The penultimate episode of Game of Thrones Season 6 only had two locations, but they were enough. Episode 609, “Battle of the Bastards,” might as well have been called “Fire and Ice,” because we had the Battle of Meereen (Fire) and the Battle of the Bastards (Ice), all in one episode.
As always, the folks over at COUB have put together some amazing HD-quality GIFs of the episode. These GIFs express the shock and awe, the sheer horror of war, and some funny meme-type stuff. Let’s relive the “Battle of the Bastards.” Enjoy!
We start our recap with Daenerys looking over the attack on Meereen.
“So I know this looks bad…”
The queen had a plan to set things right.
But Tyrion talked her out of it…sort of.
After chatting with Tyrion, Dany agreed to meet with the Masters.
Negotiations got muddled.
Dragons will do that to negotiations.
Man, Drogon sure got big. What’s Dany been feeding him? Probably horses.
Then Dany jumped aboard Drogon and her children smoked the Slaver fleet. It was a great story…
Some might call it a never-ending story.
Not to be outdone by Dany’s dragons, her Dothraki screamers got in on the action outside the gates of Meereen.
The killing wasn’t done yet—the Masters still had to pay for their treachery.
Then the Iron Fleet arrived in Meereen, and Theon and Yara Greyjoy presented themselves to Daenerys.
Dany wanted to know why Theon didn’t want to rule the Iron Islands, and Tyrion kept up his string of verbal abuse. Perhaps he’s remembering his last meeting with Theon incorrectly.
Yara and Dany have some chemistry.
Dany agreed to work with Yara, but the terms were pretty tough to swallow.
In the end, Yara agreed, and the pact was sealed.
In the North, there was a parlay between the Boltons and the Starks outside Winterfell.
After Ramsay proved he did indeed have Rickon by throwing Shaggydog’s head onto the ground, Sansa dropped the mic and rode outta there.
And Ramsay tried to get under Jon’s skin by repeatedly calling him bastard.
Oh, and don’t forget: he hasn’t fed his dogs for seven days. That might come back to haunt him.
Back at camp, Jon and his pals prepare for the battle, and we are reminded that Tormund is an uneducated wildling.
Jon and Sansa argue, and Sansa has an opportunity to tell Jon that she sent for help to Littlefinger and the Knights of the Vale, but keeps that secret for later.
Meanwhile, Tormund and Davos have a discussion about pregame battle traditions.
Brooding as usual, Jon visited Melisandre to tell her not to bring him back to life should he fall in battle. She wasn’t into it.
Good old (like really old) Melisandre, blaming it all on her god.
Anyway, while Davos was off “taking his walk,” he happened upon the pyre the princess Shireen was burned last season. The proof? The carved stag that Davos gave her.
And now we come to the battle of the bastards.
Ramsay brought Rickon forward.
Of course that got Jon “Leeroy Jenkins” Snow to jump the gun ahead of his army.
In all seriousness, here’s a look at Jon doing his thing in one of the best action scenes in Game of Thrones history.
The bodies started to pile up.
Lord Umber pumped up his soldiers before joining the fray, and soon Jon and company found themselves surrounded.
Things looked bad…like, really bad for our heroes, especially after Jon was trampled by his own men and clawed his way to the surface of a sea of bodies for a breath of air.
And then
Gandalf
Sansa and Littlefigner arrived with the
Riders of Rohan
Knights of the Vale!
Jon, Tormund, and Wun Wun chased Ramsay to Winterfell.
Wun Wun broke in, looking like a pin cushion.
And the loyal giant gave the ultimate sacrifice. Rest in peace, Wun Wun.
But don’t worry, because Ramsay more than pay for that transgression.
If you’re having trouble sleeping, just watch this on loop.
Finally, Ramsay was tied to a chair in the Winterfell kennels, where his loyal hounds were let loose from their cages. Sansa watched.
And Kit Harington takes home the Play of the Game.
That’s it for this week, kiddos. Tune in next week as we dissect the Game of Thrones Season 6 finale, “The Winds of Winter,” using the fantastic HD-quality GIFs from those wonderful folks over at COUB.