For Game of Thrones‘ sixth season, the writers were forced to head into uncharted territory, without any George R.R. Martin book to use as a reference, and the result is quite possibly the show’s best season yet. No longer did the writers have to spin their wheels to delay going past the evens of the novels—they could just blaze their own trail towards the ultimate final battle for the Iron Throne, and just tell whatever awesome story they want to. I’m not sure if there were actually fewer storylines this season, or if the writers have just done a better job of checking in with all of them in each episode. It never felt like there was a character or story that was forgotten, or only got a 1-minute check-in in a given episode. Each of the characters’ stories progress nicely over the course of the season, with several of them finally coming together for a satisfying and exciting season finale.

The sixth season follows five main groupings of storylines:

The season picks up immediately where the fifth left off, with a dead Jon Snow (Kit Harington) laying on the grounds of Castle Black, bleeding out after being stabbed by Alliser Thorne, Olly and the other Night’s Watch turncoats. Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) is unaware of what happened to her half brother. She and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) have just escaped from the sadistic clutches of Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) and are making their way towards Castle Black. She is planning to team up with Jon to reclaim their familial home of Winterfell from the Boltons. While Sansa is still being pursued by Ramsay—who doesn’t plan on giving her up that easily—Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie), who swore an oath to Sansa’s mother Catelyn Stark, is also close by and ready to throw down arms to protect her. Meanwhile, there is a struggle for power at Castle Black between those loyal to Jon Snow and those who betrayed him.

In King’s Landing, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) finds herself locked in the Red Keep, where she awaits her trial for crimes against the faith. Her son, King Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman), has been brainwashed by religious leader the High Sparrow. The High Sparrow has Tommen’s wife, Queen Margaery (Natalie Dormer), locked away in a cell, and is using her as leverage to get Tommen to do his will. Cersei and her brother/lover Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) refuse to be controlled by the High Sparrow, and constantly try to regain control of their son, but the High Sparrow always seems to be prepared for any move they make, with his Faith Militant close at hand to protect him. However, Cersei has her own weapon, the monstrous Ser Gregor Clegane.

At the end of the fifth season Daenerys had been captured by the Dothraki. While Jorah (Iain Glen) and Daario (Michiel Huisman) look for their queen, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) and Varys (Conleth Hill) are left back at the pyramid in Meereen to run things. The city is on the brink of a civil war—the freed slaves feel like their queen has abandoned them, and the Sons of the Harpy are still striking fear in the city. With Daenerys’ absence, the masters also see an opening to regain control of their slaves. So Tyrion seeks the help of Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) to help run things until Daenerys returns. Meanwhile, in Vaes Dothrak, Daenerys plots her escape.

Beyond the wall, Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), Meera (Ellie Kendrick) and Hodor (Kristian Nairn) are hiding out from the Night King and his minions in a cave protected by the Children of the Forest. The Three-Eyed Raven (Max von Sydow) continues to train Bran for his destiny, showing him visions of the past and revealing the secrets of the Seven Kingdoms. Meanwhile, in Braavos, sister Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) is also receiving her own training from the Faceless Men.

While these are the main focus of the season, there are additional characters and storylines that appear throughout the season, and we see some of these stories start to connect and intersect. In past seasons the series felt more like it was just moving pieces around a chess board, but in the sixth season, it feels like the show is making great strides towards the ultimate end game of the series. There was never a lull in this season. The story keeps moving along at a rapid pace, and each episode usually ends with some big reveal or shocker that makes you anxious to watch the next one. I loved being able to immediately binge from one episode to the next without having to wait a week to see what happens next! The Blu-ray has a Play All Episodes option that will automatically prompt you to put in the next disc to keep the binging going. Another great feature is the In-Episode Guide. This is a massive show with lots of locations and characters and sometimes it’s difficult to keep track of everything. This makes it easy to get more information about the characters in a scene, the location and any related backstory—I wish I had this the first time I watched this season as it aired on HBO!

The sixth season of Game of Thrones includes some great drama, massive plot twists, and some truly epic scenes. The season’s fifth episode, “The Door”, provides some exciting action and a shocking and heartbreaking reveal that I don’t think anyone could have predicted. The penultimate “Battle of the Bastards” is an amazing hour of television—it starts off with one impressive battle followed by the even more impressive titular battle, which is one of the most spectacular things I have seen on TV. The Battle of the Bastards is such an emotional, visceral war, that is stunningly captured. There is a breathtaking single-shot scene of one character fighting his way through the carnage as swords and horses constantly attack. I had to rewatch this scene over and over again as it is just amazing to look at. And just when you think they must have spent the entire budget on episode 9, here comes the season finale, “The Winds of Winter”, which also provides some visually-stunning, explosive surprises. The final moments of the season wrap up each of the main character storylines nicely, and set the stage for a really exciting seventh season.

