The “Game of Thrones” Season 6 finale offered bombshell after bombshell, but clearly the biggest question after the supersized episode is about the fate of the one true king of the Seven Kingdoms: Ser Pounce.
King Tommen’s beloved cat is now, at best, an orphan, after his dad gave new meaning to the term King’s Landing. His mother Margaery is also gone, a victim of Grandma Cersei’s wildfire pyromania at the Sept of Baelor.
After the finale, Tommen actor Dean-Charles Chapman talked to HBO about the fate of Westeros’s royal feline:
HBO: What became of Ser Pounce?
Dean-Charles Chapman: He probably got a girlfriend and got married… And probably got caught up in the Sept blast, unfortunately.
Nooooo! Why would he be at the Sept, though, and not the Red Keep? It would’ve been nice for GoT to show Ser Pounce wandering around, to make it clear he was not there, and made it out alive. But we probably shouldn’t expect to see Ser Pounce again, and not because he may have been a victim of the Mad Queen. Apparently he’s a bit of a “diva” himself and made life difficult on the set. (It’s his royal prerogative!)
As Chapman explained it…
HBO: Do you have a favorite scene from your time on Game of Thrones?
Dean-Charles Chapman: I’d probably choose the Ser Pounce scene in “Oathkeeper.” That was my first day, so that meant a lot to me. It’s an iconic scene for Tommen with Ser Pounce and Margaery. It was a long, hard day, because the cat was a bit of a diva.
Here’s more on that, from Chapman to the Huffington Post:
“With the cat, it was my first time working with animals, and it was quite hard because you’re doing a scene with the other actress or actor, and at the same time there’s trainers off the set, behind the camera, like with a little toy putting food on the bed for it to stand in a certain position, and that cat that day would have none of it. He was just loving life. He just really wasn’t on his game that day. Yeah, I think that was the reason why they didn’t have him back because it’s just hard work. Cats can’t understand English, so you tell a cat, ‘Come on. Jump on the bed,’ and he just looks at you like, ‘What are you talking about?’”
Oh, cats can understand English all right, they’re just blowing you off. The cat has learned from Cersei. Ser Pounce, unlike Tommen, will not be a puppet. Natalie Dormer (Margaery) also said in a Reddit AMA that the Pounce star was a “diva,” which actually sounds like the best reason to bring him back.
The showrunners confirmed that we only have two more seasons, and the last shot of the series should be the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms (probably Daenerys Targaryen) stepping off the Iron Throne to go somewhere, and Ser Pounce jumping up and taking his rightful place. He is the Prince That Was Promised!
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“Game of Thrones” might have dragons and zombies, but something it absolutely doesn’t have: jetpacks.
From dead to king — Jon Snow had quite a journey in “Game of Thrones” Season 6.
Interesting. Littlefinger fanned the flames with his speech to Sansa about wanting to sit on the Iron Throne, with Sansa by his side. He said she is “the future of House Stark” and the one the North should rally around. Sansa smiled, at first, when Jon was declared King in the North, until she locked eyes with the smirking Petyr Baelish. Is she really ready to be second fiddle to Jon (who was stabbed to death by the last people he tried to rule, let’s not forget)?
Cersei Lannister has been *a* queen on “Game of Thrones” for all six seasons to date. But she is now finally *the* queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Headey also said she’s excited to see Cersei and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) back together, and she mentioned him again when discussing Cersei’s eventual fate.
Here are some alternate suggestions: Since Cersei loves fire as much as the Mad King, why not let her die by dragonfire? Or do the ultimate twist and don’t kill her at all — send her to The Wall as the first female member of the Night’s Watch. If we can have solo queens for the first time — in King’s Landing, the Iron Islands, Meereen — surely Cersei can break the gender barrier at Castle Black. She’d be Lord Commander in no time.
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However, Deadline added, that shouldn’t be taken to mean those five characters will definitely make it to the end; as Nellie Andreeva wrote, “I hear it does not guarantee that all five characters will survive til the end as the show’s last episodes are yet to be written. I hear the contracts of the other regulars who landed raises alongside the Big 5 in fall 2014, have not been redone yet.”
In terms of the five mentioned above, they were rumored to be getting about $300K an episode during the last contract talks in 2014. Half a million dollars is a quality raise from that amount, but it’s for episodes that run a full hour, no commercials, and there will probably only be 13 episodes total across two seasons. Contrast that with the $1 million an episode for the “Friends” cast, for a half-hour sitcom that ran across 22 episodes. That show made tons of ad money for the network, so the stars cashed in. Other stars, like on “The Big Bang Theory” and “Modern Family,” are still doing that today.
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WINS
LOSSES
• Davos now finally knows what Melisandre did to Shireen, or at least suggested that Stannis do. He’s not happy. But what is he going to do about it?
The episode actually starts with the battle in Meereen. Daenerys doesn’t seem amused by how Tyrion Lannister has run things in her absence, but — to be fair — she fled on a dragon when the city was trying to kill her, so it’s not like they liked her more. She stares Tyrion down as he tries to defend his decisions, saying Meereen is on the rise. Dany says she’s going to set the masters on fire and free the people, etc. Tyrion says the Mad King’s plan for King’s Landing was to use caches of wildfire to burn all of the citizens. That’s why Jaime killed him. (Cersei’s plan for King’s Landing now?) Tyrion wants an alternate approach for Meereen, but they are wasting time with this chat when the masters are attacking. What’s his plan? Outside, one of the masters says he offered them peace but if she hadn’t been so arrogant she could’ve left in ships. But now she’ll leave on foot like the beggar queen she is.
