Spoiler Alert: These reviews contain spoilers for the titled episode. They may also contain spoilers for any previous episodes and published book content. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
Man, so many cool moments this week and a few that literally had my mouth just hanging open (just ask my wife)! Going to eschew the full episode breakdown and instead just give my thoughts on things that stuck out to me.
I'll start with Bran and things in his neck of the rather-expansive woods.
Meera is a *beast*! It was awesome seeing her pound through the snow, hauling Bran with everything she's got. It was also really compelling seeing her vulnerable. I really felt, looking at her, that she was reaching her breaking point. So often she was the super capable, strong, stable one and seeing more depth, showing fear, hopelessness, despair and just the feeling of being lost was incredibly well done. The awesome cinematography really highlighted this too, with the reeling, whirling shots.
Bran's visions were so cool. WE SEE AERYS! When he flashed up, dark on the Iron Throne, bellowing "Burn them all!" I literally went slack-jawed. It was a moment that I had been convinced that we would only be told about, and that we didn't *need* to see, but was SO cool to see, perhaps *because* of that.
Also, we get something that I think most folks thought was either a) not going to happen and b) settled by outside sources. I am, of course, talking about the one, the only, our long lost Benjen Stark.
For book readers, this is exceptionally interesting because not only have we not had word one about Benjen's fate, but there *was* also other news. A few months back, a fan read the manuscript for A Dance With Dragons that Martin had donated to the Cushing Library and went through all of its 1600 pages. In it was found that the editor asked, in the margins, if Coldhands was Benjen, and said that she thought it was. Martin had written an emphatic, underlined "NO" under this. Just like that, the theory was dead.
Enter the show. We see the wights closing in on Bran and Meera and a looming black figure shows up (on a horse, not an elk, unfortunately...) but wielding some awesome weaponry. He sets the zombies ablaze and, once everything had died down (no pun intended) you get a look at him. The INSTANT I saw his eyes, I knew it was Benjen. It made me think.
It's either one of two things: 1) Benjen really is Coldhands and what was noted in the manuscript margins was incorrect (possibly dated and changed since its submission?) or 2) this is a solid deviation from the books. If it is 1, (which I doubt) I wonder what made Martin change his mind? If it is 2 (most likely), it's interesting to see such a fundamental, opposite-direction difference from show to book. It's almost like watching fan-fiction. "But what if Benjen WAS Coldhands? Wouldn't that still be awesome?!" That's fascinating to me.
Having said that, it's cool to have him back and this late in the game, I wonder what role he'll play. The character looks great: dead but not ghoulish, human but not warm. Yay, Benjen is back! :D
The King's Landing developments were awesome and raised some questions for me too.
First, I'll say I'm really liking Tommen. You can tell that for once, there is a king who is trying. Whether he is *good* at it, he genuinely wants the best for others. Is he easily influenced by those around him? Sure. At least he isn't a monster. On top of that, he's learning and seeing that growth is cool.
Now to the real intriguing part - Margaery Tyrell. Is she really brainwashed or is she playing a *really* long game? It's hard to tell how much time has passed since we last saw her and when we left her she was looking into her brother's eyes as he said he just wanted it all to end. Did that convince her to change her "we gotta fight" tune? When she speaks with Tommen, she seemed perfectly earnest and no one was there listening.
When Jamie and the Tyrell host show up, the Faith pulls the rug out from under everyone and shows that the King himself has been converted by his apparently repentent wife. Not only this but even the kingsguard are now emblazoned with the seven pointed star of the Faith (which, to be fair, looks awesome). This freaks out *everyone* among the nobility / military that's shown up. The Queen of Thornes herself looks positively pissed, with not a single wry remark to throw. She simply says, to a dumbfounded Mace Tyrell, "He's won."
I'm thinking though, that this may still be Margaery playing the game on a much higher level. We know she's always been shrewd and excellent at playing a role expected of her. We also know she is well aware of the stakes. So, option one, walk through the streets barefoot and in rags, viewed as an equal (or lower) by the entire city. That's an image killer, so a no-go. Option two, Jamie, the kingsguard and the Tyrell forces storm the Sept, take her and Loras by force and lay waste to the Faith. Do that and you have rivers of blood in the streets, riots and most likely civil war. That's unproductive for the current power structure which is shaky at best as it is.
Option The Third: Align youself with "the enemy". Give them a seat at the table and make them feel heard, valued and taken into account. You do this, and the masses are placated, the Faith is happy, and the realm is united in a way it hasn't been in some time. You also remain, even if you are standing in rags, far above the masses, still regal, untouchable, benevolent, humble and even wise; a queen they *want*. I think she may be on to something here.
Also want to mention the interplay between Mace and Jamie was hilarious.
This week we also got to see Arya finally make the call. With her hiding needle upon her arrival, it was clear that she wouldn't be letting go of herself altogether but I was starting to wonder what her middle ground would be. She seemed genuinely interested in what the House had to offer and seemed to be learning / passing the tests. I figured that with the kind of insight the faceless men have, that they would have outright given her the boot instead of giving chance after chance to what they saw to be a lost cause. All that to say, yeah, she's still Arya but I wonder if part of her really is No One now...
Her finally choosing where she stands, though, is gratifying, and we finally get to see her make the *right* choice, instead of just the vengeful one. Her moment with the lead actress was wonderful and her defiant reentry into the dressing room was fantastic.
It hurt to see Jaquen give the Waif the A'Ok to close the book on Arya when he played such a large role in saving her in Harrenhal (assuming it really is the same guy, I don't suppose we'll ever really know). It's weird to think of him as her *friend* but at least mentor, right? At any rate, we see the Waif head out with a little more glee or satisfaction than I imagine Jaquen might actually approve of. Do you guys really think she's been hiding it that well? Or maybe Jaquen is just letting it slide? It'll be satisfying to see Arya really let loose on the Waif, though.
Dany's bit this week was just coolness all around. She's talking with Dario and they reach the conclusion that they'll need roughly 1000 ships (give or take) to get to rescue (funny, I think I heard something recently about that many ships...). She pauses, and rides off ahead of the horde. Dario starts to worry but just then, we hear what we've been anticipating for a while now.
It seems like Drogon has been waiting for her inner-dragon to reawaken. With her overcoming the Dothraki on her own and rekindling her focus to head to Westeros, I'm thinking Drogon (who clearly is linked with her, however willful he may be) is finally sensing that The Force is strong in her again.
