Hoo boy, what an episode! Now, if you have not seen last night’s brutal Game of Thrones episode, “Battle of the Bastards,” this is your last warning. These photos essentially spoil the entire episode beat by beat, so you may want to bookmark this for later if you’re behind.

Are we good? Okay, great. Let’s get to it. “Epic” is a word used far too often in internet-speak, but we think Game of Thrones has earned the title… because last night’s episode was a bloodthirsty battle of truly epic proportions. When you strip away all the other moments, the much-hyped Battle of the Bastards was even more impressive than we hoped, visceral in its carnage, overwhelmingly claustrophobic, and satisfying on so many levels. And thankfully, HBO has released a behind-the-scenes video (watch above) and 15 photos from the episode for us to pore over until the extended finale next week.

The Siege at Meereen

Last week, Dany’s trio of advisors discovered that the slavers were actually NOT so keen to let their slaves live their lives in peace when they descended upon the city with a very convenient fleet of ships. The Mother of Dragons arrived in the knick of time, hell-bent on burning those slavers, their cities, and people to the ground. Ever the voice of sardonic reason, Tyrion talked Mad Queen Dany OUT of genocide and instead settled on a good old-fashioned surrender. As Dario and the Dothraki charged the Sons of the Harpy (girl, bye), Dany reunited with all three of her dragons for a gorgeous spectacle of what could be coming to Westeros next season. Did anyone else picture Jon Snow and Tyrion atop those beautiful beasts?

Dany + Yara

Move over, Brienne and Tormund: a new ship has sailed. Last night saw Yara and Theon Greyjoy make their case to Daenerys, plus some serious flirting between the two badass lady leaders. Interesting to note: Yara agreed to recognize Dany as Khaleesi of the Seven Kingdoms and give up her people’s ways of raping, pillaging, etc., while Dany agreed to recognize Yara as the first Queen of the now-independent Iron Islands. When Tyrion says what we’re all thinking (What if everyone wants independence?), Dany simply shrugs. “She asked. Anyone can ask.” Dany, Yara, Theon, and Tyrion are all learning from the mistakes of their parents (Happy Father’s Day!) and setting out to make the world a better place. Maybe that means independent states! As long as those pesky White Walkers don’t cause any trouble, that is…

The Battle of the Bastards

Holy cats, you guys. That battle was BANANAS. From Rickon’s awful, inevitable death (Serpentine!) to the clashing of weapons and writhing of bodies, the Battle between Jon Snow’s tiny army and Ramsay’s Flayed Men demonstrated that no matter who wins the battle, no one wins in war. (Did anyone else have a mild panic attack when Jon was suffocating in the chaos?) And had not Sansa sent her little birds to call upon Littlefinger’s army, Jon Snow would have most certainly died… again. We also saw the courageous final fight from Wun Wun, the giant who gave his life to barrel through Winterfell and take down Ramsay’s men.

See Ya, Ramsay

I hope you all let out a serious cheer when they pulled the Stark banner out of storage and hung it up outside Winterfell, because I nearly fell off of my couch. Yes, Ramsay Bolton has finally been defeated and the Starks reign at Winterfell once more. We saw glimpses of how the past five seasons have changed Jon and Sansa though, between Jon’s bloody bashing and Sansa’s totally understandable but seriously messed up revenge. (Good doggies!) These two will never be the same again… and they probably have some things to discuss after last night.

Those are just some of the highlights from “Battle of the Bastards” (read up on all the details in our episode recap), but you can find plenty more madness in the gallery below.

What’d you think of last night’s episode? What do you think will happen in the finale? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned for even more Game of Thrones teasers, theories, recaps, and analysis right here on Nerdist.

Rachel Heine is the Editor-in-Chief of Nerdist and wants to join Game of Thrones’ new clan of Queens. Find her on Twitter @RachelHeine.