Game of Thrones (season 6)

Plot

Following their escape from Winterfell, Sansa Stark journeys to the Wall, while Theon Greyjoy returns to the Iron Islands. In Winterfell, Ramsay Bolton secures his claim on the North by killing Roose and Walda Bolton and his new-born half-brother. At the Wall, Melisandre resurrects Jon Snow, who is reunited with Sansa; they gather loyalists and a battle ensues. Aided by the Knights of the Vale, the Starks defeat the Bolton forces. Sansa feeds Ramsay to his hounds and Jon is proclaimed the King in the North.

At King's Landing, Jaime Lannister and the Tyrell army attempt to liberate Margaery and Loras, but Margaery capitulates to the High Sparrow and Tommen forges an alliance with the Faith. During Loras and Cersei's trial, Cersei uses wildfire to burn the Great Sept, killing the High Sparrow, Margarey, Loras, Mace, Kevan, and Lancel, while Tommen kills himself after witnessing the events. Unopposed, Cersei is crowned Queen of Westeros. Ellaria Sand and three of Oberyn Martell's daughters kill Doran and Trystane Martell and seize control of Dorne, and Olenna meets with Ellaria, at a summit brokered by Varys, to discuss allying with the Targaryens.

In Braavos, Arya continues her training with the Faceless Men, and soon regains her eyesight. When she refuses to accomplish a mission, the Waif is ordered to kill Arya, who kills her instead. Arya reasserts her identity as a Stark and returns to Westeros.

In the Riverlands, the Hound pursues the Brotherhood Without Banners for massacring the people who saved him. He finds Lord Beric Dondarrion executing his quarry, and is asked to join the Brotherhood traveling north. Jaime Lannister besieges Riverrun and takes the castle, killing the Blackfish after forcing Edmure Tully to order a surrender. Walder Frey celebrates the victory before being killed by Arya.

Beyond the Wall, Bran Stark trains with the Three-Eyed Raven but alerts the Night King, who launches an attack of White Walkers. Bran and Meera escape and are rescued by Benjen Stark. Bran subsequently has a vision to the Tower of Joy years prior, revealing that Jon is not Ned Stark's bastard but rather the child of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen.

Sam Tarly, Gilly, and Little Sam travel to the Citadel at Oldtown, stopping to visit Sam's family.

In Essos, Daenerys Targaryen is captured by Khal Moro who takes her before the khals; she burns them alive and takes command of the Dothraki. Tyrion Lannister brings a short-lived peace to Meereen, which is reinforced when Daenerys returns and flies her dragons into battle against the slavers. Yara and Theon arrive and pledge allegiance to Daenerys after Euron Greyjoy kills their father and usurps leadership of the Iron Islands. Jorah Mormont departs to find a cure for greyscale and Daario is left in command of Meereen, while Daenerys sails for Westeros.

Guest cast

The recurring actors listed here are those who appeared in season 6. They are listed by the region in which they first appear.

Crew

The writing staff for the sixth season includes executive producers and showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, producer Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill. Author George R. R. Martin, who had written one episode for each of the first four seasons, did not write an episode for the sixth season, as he was working to finish writing the sixth A Song of Ice and Fire novel, The Winds of Winter. The directing staff for the sixth season was Jeremy Podeswa (episodes 1 and 2), Daniel Sackheim (episodes 3 and 4), Jack Bender (episodes 5 and 6), Mark Mylod (episodes 7 and 8), and Miguel Sapochnik (episodes 9 and 10). Sackheim and Bender were first-time Game of Thrones directors, with the rest each having directed two episodes in the previous season.

Writing

With the end of the fifth season, the content of the show has reached the plot of the latest novel in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Dance with Dragons. Season 6 director Jeremy Podeswa said in August 2015: "Right now in season six, what we're shooting currently isn't based on anything in the book. It's fully based on discussions the writers have had with George Martin, because the series has now surpassed the books in terms of what's available." Actress Natalie Dormer, who plays Margaery Tyrell, later added that the show's writers "know where it’s got to go and what [George Martin]’s intentions for the characters are. But they are just filling in the gaps."

The season premiere starts off right where the fifth season ended. A plot from The Winds of Winter regarding a traveling theater troupe located in Braavos that stages a play called "The Bloody Hand", about the events that have taken place in King's Landing since the beginning of the series, is included in the sixth season.

Filming

Filming for season six began in July 2015, and ended on December 17, 2015. The budget for the sixth season increased compared to the previous seasons as each episode did cost over $10 million per episode, totaling over $100 million for the full season and setting a new high for the series. The season filmed in five different countries, Northern Ireland, Spain, Croatia, Iceland and Canada.

