SPOILERS for last night’s episode of Game of Thrones 6.9, “Battle of the Bastards.”

“Battle of the Bastards” was supposed to be the most Jon Snow-intensive and action-heavy episode since “Hardhome” in Season 5. Did they deliver? I think Kit Harington does really well in action-oriented episodes, and people who say Kit is a one-note actor should start biting their tongues. Even though some around Jon Snow believe he is The Prince That Was Promised, Jon is still the same old Jon, uncomfortable with politics, riddled with insecurities and very, very sensitive. I think Kit did some of his best work in “BOTB” last night. Here are some highlights:

Dracarys. We got to see the conclusion of the action in Meereen, with Dany’s first instinct being “burn everything and everyone.” Tyrion convinced her (in a great scene) to meet face-to-face with the Masters. They were all like “surrender, bitch.” And she was all “nah.” Then she got on Drogon and as they flew by the pyramid (the catacombs of which Rhaegal & Viserion have been jailed) and Rhaegal and Viserion burned their way out and went to fly with their mom and their bro. “Dracarys,” Dany told her dragons. And they set fire to many of the masters and the masters’ ships. It was so amazing to see the three big dragons flying together!!! Oh, and Grey Worm got to kill two of the masters and Tyrion got to be Tyrion. At least he’s finally got something to do!

Dany & Yara like each other. In a later scene, Yara and Theon Greyjoy finally arrive at Meereen and after Tyrion bitches out Theon for being an arrogant little sh-t in the past, Yara and Theon lay all of their cards on the table. They’ll give their 100-ship fleet to Dany and in return they ask for her help in putting Yara on the Salt Throne of the Iron Islands. Yara and Dany seem to like each other immediately, and it really felt like they had sexual chemistry too. Anyway, the deal was struck! Dany isn’t going to wait to see what Euron Greyjoy has to say.

Ramsay & Jon’s First Meeting. The day before the battle, Jon, Ramsay and their main advisors meet in the middle of the battlefield. Jon offers to cancel the battle and they can just settle things one-on-one. Ramsay doesn’t like that idea, mostly because he’s more interested in menacing Sansa. Oh, and Ramsay provides proof of life on Rickon with Shaggydog the Direwolf. GAH! After the meeting, Sansa tries to tell Jon that he’s underestimating Ramsay, that he needs to be better prepared. She also basically tells Jon that she won’t let Ramsay take her alive.

Poor Rickon. To be fair, the kid needed to learn to zigzag. But Rickon was always going to die, wasn’t he? It sucks. It really sucks. And of course Ramsay was just toying with Jon and with Rickon. Rickon was always going to die by Ramsay’s hand. Plus, killing Rickon made Jon make a tactical error, an error of emotion.

The All-Is-Lost Moment. It was clear even from the beginning of the battle that Jon’s forces were outnumbered. But then they got outmaneuvered and out-flanked. Jon did so well in the battle scenes and you can really tell that he’s the kind of man other men want to follow into battle. It kept getting worse and worse and I thought Tormund was going to die. And then, of course, Littlefinger arrived with the Knights of the Vale. I never thought I would be so happy to see Littlefinger! The Vale forces overpowered Ramsay’s forces quickly and Ramsay, like a f—king coward, turned tail and ran back to Winterfell.

Wun-Wun gave it all for Jon Snow. How crazy is that? Wun-Wun helped Jon so much, and Wun-Wun broke down Winterfell front gate as his last act. Wun-Wun had so many arrows in his body, and Ramsay took the killshot as soon as Wun-Wun and Jon were inside Winterfell.

Jon vs. Ramsay. Another badass scene for Jon, right? The way he grabbed the shield and kept charging towards Ramsay, the swift way he took Ramsay down, and then Jon lost it. Jon kept punching and punching Ramsay’s stupid face until Jon saw Sansa standing over them. The look he gave her was almost like, “Do you want to finish him off?” And she did.

The Dogs of War. The wolf sigil flies again at Winterfell. Jon’s forces are weak and severely limited, but they have taken back Winterfell. Sansa wants one last thing: to know where Jon is keeping Ramsay. Sansa watches from the other side as Ramsay, bound to a chair, bloody and beaten, still tries to menace. There are growls, and for a second, I thought Sansa was going to let Ghost eat Ramsay and I was like YAAASSS. But no, Sansa has put Ramsay in a cell with his own starving dogs. The dogs do their work and the episode ends as Sansa smiles, walking away as she hears Ramsay’s screams.

So, in the end, the core group survived the Battle of the Bastards. Jon, Tormund, Davos, Melisandre, Sansa, Littlefinger and Ghost all survived. I’m sad about Wun-Wun but I’m beyond pleased about Ramsay. I think most of us figured that Rickon wouldn’t survive this season and we were right. It’s a gut-punch, but we were prepared for it. And much like Arya and her kill list, I kept repeating “Jon, Sansa, Bran, Arya” to myself last night, just as a reminder that four Stark kids remain. Also: I didn’t get into it, but Episode 10 is going to get into it – Davos finally confronts Melisandre about what she did to Princess Shireen. The little stag figurine!!! GAH.

Photos courtesy of HBO/Game of Thrones.