She soars over the group, slams down on the now-massive beast and proclaims to the horselords that she is going to turn this whole thing upside down. Three bloodriders? Screw that, you're all my bloodriders! She gets a screaming oath that they will giver her what Drogo promised her and darned if it wasn't believable. It gave me chills.
I'm wondering a few things:
1) Where will the Greyjoys wind up in all this? I don't think Euron knows what he's getting into...
2) How are the Rhaegal and Viserion going to react once the Alpha is around again? Are they going to grow to match him once they've been out and about?
3) How will the other parts of Dany's following react when she marches up with the entire Dothraki nation at her back, when most of the places they come from often got raided by Dothraki?
Lastly, just gotta say Drogon is freakin amazing. What a monster. He's huge and now a legitimate war machine. Azor Ahai and Lightbringer anyone? Although... I still wouldn't mind an epic flaming sword.... someone call Beric.
This post goes out to my good buddy, Damian, who gave me some great advice that I really tried to follow here. Thanks, man, it's greatly appreciated.
As always, check out the ever-excellent gentlemen from Boiled Leather: Sean T. Collins over at Rolling Stone and Stefan Sasse at The Nerdstream Era.
Thanks for reading and be sure to share and hit the comments!
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Monday, May 23, 2016
Review: Game of Thrones - S06E05 - The Door
Spoiler Alert: These reviews contain spoilers for the titled episode. They may also contain spoilers for any previous episodes and published book content. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
Seven Hells, this episode put me through the ringer. Lets jump right in.
This scene was immensely satisfying. Sansa gets notice that her old pal Littlefinger is in town and wants to meet up. Sansa, with her new uber-lady in tow, shows up looking to give him a talking-to. I *loved* how she stuck it to him. "If you didn't know, you're an idiot. If you *did* know, you're my enemy." Well said! I don't think we've seen anyone make Littlefinger *this* uncomfortable in the history of the show. Sure, he was physically accosted a few times (Ned, Cersei's guards, etc) but emotionally it's essentially a version of Catelyn tearing him down and making him face what a slimy s.o.b. he really is. Well done, Sansa. Well done. Also, Brienne is fantastic and Sansa makes perfect use of her. Aiden Gillen does a great job subtly showing that she is scary as hell.
Arya is training with the Waif, gaining marked competancy, until her trainer turns it up to 11, matrixes out of the way of everything Arya throws at her and then solidly punches seven shades of ass-whoopery into her face. She says "You'll never be one of us, Lady Stark."
You know, as an aside, you'd think that if you're trying to get someone to let go of who they are, directly bringing up who-they-are may be a little counter productive, no?
Jaquen pops in, mentions that the Waif has a point and tells her about the first Faceless Men. They were slaves in Valyria before the Doom. They also escaped and helped found the city of Braavos. Arya then gets sent on another mission, with it being explicitly clear that this is her final shot. Makes me wonder if she'll bungle it...
I thought that Arya asking who the first Faceless Man was an unexpectedly funny line, where I can imagine her saying, immediately after she asked "Yeah, yeah, I know, I heard it as soon as I said it. I don't mean who specifically..."
Arya gets all dressed up and goes to see a play that her target is involved in. Luckily, it's a story she's familiar with! They satyrize the event's of Robert's death, all the way through Joffrey's ascent to the throne. It's worth noting that she's fine with the mockery of the other characters, but once Ned comes on stage, she's offended. That being said, totally understandable. Also the portrayal of Ned seems to be the only one that was patently incorrect.
After the performance there was some quota-filling nudity I perhaps could have done without and Arya gets a look backstage, seeing the players. I was wondering at how she got back there, and why no one questioned her presence there. What capacity is she pretending to be there in? I just thought it could have been a bit better explained, perhaps showimg a shot or two of her sneaking back there instead of wasting time doing a close-up on some... well, nevermind.
Arya goes back to The House and talks with Jaquen. She starts asking questions, as usual, and Jaquen asks her "Are you serious about serving?" "Yeah." "Servants don't ask questions."
This is where I think we start peeling away from the Faceless Men and the way they work. Arya has a strong sense of right and wrong in her, at least in terms of who should die or not in a given scenario. The Faceless Men, by definition, don't. Everyone's gonna die, don't ask questions, just do as you're told; feelings or morality don't enter into it. We can tell Arya is internally balking at this.
It's also interesting that this may be one of the longer strings of separate scenes we've seen that are all following the same character throughout. Four scenes!
Also, found a fun little easter egg (or maybe consistency goof). The guy playing Robert has this spear with a huge curved blade. We see this in the establishing shot of him coming on stage. There is then a jump-cut to a medium shot of him and he has the *actual* spear Robert used! It cuts away and he has the huge spear the rest of the time. I think they threw that in on purpose, for fun. Cool :)
Bran is in dreamland again and this was the first "HOLY $#!?" Moment this episode. We see the Children sacrificing someone at a weirwood tree growing in Westerosi Stonehenge. The Child that Bran has spoken with many times is performing the ritual. We have this grueling shot that doesn't break away of her pushing an obsidian blade 100%, slowly, into his chest. It is intense to say the least.
To book readers, the weirwood sacrifices are not new. We hear about the First Men, even the Starks themselves, carrying out blood sacrifices to the weirwoods. It was a barbaric ancient custom. We even have Bran flashbacks where we see one happening. This one is different.
That blade goes in, and once it's in, the shot snaps to the man's face and we get one big WTF: his face goes pale and his eyes turn crystal, icy blue. This may be the *first* actual White Walker. Not a wight (the undead zombies) but a legit rider in blue and white.
Bran flips, snaps out of it, questions the Child, and we get some crazy info. They were under attack by men, so the Children *CREATED* the Others (White Walkers) as a super weapon / defense. We're to understand that this, of course, went awry and they lost control of their Mr. Freeze army.
This goes against what I understood from the books. Having read the main series as well as The World of Ice and Fire, I was under the impression that on Westeros, there existed the Children, the Giants and the Others *long* before the First Men made their way over. I've always thought that they were like a force of nature that always resided in the farthest northern reaches of the world. There is also evidence that they have somehow impacted the rest of the world too, in some way (given the presence of the 5 forts... go read The World of Ice and Fire, it's nuts). My gut is telling me that this is a change for the show and that the White Walkers were essentially a sentient nuke that got out of control. What do you think? Let me know in the comments, it would be very interesting to hear what you guys think.
