SPOILER ALERT: Game Of Thrones fans left reeling as a host of main characters are killed off in the explosive season five finale

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All Men must die - even Jon Snow.

Game Of Thrones fans were left distraught on Sunday night as the season five finale proved to be one of the most bloody spectacles the HBO series has produced so far.

The Lord Commander was brutally butchered by his fellow brothers of the Night's Watch, but he was just one of many to die.

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Preparing for war: The episode begins at Stannis Baratheon's camp, where Melisandre claims the snows thanks to the Lord of Light

Viewers had already been reeling at the sight of Cersei Lannister moments earlier being shorn and stripped completely naked, before being forced to march through the streets of King's Landing in front of a baying mob. 

The explosive season five finale jumped from one shocking scene to the next, also seing Stannis Baratheon executed at the hands of Brienne of Tarth, just hours after his wife Queen Selyse hanged herself

In an episode that had an even higher main character body count than the infamous Red Wedding, Myrcella Baratheon was poisoned to death and the hands of Ellaria Sand, while Arya Stark slaughtered Ser Meryn Trant in one of the series' most gruesome ever murders. 

Justified: She tries to persuade Stannis his gruesome sacrifice of his daughter Shireen was the right thing to do

Bad news: But Stannis' captain then informs him half his army have deserted him as a result

The astounding episode opened at Stannis Baratheon's camp, when a smug Lady Melisdandre claims last week's horrific sacrificial burning to death of his daughter Shireen to appease the Lord of Light has worked, as the snows hampering his march on Winterfell are melting.

But Stannis is hardly overjoyed, and he doesn't get any happier when a soldier arrives with news that half his army have deserted him, and taken all the horses, in the wake of the brutal sacrifice.

Then a second soldier leads him to the woods to reveal the ghastly sight of wife Selyse hanged from a tree; as he surveys her grim corpse a third soldier informs him Lady Melisandre has been seen fleeing the camp.

Walk of shame: Cersei Lannister being stripped completely naked and marched through the streets was just one of many shocking scenes in the explsove finale of Game of Thrones season five

Ashamed: He then discovers his wife Selyse has hanged herself during the night

Not great parents: The queen couldn't bear the though they had willfully burned their daughter alive

Grim: Unmoved, Stannis insists they press on to Winterfell

Despite the three crushing successive blows, the ever-stoic Stannis insists they press on to Winterfell.

Back at the Wall, Jon Snow is reporting to Sam what he witnessed at Hardhome when the White Walkers and their army of the dead annihilated Brothers and Wildlings alike.

'He raised his hands and they all stood up at once. Tens of thousands of them – the biggest army in the world,' he somberly reports. 'I hope they don’t learn to climb the Wall.'

Tired: Stannis arrives at Winterfell and gives the order to prepare for a siege

No rest for the wicked: But he is immediately set upon my a much larger mounted force of Bolton men

Ballsy: Despite being hopelessly outnumbered, Stannis prepares to meet them

Scatter! His forced are completely outflanked, and many flee

He tells him the dragonglass they brought was lost, and although they now know Valyrian steel can kill the Walkers too, they concede there are too few blades left in Westeros to matter.

'The first Lord Commander in history to sacrifice the lives of sworn brothers for the lives of Wildlings,' he tells Sam. 'How does it feel to be friends with the most hated men in Castle Black?'

Sam begs Jon to allow him, Gilly and and baby Sam leave for Old Town where he can train to become a maester - and also because he knows the three of them will likely be killed by the Brothers if they remain at Castle Black.

Survived: In the aftermath, Stannis is heavily wounded and struggles to walk

Trouble: He is discovered by two Bolton men who are finishing off the wounded

Still got it: Nevertheless he manages to fight off and kill them both

'The last thing they’ll see is me failing them - I'd rather see a thousand White Walkers than see that,' Sam says, and Jon agrees to let them go - but not before joking about Sam's heavily injured sex scene with Gilly.

'I'm glad the end of the world is working out well for someone,' he joshes with a rare smile.

Meanwhile at Winterfell, Sansa uses the confusion in the preparation for Stannis's arrival to sneak to the broken tower and light the candle to signal Brienne that she needs help.

Ouch: But in the skirmish his achilles tendon is slashed, and he falls...

Bad to worse:... only to be bet by Brienne of Tarth, who was kingsguard to the brother he murdered

Any last words? Brienne executed Stannis for Renly's murder

But Miranda intercepts her on the way back, seemingly tipped off by the accompanying Reek, and holds Sansa at arrow point, telling her Ramsay will only keep her to bear children before he kills her.