The presentation of this Blu-ray release is top notch. The picture quality is excellent in both darker and lighter scenes. Special effects look seamless, and all of the action is captured perfectly, in great detail. The Dolby Atmos audio track is quite impressive. During the battle scenes you are surrounded by sound in every direction, making you feel like you are right in the thick of the action. And the subwoofer constantly roars to add extra excitement to the action provided by the explosions, dragons, etc.

The discs are packed with bonus material, including the aforementioned interactive in-episode guide, plus 13 audio commentaries, 3 lengthy behind-the-scenes featurettes, 80 minutes of animated backstory featurettes, and 3 deleted scenes. The release also comes with both Ultraviolet and Digital copies of all of the episodes as well as another 80 minutes of digital-only featurettes that provide an extensive behind-the-scenes look at the entire season.

The discs are stored in fold-out digipak packaging with two plastic trays, each holding 2 overlapping discs. This is placed inside of a sturdy cardboard box with a lenticular cover containing the Hall of Faces on one side and the words “I AM NO ONE” on the backside. A slipcover is placed over the cardboard case. The front just covers the middle row of faces, displaying the name of the series while the back is completely covered, displaying the contents and technical specs of the release.

What’s Included:

Episodes: (9:18:50)

• All 10 episodes of the sixth season:
  “The Red Woman”, “Home”, “Oathbreaker”, “Book of the Stranger”, “The Door”, “Blood of My Blood”, “The Broken Man”, “No One”, “Battle of the Bastards”, “The Winds of Winter”
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
• Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, Castilian Dolby Digital 5.1, German Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese (Brazil) Dolby Digital 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Castilian, German, Portuguese (Brazil), Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish

Digital Copy (Redemption Deadline 12/31/2021):

• UltraViolet Digital HD Copy (Vudu, Flixster)
• iTunes Digital HD Copy (iTunes, Google Play)

Extras (On-Disc):