Jump to the Iron Islands, Theon and Asha (ok... Yara...). They have their super sophisticated election. Yara steps forward when no one else says anything. She makes her pitch. She says that they've forgotten who they are and what they're best at. She'll give them aquatic superiority again. She won't let them be conquered or humiliated again. Ok.
Some blaggard steps out and starts going on about how they've never had a queen and how a woman won't be right for the job, especially given that Baelon's *male* heir is there. Nervously Theon steps out.
Here, I honstly half thought Theon would have this rush of ambition, calling back to his old-self, but he then speaks up for Asha. It's a solid speach and he kept his word to his sister. Good man.
Just when things are going well, Euron, the prodigal (though unrepentant) uncle shows up for the second time ever. In front of everyone he cops to chucking Baelon off a bridge and makes his claim. All thought of Yara goes out the window and Euron gets the vote. He's not giving them the sea, he's giving them the world, and he's going to go impress the hell out of the dragon queen with his ships and... overwhelming nautical superiority.
What kinda held me up was how a priest of the Drowned God, who knew Baelon to be a god-fearing man (whatever else he may have been) didn't have Euron seized and executed for regicide and fratricide. I can believe that not lots of folks were fond of Baelon, but no one said a *thing*. They were just like "Cool, at least he owned up to it, lets hear him out." Just came off as odd and possibly a concession for story expediency. Euron is then drowned, with the hope that if he survives, the Drowned God has deemed him worthy. Needless to say, he doesn't just die. The ceremony is unlike that in the books and I'm not sure how I feel about it but I think it works in the context of the show. He comes out of it and goes "Where's Asha and Theon?"
They went and stole the whole damn Iron Fleet. Euron, cool as a cucumber, just goes "No biggie, you guys can just build me another one, so.... yeah... get to work." We'll see if they can pull this off in a relatively believable way. Speaking of believability, how many people were following Yara? That was a TON of ships! Ah well, maybe they have tow cables...
Jump to Dany, Jorah and Dario. Dany is back in Dragon Queen form. She got her hair did, got a nice outfit and she's ready to rock. She has a hilltop meeting above her newly acquired khalasar.
I honestly loved this scene. Dany gets straight talk from Jorah and she is finally over the stuff from the past. Tyrion gets credit from Jorah and Jorah is finally fully honest with Daenerys. He says he loves her and I smiled. Dany takes this and for once, doesn't reject him. She acknowledges she needs him and what she means to her. Then Jorah shows us the extent of the Greyscale.
He's in a bad way and Dany is appropriately horrified. How bad is it? Dunno. Is there a cure? Dunno. Jorah exiles himself but that gets shot down and Dany tries a new command on for size. She sends Jorah away but tells him to come back (poor guy just can't guess what he's supposed to do lol). She sends Jorah to find a cure, then to return. This raises a huge question: *is* there a cure?! If this has a book analog, it could have some major ramifications. If there isn't one, Jorah is gonna die alone. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
In Meereen, we find out that the plan they set in motion is working. They realize, though, that Dany needs a serious PR campaign, so they enlist the help of the Red Priests of R'hllor. In comes a red priestess very much like Mel. They get to talking and Varys looks shaken and emotional for possibly the first time ever. We learn he has some serious negative bias towards magic and that his castration was part of a magic ritual (so one could understand his position). Tyrion, in hilarious form, scrambles to maintain the decorum of the meeting. In the end, she tells Varys that so long as he's on her side, he's got nothing to fear. He doesn't look too comforted...
Up in our favorite northern root cave, Bran is sick of being on a leash, so while Grandpa and the kids are down for their early-afternoon nap, he decides to take the dream-machine for a joyride.
He goes back to the tree of the sacrifice and it is now bare, the stones and ground are now shrouded in white, and we can imagine why.
But we don't have to imagine long because the scene spins around and we see the legions of the icy dead. Behind them, the commanding officers, the White Walkers, surveying the horde with looks of hard purpose.
Bran wades through the corpses, seeing them in grizzly detail, until he arrives at the White Walkers. He looks at them, turns around and to his horror, the army has done an about-face without him noticing. He looks into the eyes of the Night's King, certain in his non-presence. Turns out he's not as non-present as he may have thought. The Night's King not only sees him, but *grabs* him. Bran lurches awake, terror and dread covering him. Bloodraven tells him they're now in deep crap and Bran knows this because he looks at his arm and there's essentially light frostbite on his arm in the discernable shape of fingers. Time to learn to be Bloodraven, whether you're ready or not. You screwed up and now, the devil and all the legions of Hell are coming right for you.
Jon and the rest of our Castle Black friends mull over the situation and how to get enough support to hit Winterfell. Davos has doubts, being the practical man he is, but Sansa vouches for the staunch reliability of the true Northmen. Davos tries to get real with her, but she sticks to her guns. It's really cool to see Sansa becoming a power player and being involved in a council. She really seems cut out for it. They're going to go rally the North, other houses, small tribes, you name it. The North Freakin' Remembers.
In the meeting, Sansa also mentions the fact that The Blackfish has raised an army at Riverrun. How did she know this? Because littlefinger told her. But not wanting to say that, she says it was info she gleaned earlier when she was still with him. When Brienne asks her why she lied, she doesn't have an answer.
As they're heading out, Sansa gifts Jon a new Stark cloak, just like Ned's, complete with embossed direwolf. To her credit, Sansa makes some damn nice clothes. That direwolf embroidery on her dress is *awesome*. Props to the costume department!
Farewells are said and it made me sad to see Jon say goodbye to Edd just like he and Robb said goodbye when they left Winterfell the first time. As they saddle up, we have one of the best moments in the show: Tormund looks over at Brienne and makes his first real move and gives Brienne the biggest shaggy grin he's got. Brienne looks away super fast with an expression that is just priceless. A brother of the watch asks Edd, since he's Lord Commander now, if he wants them to close the gate. "I'm not the- wait a minute... Oh, yeah... Yeah, close the gate." Oh Edd, you've never let us down.
Now our final scene and damn what a scene.
Meera preps to leave with Hodor's help. They have some happy back and forth, talks of being home, good food, warmth and leaving trouble behind. Meera feels somthing isn't right and rushes outside. There she finds the Children looking out into the frozen wastes. The army of Death is at their door. The Night's King demonstrates his power, sending streaking cracks through the earth into their cave. Meera runs for Bran, trying to shake him awake, Hodor rocking back and forth in distress.
