For the last eight years, Game of Thrones has been the fantasy series to beat. It spent years dashing expectations and subverting tropes of the genre, starting off by shockingly killing what seemed to be the main character of the entire show and only going to more surprising places from there.
Now it's all come to a head, and we're seeing some of the mainstays of the show bite the dust as we edge ever-closer to the series' endgame. We've got just one episode now, and it looks like it's going to be one hell of a ride.
Watch the teaser trailer for the finale episode:In last week's episode, we saw Daenerys and her armies arrive at King's Landing with the intention of taking back the Iron Throne. Riding on Drogon's back, she made quick work of the capital's defences as her troops stormed the gates and took on the Lannister forces inside the city. It wasn't long before they were ringing the bells to signal surrender, but that wasn't the end of it.
Daenerys, looking out on the city as the bells ring, decided to go ahead with her attack anyway, even choosing to drench the civilian-filled streets with her dragons flame. This decision has divided fans, but it sure was a sight to behold.
Here's the moment Daenerys ignored the bells and launched her attack:During this attack, Cersei flees from the scene, where she side-steps Cleganebowl and seeks to flee the city as it burns around her. We all knew that she was probably going to die this season, but not many of us expected her to end up with Jaime underneath the city, dying in each other's arms as the ceiling collapsed.
Jaime and Cersei say goodbye:The actress who played Cersei, Lena Headey, soon took to Instagram, where she said goodbye to the show and got a little emotional about stepping away from the iconic and villainous character.
On Monday night, she wrote:
"There she goes. It’s been fun, and bonkers . I loved her. I am grateful for the opportunity. Massively thankful for your encouraging and supportive love along the way. And now her watch is ended (I know she’d never make it, Nights watch wouldn’t have her .. but still..)"
In addition to this farewell, she followed up with various other behind-the-scenes shots, including a video post of Headey and her fellow actors - Pilou Asbæk (Euron Greyjoy) and Anton Lesser (Qyburn) - chilling on set.
Check out the video here:Funnily enough, everyone in this video ended up getting offed in this weeks episode. Considering all that, they seem pretty chipper about the whole thing. If you want to share that positivity in the wake of this dark episode, there are always the memes to jump into.