Read our recap and share your thoughts on the wild, bloody, and unbelievably epic Game of Thrones season 5 finale, “Mother’s Mercy.”

Justice of the Father

In the aftermath of the Shireen’s murder, Melisandre gives Stannis good news — the snow is melting! See, it was all worth it.

Except that many of Stannis’s sellswords have evaporated along with the snow, leaving him with a greatly reduced army. Also Selyse has done a really impressive job at hanging herself. Also, Melisandre has decided to put as much distance between herself and Stannis as possible.

Well, the Lord of Light giveth, and the Lord of Light taketh away.

Stannis still doesn’t know when to quit, and tries to get his men to set up a completely irrational siege around Winterfell. Ramsay Bolton intervenes and slaughters the entire Baratheon army — as Sansa watches from the broken tower, lighting her candle in a desperate beacon for help.

But Sansa’s bravery is in vain. The news that Stannis’s forces are approaching is the last straw for Brienne, and she abandons her vigil of the tower to exact justice on Renly’s killer.

Which, by all appearances, she seems to do; Brienne finds the wounded Stannis, and gives him her speech about Renly. Stannis tells her to get on with it, and Brienne brings up her sword, crying out — and the camera cuts away, never to return.

The leap

Meanwhile, Sansa continues to live in hell, and desperately attempts to escape from Winterfell. Her flight across the battlements is interrupted by Myranda and — of course — Reek, who cowers as Myranda threatens to start dismembering the non-baby-making parts of Sansa with close-range arrows.

Sansa is stuck between resignation and terror, but Reek saves the day by knocking away Myranda’s bow — and knocking her off the battlements in the process. Sansa and Reek flee, and then leap off the insanely high walls of Winterfell together.

They either land safely-ish in mammoth snow drifts, or get smashed to bits in the fall; it’s hard to tell whether Game of Thrones cares very much about the outcome.

See no evil

In Braavos, Meryn Trant is whipping little girls for his inexplicable sexual satisfaction. When one of them doesn’t respond to the pain, he decides to focus on her and sends the others away.

The girl moves her hair aside to reveal a thin, familiar face — the young girl to whom Arya gave the Gift of death. But Arya quickly comes back into herself, and begins ripping in to Trant. She reminds him of who she is, telling him of her prayer and of Syrio Forell, before slitting his throat like a pig.

“You’re no one,” she says.

Arya returns to the House of Black and White to replace the child’s face — but Jaqen H’ghar and the waif are waiting for her. The waif is thrilled by Arya’s failure, and Jaqen advances toward her with a vial, telling her that it was not her place to kill a man whom Arya Stark wanted dead.

“Only death can pay for life,” Jaqen says, and drinks the vial himself.

Jaqen falls dead to the floor and Arya freaks out — but Jaqen appears behind her again. He and the waif reiterate that they are No One. Arya peels face after face off the corpse on the floor, finally coming — horrifyingly — to her own.

And then the world begins to blacken around her; very quickly, and with absolutely no explanation, Arya Stark is blind.

The sweetest kind of poison

Jaime, Myrcella, Trystane, and Bronn prepare to sail off to Kings Landing. Bronn and Tyene have a steamy farewell, and Ellaria kisses Myrcella with suspicious intensity on her lips. “I wish you every happiness,” she says.

Ha. Yeah. We buy that.

On the ship, Jaime is elated to have gotten out of Dorne unscathed, and tells Myrcella how lucky she is to be in love with Trystane. He then tries to have the worst sex-talk ever with her, inching toward the confession that he is her father. Myrcella tells him that she already knows, and is glad to have him as her father.

And then Ellaria’s poisoned kiss does its work. Myrcella starts to hemorrhage, and dies in her father’s arms.

Back on the dock, the Sand Snakes and Ellaria watch the ship in satisfaction. Ellaria’s own nose starts to bleed, but she takes her antidote and strolls away, inexplicable revenge scheme evidently completed.