Bran is back in flashback-town and Bloodraven is getting him prepped. He is seeing his grandfather, Lord Rickard Stark, sending Brandon off to Riverrun, giving him some final life lessons before leaving home.
Meera and Hodor rush to gather their things and to get Bran on the sled. Bran, all the while is unconscious and outside the White Walkers advance under a hail of Children tree-grenades. The White Walkers step to the blazing fire ring and even the flames cower as they move forward (this was mega badass). The wights swarm the hill.
The undead start falling through into the cavern, Meera and the Children fight and try to wake Bran at the same time. They need Hodor. He needs to wake up. They're going to die.
Bran, standing in Winterfell's courtyard hears Meera's despairing cries echo around him, fear, confusion and sadness written on his face. Bloodraven entreats him to listen to his friend. He looks at young Willas, happily scrubbing down a saddle on that nice, sunny day.
Hodor's eyes (in the "present") snap white and clarify. He rises. At this moment, the long-bearded White Walker looms into the cave and impales an attacking Child on the end of his frozen sword. Hodor get moving with Bran and Meera lands a perfect spear throw, obsidian spearhead shattering the Walker.
Here I want to specifically mention Summer. There are so few of the pups left and this was his final stand. Having saved Bran's life before, Summer does it one last heartbreaking time, buying them precious moments, standing against the onrushing horde, as heroic as a wolf could ever hope to be. You will be remembered, Summer and as brave as any warrior.
Running pell-mell down the tunnel, the tide of death thunders down on our heroes. At the same time, Night's King enters and walks to Bloodraven, cradled within the entwining roots. "The time has come," Bran's mentor says. "Leave me." His lip trembles, the blade rises as the face of death looks at the helpless old man. Bran sees his mentor explode, rent in half by an invisible slash, turning him to black ethereal debris floating off on the wind.
Streaking down the tunnel, the undead blanket every surface, moving with incredible speed. The one Child left takes out her last tree grenade and sacrifices herself to buy them mere seconds.
They reach the door at the end of the tunnel. It's jammed. "THE DOOR!" Meera screams. Hodor bellows and slams himself against it, forcing it grinding open against snow and frozen hinges.
They slip outside, rusted weapons and cold, dead hands grasping after them. Waves of them smash against the ancient wooden door as Hodor uses everything he has, one of the biggest men there are, to hold that door closed.
"Hold the door..." echoes through Bran's mind, and so, into the mind of young Willas, standing in the Winterfell courtyard. Bran watches as Willas snaps, his eyes go white. Impact thunders against Hodor's back, as Willas, his younger self, experiences the panic, pain and terror of what his future self is doing. Linked through Bran's ability, the pain and fear are shared and overwhelms poor Willas' mind. He drops to the ground, having a seizure, Old Nan rushes to him.
"HOLD THE DOOR!" he screams, endlessly, as if it's the only thing fueling his resolve. His destiny, his fate, are met in that moment, as Hodor, one of the most unexpected tragic heroes of our time, stands against all the tides of darkness, watching the backs of the friends he loves retreat into the black, feezing storm. The door starts splintering, hands come through, and Hodor, possibly the strongest stableboy there's been, a true, dedicated friend and paragon of loyalty without an evil bone in his body, perished at the clawing hands of an onslaught of evil.
I want to give a special shout-out to Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor (and also the fellow that was his young self). You were amazing and a perfect Hodor. There is not a fan that won't miss you and the show was richer for having you in it. Thank you for all your hard work and bringing such a beloved character to life for us.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:13 KJV
#holdthedoor
Once again, thanks for reading and please post in the comments below. It has been one hell of an episode and an unexpectedly emotionally trying one. Let's grieve, speculate, theorize and discuss together.
As always, please check out the always awesome Boiled Leather guys: Sean T. Collins over at Rolling Stone and Stefan Sasse over at The Nerdstrem Era.
Seven Hells, this episode put me through the ringer. Lets jump right in.
This scene was immensely satisfying. Sansa gets notice that her old pal Littlefinger is in town and wants to meet up. Sansa, with her new uber-lady in tow, shows up looking to give him a talking-to. I *loved* how she stuck it to him. "If you didn't know, you're an idiot. If you *did* know, you're my enemy." Well said! I don't think we've seen anyone make Littlefinger *this* uncomfortable in the history of the show. Sure, he was physically accosted a few times (Ned, Cersei's guards, etc) but emotionally it's essentially a version of Catelyn tearing him down and making him face what a slimy s.o.b. he really is. Well done, Sansa. Well done. Also, Brienne is fantastic and Sansa makes perfect use of her. Aiden Gillen does a great job subtly showing that she is scary as hell.
Arya is training with the Waif, gaining marked competancy, until her trainer turns it up to 11, matrixes out of the way of everything Arya throws at her and then solidly punches seven shades of ass-whoopery into her face. She says "You'll never be one of us, Lady Stark."
You know, as an aside, you'd think that if you're trying to get someone to let go of who they are, directly bringing up who-they-are may be a little counter productive, no?
Jaquen pops in, mentions that the Waif has a point and tells her about the first Faceless Men. They were slaves in Valyria before the Doom. They also escaped and helped found the city of Braavos. Arya then gets sent on another mission, with it being explicitly clear that this is her final shot. Makes me wonder if she'll bungle it...
I thought that Arya asking who the first Faceless Man was an unexpectedly funny line, where I can imagine her saying, immediately after she asked "Yeah, yeah, I know, I heard it as soon as I said it. I don't mean who specifically..."
Arya gets all dressed up and goes to see a play that her target is involved in. Luckily, it's a story she's familiar with! They satyrize the event's of Robert's death, all the way through Joffrey's ascent to the throne. It's worth noting that she's fine with the mockery of the other characters, but once Ned comes on stage, she's offended. That being said, totally understandable. Also the portrayal of Ned seems to be the only one that was patently incorrect.
After the performance there was some quota-filling nudity I perhaps could have done without and Arya gets a look backstage, seeing the players. I was wondering at how she got back there, and why no one questioned her presence there. What capacity is she pretending to be there in? I just thought it could have been a bit better explained, perhaps showimg a shot or two of her sneaking back there instead of wasting time doing a close-up on some... well, nevermind.
