With so much speculation swirling as Game of Thrones continues to build momentum and deliver revelations, we’re thrilled to get our hands on any details we can. As if hearing our prayers to the TV gods, HBO has confirmed the titles and run times for the last two episodes of GoT’s current sixth season. (Note: This post, like every GoT-related post every written, contains spoilers.)
Episode nine is titled “The Battle of the Bastards,” which appears to promise the showdown between good bastard (and sort-of zombie) Jon Snow and bad bastard Ramsay Bolton that the entire season has been building towards. Entertainment Weekly speculates that this may be the “biggest battle in the show’s history” that GoT showrunners have teased previously. The sure-to-be-epic 60-minute episode will air on June 19.
Episode ten, the season finale, is titled “The Winds of Winter,” in a nod to the sixth A Song of Ice and Fire book, which, at this rate, George R.R. Martin will never finish, though he did post a new chapter last month. The finale will clock in at an ample 69 minutes, making it the longest GoT episode yet. It airs June 26.
Buckle up, boys and girls: Miguel Sapochnik, whose directing work on season five’s “Hardhome” produced one of the most jaw-dropping episodes of television we’ve ever seen, will helm both episodes.
Episode eight, titled “No One,” airs this Sunday at 9 p.m. EST on HBO. In the meantime, watch a preview below and dive deep with our latest Game of Thrones theories here and here.