The Final ‘Game of Thrones’ Fantasy League—Week 5

Things definitely got heated on the field in the penultimate clash of armies for Fantasizr‘s Final Game of Game of Thrones Fantasy League—and I can’t say it’s looking good for my team. We saw a lot of players go out for the season, so the upcoming last game (ever!) is looking to be a brutal slugfest to see who takes home the Iron Throne trophy.

If you have not yet seen “The Bells,” the fifth episode of the current season of Game of Thrones, then stop reading here. Really, the spoilers ring out below.

The clear winner of the week, with more than double the points of the closest competitor, was the Nightshade Ninjas. If you’ve seen the show (and if you haven’t, stop reading!), you could probably guess that both Daenerys Targaryen and Drogon scored big this week. Real big. And, as it happens, the slow-starting Ninjas had both of these powerhouses on the field this week. Leading off the high scorers, of course, is Daenerys herself with a game-breaking 240 points. She earned the maximum of 50 points for obliterating the Iron Fleet and killing, well, almost everyone in the city. She also nabbed 10 points for incapacitating Harry Strickland, the woefully ineffective commander of the Golden Company (who had maybe two or three lines in the entire season), 10 points for incapacitating Arya, 25 each for killing Jaime Lannister, Cersei Lannister and, tragically, one-time player Nora. In the wits category, she had a few good lines—two about fear as her nephew Jon Snow was breaking off their relationship and another when she told Tyrion his next failure would be his last—earning her 30 more points. But she wasn’t done there! She brought in 20 points for her obligatory dragon-riding and 25 points for taking King’s Landing. Then, to crown it all off, she was awarded 20 points for being named MVP of the week. I mean, who else could it go to?

Drogon also earned 50 points for raining wanton fiery death upon countless King’s Landing citizens, and he doubled up on a lot of the same points Daenerys earned—25 each for Jaime, Cersei, and Nora, and 10 each for Harry Stickland and Arya. But he tops Daenerys in the kill category with the death of Varys, bringing his weekly total to 170—all from violence. You think that would be enough for the Ninjas, but they also scored with Euron Greyjoy who earned 35 points: 10 for taunting Jaime, 10 for an incapacitating strike on Jaime, 10 for crowing about killing Jaime Lannister, and 25 for his own death at the hand of Jaime Lannister. And, just to add some insult to injury, Qyburn brought in the team’s final 25 points for an ignominious death at the hand of Ser Gregor Clegane.

Second place this week goes to No Ygrittes with an impressive 250 points, and The Hound brought in 105 of those points. He earned 10 for warning Arya off the path of self-destruction, 40 points for quickly dispatching four red-shirt Lannister soldiers, 5 points for using profanity to will his big brother to die, and 25 points for killing Ser Gregor Clegane in the much-anticipated Cleganebowl. His final 25 points come from his own memorable death—by fire, of course. Jaime Lannister picked up 60 points—10 for continuing his defense of Cersei’s motherhood abilities, 25 for dispatching Euron Greyjoy, and 25 for dying under a mountain of Red Keep rubble. Jon Snow delivered with a 50-point violence maximum from kills made during his reluctant taking of King’s Landing, and the always steady Tyrion Lannister nabbed 35 points—15 for betraying Daenerys, 10 points for telling Varys who betrayed him, and 10 points for commenting about his willingness to die to save thousands.

After a few weeks of promise, my own Harrenhal Halberdiers once again settle into third place with only 120 points. Power player Arya Stark was double-teamed for the entire game and earned just 10 points for saying “I’m here to kill Queen Cersei.” Speaking of Cersei, she earned a decent 45 points—10 for a good dose of self-deception that the Red Keep “won’t fall today,” 25 for her death under the fallen Red Keep, and 10 points for saying that’s not how she wanted to die right before she did. Varys, the real hero of this week’s game, went out earning 15 points for betraying Daenerys and 25 points for dying because of it. I would have liked to see a little extra awarded to him for being posthumously correct about Daenerys, but you take what you can get. Lastly, a late draft of free agent Nora earned me a solid 25 points when she died a pointless death.

The long-suffering Night Kings, still absent their team leader, continue the spiral to the bottom of the league with a mere 65 points, all from The Mountain. The elder Clegane pulled in 25 points for killing Qyburn, 25 points for dying, and 15 points for betraying Cersei.

All that leaves us in a pretty grim place for the final game of this contest. Here’s where we are in the league standings leading into the final game:

• Nightshade Ninjas: 1,310 points
• No Ygrittes: 1,170 points
• Harrenhal Halberdiers: 860 points
• Night Kings: 730 points

Most of the support players are out for the season and with the all-star lineup of Drogon and Daenerys, the Nightshade Ninjas look to be unstoppable—unless Jon Snow starts stepping up for No Ygrittes. But here’s hoping that Sansa will claim the Iron Throne after Arya eliminates Daenerys. That’s pretty much the only way the Harrenhal Halberdiers will come out on top—but even that’s a long shot. And the Night Kings are holding out for the triumphant return of Hotpie! All we can do is wait and see what next week brings!

Check out the rationale behind Julia Alexander’s awarding of this week’s points—as well as her entertaining episode recap—over at The Verge.