• In-Episode Guide
  When enabled, while watching the episode icons will appear on the right side of screen that allow the viewer to delve deeper into the characters, lands, and histories of the Seven Kingdoms and beyond. Click the Characters icon to learn which characters appear in the current scene, their house and a brief biography based on the events of the series thus far; click the Location icon to see where the scene takes place; and click the History icon or House sigil to learn more about the events, items and locales that appear in the scene.
• Audio Commentaries
  This release contains the most commentaries ever recorded for a Game of Thrones season! The 13 commentaries include a wide range of participants, including actors, producers, directors, writers and special effects folks. This results in an interesting and entertaining variety of perspectives across the commentaries. It seems like for most of the actor commentaries, the participants hadn’t seen the completed episodes beforehand, which is both good and bad—there are some really fun reactions to what’s happening on screen, but also some downtime as the actors either just watch in silence, or someone explains to them what happened in the series up to this point. Overall, I really enjoyed the commentaries, which are both fun and informative.
  • Episode One – “The Red Woman” (50:02)
    Director Jeremy Podeswa, Director of Photography Greg Middleton, and Daniel Portman (“Podrick Payne”)
  • Episode Two – “Home” (53:42)
    Writer Dave Hill, Michael McElhatton (“Roose Bolton”), Iwan Rheon (“Ramsay Bolton”), Liam Cunningham (“Davos Seaworth”), and Ben Crompton (“Dolorous Edd”)
  • Episode Three – “Oathbreaker” (52:12)
    Director Daniel Sackheim, Production Designer Deborah Riley, and Dean-Charles Chapman (“Tommen Baratheon”)
  • Episode Four – “Book of the Stranger” (58:41)
    Nathalie Emmanuel (“Missandei”), Iain Glen (“Jorah Mormont”), and Jacob Anderson (“Grey Worm”)
  • Episode Five – “The Door” (56:48)
    Gemma Whelan (“Yara Greyjoy”), Pilou Asbæk (“Euron Greyjoy”), Ellie Kendrick (“Meera Reed”), and Kristian Nairn (“Hodor”)
  • Episode Five – “The Door” (56:48)
    Prosthetics Supervisor Barrie Gower, Camera Operators Chris Plevin and Ben Wilson, and Executive Producer Bernadette Caulfield
  • Episode Six- “Blood of My Blood” (51:27)
    Director Jack Bender, Director of Photography Jonathan Freeman, John Bradley (“Samwell Tarly”), and Hannah Murray (“Gilly”)
  • Episode Seven – “The Broken Man” (50:20)
    Producer/Writer Bryan Cogman, Ian McShane (“Septon Ray”), and Natalie Dormer (“Margaery Tyrell”)
  • Episode Eight – “No One” (58:20)
    Director Mark Mylod, Essie Davis (“Lady Crane”), and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Jaime Lannister”)
  • Episode Nine – “Battle of the Bastards” (59:17)
    Director Miguel Sapochnik, Sophie Turner (“Sansa Stark”), and Kit Harington (“Jon Snow”)
  • Episode Nine – “Battle of the Bastards” (59:17)
    Director of Photography Fabian Wagner, Visual Effects Producer Steve Kullback, and Visual Effects Supervisor Joe Bauer
  • Episode Ten – “The Winds of Winter” (1:08:01)
    Executive Producers/Writers David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, Lena Headey (“Cersei Lannister”), and Peter Dinklage (“Tyrion Lannister”)
  • Episode Ten – “The Winds of Winter” (1:08:01)
    Special Effects Supervisor Sam Conway, Camera Operator Sean Savage, and Producer Chris Newman
• Recreating the Dothraki World (20:15)
  The cast and crew talk about revisiting the Dothraki culture for the first time since the first season, as well as Daenerys’ journey this season. Includes a behind-the-scenes look at the design and creation of Vaes Dothrak, filming the huge temple-burning scene, bringing Dany’s dragon to life, and teaching the actors to speak in Dothraki. Those interviewed include executive producers/writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, supervising producer/writer Bryan Cogman, writer Dave Hill, executive producers Frank Doelger and Bernie Caulfield, art director Philip Elton, production designer Deborah Riley, directors Jeremy Podeswa, Daniel Sackheim and Jack Bender, SFX supervisor Sam Conway, stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam, VFX previs lead Eric Carney, dialogue coach Jan Haydn Rowles, and actors Emilia Clarke (“Daenerys Targaryen”), Souad Faress (“High Priestess”), Iain Glen (“Jorah Mormont”) and Michiel Huisman (“Daario Naharis”).
• The Battle of the Bastards: An In-Depth Look (30:01)
  The cast and crew give a behind-the-scenes look at all of the work that went into creating the show’s largest battle sequence (thus far) including riding horses, training for the swordplay, using a camera tracking vehicle, selecting and prepping the location, adding visual enhancements, training an army of extras, and more. Those interviewed include executive producers/writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, producer Chris Newman, director Miguel Sapochnik, supervising producer/writer Bryan Cogman, horse master Camilla Naprous, stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam, director of photography Fabian Wagner, camera operator Sean Savage, SFX supervisor Sam Conway, supervising location manager Robert Boake, supervising art director Paul Ghirardani, production designer Deborah Riley, VFX producer Steve Kullback, military advisor Jamie Miles, special effects floor supervisor Jonathon Barrass, and actors Iwan Rheon (“Ramsay Bolton”), Kit Harington (“Jon Snow”), Kristofer Hivju (“Tormund”), Dean Jagger (“Smalljon Umber”), Sophie Turner (“Sansa Stark”) and extra Chris Campbell.
• 18 Hours at the Paint Hall (28:17)
