GoT Season 6 Wrap-up: Cersei & What's Next

It's been over a week since I finished season 6 of Game of Thrones— "That's the one with The Battle of the Bastards," friends of mine who watched it years ago recall it— and here I still am writing about it. Well, life intervenes. And I don't want to go rushing from one season to the next, anyway. I like to take a short break to savor what's happened and build more appetite for the next season.

"The Battle of the Bastards" isn't the only subplot that reached a climax in season 6. The subplot of Cersei's scheming to regain control over the Iron Throne reached a climax, too.



As I imagine what will happen next in the series given these two storylines I'm also thinking about the fact there are only 13 episodes left. So whatever happens next will have to happen fast... yet we've got both the "Daenerys is coming with an army to conquer the realm" and the whole "Armies of the dead are coming to kill everyone" storylines to resolve! That's where Cersei's story is important because I think she makes it possible for the latter two to be resolved quickly.

( Spoilers from Season 6 )

GoT Season 6 Critique: Sansa Lacks Agency

Sansa Stark has interesting character development across seasons 5 and 6 of Game of Thrones. She grows from being a person who's always being pushed around by others' decisions into someone who understands how the Game of Thrones, aka politics in Westeros, is played and starts to assert her own agency. But does she really gain agency over her own role in the world, or is she the literal sophomore— a "wise fool"; a person who's learned a little about playing the Game of Thrones but is still being manipulated by people vastly more skilled than her?



In public appearances after season 6 the showrunners were adamant that Sansa has gained agency. The thing is, the facts of the story they wrote do not support that opinion. It's clear in season 6 that Sansa is not (yet) in control of her own destiny but is merely getting results that are a combination of what others (particularly Petyr Baelish) choose to give her for their own selfish reasons and, frankly, dumb luck. Season 6 spoilers after the cut.

( Critique contains spoilers up through season 6 (and ONLY season 6) )