Like the previous seasons, a large amount of production took place in Northern Ireland, mainly in Belfast and on the Causeway Coast, including film locations in the Binevenagh, Magilligan area which was used to film scenes for the Dothraki Grasslands, and Larrybane Quarry and Ballintoy Harbour, both used for scenes in the Iron Islands. The small village of Corbet was also used, for the siege of Riverrun. As in previous seasons, some of Castle Black was set at the abandoned Magheramorne quarry.

From September 3 to October 23, 2015 the show also filmed in Spain, specifically in Girona, Navarre, Peniscola, and Almería. Some filming locations in Spain included the Castle of Zafra in Guadalajara, the Bardenas Reales Natural Park in Navarre, the Alcazaba in Almería, and the Castle of Santa Florentina in Canet de Mar.

In August 2015, HBO announced that for the first time since season 1, the show would not be filming any scenes in Croatia. The Croatian city of Dubrovnik has stood in for King's Landing since the beginning of season 2; nearby cities such as Klis, Split and Šibenik have been used to depict various other locations. Contradicting the statement by HBO, cast of the show were seen in costume in Dubrovnik in October 2015.

Only a very small portion of the season was filmed in Canada (north of Calgary, Alberta): the scenes featuring Jon Snow's wolf Ghost (played by animal actor Quigly). However, some of the special effects were created at Montreal's Rodeo FX studios which has won Emmy Awards previously for its work on the series.

Casting

The sixth season saw the return of Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark, Kristian Nairn as Hodor, Ellie Kendrick as Meera Reed, Gemma Whelan as Yara Greyjoy, and Rory McCann as Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, who did not appear in the fifth season. Clive Russell, Tobias Menzies, Patrick Malahide, Richard Dormer and Paul Kaye also returned to the show as Brynden Tully, Edmure Tully, Balon Greyjoy, Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr after not appearing since the third season. Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow was added to the series main cast after appearing in a recurring role in the previous season.

Across the Narrow Sea, Melanie Liburd plays a Red priestess from Asshai who is in R'hllor's service. At the Reach, House Tarly is introduced, with Freddie Stroma joining the cast as Samwell Tarly's brother Dickon Tarly, a character who was mentioned in the novels but has yet to appear in them. Other members of House Tarly that were introduced were Randyll Tarly, played by James Faulkner; Melessa Tarly, played by Samantha Spiro and Talla Tarly, who was portrayed by Rebecca Benson.

Veteran actor Max von Sydow was cast to play the Three-Eyed-Raven, who is training Bran. The character was previously played by Struan Rodger in the fourth season finale "The Children". David Bradley confirmed in August 2015, that he would be returning to the show as Walder Frey after last appearing in the third season finale "Mhysa", but he did not confirm when he would be returning. After the second official trailer was released, it was confirmed that Bradley would appear in the sixth season. Danish actor Pilou Asbæk joins the show as Theon Greyjoy's uncle, pirate captain Euron Greyjoy. Members of the Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men made cameo appearances. Ricky Champ played Gatins, an outlaw who is a part of a band using religion to justify extorting the people of the countryside. A young Ned Stark was portrayed by Sebastian Croft in a flashback scene.

The sixth season also included a traveling theater troupe located in Braavos that stages a play called "The Bloody Hand", about the events that have taken place in King's Landing since the beginning of the series. Essie Davis and Kevin Eldon joined the cast in this theater troupe, portraying actors playing Cersei Lannister and Ned Stark, respectively, while Richard E. Grant was cast as the troupe's manager. Members of Icelandic indie band Of Monsters and Men appear as the musicians of the Braavos theatre group.

Fates of key characters

After the fifth season finale "Mother's Mercy", the fates of several key characters, such as Sansa Stark, Theon Greyjoy, Stannis Baratheon, Myrcella Baratheon and Jon Snow were left unknown. It was later confirmed at the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con that Sophie Turner and Alfie Allen would return for the sixth season, implying that their characters Sansa and Theon/Reek survived the jump from the castle walls of Winterfell. The director of "Mother's Mercy", David Nutter, said later in an interview that Stannis' death was intended by the episode's script. Showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss also confirmed that Myrcella died after being poisoned by Ellaria Sand.

Although Weiss had stated that Jon Snow is indeed dead, photos of Kit Harington, the actor playing Jon Snow, arriving in Belfast surfaced in July 2015. Since the season 6 script read-throughs were being held in Belfast, these photos fueled speculation that his character might not be dead after all. However, Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair pointed out that Charles Dance was seen at Belfast the previous year, and his character Tywin Lannister only appeared in the first episode of the subsequent season and only as a corpse, although Dance himself confirmed the nature of his role shortly after the announcement. Another photo, showing Harington on set in Belfast in a costume that varied from the Night's Watch outfit, was published on September 25, 2015. There has been considerable fan speculation regarding how Jon might have survived, including spiritually possessing his direwolf's body and being brought back to life by Melisandre. In February 2016, actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau revealed that the opening scene of the sixth season will "kind of reveal that Jon Snow is ...dead." In March 2016, Harington confirmed in an interview that he did in fact film new scenes for the sixth season as a corpse, and that he knows for how long his character is to remain that way.