Arya goes back to The House and talks with Jaquen. She starts asking questions, as usual, and Jaquen asks her "Are you serious about serving?" "Yeah." "Servants don't ask questions."
This is where I think we start peeling away from the Faceless Men and the way they work. Arya has a strong sense of right and wrong in her, at least in terms of who should die or not in a given scenario. The Faceless Men, by definition, don't. Everyone's gonna die, don't ask questions, just do as you're told; feelings or morality don't enter into it. We can tell Arya is internally balking at this.
It's also interesting that this may be one of the longer strings of separate scenes we've seen that are all following the same character throughout. Four scenes!
Also, found a fun little easter egg (or maybe consistency goof). The guy playing Robert has this spear with a huge curved blade. We see this in the establishing shot of him coming on stage. There is then a jump-cut to a medium shot of him and he has the *actual* spear Robert used! It cuts away and he has the huge spear the rest of the time. I think they threw that in on purpose, for fun. Cool :)
Bran is in dreamland again and this was the first "HOLY $#!?" Moment this episode. We see the Children sacrificing someone at a weirwood tree growing in Westerosi Stonehenge. The Child that Bran has spoken with many times is performing the ritual. We have this grueling shot that doesn't break away of her pushing an obsidian blade 100%, slowly, into his chest. It is intense to say the least.
To book readers, the weirwood sacrifices are not new. We hear about the First Men, even the Starks themselves, carrying out blood sacrifices to the weirwoods. It was a barbaric ancient custom. We even have Bran flashbacks where we see one happening. This one is different.
That blade goes in, and once it's in, the shot snaps to the man's face and we get one big WTF: his face goes pale and his eyes turn crystal, icy blue. This may be the *first* actual White Walker. Not a wight (the undead zombies) but a legit rider in blue and white.
Bran flips, snaps out of it, questions the Child, and we get some crazy info. They were under attack by men, so the Children *CREATED* the Others (White Walkers) as a super weapon / defense. We're to understand that this, of course, went awry and they lost control of their Mr. Freeze army.
This goes against what I understood from the books. Having read the main series as well as The World of Ice and Fire, I was under the impression that on Westeros, there existed the Children, the Giants and the Others *long* before the First Men made their way over. I've always thought that they were like a force of nature that always resided in the farthest northern reaches of the world. There is also evidence that they have somehow impacted the rest of the world too, in some way (given the presence of the 5 forts... go read The World of Ice and Fire, it's nuts). My gut is telling me that this is a change for the show and that the White Walkers were essentially a sentient nuke that got out of control. What do you think? Let me know in the comments, it would be very interesting to hear what you guys think.
Jump to the Iron Islands, Theon and Asha (ok... Yara...). They have their super sophisticated election. Yara steps forward when no one else says anything. She makes her pitch. She says that they've forgotten who they are and what they're best at. She'll give them aquatic superiority again. She won't let them be conquered or humiliated again. Ok.
Some blaggard steps out and starts going on about how they've never had a queen and how a woman won't be right for the job, especially given that Baelon's *male* heir is there. Nervously Theon steps out.
Here, I honstly half thought Theon would have this rush of ambition, calling back to his old-self, but he then speaks up for Asha. It's a solid speach and he kept his word to his sister. Good man.
Just when things are going well, Euron, the prodigal (though unrepentant) uncle shows up for the second time ever. In front of everyone he cops to chucking Baelon off a bridge and makes his claim. All thought of Yara goes out the window and Euron gets the vote. He's not giving them the sea, he's giving them the world, and he's going to go impress the hell out of the dragon queen with his ships and... overwhelming nautical superiority.
What kinda held me up was how a priest of the Drowned God, who knew Baelon to be a god-fearing man (whatever else he may have been) didn't have Euron seized and executed for regicide and fratricide. I can believe that not lots of folks were fond of Baelon, but no one said a *thing*. They were just like "Cool, at least he owned up to it, lets hear him out." Just came off as odd and possibly a concession for story expediency. Euron is then drowned, with the hope that if he survives, the Drowned God has deemed him worthy. Needless to say, he doesn't just die. The ceremony is unlike that in the books and I'm not sure how I feel about it but I think it works in the context of the show. He comes out of it and goes "Where's Asha and Theon?"
They went and stole the whole damn Iron Fleet. Euron, cool as a cucumber, just goes "No biggie, you guys can just build me another one, so.... yeah... get to work." We'll see if they can pull this off in a relatively believable way. Speaking of believability, how many people were following Yara? That was a TON of ships! Ah well, maybe they have tow cables...
Jump to Dany, Jorah and Dario. Dany is back in Dragon Queen form. She got her hair did, got a nice outfit and she's ready to rock. She has a hilltop meeting above her newly acquired khalasar.
I honestly loved this scene. Dany gets straight talk from Jorah and she is finally over the stuff from the past. Tyrion gets credit from Jorah and Jorah is finally fully honest with Daenerys. He says he loves her and I smiled. Dany takes this and for once, doesn't reject him. She acknowledges she needs him and what she means to her. Then Jorah shows us the extent of the Greyscale.
He's in a bad way and Dany is appropriately horrified. How bad is it? Dunno. Is there a cure? Dunno. Jorah exiles himself but that gets shot down and Dany tries a new command on for size. She sends Jorah away but tells him to come back (poor guy just can't guess what he's supposed to do lol). She sends Jorah to find a cure, then to return. This raises a huge question: *is* there a cure?! If this has a book analog, it could have some major ramifications. If there isn't one, Jorah is gonna die alone. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
In Meereen, we find out that the plan they set in motion is working. They realize, though, that Dany needs a serious PR campaign, so they enlist the help of the Red Priests of R'hllor. In comes a red priestess very much like Mel. They get to talking and Varys looks shaken and emotional for possibly the first time ever. We learn he has some serious negative bias towards magic and that his castration was part of a magic ritual (so one could understand his position). Tyrion, in hilarious form, scrambles to maintain the decorum of the meeting. In the end, she tells Varys that so long as he's on her side, he's got nothing to fear. He doesn't look too comforted...
Up in our favorite northern root cave, Bran is sick of being on a leash, so while Grandpa and the kids are down for their early-afternoon nap, he decides to take the dream-machine for a joyride.
He goes back to the tree of the sacrifice and it is now bare, the stones and ground are now shrouded in white, and we can imagine why.
But we don't have to imagine long because the scene spins around and we see the legions of the icy dead. Behind them, the commanding officers, the White Walkers, surveying the horde with looks of hard purpose.
