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The Mad Queen rules over ashes in Game of Thrones’ final episode photos

Game of Thrones | Season 8 Episode 6 | Preview (HBO)

King’s Landing is ashes, and the Mad Queen has emerged victorious, but there’s still one episode remaining in the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones.

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The fires are still burning in both the hit show and in fans’ debate over the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones, and the network has now released a pair of photos and a preview of what’s to come when one of the most popular series of all time concludes its eight-season run. Titled The Bells, the most recent episode saw Daenerys Targaryen’s army — but mostly just her dragon — win the battle for the Iron Throne, but at what cost?

After deciding to rain fiery death on a city full of innocent civilians despite the city’s surrender, the newly christened “Mad Queen” now looks poised to take the Iron Throne for herself, concluding a narrative that saw her rise to power, only to become a villain greater than the one she deposed. The first photo released by HBO shows her overlooking the ash-covered remnants of the city, while the second photo puts Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) front and center.

Image used with permission by copyright holder
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The trailer takes a brief look at the aftermath of Daenerys’ rage and features a brief shot of Arya Stark, one of the characters who saw firsthand the terrifying toll it took on the city’s most vulnerable inhabitants.

More Game of Thrones News

Although the show’s series finale will air this upcoming weekend, that won’t be the end of the saga inspired by author George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novels.

A Game of Thrones prequel series is currently in development and active casting with Kingsman: The Secret Service and Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children screenwriter Jane Goldman attached as head writer and showrunner, and Martin himself also involved. The still-untitled series will be set thousands of years before the events of Game of Thrones and feature two-time Oscar nominee Naomi Watts in an unidentified lead role.

Episode 6 of Game of Thrones season 8 will air 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT on Sunday, May 18, on HBO.

Rick Marshall
Former Contributing Editor, Entertainment
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
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