‘If I'm going to die, let it happen while there's still some of me left,' Sansa defiantly replies, and just as Miranda is about to loose the arrow, Reek pushes her and she falls from the battlement to her death in the courtyard below.

The sound of Ramsay returning spurs the two of them to flee, and the only way out is over the wall. Reek takes her hand and they make the leap, and even with the thick snowbank below it looks like an impossible height to survive from.

Enjoys his work: Ramsay enjoys finishing off the wounded outside the walls of Winterfell

Quick: In the confusion of the battle, Sansa takes the opportunity to try signal for help

Rat: But she is intercepted by a bow wielding Miranda, informed by Reek

Meanwhile outside the walls, Pod has spotted Stannis's army approaching and warns Brienne, who leaves just before she sees Sansa's signal.

A tired looking Stannis arrives finally arrives within sight of Winterfell - without horses, siege weapons and less than half his army - and begins to prepare for a siege.

'There's not going to be a siege your Grace,' his captain tells him and points to the massive mounted Bolton force charging at them from the castle. Stannis has no choice but to draw his sword and meet them, even though he is hopelessly outmatched.

Jealous: The kennel-master's daughter taunts Sansa, telling her Ramsay will kill her after she bears him children

About time! Reek tackles Miranda before she can loose an arrow and she falls to her death

Look out below: Reek and Sansa take the only escape route available - off Winterfell's enormous walls into the snow below... but we cannot tell if either survived

In the aftermath of the battle, a heavily wounded Stannis is making his way through the scattered bodies of his army when he comes across two Bolton men, finishing off those still breathing. Stannis somehow manages to kill them both but has his achilles tendon slashed in the skirmish and falls to the ground.

It is then he meets to only less welcome sight than a Bolton.

'Bolton has women fighting for him now?' he asks her, but she identifies herself as Brienne of Tarth.

In Braavos: Meryn Trant has taken his peversions up a notch

Cruel: The kingsguard has three young girls lined up whom he whips violently with a cane

Something's up: Two of them cry out in pain, but the third doesn't make a sound

'I was kingsguard to Renly Baratheon. I was there when he was murdered by a shadow with your face,' she tells him before sentencing him to death. 'Any any last words?' 

'Go on do your duty,' he replies - and she does.

Meanwhile across the Narrow Sea we see Ser Meryn Trant is following up on his perversions at the brothel, cruelly whipping three young girls with a cane. While the first two scream in pain, the third doesn't make a sound, even when he breaks the cane across her back and then punches her in the gut and she crumples to the ground.

But when the girl looks up her face has completely changed - to Arya Stark's.

Suprise! Her face suddenly changes to reveal herself to be Arya stark

Oberyn revisited: She stabs Trant in the eye with a short blade

Merciless: Arya then falls on top of him and gouges out his other eye

She leaps at him and gouges out his eye with a short blade, falls on him and pierces his other eye, before mercilessly stabbing him over and over in the chest.

'You're the first person on my list, you know,' she tells the blubbering mess, recalling her water dancing tutor he killed in season one. ''For killing Syrio Forel, remember him? Probably not. 

'I've gotten a few of the others. The Many-Faced God stole a few others from me… but I'm glad he left me you. Do you know who I am?' she calmly asks, as the Kingsguard bleeds and pleads on his knees.

Gruesome: After completely blinding him she then stabs him repeatedly in the chest

You know who I am: Only then does Arya reveal to the blubbering mess who she is

Crossed off the list: She then puts him out of his misery, slowly slitting his throat

'You know who I am. I’m Arya Stark. Do you know who you are. You're nothing. No-one,' she says and slowly slits his throat.

In the next scene we see Arya replacing the face she borrowed from the House of Black and White - but Jaqen H'ghar has seen her.

'A girl has taken a life. The wrong life,' he tells her. 'That man's life was not yours to take. A debt is owed. Only death can pay for life.'

Sneaky: Back at the House of Black and White Arya attempts to return the face she borrowed

Eye for an eye: Jaqen H'ghar catches her and tells her her Trant's life was not hers to take, insisting a life must pay for a life

Suicide: But it is Jaqen who drinks the vial of poison

The Faceless Man then unveils a vial of poison - and drinks it himself. He falls to the ground dead as Arya shrieks in dismay. But suddenly another Jaqen appears behind her. Confused, she reaches for the dead man's face and pulls it off to reveal another... and another, and another.

She continues to pull off his changing faces - until she reveals her own. And then the corpse's face begins to blur. When she turns to look to Jaqen for an explanation, she finds she is completely blind.

