The Season 6 Finale will be the longest Game of Thrones episode in history

HBO has just uploaded some information about the Season 6 finale to its schedule, including the as-yet-unnamed episode’s running time. (Click here to see the runnings times for the first nine episodes.) As it turns out that, at 69 minutes, the Season 6 finale will be the longest episode in the series’ history. That title was previously held by “The Children,” the Season 4 finale, which clocked in at 66 minutes.

What conclusions can we draw from this? At this point, everything is fair game. By the end of the seasons, we’re sure our characters will be facing a host of new problems, but with 69 minutes, they have all the time in Westeros to deal with them. Generally speaking, Game of Thrones likes to check in with many story arcs in its finales, so we can expect that this one will spread itself all over the place.

And now, my ideas for what a Game of Thrones Season 6 finale might look like, spun out of thin air:

This would be the perfect time to harken back to the Season 2 finale, when Sam saw the army of the dead march on the Fist of the First men. Except this time, could they be marching past a crumbling Wall and the bodies of the dead Night’s Watchmen? (Including Thorne and Olly? A man can dream). And then we see Daenerys and her new Khalasar sailing across the Narrow Sea in a new set of ships?

Sam has found the secret to defeating the White Walkers in Oldtown, and is now traveling back to the Wall, not knowing his friend Jon is no longer there. In King’s Landing, Tommen is dead, killed by his insane mother to fulfill that prophecy she keeps talking about. In her grief, Cersei burns the Red Keep, and fire spreads to King’s Landing.

In the Riverlands, Arya has a new face and is attending the latest wedding for old Walder Frey. He lifts a cup and drinks, and then slowly dies from the poison she’d spiked his drink with earlier. Outside the Twins, Jaime and Brienne ride through a darkened forest and are taken prisoner by Thoros of Myr. A hooded lady passes judgement, and a rope is brought out and placed around each of their necks. A pack of wolfs is seen running the countryside, led by a huge direwolf.

At Winterfell, Sansa and Jon look out over the battlements of their ancestral home after defeating Ramsay’s army. Rickon and Shaggydog play in the training yard. A huge winter storm begins to stir, Jon knows what’s coming. He’s seen it before…it’s winter.

Or nothing remotely like that happens. We’ll find out on June 26!