‘Game of Thrones’ Podcast: The Road to the Next Red-Wedding-Level Event

Ned Stark’s beheading and the Red Wedding rank right at the top of the list when it comes to the greatest Game of Thrones shocks, certainly in the realm of moments adapted straight from the pages of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels.

But when Thrones and Ice and Fire started veering away from one another in the fifth season of the HBO drama, fans of the books were left without the inside knowledge of some impending cliffhanger. There was no telling about the stunning Hodor reveal, for example, and even less indication about the single most catastrophic act of destruction through six seasons of the series: the Sept of Baelor’s demolition at the hands of Cersei Lannister.

It’s an event that wipes out several of Cersei’s enemies in one fell swoop: Margaery and Loras Tyrell, Kevan and Lancel Lannister, the High Sparrow and his minions — and also an inadvertent casualty in her son Tommen, who kills himself in the wake of the explosion. 

Revisiting the fifth season of the series, often cited as one of the weakest narratively despite its Emmy-winning success, yields some interesting results when it comes to predicting later events — specifically, Cersei’s assault on the sept and Tommen’s subsequent death. During their wedding night, Tommen and Margaery engage in some pillow talk, and the new queen offers this offhanded remark: “Living in a tower so high, it touches the clouds.” It’s no coincidence that Tommen himself will watch Margaery’s death from the far view of this very tower, before jumping to his death moments later.

That’s one of the many moments discussed this week on Winter Was Here, the Game of Thrones rewatch podcast from The Hollywood Reporter and Post Show Recaps. In this week’s discussion of “High Sparrow,” other topics include:

• The titular High Sparrow’s arrival in King’s Landing;

• The slow-burn story of Arya Stark and the House of Black and White;

• How Littlefinger’s arc begins to unravel with his unlikely Bolton alliance;

• Jon Snow’s first major decision as lord commander of the Night’s Watch;

• How Tyrion’s Volantis brothel scene differs from the version in the books;

• And more!

Listen to the podcast in the player below:

Make sure you don’t miss an episode of Winter Was Here by subscribing to the show on iTunes or your podcast catcher of choice. Send in your comments and questions using the podcast’s email address, got@postshowrecaps.com, or our feedback form. Keep checking THR.com/GameofThrones for news, interviews, theories and more.

“Winter Was Here,” and so is this handy guide collecting every episode of the podcast:

• Season 1, Episode 1: “Winter Is Coming”
• Season 1, Episode 2: “The Kingsroad”
• Season 1, Episode 3: “Lord Snow”
• Season 1, Episode 4: “Cripples, Bastards and Broken Things”
• Season 1, Episode 5: “The Wolf and the Lion”
• Season 1, Episode 6: “A Golden Crown”
• Season 1, Episode 7: “You Win or You Die”
• Season 1, Episode 8: “The Pointy End”
• Season 1, Episode 9: “Baelor”
• Season 1, Episode 10: “Fire and Blood”
• Season 1 in Review: Feedback and Theories
• Season 2, Episode 1: “The North Remembers”
• Season 2, Episode 2: “The Night Lands”
• Season 2, Episode 3: “What Is Dead May Never Die”
• Season 2, Episode 4: “Garden of Bones”
• Season 2, Episode 5: “The Ghost of Harrenhal”
• Season 2, Episode 6: “The Old Gods and the New”
• Season 2, Episode 7: “A Man Without Honor”
• Season 2, Episode 8: “The Prince of Winterfell”
• Season 2, Episode 9: “Blackwater”
• Season 2, Episode 10: “Valar Morghulis”
• Season 3, Episode 1: “Valar Dohaeris”
• Season 3, Episode 2: “Dark Wings, Dark Words”
• Season 3, Episode 3: “Walk of Punishment”
• Season 3, Episode 4: “And Now His Watch Is Ended”
• Season 3, Episode 5: “Kissed by Fire”
• Season 3, Episode 6: “The Climb”
• Season 3, Episode 7: “The Bear and the Maiden Fair”
• Season 3, Episode 8: “Second Sons”
• Season 3, Episode 9: “The Rains of Castamere”
• Season 3, Episode 10: “Mhysa”
• Season 4, Episode 1: “Two Swords”
• Season 4, Episode 2: “The Lion and the Rose”
• Season 4, Episode 3: “Breaker of Chains”
• Season 4, Episode 4: “Oathkeeper”
• Season 4, Episode 5: “First of His Name”
• Season 4, Episode 6: “The Laws of Gods and Men”
• Season 4, Episode 7: “Mockingbird”
• Season 4, Episode 8: “The Mountain and the Viper”
• Season 4, Episode 9: “The Watchers on the Wall”
• Season 4, Episode 10: “The Children”
• Season 5, Episode 1: “The Wars to Come”
• Season 5, Episode 2: “The House of Black and White”
• Season 5, Episode 3: “High Sparrow”
• Season 5, Episode 4: “Sons of the Harpy”