Bran wades through the corpses, seeing them in grizzly detail, until he arrives at the White Walkers. He looks at them, turns around and to his horror, the army has done an about-face without him noticing. He looks into the eyes of the Night's King, certain in his non-presence. Turns out he's not as non-present as he may have thought. The Night's King not only sees him, but *grabs* him. Bran lurches awake, terror and dread covering him. Bloodraven tells him they're now in deep crap and Bran knows this because he looks at his arm and there's essentially light frostbite on his arm in the discernable shape of fingers. Time to learn to be Bloodraven, whether you're ready or not. You screwed up and now, the devil and all the legions of Hell are coming right for you.
Jon and the rest of our Castle Black friends mull over the situation and how to get enough support to hit Winterfell. Davos has doubts, being the practical man he is, but Sansa vouches for the staunch reliability of the true Northmen. Davos tries to get real with her, but she sticks to her guns. It's really cool to see Sansa becoming a power player and being involved in a council. She really seems cut out for it. They're going to go rally the North, other houses, small tribes, you name it. The North Freakin' Remembers.
In the meeting, Sansa also mentions the fact that The Blackfish has raised an army at Riverrun. How did she know this? Because littlefinger told her. But not wanting to say that, she says it was info she gleaned earlier when she was still with him. When Brienne asks her why she lied, she doesn't have an answer.
As they're heading out, Sansa gifts Jon a new Stark cloak, just like Ned's, complete with embossed direwolf. To her credit, Sansa makes some damn nice clothes. That direwolf embroidery on her dress is *awesome*. Props to the costume department!
Farewells are said and it made me sad to see Jon say goodbye to Edd just like he and Robb said goodbye when they left Winterfell the first time. As they saddle up, we have one of the best moments in the show: Tormund looks over at Brienne and makes his first real move and gives Brienne the biggest shaggy grin he's got. Brienne looks away super fast with an expression that is just priceless. A brother of the watch asks Edd, since he's Lord Commander now, if he wants them to close the gate. "I'm not the- wait a minute... Oh, yeah... Yeah, close the gate." Oh Edd, you've never let us down.
Now our final scene and damn what a scene.
Meera preps to leave with Hodor's help. They have some happy back and forth, talks of being home, good food, warmth and leaving trouble behind. Meera feels somthing isn't right and rushes outside. There she finds the Children looking out into the frozen wastes. The army of Death is at their door. The Night's King demonstrates his power, sending streaking cracks through the earth into their cave. Meera runs for Bran, trying to shake him awake, Hodor rocking back and forth in distress.
Bran is back in flashback-town and Bloodraven is getting him prepped. He is seeing his grandfather, Lord Rickard Stark, sending Brandon off to Riverrun, giving him some final life lessons before leaving home.
Meera and Hodor rush to gather their things and to get Bran on the sled. Bran, all the while is unconscious and outside the White Walkers advance under a hail of Children tree-grenades. The White Walkers step to the blazing fire ring and even the flames cower as they move forward (this was mega badass). The wights swarm the hill.
The undead start falling through into the cavern, Meera and the Children fight and try to wake Bran at the same time. They need Hodor. He needs to wake up. They're going to die.
Bran, standing in Winterfell's courtyard hears Meera's despairing cries echo around him, fear, confusion and sadness written on his face. Bloodraven entreats him to listen to his friend. He looks at young Willas, happily scrubbing down a saddle on that nice, sunny day.
Hodor's eyes (in the "present") snap white and clarify. He rises. At this moment, the long-bearded White Walker looms into the cave and impales an attacking Child on the end of his frozen sword. Hodor get moving with Bran and Meera lands a perfect spear throw, obsidian spearhead shattering the Walker.
Here I want to specifically mention Summer. There are so few of the pups left and this was his final stand. Having saved Bran's life before, Summer does it one last heartbreaking time, buying them precious moments, standing against the onrushing horde, as heroic as a wolf could ever hope to be. You will be remembered, Summer and as brave as any warrior.
Running pell-mell down the tunnel, the tide of death thunders down on our heroes. At the same time, Night's King enters and walks to Bloodraven, cradled within the entwining roots. "The time has come," Bran's mentor says. "Leave me." His lip trembles, the blade rises as the face of death looks at the helpless old man. Bran sees his mentor explode, rent in half by an invisible slash, turning him to black ethereal debris floating off on the wind.
Streaking down the tunnel, the undead blanket every surface, moving with incredible speed. The one Child left takes out her last tree grenade and sacrifices herself to buy them mere seconds.
They reach the door at the end of the tunnel. It's jammed. "THE DOOR!" Meera screams. Hodor bellows and slams himself against it, forcing it grinding open against snow and frozen hinges.
They slip outside, rusted weapons and cold, dead hands grasping after them. Waves of them smash against the ancient wooden door as Hodor uses everything he has, one of the biggest men there are, to hold that door closed.
"Hold the door..." echoes through Bran's mind, and so, into the mind of young Willas, standing in the Winterfell courtyard. Bran watches as Willas snaps, his eyes go white. Impact thunders against Hodor's back, as Willas, his younger self, experiences the panic, pain and terror of what his future self is doing. Linked through Bran's ability, the pain and fear are shared and overwhelms poor Willas' mind. He drops to the ground, having a seizure, Old Nan rushes to him.
"HOLD THE DOOR!" he screams, endlessly, as if it's the only thing fueling his resolve. His destiny, his fate, are met in that moment, as Hodor, one of the most unexpected tragic heroes of our time, stands against all the tides of darkness, watching the backs of the friends he loves retreat into the black, feezing storm. The door starts splintering, hands come through, and Hodor, possibly the strongest stableboy there's been, a true, dedicated friend and paragon of loyalty without an evil bone in his body, perished at the clawing hands of an onslaught of evil.
I want to give a special shout-out to Kristian Nairn, who plays Hodor (and also the fellow that was his young self). You were amazing and a perfect Hodor. There is not a fan that won't miss you and the show was richer for having you in it. Thank you for all your hard work and bringing such a beloved character to life for us.
"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
John 15:13 KJV
#holdthedoor
Once again, thanks for reading and please post in the comments below. It has been one hell of an episode and an unexpectedly emotionally trying one. Let's grieve, speculate, theorize and discuss together.
As always, please check out the always awesome Boiled Leather guys: Sean T. Collins over at Rolling Stone and Stefan Sasse over at The Nerdstrem Era.
