'Game of Thrones' finale: What to expect

Kit Harington stars as Jon Snow on HBO's "Game of Thrones."

• "Game of Thrones" showrunners say season 4's finale is the best


• It'll be 66 minutes long


• It will also break from the usual "Game of Thrones" narrative pattern

(EW) -- The Battle of Castle Black may have been the biggest action set-piece in "Game of Thrones" history (and probably TV history, too), but next Sunday's hour of the HBO hit could be the show's best episode ever.

Titled "The Children," the 10th episode of the fourth season will break a narrative pattern that's been set by the show in previous years.

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Usually, the ninth episode contains a major character death or battle, and the finale is a quieter hour (by "Thrones" standards, at least) that wraps some storylines while launching other threads for next season. Expect "The Children" to check in with all the key characters and for some major drama to unfold.

"It's the best finale we've ever done, bar none," "Thrones" showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss said in a statement. "The performances from our cast, the direction from Alex Graves, the VFX work, the new [music] cues from Ramin Djawadi -- all of it came together in perhaps the finest hour we've produced. We're immensely proud of 'The Children.' And a little intimidated by the episode, because now we have to get back to the business of season five and figure out a way to top it."

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Of key interest is the fate of Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), who was sentenced to death at the conclusion of the eighth episode. But there's also Jon Snow (Kit Harington) marching off to assassinate Mance Rayder (Ciarán Hinds), Arya (Maisie Williams) setting a new course, and you cannot have a "Thrones" finale without at least one surprise involving the dragon queen (Emilia Clarke).

Expect "The Children" to be a longer-than-usual episode, too — HBO's schedule says the finale is 66 minutes.

See the original story at EW.com.

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