As much as I enjoyed the season finale of Game of Thrones, it struck me that maybe it shouldn’t have played out the way it did at all.

See, Margaery notices something’s wrong in the Sept of Balor when Cersei and King Tommen fail to show up for the trial. The High Sparrow doesn’t believe her, and somehow doesn’t realize that his go-to “Shame” shouter isn’t present (even though all the other Sparrows, septons, and septas are there). If he had noticed Unella’s absence, maybe everyone gets out alive.

It’s a troubling plot contrivance, done entirely to give Cersei a chance to catch us up on all the horrible things she’s done as she pivots toward full-on evil mode. Seems like a cheat. Disappointing.