Game of Thrones, The Best of 2016: Part 3

The year is almost over; we have just enough time for one more rounding up of the annual lists where Game of Thrones has made the cut!

Game of Thrones has already appeared on dozens on lists in Part 1 and Part 2 of this post series. New additions this week salute the show’s strength in music, major episodes, and a particular scene-stealer.

io9 put together their Best and Worst Television Moments of 2016, and admit they “had a lot of trouble narrowing down our favorite Game of Thrones moments to even just two or three.” They highlight five major moments from the season, including the Battle of the Bastards, the death of Hodor, Sansa’s execution of Ramsay, Lyanna Mormont’s speech to the Northern lords, and “Cersei drinking wine as the world burns,” after she blows up the sept.

Over in radio-land, Game of Thrones lands at number nine on NPR critic David Bianculli’s list of the Best TV of 2016. Check out the podcast to hear Bianculli’s discussion of his favorites this year.

“Battle of the Bastards” is one of the Best TV Episodes of 2016 according to Collider, who call it “a thrilling hour of television that contained some well-earned and genuine triumph.” Collider’s Allison Keener says the episode “was exciting, uplifting (even in its horror), and just in terms of choreography and payoff, probably the most outstanding hour of TV this year.”

Collider has also put together the 28 Best Songs on TV in 2016, creating one handy Spotify playlist. The list includes music such as”Heaven is a Place on Earth,” revived for Black Mirror‘s 80’s daydream “San Junipero” and the instrumental rendition of “Exit Music (For a Film)” from the Westworld finale. Capping off the selections is “Light of the Seven,” composed by Ramin Djawadi.

Vulture highlights their own 10 Best Musical TV Moments of 2016, saluting the best use of music this year. Making the cut naturally is “Light of the Seven,” the stunning piano-centered piece that scored the explosive trial in the season finale “The Winds of Winter.” As writer Sean T. Collins notes, “The instrument had never been prominently featured in Djawadi’s score before, let alone given a solo spotlight of this magnitude. The implication was clear: Something unprecedented was about to go down.”

Included in Vulture‘s 17 Breakthrough TV Performances of 2016 is the biggest scene-stealer of season 6, Bella Ramsey. Jen Chaney of Vulture says, “Ramsey may be young, but she infuses Lyanna with an astonishing amount of bravado, not to mention a commendable ability to shame grown men into doing the right thing. Frankly, we could use Lyanna on the U.S. political stage right now.”

Game of Thrones grabs the number ten spot on MTV‘s list of their top shows this year. Inkoo Kang also chooses the final two episodes of season 6 for her best episodes list, saying “Among the final two installments’ highlights were Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) very relatable paralysis amid war, the Stark sisters’ (Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams) long-awaited revenge on their respective torturers, and Cersei’s (Lena Headey) nuclear-level move for the crown. ‘Battle of the Bastards’ and ‘The Winds of Winter’ are Game of Thrones at its most ruthless, grand, maybe even inspirational — no other show comes close to being so epic.”

Keith Uhlich for the BBC places Game of Thrones at number eight on his list of the 10 Best TV Shows of 2016. Uhlich says, “Season six felt, in many ways, like a cresting and then initial crashing of the wave, satisfyingly tying up certain plot threads…while offering up the kind of vividly violent spectacle at which the show excels.”

The New York Post chooses GoT‘s second episode of the season, “Home” (featuring the resurrection of Jon Snow) as their best episode of the year. The Post says, “Jon opened his eyes and breathed. Vindicated, the fans went nuts. And the season was off to a running start.”

Salon has their own choices for the Best TV moments of 2016, and includes a little lady that won many people’s hearts this year. “We loved watching Lyanna Mormont flaunt her righteous indignation on Game of Thrones,” writes Melanie McFarland. Salon applauds all of Lady Mormont’s scenes in season 6, but especially the season finale moment when Lyanna faced the Northern lords and “surgically read them for filth.”

It’s been an incredible year for Game of Thrones, with season 6 surpassing season 5, and maybe all the years before. What do you think, readers?

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