"Mother's Mercy" | |
---|---|
Game of Thrones episode | |
Cersei Lannister, about to start her walk of atonement.
|
|
Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 10 |
Directed by | David Nutter |
Written by |
David Benioff D. B. Weiss |
Featured music | Ramin Djawadi |
Cinematography by | Robert McLachlan |
Editing by | Tim Porter |
Original air date | June 14, 2015 |
Running time | 61 minutes |
Guest appearance(s) | |
|
|
"Mother's Mercy" is the tenth and final episode of the fifth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 50th overall. The episode was written by the series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and directed by David Nutter.
"Mother's Mercy" garnered critical acclaim, with critics lauding Lena Headey's performance, David Nutter's direction and the writing of Benioff and Weiss. Particular praise was directed to Cersei Lannister's walk of atonement, which involved a body double and the use of CGI. In the United States, the episode premiere achieved a viewership of 8.11 million, making it the show's most watched episode, until it was surpassed by the season six finale. The episode won Emmy Awards for Writing in a Drama Series and Directing in a Drama Series for Benioff & Weiss and Nutter.
The weather conditions at Stannis Baratheon's (Stephen Dillane) camp drastically improve, clearing the route towards Winterfell. Melisandre (Carice van Houten) takes credit, claiming that as a result of Shireen's sacrifice, the Lord of Light has made good on his promise. However, it then turns out that Shireen's sacrifice has also prompted half of Stannis's army, including all of his mercenaries, to desert him, and driven Selyse (Tara Fitzgerald) to hang herself. Melisandre immediately flees to Castle Black. Despite all of these setbacks, Stannis orders his remaining troops to march forward towards Winterfell. Podrick (Daniel Portman) sees Stannis' troops and warns Brienne (Gwendoline Christie), who leaves to take revenge on Stannis.