Thursday, May 19, 2016
In Defense of Ser Alliser Thorne
Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for any previous episodes and published book content. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
So this is bound to be a bit controversial, but what the heck; I like me a good conversation. I was talking with Jessica (the Lady of the House) and we wound up on opposing sides. So, like a good husband and fan, I'm taking it to the interwebs (lol).
Now, I hate Alliser Thorne (yes, there is no T in his name; it's pronounced Al-ihs-er) as much as the next guy, but GoT Season 6, Episode 3 got me thinking.
At the close of Season 5, Jon is lured out and assassinated by Thorne, Othell Yarwyck, Bowen Marsh (and Olly). Assuming one only watches the show, there's no way to know Jon is coming back (there are reasons to think he could, but no way to know). That is infinitely true for the characters participating in the assassination. They think a dead Jon is a perma-dead Jon.
Looking back at Thorne and his career in the Watch, this is a guy who really did live for the Watch. He took his oath seriously and, even if he was a major asshole, he did it to better the Watch. He didn't put on kid gloves and everything he did was to make the other men colder, harder and stronger.
Every time he was given an order by a ranking officer, he followed it, even insofar as stepping aside when his buddy Janos Slynt was being hauled to the block. There had been multiple times where Thorne could have rebelled, could have flown in the face of Jon, or even Mormont, and didn't because generally it seems like he respects authority. He may not *like* the person in charge, but he follows orders.
Thorne is a man serving in a time when the Night's Watch is at the lowest it's ever been (save, perhaps, during the Night's King's reign?). They have a massive shortage of truly capable men and with Mance Rayder massing the Wildlings north of The Wall and the disappearance of their First (and best) Ranger, Benjen Stark, they are in a particularly bad way.
Moving forward, he witnesses a few decisions that are decidedly ill advised. Mormont takes the main body of the men at Castle Black and goes on a ranging beyond The Wall, to find Benjen and also see if they can't learn more about what's up with the Wildlings. When they come back, many are dead. Also, Jon is gone and Qorin Halfhand (one of the most renowned Rangers ever) is dead at the hands of Jon Snow, who went off and joined the damn Wildlings. He broke his vow many times over, killing a commanding officer, joining the enemy, and taking a Wildling girl too. Thorne doesn't know, or have much reason to believe the particulars of the actual story; for all he knows Jon is just full of crap and trying to get them to not kill him.
Jon, as a leader, has many great qualities including martial prowess, strong loyalty of some few of the men, a noble upbringing and affiliation with a great house. All these things also earned him the image of being a privileged lordling who doesn't know what it is to be like everyone else. Thorne absolutely exacerbates this out of his own personal bad attitude.
Once Jon is taken under the Old Bear's wing (paw?) I believe it only makes this image worse for some. Jon keeps rising and, after Mormont is killed, they elect a new Lord Commander. Thorne and Jon are dead-tied and only Maester Aemon's vote swings it. We have to remember that Thorne was *literally* ONE vote shy of the biggest seat at the table.
After all this, Jon takes many actions which most of the Watch view as unorthodox at best and something like heretical at worst. He works with the Wildlings, allows them through The Wall to settle south of it on the land gifted to The Watch for farming in perpetuity. He gives room and board to Stannis and his men, acting in some ways that appear very much like "taking part" even though his vows say they should not. He even enacts a mission to Hardhome, using many resources out of their already short supply, to rescue Wildlings, all to stop a fairy-tale story only some of the men truly believe anyway. Jon sees the Free Folk as people and there's the problem.
The crux of my argument is how the men of The Watch see their purpose and how they view themselves. We know that in ages past, The Wall was built to stand against The Others (the White Walkers) but they've been gone for centuries and have receded out of living memory. In that time, The Watch forgot about their original purpose and began thinking they existed to protect the realms of men from the fur-clad barbarians, not grumpkins and snarks.
To me, Thorne views his duty (and that of the rest of the Watch as well) as stopping the Wildlings; protecting the women and children of the Seven Kingdoms from the savages. The more he followed orders, the more he failed in his duty. The more he went along with Jon's plans, the worse things got for the Watch. They were dying. In the end, I believe that Thorne's sense of duty to the Watch overtook his sense of propriety and his view of the chain of command.
I believe that, in his heart, Thorne was being utterly true to his vows. I think he didn't like Jon, but showed he was capable of supporting him or at least just following along if it's what was needed. I don't think his personal feelings entered into it in any driving capacity. I think orchestrating Jon's death was his last ditch, drastic measure to try to save the Watch from someone seemingly hell bent on dismantling everything they've ever fought for. I think Thorne legitimately thought he was doing the right thing and making the hard call that no one else could.
If it was personal, he could have just done it himself but he even got the other top-ranked men of the Watch to agree that it must be done "for the Watch".
The problem is that the Night's Watch has lost sight of its true purpose and Jon failed, as a leader, to adequately communicate what it really is. He failed to recognize that spending time building allies amongst your "brothers" was invaluable instead of just dictating to them and expecting them to fall in line. It was almost the same thing that did in Ned: refusal to play the game.
My ending thought is that we assume that since Jon hangs Thorne and the rest in his official capacity as Lord Commander, that he does so because Thorne broke his vows. Given the above stated circumstances, Thorne's record and what Jon represented to those who couldn't fully understand the end goal, I don't think Jon should have executed him. I think that Thorne truthfully was honoring his vows and protecting the Watch the best way he knew how.
Think about it like this: Jamie Lannister saved a city full of people by putting his sword through the back of Aerys Targaryen. He actually *did* break his vows and the worst he got was a semi-cool-but-dishonorable nickname. He even got to keep his job and even wound up becoming Lord Freaking Commander of the Kingsguard (granted, this is due in no small part to varying degrees of nepotism, but still...)!
I think Thorne stuck to his vows and thought he was protecting them all. You can only honor your vows as you understand them and on those grounds, he should still be alive. Kill him for having killed *you*, sure (not many get that sort of opportunity). That's revenge and a primal thing that's at least understandable if not *right*, but at the end of the day, I simply say this:
Ser Alliser Thorne was not an oathbreaker.
So this is bound to be a bit controversial, but what the heck; I like me a good conversation. I was talking with Jessica (the Lady of the House) and we wound up on opposing sides. So, like a good husband and fan, I'm taking it to the interwebs (lol).