Check page 2 for Cersei and Jon’s fates in the ‘Game of Thrones’ season 5 finale

A one-way ticket girl

Across the Narrow Sea, Tyrion, Jorah, and Daario, as well as Missandei and Grey Worm, all argue about what to do in Dany’s absence. Eventually Daario (of all people!) puts his foot down and decides that he and Jorah will ride out to search for the queen. Tyrion, Missandei, and Grey Worm will stay and rule Meereen, because apparently the Meereeneese — who were really unhappy about being ruled by a full-blooded Targaryen with three dragons — won’t have a problem with her being replaced by two former slaves and a foreign dwarf.

But Varys arrives to give Tyrion a pep-talk, so it will probably all be okay.

Meanwhile, Drogon has deposited Dany in the literal middle of nowhere. Wounded and angry, the dragon refuses to fly Dany back to Meereen, so she is forced to start walking.

Her trip is not a long one. Horses and riders appear on the horizon, and soon, Dany is surrounded by hundreds of Dothraki. (Remember those guys?) Helpless, Dany drops her ring in the grass as the hostile horse lords close in on the dragon queen.

Garbage and gold

In Kings Landing, Cersei decides that the only way out is through and agrees to confess her sins. She kneels before the High Sparrow and confesses to sleeping with Lancel, though she denies doing the golden doodle with anyone else. The High Sparrow informs her that she must still stand trial for the sins she has not confessed — but he agrees to grant her the Mother’s Mercy and allow her to return to the Red Keep, and her son…

…as long as she does her penance.

Cersei’s penance is not being stripped naked and shorn by the nasty septas, though that does happen. Her penance is not to have her crimes announced by the High Sparrow to the commons, though that happens as well. Cersei’s penance is to walk from the Great Sept to the Red Keep — naked, barefoot, and surrounded by commoners hurling insults, trash, and their insensible rage.

Cersei does her penance.

Every step is dogged by Septa Unella, ringing a bell and chanting “Shame!” As her journey goes on, Cersei’s feet begin to bleed. She falls, and is painted with the garbage hurled at her. Screams of “slut” and “whore” follow her all the way to Aegon’s High Hill. Cersei’s composure breaks, and she weeps, but keeps going.

Finally, Cersei arrives at the Red Keep. Kevan Lannister and Pycelle eye her distastefully, but Qyburn swoops in to cover her nakedness, promising that all will be well.

After all, the Kingsguard now has an extra knight — “Ser Robert Strong,” eight feet tall if he is an inch. His swollen, purple face peeks through his helm as he sweeps Cersei off her feet. Qyburn says that he has “sworn an oath of silence,” and will not speak until her name has been cleared.

Cersei may be down, folks. But she is far from out.

The end of the Watch

At the Wall, Sam asks Jon for permission to go to Oldtown and become a Maester. He wants to take Gilly and baby Sam with him, unable to bear the idea of being unable to save them when the White Walkers come.

Reluctantly, Jon gives his assent, and Sam and Gilly take their leave — promising to return.

Later, Davos harasses Jon to help Stannis, not realizing that he really no longer serves that guy. Melisandre arrives at the Wall, looking hunted (for some reason) and refusing ominously to speak of Stannis and Shireen’s fates.

That evening, Jon reads letters in his room when Olly comes to fetch him. One of the wildlings has seen his uncle Benjen, he says, and Jon has to go and talk to him. Elated by this hope unlooked-for, Jon races into a circle of Night’s Watchmen, including Alliser Thorne.

But there is no wildling at the center of the circle, only a post painted with the word “Traitor.” Jon swings around to look at his sworn brothers. The response he gets is a dagger in his flesh, and the muttered words, “For the Watch.”

Jon is on his knees when the men part to allow Olly through. The young boy’s eyes burn against Jon’s; his silent entreaty goes unanswered.

“For the Watch,” says Olly, and stabs Jon for the final time.

Jon Snow, the 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, bleeds to death in the training yard of Castle Black, with only the cold to keep him company.

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