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"Please don't eat the help!"
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO It's a throwaway line for any other actor, but for Peter Dinklage, it's rich with humor, sincerity, and desperation. Tyrion Lannister does his best animal wrangler routine as he unshackles Viserion and Rhaegal, regaling them with tales of dragon worship from his childhood. It's a touching moment, and one of Dinklage's standout performances in the series — no small feat, given the body of work.
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"The past is already written. The ink is dry."
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO With nine words, the Three-Eyed Raven (Max von Sydow) outlines the rules of time travel on Game of Thrones. If this were Lost, it would boil down to three words: "Whatever happened, happened." The sentence serves as both a point of fact as well as a stern warning, advising Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) not to wander too far down the rabbit hole on his own.
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"I fought. I lost. Now I rest. But you, Lord Snow… you'll be fighting their battles forever."
Image Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO There's no love lost between Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington), but in the Night's Watch mutineer's final moments, there's bitter poignancy between the two. Thorne tells his recently resurrected murder victim what Jon and the viewer already know: Lord Commander Snow won't leave this show until he's wearily finished his war — a war that might just be a lost cause.
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"None of you are fit to lead the Dothraki. But I am."
Image Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO It's not a season of Game of Thrones without a rousing Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) speech, and of the many that exist across season six, this one's the best. She completely sucker-punches the audience and Khal Moro (Joe Naufahu) alike as she burns him and his blood riders alive, winning over the Dothraki people in the process, and reclaiming her title as Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea.
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"Hold the door!"
Image Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO If any season six quote winds up on a T-shirt when all is said and done, this is the one. It's not just the meaning of Hodor (Kristian Nairn), it's also the final words we ever hear him speak — words drilled into his brain thanks to a time-traveling, warging Bran Stark. The complicated nature of the twist would cause a mental collapse, if your heart wasn't already too busy breaking over Hodor's emotionally devastating death.
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"Sixty-two."
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO In six seasons of Game of Thrones, few characters have arrived with such instant classic status as Lyanna Mormont (Bella Ramsey), the Lady of Bear Island. The fierce child actor more than holds her own against the likes of Sophie Turner and Liam Cunningham throughout her scene, particularly punctuated when she tells Jon Snow exactly how many men she can spare: a slim 62.
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"I wonder if you're the worst person I've ever met."
Image Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO Lady Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) could appear in every scene of Game of Thrones, and still it would not be enough. Her latest and one of her greatest zingers comes at the expense of Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), taken down in one deft verbal assault by the quippy Queen of Thorns.
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"You're shit at dying, you know that?"
Image Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO The Hound (Rory McCann) returned to Thrones in season six after nearly two full seasons on the sidelines, presumed killed in action. Turns out, he's "a hard f—er to kill," and even with a limp, he's still better at killing than most. He makes this fact abundantly clear as he hatchets several renegade members of the Brotherhood Without Banners to death, all of them awful at meeting their maker.
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"The things we do for love."
Image Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO The final words of the series premiere echo throughout the story of Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), first uttered when he crippled Bran at Winterfell, then repeated in season six as he coached Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies) into surrendering Riverrun. It's a testament to how much has changed across six seasons, and at the same time, how much has stayed exactly the same.
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"A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell, and I'm going home."
Image Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO After eighteen episodes in Braavos, training to become one of the Faceless Men, Arya (Maisie Williams) finally realized what everyone else knew all along: she's not no one. This girl has a name of her own, and several names on her list that still need crossing out. It's time for the young wolf of House Stark to get back to business.
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"Despite appearances, I think you'll find the city is on the rise."
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Leave it to Tyrion to lighten the mood in the middle of an all-out assault. His first scene with Daenerys since season five begins with these ice-breaking words, as he does his best to not only defend his leadership in Meereen, but talk common sense into the Mother of Dragons. Not only does his argument work, it also comes dripping with the character's signature wit.
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"My reign has just begun."
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Actions speak louder than words, as evidenced by Daenerys incinerating one of the Masters of Slavers Bay's greatest ships in an explosive display of dragon fire. But the words certainly help, as Dany makes it clear that her supremacy doesn't just apply in Meereen, but extends to the whole world of ice and fire beyond.
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"Thousands of men don't need to die. Only one of us."
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Jon Snow gives Ramsay one last chance to back away from battle, echoing the words of his own father Eddard as he challenges the Bastard of Bolton to single combat. It's essentially an empty gesture, as everyone knows Ramsay won't accept the invitation. Still, it's a testament to just how much Jon leans on the old ways of House Stark to guide him forward.
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"You're going to die tomorrow, Lord Bolton. Sleep well."
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Sansa Stark's journey from aspiring fairy tale princess to hardened survivor has been a brutal one, with several awful men and women pushing her further along that path. But by the start of "Battle of the Bastards," Sansa no longer cowers in fear at the sight of her abusers. She doesn't make empty threats at them, either. She makes promises, and she delivers, feeding her enemies to the dogs as soon as the time is right.
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"You can't kill me. I'm part of you now."
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO For his final act, Ramsay Bolton plays the part of Hannibal Lecter, gloating through bloody lips and behind iron bars. Even in the face of evisceration at the maws of his starving hounds, Ramsay exits Game of Thrones by taunting and tormenting his way into the grave, promising that his ghost will linger on within Sansa long after his death.
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"Forget the bloody gods and listen to what I'm telling you."
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Nobody saw the wildfire coming — nobody except Margaery Tyrell. After carefully crafting her cover with the High Sparrow, Margaery breaks character and demands the foolish Faith Militant leader to listen to reason: "Cersei understands the consequences of her absence, and she's absent anyway. The trial can wait. We all need to leave." Of course, the High Sparrow refuses to acknowledge Margaery's justified suspicions, but the final look exchanged between them speaks volumes.
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"This is your god now."
Image Credit: HBO At long last, Cersei Lannister stands tall as the ruling Queen of the Seven Kingdoms… but at what cost? Yes, her enemies are destroyed, but so is the person she loves most in the world: Tommen, her son. But she had already lost herself long before losing her last living child, as she makes clear with these sharp parting words toward Septa Unella, who is about to spend the rest of her days being tortured by the Mountain.
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"I suppose life is irregular!"
Although he barely appeared at all during season six, save for the dreadful dining experience at his parents' home of Horn Hill, Samwell Tarly delivered the goods in his final episode of the year. Upon reaching the Citadel of Oldtown, he experiences an uncomfortable conversation with a maester, who tells Sam: "This is irregular." Sam's response perfectly summarizes the awkwardness of the situation, and defines him as one of the few joyful characters on the show.
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"Winter is here."
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Indeed it is. The white ravens sent out from the Citadel all over the realm signaled a shift in the seasons, as well as a change to one of the most popular tag-lines Game of Thrones has ever known: "Winter is coming." Sansa's rephrasing of House Stark's words underscore the story's current stakes, with everyone and everything on the tipping point of all-out war.
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"Promise me, Ned."
Image Credit: HBO These three words haunted Ned Stark for years and years, and only now do we fully understand the true meaning behind Lyanna Stark's dying request. In the finale, viewers learned that Jon Snow is actually Lyanna and Rhaegar Targaryen's son, and that Ned raised his deceased sister's child as his own illegitimate offspring in order to preserve Jon's true identity as a Targaryen. Talk about a Game changer.
