Why Game of Thrones’ Season Six Finale ‘The Winds of Winter’ is the show’s best ever episode, and perhaps the best television episode of all time.

[There are spoilers ahead, because I have no idea how I’d write about this episode without talking about some of the incredible things that happen during it. So sorry about that, if you haven’t watched it you should probably go and do that]

Game of Thrones has already racked up some incredible sequences in its six seasons of existence, from the entire episode dedicated to the battle on The Wall, including the 360 degree courtyard shot, the one-one-one fights between the Hound and Berric Dondarrion and The Mountain and Oberyn Martell, the melancholy Red Wedding realisation as shown from the point of view of Catelyn Stark, The White Walker assault during the battle of Hardhome, the revelation of Hodor’s tragic origins and the Battle of the Bastards in its entirety.

However, I think ‘The Winds of Winter’ gave us the best put together sequence the series has ever produced, and perhaps even one of the best sequences ever put to television. The excellent shots of the individual players of King’s Landing getting ready for the trials of Loras Tyrell and Cersei Lannister followed by little scenes which served as jigsaw pieces, all leading up to the slow revelation of what was about to happen was one of the most dramatic, slow-burning and well executed pieces of storytelling I’ve ever seen, and that was just the opening few moments of ‘Game of Thrones’ longest episode ever.

But as Cersei’s ‘trial’ concluded I was already blown away. Game of Thrones has had moments like the Red Wedding that leave you thinking to yourself, ‘they can’t possibly top this’. But Cersei’s destruction of the Sept with Wildfire, subsequently wiping out most of the main character’s remaining in King’s Landing literally had me gawping with my jaw dropped. I thought that Margaery and Loras would make it out, but they didn’t, it was brutal. Never before have I come across a show so confident that it is willing to kill off an entire section of characters dedicated to one of its narrative paths (King’s Landing) in one fell swoop. I didn’t think they’d ever top the Red Wedding but they did, they really did.

Not to be understated during this sequence and indeed other moments during this episode, as well as significant moments throughout the entire series is the sheer effect that the show’s musical score has in underpinning its drama and making its big moments really feel like big moments, like the Rains of Castamere for example. The music for the Cersei’s trial sequence was perfect as it slowly crept and crept along, the music for her crowning as Queen of Westeros was perfect with its melancholy and foreboding. Ramin Djawadi has been the unsung hero for Game of Thrones and his work, particularly in this episode, is flawless.

It also says something when something like killing off seven of your major characters only takes up around ten minutes of an episode that’s over an hour long. You’d think that what follows just wouldn’t be as important or dramatic but the bombshells, shocks and deaths just kept coming with the show really packing in an incredible amount during its 65 minute running time. Tyrion being made ‘Hand of the Queen’, The houses of the north pledging their allegiance to Jon Snow, Littlefinger revealing his end-goal, an always excellent Lady Olenna and Ellaria making a deal in Dorne with Varys, Jon Snow banishing Melisandre, the suicide of King Tommen, the crowning of Cersei as queen, Samwell making to the library, Arya Stark adding Walder Frey to her list with the added bonus of pie-based cannibalism, Dany and her dragons leaving on a fleet for Westeros and last but not least, the rest of the Tower of Joy flashback from Bran.

Incredibly a revelation as crucial and game changing as the fact that R+L=J doesn’t stand out as the revelation but just fits in with the rest of the mind-blowing storyline events that happen during this episode, although hopefully it will go some way to stopping the incessant rumour-milling of Jon Snow’s parentage and hidden royal blood. Although inevitably any revelation in Game of Thrones leads to more speculation of further revelations, the new one being that Tyrion is the ‘third head of the dragon’ and third secret Targaryen.

A few days ago ‘The Battle of the Bastards’ was declared the highest rated television show ever, thanks to a stellar 10/10 rating on IMDB with thousands upon thousands giving it a perfect score. Unfortunately for the ninth episode of season six, the tenth episode has come along and supplanted it. Do not be surprised if we’re hearing about how good ‘The Winds of Winter’ is for years to come. Winter is here and it if produces episodes half as good as this one then long may it stay.