Castle carnage marks penultimate episode of 'Game of Thrones'

May 12 (UPI) -- Several main characters were killed and a city was destroyed in the second to the last episode of Game of Thrones Sunday night.

The eighth and final season of the HBO fantasy drama is set to air May 19.

Spoilers ahead.

Fearful that Varys (Conleth Hill) would reveal the true parentage of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and thus threaten her claim to the Iron Throne, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) ordered her last remaining dragon to burn Varys alive.

She, Jon and their army then descended on King's Landing to attack Cersei (Lena Headey.)

Daenerys' dragon quickly decimated the Iron Fleet of Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbaek,) then torched Cersei's warriors.

Although the citizens of King's Landing surrendered, Daenerys continued to use her dragon to reduce the city to rubble, killing thousands of innocent people, as she searched for Cersei and her lover Jon and adviser Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) looked on in horror.

Elsewhere, Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) tried to rescue his evil sister Cersei -- who is also pregnant with his child -- but he is stabbed by Euron. Jaime kills Euron, then makes his way to Cersei to help her escape, however the castle above them appears to crumble on top of them.

The episode also included a brutal showdown between brothers Ser Gregor (Hafbor Julius Bjornsson) and the Hound (Rory McCann.) They blind each other before tumbling off the side of a building into a fiery abyss. Maester Qyburn (Anton Lesser) is also a casualty of the confrontation.

The show closed with the city in ruins and a bloodied and shocked Arya (Maisie Williams) riding through the keep on a horse.