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

8. The Mad Queen

Season 5 saw Cersei stripped bare and broken down to her lowest point. Season 6, then, began the process of building her up again.

It continued to go badly for her when Myrcella arrived home, only for Cersei to discover that her daughter had been killed. All that was left of Cersei's humanity - the good in her - was Tommen, and then he decided to join forces with the High Sparrow.

Cersei continued to face obstacle after obstacle, getting bested by the Faith; even an alliance with Olenna Tyrell didn't work. It was ok though, because she had FrankenMountain and the trial by combat, until that was outlawed.

Throughout it all, Cersei was one of the most enjoyable characters on the show, regardless of your feelings about her. She's undoubtedly a bad person, and yet you also feel a degree of pity and empathy for her, and Lena Headey continues to do some incredible work on the show, saying more with a facial expression than some actors manage with a monologue.

She had a final ace up her sleeve, which was - as many correctly predicted - unleashing wildfire on King's Landing and burning her enemies to ash. Visually it looked stunning, and gave us one of the best scenes of the season - if not the entire series - and was a fitting conclusion to this arc. Tragically for Cersei, though, there was an unintended casualty, as Tommen jumped out a window. That all leads to Cersei finally sitting on the Iron Throne. After being the Queen by marriage, or by being the mother to the King, now she is the ruler in her own right, and has no more children to rein her in. A terrifying but delicious prospect.