eventually merged to form a single word, “Hodor”.

Clearly this revelation satisfied our curiosity, but was it actually important? Yes. It demonstrated the dangers of Bran’s powers, and raised the possibility that someone’s interference in the past could have shaped, or could still shape, the plot.

TLDR: Hodor’s name is the result of Bran’s interference in the past, and that could have broader ramifications for the plot.

“My bad.”

3. The Wall is protected by mysterious magic

In the finale, Benjen — who’s still kind of alive, by the way — revealed the giant wall of ice shielding the realms of men from the White Walkers is imbued with magic.

“While it stands, the dead cannot pass. I cannot pass,” he said.

The obvious implication is that the Night’s King cannot get south of The Wall with his undead army until the magic is dispelled.

It all sounds very similar to the situation in Bloodraven’s hide-out, which was guarded by impenetrable magic until the Night’s King branded Bran in a vision. Does Bran still carry that brand? If he passes south of The Wall, will that allow the White Walkers to follow? We don’t know the answers yet, but they’re important questions.

TLDR: The White Walkers are held at bay by magic in The Wall, and Bran might be the key to dispelling it.

That’s one cold stare.

4. Queens shouldn’t play with fire

Cersei’s season-ending transformation into an evil Disney queen was achieved with the help of wildfire. As nefarious plans go, it was impressively executed. But here’s the disturbing part: she clearly enjoyed watching the Sept of Baelor explode.

“I killed your High Sparrow and all his little Sparrows ... because it felt good to watch them burn. It felt good to imagine their shock and their pain,” she told Septa Unella later in the episode.

We know of at least one ruler who’s spoken like that before: the Mad King, Aerys Targaryen. And Jaime certainly didn’t miss the resemblance, judging by that troubled look on his face as he watched Cersei’s coronation.

We’ve been getting the same disturbing vibe from another queen for a while now, albeit a less overt one. Daenerys, for all her wonderful qualities, appears to have inherited her father’s unhealthy obsession with fire, and she too enjoys watching her enemies burn.

None of this bodes well.

TLDR: Cersei and Daenerys both resemble the Mad King, and that can’t be good.

“BURN THEM ALL.”

5. The Brotherhood Without Banners is relevant

You don’t bring a character who’s presumed dead back for no good reason — Jon is proof of that. And Rory McCann’s return as Sandor Clegane was obviously a big deal, because it was the dominant plot thread in episode seven.

Shortly after that, Sandor joined up with the Brotherhood Without Banners, who were still being led by Beric Dondarrion — not the vengeful Lady Stoneheart. This is a big departure from the books, and it suggests Beric, Thoros and Sandor will play important roles in the coming seasons.

TLDR: The Hound is alive and Lady Stoneheart isn’t.

Look at those puppy dog eyes.

6. Arya’s destiny doesn’t suck as much as we thought

Midway through the season, it seemed like Arya really was determined to become “no one”, even if that meant erasing her identity as one of the few surviving Starks. She was back in favour with Jaqen, and had even been given her own assassination target.

The climax of her story in Braavos was weirdly written and, frankly, quite disappointing. It made the famed Faceless Men look like amateurs. But after episode 10, which showed Arya returning to Westeros, reclaiming her family name and wreaking vengeance on Walder Frey, nobody cared.

TLDR: Arya is back in Westeros and is more of a Stark than ever.

This is what they call rock bottom.

7. Littlefinger’s true intentions

After the battle for Winterfell, but before Jon was crowned King in the North, Littlefinger shared a creepy moment with Sansa in the godswood.

He told her his ultimate ambition was to sit on the Iron Throne, with Sansa by his side. Obviously it’s weird to lust after someone who’s both the daughter of your childhood crush and your niece, but you have to give Littlefinger credit for (apparently) being frank and honest for once.

We’ve been trying to decipher his true intentions since the very first season. It was satisfying to finally get a clear answer.

TLDR: Yep, Littlefinger does want to be king.

“What do you mean you don’t like my goatee?”

8. Dorne still matters

Nobody liked the Dorne storyline last season. Nobody really liked the Sand Snakes either, with the exception of Bronn. But it’s clear they still have an important role to play.

All was laid bare in the finale, when Olenna Tyrell visited Dorne and forged an alliance with Ellaria and Varys. A little later, the Tyrell and Dornish forces joined Daenerys in her voyage across the Narrow Sea.

It seems Dorne will serve as Daenerys’s landing point in Westeros, and from there, she will move north towards King’s Landing.

TLDR: Daenerys needed powerful allies in Westeros, and now she has them.

“You all missed us, right?”

Game of Thrones season six is now available on iTunes.

Originally published as Game of Thrones: Eight things we learned from season six