Game of Thrones

Season 6 of Game of Thrones was arguably one of its richest to date and the season finale left me speechless.

Naturally, there are spoilers ahead...

After leaving us wondering for a whole year whether Jon Snow was dead or alive, following the seemingly fatal multiple stabbings at the end of season 5, he was finally resurrected by the mysterious Melisandre, who is apparently very old and has now been banished.

The Lannisters lost another king (and queen), but that didn't stop Cersei from solidifying her power over King's Landing. The Starks also lost another family member, and they also retook the north. Three other families, meanwhile, the Boltons, the Martells, and Freys, weren't as lucky and were pretty much eradicated from Westeros.

Daenerys regained control of her dragons and reasserted her power over Meereen and the former Slavers Bay. She closed the season by sailing to Westeros to retake the Iron Throne with the support of House Tyrell of Highgarden, the Sands of Dorne, and the younger Greyjoys of the Iron Islands.

Bran Stark is coming into his own as the Three Eyed Raven, while Arya Stark, whose storyline I find extremely uninteresting, has given up on shedding her persona in order to become "no one" and has instead returned to Westeros.

It seems clear that Bran, Arya, and good old Sam Tarly all have bigger roles to play in the final episodes of the series (there should be only 13, split in 2 seasons), but so far we've only seen them sporadically.

Overall, Game of Thrones keeps getting better and better, as demonstrated by its growing fan base, and it will be sad indeed when we have to finally say goodbye to it. But for now, it's the undisputed pinnacle of excellency as far as television productions go.

Grade - Season 6: 10