Promotion

On November 23, 2015, a teaser poster displaying Jon Snow was released on the official Game of Thrones Twitter account. A 41-second teaser trailer was released on December 3, featuring Jon Snow from the fifth season episode "Hardhome", as well as many of the previous seasons' highlights, and a voice-over from Max von Sydow as the Three-Eyed Raven and Isaac Hempstead Wright as Bran Stark. The first footage from the season was revealed in a new promotional video released by HBO highlighting its new and returning original shows for the coming year on December 6, 2015, showcasing scenes involving Daenerys Targaryen, Ramsay Bolton, Cersei Lannister, and Tommen Baratheon. On December 28, 2015, Entertainment Weekly released its "Exclusive First Look" issue, featuring an image of Bran Stark, who was noticeably older from his last appearance in season four, and with shorter hair.

On January 22, 2016, three teaser trailers were released, with each teaser depicting the banners of the houses Targaryen, Lannister and Stark, and included voice-overs by Iwan Rheon as Ramsay Bolton, Jonathan Pryce as The High Sparrow and an unknown character speaking in Dothraki. On February 11, 2016, HBO released 28 exclusive photos from the sixth season, picturing several of the main characters during the season and confirming the fates of Theon, Sansa and Myrcella, while Jon Snow was notably absent. HBO released a teaser trailer on February 14, 2016, that shows the faces of a number of living as well as deceased characters such as Ned Stark, Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark, Joffrey Baratheon, Tywin Lannister, Stannis Baratheon, Ygritte and, controversially, Jon Snow in the House of Black and White. On February 24, 2016, HBO released 16 character posters of both deceased and alive characters, and two official posters featuring various characters.

A behind-the-scenes video of the sixth season was released on February 29, 2016, focusing on camera operators working on the show. The first official trailer for season 6 was released on March 8, 2016. Another behind-the-scenes video was released on March 22, 2016, focusing on the creative process of prosthetics, specifically the White Walkers. The video also contained new footage of White Walkers from the sixth season. On March 24, Entertainment Weekly revealed a series of new issues titled "Dame of Thrones", featuring six of the female lead characters from the series and focus on the sixth season. On March 26, 2016, new photos from season six, in addition to a new promo named "March Madness" with new footage, was released by HBO. After the screening of the season premiere "The Red Woman", HBO released a second official trailer. As well, in July 2016, HBO released a "blooper reel" online, a video of outtakes from season 6.

Music

The soundtrack for the season was released digitally on June 24, 2016, and will be on CD on July 29, 2016. The album reached No. 27 on Billboard 200, No. 1 on Soundtrack chart, and No. 79 on the Canadian Albums chart on its digital release, with the track from the season finale "Light of the Seven" reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Spotify Viral 50 chart.

After the Thrones

After the Thrones, a live aftershow in which hosts Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan discuss episodes of the series, airs on the stand-alone streaming service HBO Now on the Monday following each episode of the show's sixth season.

Critical reception

The season received highly positive reviews, with special praise directed at the episodes "The Door", "Battle of the Bastards" and "The Winds of Winter". On Metacritic, the season (based on the first episode) has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the sixth season has a 96 percent approval rating from 29 critics with an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. The season also received a 95% episode average score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Ratings

The season finale had 8.89 million viewers on its initial airing on HBO, up 10% from previous season's finale, which was the most-watched episode prior to this episode. The average gross viewing figure per episode for the show, which include streaming, DVR recordings and repeat showings, reached over 25 million this season, and it was described as the last consensus show on television. The figure went up by 25% compared to previous year, and viewing figures of the show this season on its on demand services HBO Now and HBO Go went up by over 90%, which were new records for HBO. Almost 40% of viewers of the show watched this season on HBO digital platforms. The show also broke records on pay television channels in 2016 in the United Kingdom with an average audience of more than 5 million across all platforms, and in Australia with a cumulative average audience of 1.2 million viewers.

^1 Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead.

Accolades

For the 32nd TCA Awards, the series was nominated for Program of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Drama. For the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards, the series received 23 nominations, the most of any series. It won 12 awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "Battle of the Bastards", and Miguel Sapochnik for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for "Battle of the Bastards". For the 7th Critics' Choice Television Awards, the series won for Best Drama Series.

Broadcast

The season was simulcast around the world by HBO and its broadcast partners. While in some countries, it aired the day after its first release.

Home media

The season was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 15, 2016. The set includes extra background, behind-the-scenes material and deleted scenes.

Copyright infringement

The sixth season of Game of Thrones was the most-pirated TV series in 2016.