The Game of Thrones season six finale is shaping up to be a big one. In fact, it will be bigger than any episode of Game of Thrones to come before it.
As revealed by EW, this season's finale will run for a giant 69 minutes. Most episodes of the show run into the 50-minute range, but there have been a few episodes over the years that have broken the one-hour mark. The season finales for season two, three and four all came in at the 63- to 65-minute range, for example.
Fans also now know the title of season six's finale episode, appropriately titled "The Winds of Winter." That name is, of course, also the title of author George R.R. Martin's next book in the A Song of Ice and Fire saga upon which Game of Thrones is based. Martin has been working on the book for more than five years now, and the show has finally surpassed the storyline of the books. Over the course of this season, the identities of mysterious book characters have been revealed, and more than a few fan theories have been confirmed along the way. It appears the season six finale may reveal yet another major book spoiler in the form of the in-progress novel's namesake.
There's new information regarding the ninth episode of this season as well. The title of season six's penultimate episode is "The Battle of the Bastards." It's a fairly self-explanatory title, for anybody who has kept up with the show likely can figure out what that means. For the past several episodes, Jon Snow and his allies have been preparing for war against Ramsay Bolton, the recently legitimized bastard of Roose Bolton. Ramsay recently murdered his father in order take control of House Bolton, including its new seat of power at Winterfell.
It seems the two "Snows" will clash on the field of battle in episode nine, as the Wildlings and Boltons wage war in and around Winterfell. The Starks are badly outnumbered, but it appears that they might be able to expect some reinforcements if a fan-translated letter sent by Sansa Stark proves to accurate. That would match up with previous details released about the season's ninth episode, which is said to be the largest battle depicted on the show to date.
Sounds like Game of Thrones fans have plenty to look forward to. With only three episodes left this season, winter has nearly arrived.