  It took three production units to make the sixth season of Game of Thrones come together. These three units had never filmed at the same location at the same time, until December 7, 2015 at the Paint Hall in Belfast. This feature takes an inside look at this monumental 18-hour day—from the first arrivals on set at 3am through the final shots at 9pm. From hair and make-up, to breakfast, rehearsals and props, to the actual filming and breaking things down for the next day, this is a great inside look at the huge number of people who help to put this show together. Includes a lot of behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producers/writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, 2nd 2nd assistant director Alison Louise Whearty, 2nd AD Paul Morris, hair designer Kevin Alexander, hair stylist Rosalia Culora, location manager Naomi Liston, locations assistant Emma McDermott, director Mark Mylod, executive producer Bernadette Caulfield, electrician Kevin Heathington, video playback operator Lisa Trinder, stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam, 3rd assistant director Graham Kinniburgh, base trainee Louise Rashman, producer Chris Newman, armory model maker Neil Durvin, model maker/armory assistant Greg Keeley, armory assistant Ashley McCorry, weapons master Tommy Dunne, unit stills photographer Helen Sloan, supervising prop maker Gavin Jones, props painter Kevin Fraser, special effects workshop supervisor Laurence Harvey, senior special effects technician Sebastian Sue, make-up designer Jane Walker, make-up artists Nicola Matthews and Kate Thompson, hair stylist Kerstin Weller, sound assistant Daniel McCabe, dialogue coaches Jan Haydn Rowles and Sally Hague, special effects model maker Fergus McNulty, video operator assistant Niall McDonald, chargehand stand-by props Brian McGraw, stand-by props Ollie McDonald, camera trainees Emma Roberts and Scott Mitchell, grip trainee Donovan Gallagher, trainee assitant director James Edlin, best boy grip Kirk Thornton, stunt performer Ryan Stuart, assistant special effects technician Tim Hampton, producer Greg Spence, as well as many of the cast members.
• Histories and Lore (1:20:37)
  Learn about the mythology of Westeros in these eighteen short animated features narrated by the characters themselves. These provide some really good backstory for places and events mentioned or seen in the series. Unfortunately there is no Play All option. Select from:
  • The Old Way (4:25)
    Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) reminisces about the glorious reaving history of the Ironborn, when their people were feared wherever the salt of the sea could be smelled.
  • The Kingsmoot (3:45)
    Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) explains the history of the Kingsmoot—the tradition by which a new king of the Ironborn is chosen by his (or her) people.
  • The Sunset Sea (4:05)
    Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) describes what lies beyond the Summer Sea—a journey many attempt, but few survive.
  • War of the Ninepenny Kings (2:49)
    Brother Ray (Ian McShane) recounts the events of the War of the Ninepenny Kings, a bloody affair which claimed the lives of many smallfolk.
  • The Great Tourney at Harrenhal (6:06)
    Meera Reed (Ellie Kendrick) retells her father’s experience of the Tourney at Harrenhal—the site of the events which launched Robert’s Rebellion.
  • Robert’s Rebellion (6:07)
    Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) reveals the inscidents that led to his role during Robert’s Rebellion, and his eventual title of “Kingslayer”.
  • Vaes Dothrak (3:56)
    Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) describes Vaes Dothrak, the only city of the Dothraki people.
  • The Dothraki (4:43)
    Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) relates the history of the Dothraki, a nomadic people whose lives revolve around horses and warfare.
  • Northern Allegiances to House Stark (4:56)
    Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) characterizes the housed of the North which have historically been loyal to her family.
  • Children of the Forest vs. the First Men (4:43)
    The Three-Eyed Raven (Max von Sydow) recounts the ancient rivalry between the First Men and the legendary Children of the Forest.
  • Brotherhood Without Banners (3:56)
    Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye) details the origins of the Brotherhood Without Banners, a band of soldiers who became outlaws under the new king.
  • Oldtown (5:35)
    Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover) and Qyburn (Anton Lesser) comment on the history of Oldtown, painting two very different pictures of the city.
  • House Dayne (4:11)
    A young Eddard Stark (Robert Aramayo) elaborates on the history of House Dayne, home to one of the most famous swordsmen—and swords—in the world.
  • The Little Birds (3:12)
    Varys (Conleth Hill), “the Spider”, recalls his own history as a boy in Pentos, as well as the creation of his army of “Little Birds”.
  • Knights of the Vale (5:35)
    Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen) relates the story of how the nights of the Vale won their home and kept it throughout the ages.
  • House Tarly (4:35)
    Randyll Tarly (James Faulkner) proudly describes his House’s past, and what’s been necessary to protect it’s future.
  • Riverrun (3:35)
    Brynden Tully (Clive Russell), “the Blackfish”, recounts the origin and defenses of his ancestral home, Riverrun.
  • Great Sept of Baelor (4:23)
    The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) examines the founding of the Great Sept of Baelor as well as its namesake, Baelor the Blessed.
• Deleted Scenes (11:08)
  Play All or select from three deleted/extended scenes:
  • “Edd & Thorne” (3:01)
    The Brothers of the Night’s Watch and Melissandre hover over Jon Snow’s dead body, discussing who they can trust; Edd takes the direwolf for a walk and runs into Thorne.
  • “Litter” (1:17)
    Olenna talks to the Master of Coin about Cersei’s sinister plans.
  • “The Play” (6:49)
    The unedited scene of Arya watching the entire play and curtain call.

