Game Of Thrones: 12 Ups And 4 Downs From Season 6

3. A Lot Of Payoff

One of the reasons the Rains of Castamere is such a great episode is that it marked the payoff of three seasons' worth of build-up. The War of the Five Kings had been raging for some time, while there were various subplots within that - the most obvious being Robb marrying for love - that all came to a head at the Red Wedding.

Season 6, and in particular The Winds of Winter, had a similar feel, if rather different results in terms of heroes/villains dying. And not just payoff for this season, but for the past few years, and in some cases the entire series.

As already discussed previously, Daenerys sailing to Westeros is the culmination of her entire arc on the show, or at least the end of Phase 1 (Phase 2 is Take Westeros). Cersei burning the High Sparrow is the result of a feud that started back in Season 5, but that itself was a product of her rivalry with Margaery that came before it. Sansa getting revenge on Ramsay is payback for the events of last year, but also a cathartic release for all the pain she's suffered on the show over the years. Arya slitting the throat of Walder Frey is a direct callback to the Red Wedding, and the murders of Roose Bolton and Frey bring that full circle.

This year the show was full of references to the past, in particular a lot from the early seasons, and that's no accident. Many of the show's characters and storylines have been coming full circle this year, and almost all of them received the deserved payoff, with the decks somewhat cleared to head towards the endgame.