This, the sixth and final episode of Telltale Games’ first season of Game of Thrones is centred around three key locations and follows the events of Episode 5 almost immediately. It begins with Gared Tuttle finally reaching the fabled North Grove. Although Gared soon learns something of its significance to the former lord of House Forrester, I was actually quite disappointed to find that neither he nor the player will discover North Grove’s true importance this season, nor is the breadcrumb trail even strong enough to provide enough interest to whet the appetite ahead of Season Two.

A little more interesting is the sad tale of Mira Forrester, which may at least reach a definitive conclusion depending on a key decision by the player. Mira has wrangled (and struggled) with the politics of King’s Landing since the first episode, and at the end of The Ice Dragon, she is forced to choose between a defiant death or a particularly unpleasant proposition. Reflecting across the series as a whole, I couldn’t help but wonder what purpose Mira’s story — at times the most intriguing part of Season One — was meant to serve if she were to die, whilst the potential for her to make a big impact in Season Two should she survive increases hugely. This actually means that Mira’s final decision in this episode is easily the biggest in the series and possibly in any Telltale game that I’ve played.

MF1

The bulk of the action is centred around Ironrath, where either Asher or Rodrik will attempt to face down the Whitehill threat for the last time. I’ve mentioned in previous reviews that the interactions between House Forrester and House Whitehill have led to a feeling of deja vu as Rodrik received countless beatings and slights but was never able to respond in a truly satisfactory way. Unfortunately, things are again a bit like that here, and the conclusion is always bloody and somewhat unsatisfactory for House Forrester no matter what choices you make.

Despite a huge number of loose ends being left to tie up in the second season, Telltale has managed to craft a season finale that just about lives up to expectations. The decisions you’ll have to make in Ice Dragon are genuinely challenging and impact the game (and possibly the next season) in pretty major ways. Best of all, for the first time during this season, I felt like I was playing something more than a barely interactive comic book.

To find reviews of other episodes check out the Game of Thrones review hub.

Game of Thrones Episode 6 The Ice Dragon was developed and published on Xbox One and Xbox 360 by Telltale Games. It was released November 17, 2015 for $4.99. A copy was provided by Telltale Games for review purposes.