Extras (via Digital Copy):
These bonus features are only available via streaming once the digital copy has been redeemed. Some of these may differ depending upon which service is used..

• Hall of Faces Trailer (1:19)
• A Beginner’s Guide (7:42)
  A tongue-in-cheek recap of the series thus far.
• Season 5 Recap (3:56)
  Clips of the major events of the fifth season.
• Inside Game of Thrones: Prosthetics (3:52)
  Prosthetic designer Barrie Gower narrates this behind-the-scenes look at how the prosthetics for the series are created.
• The Dothraki World (6:24)
  The cast and crew talk about the Dothraki culture and customs and Daenerys’s connection to them. Includes interviews with executive producers/writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, executive producer Frank Doelger, writer Dave Hill, supervising producer/Writer Bryan Cogman, and actors Iain Glen and Emilia Clarke
• Bran’s Journey (9:09)
  The cast and crew talk about Bran’s role in the sixth season, the use of the flashbacks, and creating the prosthetics and sets. Includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with executive producers/writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, directors Jeremy Podeswa, Daniel Sacheim and Jack Bender, SFX supervisor Sam Conway, prosthetics designer Barrie Gower, production designer Deborah Riley, and actors Isaac Hempstead-Wright (“Bran Stark”), Kae Alexander (“Leaf”), Ellie Kendrick (“Meera Reed”), Kristian Nairn (“Hodor”) and Joseph Mawle (“Benjen Stark”).
• The Game Revealed (1:01:07)
  A five-part docuseries that takes an in-depth look at the making of the sixth season and how some of the epic set pieces and scenes were created. Includes interviews with directors Jeremy Podeswa, Dan Sackheim, Jack Bender, Mark Mylod and Miguel Sapochnik, executive producers/writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, writer Dave Hill, visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer, visual effects associate producer Adam Chazen, prosthetics designer Barrie Gower, supervising art director Paul Ghirardani, executive producer Bernie Caulfield, stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam, weapons master Tommy Dunne, producer Chris Newman, production designer Deborah Riley, director of photography Anette Haellmigk, special effects supervisor Sam Conway, on-set visual effects supervisor Eric Carney, VFX producer Steve Kullback, special effects floor supervisor Jonathon Barrass, supervising producer/Writer Bryan Cogman, and actors Liam Cunningham (“Davos Seaworth”), Carice Van Houten (“Melisandre”), Peter Dinklage (“Tyrion Lannister”), Brenock O’Connor (“Olly”), Emilia Clarke, Kae Alexander, Ellie Kendrick, Kristian Nairn, Joseph Mawle, Rory McCann (“Sandor ‘The Hound’ Clegane”), Ian McShane (“Father Ray”), Nathalie Emmanuel (“Missandei”), Jacob Anderson (“Grey Worm”), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Jamie Lannister”), Maisie Williams, Iwan Rheon, Kit Harington, Sophie Turner, Finn Jones (“Loras Tyrell”), Natalie Dormer (“Margaery Tyrell”), Jonathan Pryce (“High Sparrow”), Liam Cunningham and Gemma Whelan (“Yara Greyjoy”).
  • Season 6: Episodes 1 & 2 (10:48)
    Topics include Jon’s rebirth, the storming of Castle Black, Melisandre’s aging, murder at Pyke, and Tyrion and the dragons.
  • Season 6: Episodes 3 & 4 (10:17)
    Topics include Jon’s rebirth, the executions of the betrayers, the fight at the Tower of Joy, and the destruction of Vaes Dothrak.
  • Season 6: Episodes 5 & 6 (12:14)
    Topics include Bran’s visions, the prosthetics used Beyond the Wall (the Night King, White Walkers, the Children of the Forest, and the Wights), the play within the play, the showdown at the cave, the return of Benjen, and Dany & Drogon.
  • Season 6: Episodes 7 & 8 (9:48)
    Topics include the return of The Hound, creating Riverrun, getting real reactions from the other actors by allowing Peter Dinklage to improvise, the relationship between Jamie and Brienne, and Arya’s epic chase.
  • Season 6: Episodes 9 & 10 (18:00)
    Topics include the Battle of the Bastards, exploding the Sept, the Tower of Joy reveal, the King of the North, the Queen on the Iron Throne, the Battle for Meereen, and the Armada.

Final Thoughts:

Free from the limitations of having a novel to work from, the Game of Thrones writers have produced the best season yet. With some excellent character advancement and drama, and some spectacular action sequences, the sixth season keeps the viewer thoroughly entertained throughout. The Blu-ray presentation looks great and sounds even better. The discs come loaded with special features, and provide even more supplemental material via the digital copy. This release is a Must Own for any fan of the series, and definitely the perfect way to experience the season for first time viewers.