Millions of viewers around the world will be glued to their television sets on Sunday night for the finale of the fifth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones.
The fantasy-drama series that is based George RR Martin's A Story of Fire and Ice book series, is one of the most watched TV shows, as fans religiouly tune in to follow the characters in the Medieval land of Westeros and its seven kingdoms.
Season Five has been relentlessly chewed over by critics and fans alike, with much of the debate about what viewers see as extreme violence and controversial sexual content.
NPR TV critic Eric Deggans believes, "... More recently, criticism of key scenes this season that were brutal, sexually-charged and/or seriously violent feel more like a knee jerk reaction. In other words, now that Game of Thrones has been tagged as problematic, every controversial scene is judged as gratuitous, even when it may not be."
The criticism has centred around two scenes, the rape of heroine Sansa Stark by a brutal sadist she had just married and the burning alive of Princess Shireen Baratheon by her father, King Stannis Baratheon, as a sacrifice to a fire god for help in winning a war.
As Deggans notes, "Game of Thrones has always seemed a TV show, at its core, about presenting a more brutal and realistic vision than similar sword and sorcery epics like Lord of the Rings. This is a series which tries to marry the most realistic vision of Medieval-era life with a fantasy world where dragons are real.
"It's also a world where the innocent are exploited, the strong abuse those who are weaker, heroes are killed for their heroism and only the most ruthless seem to prosper. So, if you accept that notion, these acts of brutality make more sense."
According to the fan sites, a major character will die in Sunday's finale. T&T Guardian caught up with a few fans to hear what they thought about this season, and what they expect from Sunday's finale titled Mother's Mercy. If you haven't caught up with the series, beware, spoilers lie ahead.
Caroline Taylor
The violence in this season has been expected but also surprising... I suppose five seasons in you have to find some way of topping yourself. I didn't expect or want Mance to die in the first episode, but I can see how it opened the narrative for Tormund and Jon to head to Hardhome for what was easily the most epic, drop-the-mic 20 minutes of television in a long time.
Second best moment this season goes to Dany gettin' up on Drogon's back (winning me a bet that she can and will control her dragons). Third best was the Stone Men fight and the reveal of Jorah's greyscale infection.
In the finale, I want Margaery and Loras out of jail, and Cersei paying for her sins. I want Jaime to get a new lover. I want Littlefinger up a gum tree. I want Varys back, though I wanted him with Dany... I want Dany to come back to Meereen after her dragon ride. She has two other dragons locked up she needs to tend to, and she needs to work her ruling in Meereen out and coordinate an advance to Westeros. I want Ellaria and the Sand Snakes to get a story line that doesn't grate on my nerves. I want Arya to kill Meryn Trant, though I'm wary of the consequences of that given her involvement with the Faceless Men. I want Stannis to slaughter Ramsay and Roose Bolton, and then Davos or Brienne to slaughter Stannis. I want Sansa with somebody, anybody, who can help her take back her home and reunite with her brothers. I want Reek to own his identity as Theon. I want somebody to know who Jon Snow's mother is (ie, hopefully, Lyanna Stark).
Ian Royer
Season 5 was a dramatic roller coaster. We saw characters get their just desserts, Cersei's fall from grace, Arya finding her way to the faceless men and succeeding at it and Jon Snow growing into a formidable man.
It was beautifully cinematic; with the peak being the White Walkers attack on Hardhome and the fight scene with the dragon.
What shocked me the most, however, was the show's ability to challenge my morals. I was angry with Ramsay for raping Sansa, appalled at Stannis for killing his daughter and then I realised how easily the producers manipulate us. It's a show that has been gruesome since day one and yet still what shocked me was how I was okay with it for some and not for others.
In the final episode I think they are going to shaft Snow, the Red Witch is going to do something awful and Cersei is going to do a walk of shame.
Mitzi St Rose
I am reasonably certain I maintain my DirecTv subscription just so that I can see Game of Thrones "live" on a Sunday night.
I've been a fan from Season 1, I am completely liberated from expectations as I have not read the books (I tried, I failed).
I've enjoyed Season 5, the White Walkers battle sequence is my favourite. Sansa's rape and the way they chose not to show it, but instead to focus on Reek's pain and distress was masterful, and Dany's Dragons have had some great cameos this season.
It's been good to see Cersei have her comeuppance, patiently waiting for some horrible fate to befall Ramsay Bolton and now, worst father ever, Stannis. I think they've done a better job this year of threading the various stories together and I am intrigued where a Tyrion/Dany alliance could lead. No idea what will happen in the finale, but at this point I'm backing Arya to eventually do what her brother could not and her father didn't want to and eventually win the Game of Thrones.
�2 Game of Thrones airs on HBO on June 14 at 9pm.