The action then jumps to Dorne, where Prince Doran, Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes are seeing off Jamie and Myrcella Lannister, the prince's son Tristane, and Bronn - whom Tyene Martell has a few choice words of farewell to whisper. 

A man is dead: The faceless man falls down dead to Arya's angiush

WTF? But when another Jaqen reappears behind her, she pulls face after face from the corpse...

Freaky:... until she reveals her own dead body on the floor

Irony: When she turns to Jaqen for answers, she finds she is completely blind

The apparently placated Ellaria even gives Myrcella a lingering kiss on the lips. 

On board their ship, Jamie decides to confess to Myrcella that he is her father. 'We don’t chose who we love. It's beyond our control,' he tells her, trying to compare his incestual relationship to her love for a Martell, the sworn enemies of the Lannisters

But Myrcella makes the surprise revelation that she already knew. ‘I think a part of me always knew, and I'm glad. I'm glad that you're my father,' she tells him, and they embrace.

Friendly? In Dorne, Prince Doran, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes see Jamie, Myrcella, Tristane and Bronn off

Very friendly: Ellaria even gives Myrcella a lingering kiss on the lips

Oberynn's paramour appears to have taken her pledge bot to harm Myrcella seriously

She said what? Tyene Sand even has a few coice words of farewell for Bronn

But their newfound joy is very short-lived, as the princess begins bleeding from her nose, before falling unconscious. When the camera cuts back to the dock, Doran is gone, and we see Ellaria is suffering the same symptoms - but her daughter hands her the antidote to the poison.

Meanwhile in Meereen, Tyrion, Jorah and Daario are all in the throne room, apparently having survived Daenerys' pulling a burner last week while they were under heavy assault.

The tension between Jorah and Daario - who both love the queen - remains, although Daario has a newfound respect for Mormont after his heroics in the arena.

Awkard: On board the ship, Jamie finally confesses to Myrcella he is her father as well as her uncle - but she already knew

That was quick: They embrace, before Myrcella begins heavily bleeding from her nose - she has been poisoned

Kiss of death:Back on the dock, Ellaria is showing the same symptoms, but once again her daughter has the antidote on hand

Grey worm and Missandei arrive and the five discuss the next step. Tyrion impresses Missandei with his Valyrian - even if it is 'a bit nostril' - and Daario backs Grey Worm as 'the toughest man with no balls I ever met', until they arrive at the agreement that Tyrion, Missandei and Grey Worm should rule in the Daenerys' absence, helped by Varys who makes an unexpected arrival.

Jorah and Daario Meanwhile agree to go look for the Khaleesi, setting up some surely awkward future conversations between the two: 'We have so much to talk about,' Daario chuckles as they depart.

Daenerys we find has flown a great distance with Drogon, who lies injured on a pile of charred remains. She insists they try return to the city, but when she tries to mount him he shrugs her off. She's left to walk on her own, and after doing so for a time, suddenly comes upon an enormous host of Dothraki riders, who menacingly circle her. 

Survived: In Meereen, Jorah, Tyrion and Daario discuss their next steps

Placeholder: Missandei and Grey Worm agree to help Tyrion rule the city in Daenerys' absence 

Spider: Varys makes an unexpected return and agrees to help Tyrion

Back in Westeros, we once again return to Cersei's prison cell where she is clearly broken. When the sister arrives to ask her once again to confess, she finally succumbs.

‘I have sinned. I see that now. How can I have been so blind for so long,' she tells the High Sparrow. 'I want to be clean again; I want absolution.'

She admits to sleeping with her cousin Lancel - whom she knows the High Sparrow certainly knows about - but vehemently denies her three children were fathered by her brother, and he seems satisfied, telling her she will go on trial for the rest of the accusations, but that she can return to the Red Keep in the meantime.

Mopey: Daenerys is revealed to have flown a great distance on Drogon, who is wounded

Never wander off alone: After Drogon shrugs her off Dany begins walking, and runs into a Dothraki outrider

Old friends? She is quickly surrounded by thousands of Dothraki on horseback

But when she asks if she is free to go, he replies: 'After your atonement.'

The next scene sees the Queen Regent stripped completely naked and roughly scrubbed clean. before her long golden hair is harshly cut off with a razor.

She is brought in a robe out to the steps of the sept, where thousands of people have gathered to witness her walk of shame.

Broken: Back in King's Landing Cersei finally breaks and agrees to confess

Confession: She admits to the High Sparrow she slept with her cousin Lancel, but denies Jamie fathered her children

Scrubber: The High Sparrow agrees to let her return to the Red Keep before her trial, but fist she must 'atone'

'To demonstrate her repentance, she will cast aside all pride, all artifice, and present herself as the gods made her, to you, the good people of the city,' the High Sparrow announces. 'She comes before you with a solemn heart, shorn of secrets, naked before the eyes of gods and men, to make her walk of atonement.'