Halfway through the episode we return to Meereen and … it’s a reunion for Tyrion and Theon! Last time Tyrion saw Theon, Theon was poking fun of Tyrion. Now Dany gets to meet Theon and Yara. Theon tells Tyrion he didn’t actually murder the Stark boys but he did things that were just as bad. Tyrion does the talking in the meeting. They brought Dany 100 ships. She figures they want her to back Theon’s rule, but no they want Yara. Has the Iron Islands ever had a queen? No, but nor has Westeros. (Borderling flirtation happening … and I like it.) The Greyjoys tell her about Euron’s claim. Tyrion seems unsure, but Dany sets terms. They will support her claim for the Seven Kingdoms, but she says no reaving, no roving, no raping. Yara says that’s all they have left. Dany says no more. Yara agrees. No more. Will she stick to it?
About 15 minutes into the episode, we head to Winterfell for, at first, a meeting between Sansa and Jon’s small group and, on the other side, Ramsay and his team of Umbers and Karstarks. Ramsay says “bastard” Jon doesn’t have enough men, don’t lead his men into slaughter when there’s no need. “I am a man of mercy.” Jon says he’s right, there’s no need for a battle. “Thousands of men don’t need to die. Only one of us. Let’s end this the old way: You against me.” Ramsay doesn’t know if he’d beat Jon, but he knows his army of 6,000 men will beat Jon’s. Jon makes a good point to say, will Ramsay’s men fight for him when they know he wouldn’t fight for them. Ramsay counters by asking if Jon is too proud to save his little brother. Sansa wants proof. They show Shaggydog’s head again. Sansa decides it’s a fight, tomorrow morning, and rides away. Ramsay tells Jon he’s looking forward to having Sansa back, and feeding Jon and his men to his own dogs.
That night, there’s a strategy meeting with Jon, Davos, Tormund, and others. Tormund is worried about all of their horses. Jon has a strategy plan, but the terms are clearly foreign to Tormund. Davos says it’s crucial that they let Ramsay’s army charge into them. They have the numbers, so Team Stark needs the patience. Jon wants them coming full tilt, angry. Sansa jumps in afterward, saying Jon made a quick decision with his advisors but didn’t he consider asking her? She’s the one who knows Ramsay. He loves to hurt people, he won’t fall into a trap. Jon thinks Ramsay is overconfident, but Sansa doesn’t think so. She also doesn’t think they’ll ever get Rickon back. Rickon is the biggest threat as a trueborn son, she knows Ramsay will never let him go. Sansa doesn’t want Jon to do what Ramsay expects, and she didn’t want to fight with so few men. Sansa says, if Ramsay wins, she’s not going back there alive. Jon promises he will protect her, he won’t let Ramsay touch her again. Sansa is more jaded now, she says no one can protect her, “no one can protect anyone.” Speaking of No One, Arya Stark should step in and save the day.
Tormund and Davos have a nice chat about how they’ve been wrong in the past, believing in kings. Jon Snow is not a king. Convo ends with Tormund laughing, “happy sh-tting.”
That morning, the armies face each other for battle. Jon’s small group gets a look at what they’re facing. Flayed people burned?
Davos was with a group in the back, but said they may as well be chicken sh-ts back there, so they charge. Ramsay stays put, but the Umbers (and Karstarcks?) burst forward and surround Jon, Tormund, Davos, and that army. Very clever, you have to give Ramsay points for strategy even if he’s the most evil piece of filth that ever didn’t quite exist.
Suddenly we hear horns. It’s the knights of the Vale! They charge in just in time, as Ramsay looks on in surprise. Haha. Avenge them. That was the plan. We flash to Littlefinger, smirking, next to Sansa, who also looks pleased. She’s finally going to get her revenge. Jon stands with sword in hand, facing a shocked Ramsay. Dirty Jon is ready for blood. Ramsay, coward to the last, tries to ride away. Jon has to follow on foot. Where can you go, Ramsay? Where can you hide? Or does he want one last bit of revenge before the end?
The Stark banner returns to Winterfell. Davos glares at Melisandre. Jon tells them to bury Rickon in the crypt next to Ned Stark. Sansa wants to know where Ramsay is. He’s alive, tied up. Beat up. But alive. Sansa goes to see him. She lets him speak. Jesus, just kill him already. He asks if this is where he’s staying now. She says nothing, but he says their time together is about to come to an end. But he’s inside her now, forever. (Nasty. But no one ever said rapists were charming. She’s not pregnant, I hope. It’s just Ramsay playing his mind games.) Sansa says his words will disappear, his house will disappear, his name will disappear. All memory of him will disappear. His hungry hounds are there. Ah, that’s a fitting fate. “My hounds will never harm me.” Sansa reminds Ramsay that he said he hadn’t fed them in seven days. They were loyal, but now they’re starving. Genius. He tells them to get down, but they attack and eat him, as Sansa walks away. Brilliant!