With a gasp from the crowd, she is stripped of her robe and pushed forward, stark naked. As the eyes bore into her she is shoved forward to the sound of a ringing bell, and the call of 'shame, shame, shame' by the escorting sister.

At first the crowd just stare silently, but things quickly turn ugly. They begin jeering, then shouting, then screaming obscenities. They throw food, filth, and excrement at her, spit in her face, and some even brandish their own genitals at her. 

Haircut: Cersei is roughly shorn of her long golden hair

Shame: The queen regent is brought out on to the steps of the sept

Rubberneckers: Thousands of King's Landing residents have lined the streets to see what happens next

Her lowest point: Cersei is then stripped completely naked

Cersei continues forward step after step, always staring forward, struggling not to cry. The crowd has descended into a frezied rabble at this stage; she slips and falls on her bloodied feet, but looks up to see she is within site of the Red Keep.

As the abuse continues to hurl at her, she finally she reaches the gate of the keep, and only then does she allow her self to break down. As Lannister Guards men and Gold Cloaks, her uncle Kevan and a smug-looking Grand Maester Pycelle look on, only Qyburn comes to her aid, wrapping her in a cloak, before beckoning to a black-eyed giant lumbering behind him wearing the armour of the Kingsguard.

'May I have the honour of presenting the newest member of the Kingsguard,' he whispers to the queen as the monster - clearly the reincarnated Gregor 'The Mountain' Clegane he has been experimenting on - scoops the queen up in his arms.

Is the bell really necessary? She is forced to march in front of the sister, to her cries of 'Shame, shame, shame'

Glaring: At first the crowd just stare at her naked body in silence

Mob: The crowd quickly turn vicious, screaming insults

Deplorable: members of the crowd run up and flash their own genitalia at her

hated: Cersei stumbles, but nobody comes to her aid

Strength: Only when she has made it through the baying crowd does she allow herself to cry

Bloodied: Cersei's feet are torn and bloodied by the end of her walk of atonement

'If it please Your Grace, he has taken holy vow of silence,' Qyburn adds. 'He has sworn that he will not speak until all his Grace’s enemies are dead and evil has been driven from the realm,' - and for the first time in many episodes, the slightest hint of fire reignites in Cersei's eyes 

Back at The Wall, Davos is pleading with Jon Snow to send reinforcements and supplies to Stannis, when they are interrupted by the arrival of Melisandre on horseback.

They ask her of the fates of Stannis and Princess Shireen, but her sullen silence is all the answer they need. 

Sanctuary: She finally makes it home, where only Qyburn comes to her aid, wrapping her in a cloak

The Mountain? He introduces her to the newest member of the Kinsguard - the thing he has been experimenting on

Dead inside: The black-eyed monster 'has sworn a vow of silence' so will not speak

Revenge: He scoops Cersei up in his arms, and the wheels of vengeance are already turning in her head

The final scene of the season sees the Lord Commander pouring over letters when his young steward Olly bursts in with the first bit of good news Jon has received probably since the start of the show: his uncle Benjen has been spotted alive by one of the Wildlings who was at Hardhome.

Jon rushes out to speak with him, pushing through a crowd of his black brothers... only to be met with a cross with the words 'traitor' written on it.

The grim realisation sinks in as he turns and is stabbed in the gut by Alliser Thorne.

Fail: back at the wall, Melisandre returns while Davos is pleading with Jon Snow for reinforcements

Good news? Jon's stewrd Olly informs him one of the Wildlings has seen his uncle Benjen, but when he emerges that is not what he finds

Traitor: Ser Alliser Thorn plunges a dagger into his gut, telling him it's 'For the Watch'

Turncoats: One by one Jons brother's stab him in the stomach, each time repeating Thorne's line

Last plea: Finally, his little Steward steps up, and Jon can only manage to say his name

Coup de grace: But Olly jams the final blade into Jon's chest

'For the Watch,' he tells him, and one by one the Brothers of the Night's Watch walk up and do the same.

Jon sinks to his knees, as Olly finally approaches. Jon can only whisper his name, as his little steward plunges his dagger in.

The last shot of Game Of Thrones season five is Jon's lifeless eyes staring at the sky as his blood pools in the snow beneath him. 

The end: The last shot of Game Of Thrones season five is Jon's lifeless eyes staring at the sky as his blood pools in the snow beneath him