Now, I hate Alliser Thorne (yes, there is no T in his name; it's pronounced Al-ihs-er) as much as the next guy, but GoT Season 6, Episode 3 got me thinking.
At the close of Season 5, Jon is lured out and assassinated by Thorne, Othell Yarwyck, Bowen Marsh (and Olly). Assuming one only watches the show, there's no way to know Jon is coming back (there are reasons to think he could, but no way to know). That is infinitely true for the characters participating in the assassination. They think a dead Jon is a perma-dead Jon.
Looking back at Thorne and his career in the Watch, this is a guy who really did live for the Watch. He took his oath seriously and, even if he was a major asshole, he did it to better the Watch. He didn't put on kid gloves and everything he did was to make the other men colder, harder and stronger.
Every time he was given an order by a ranking officer, he followed it, even insofar as stepping aside when his buddy Janos Slynt was being hauled to the block. There had been multiple times where Thorne could have rebelled, could have flown in the face of Jon, or even Mormont, and didn't because generally it seems like he respects authority. He may not *like* the person in charge, but he follows orders.
Thorne is a man serving in a time when the Night's Watch is at the lowest it's ever been (save, perhaps, during the Night's King's reign?). They have a massive shortage of truly capable men and with Mance Rayder massing the Wildlings north of The Wall and the disappearance of their First (and best) Ranger, Benjen Stark, they are in a particularly bad way.
Moving forward, he witnesses a few decisions that are decidedly ill advised. Mormont takes the main body of the men at Castle Black and goes on a ranging beyond The Wall, to find Benjen and also see if they can't learn more about what's up with the Wildlings. When they come back, many are dead. Also, Jon is gone and Qorin Halfhand (one of the most renowned Rangers ever) is dead at the hands of Jon Snow, who went off and joined the damn Wildlings. He broke his vow many times over, killing a commanding officer, joining the enemy, and taking a Wildling girl too. Thorne doesn't know, or have much reason to believe the particulars of the actual story; for all he knows Jon is just full of crap and trying to get them to not kill him.
Jon, as a leader, has many great qualities including martial prowess, strong loyalty of some few of the men, a noble upbringing and affiliation with a great house. All these things also earned him the image of being a privileged lordling who doesn't know what it is to be like everyone else. Thorne absolutely exacerbates this out of his own personal bad attitude.
Once Jon is taken under the Old Bear's wing (paw?) I believe it only makes this image worse for some. Jon keeps rising and, after Mormont is killed, they elect a new Lord Commander. Thorne and Jon are dead-tied and only Maester Aemon's vote swings it. We have to remember that Thorne was *literally* ONE vote shy of the biggest seat at the table.
After all this, Jon takes many actions which most of the Watch view as unorthodox at best and something like heretical at worst. He works with the Wildlings, allows them through The Wall to settle south of it on the land gifted to The Watch for farming in perpetuity. He gives room and board to Stannis and his men, acting in some ways that appear very much like "taking part" even though his vows say they should not. He even enacts a mission to Hardhome, using many resources out of their already short supply, to rescue Wildlings, all to stop a fairy-tale story only some of the men truly believe anyway. Jon sees the Free Folk as people and there's the problem.
The crux of my argument is how the men of The Watch see their purpose and how they view themselves. We know that in ages past, The Wall was built to stand against The Others (the White Walkers) but they've been gone for centuries and have receded out of living memory. In that time, The Watch forgot about their original purpose and began thinking they existed to protect the realms of men from the fur-clad barbarians, not grumpkins and snarks.
To me, Thorne views his duty (and that of the rest of the Watch as well) as stopping the Wildlings; protecting the women and children of the Seven Kingdoms from the savages. The more he followed orders, the more he failed in his duty. The more he went along with Jon's plans, the worse things got for the Watch. They were dying. In the end, I believe that Thorne's sense of duty to the Watch overtook his sense of propriety and his view of the chain of command.
I believe that, in his heart, Thorne was being utterly true to his vows. I think he didn't like Jon, but showed he was capable of supporting him or at least just following along if it's what was needed. I don't think his personal feelings entered into it in any driving capacity. I think orchestrating Jon's death was his last ditch, drastic measure to try to save the Watch from someone seemingly hell bent on dismantling everything they've ever fought for. I think Thorne legitimately thought he was doing the right thing and making the hard call that no one else could.
If it was personal, he could have just done it himself but he even got the other top-ranked men of the Watch to agree that it must be done "for the Watch".
The problem is that the Night's Watch has lost sight of its true purpose and Jon failed, as a leader, to adequately communicate what it really is. He failed to recognize that spending time building allies amongst your "brothers" was invaluable instead of just dictating to them and expecting them to fall in line. It was almost the same thing that did in Ned: refusal to play the game.
My ending thought is that we assume that since Jon hangs Thorne and the rest in his official capacity as Lord Commander, that he does so because Thorne broke his vows. Given the above stated circumstances, Thorne's record and what Jon represented to those who couldn't fully understand the end goal, I don't think Jon should have executed him. I think that Thorne truthfully was honoring his vows and protecting the Watch the best way he knew how.
Think about it like this: Jamie Lannister saved a city full of people by putting his sword through the back of Aerys Targaryen. He actually *did* break his vows and the worst he got was a semi-cool-but-dishonorable nickname. He even got to keep his job and even wound up becoming Lord Freaking Commander of the Kingsguard (granted, this is due in no small part to varying degrees of nepotism, but still...)!
I think Thorne stuck to his vows and thought he was protecting them all. You can only honor your vows as you understand them and on those grounds, he should still be alive. Kill him for having killed *you*, sure (not many get that sort of opportunity). That's revenge and a primal thing that's at least understandable if not *right*, but at the end of the day, I simply say this:
Ser Alliser Thorne was not an oathbreaker.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Review: Game of Thrones - S6E04 - The Book of the Stranger
Spoiler Alert: These reviews contain spoilers for the titled episode. They may also contain spoilers for any previous episodes and published book content. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
I've got to say, watching this show as someone who now has no firm knowledge of what's coming has been an absolute rush. The moments are raised to a whole new level and I've been loving every bit!
Based on some feedback I've gotten, I'm going to do the review a bit differently tonight and mainly keep it to opinions and let the comments and feedback lead where they will.
Right of the bat, we got Jon and Edd, with Jon essentially packing his things. Edd is asking pretty much what we're all thinking.
I really liked this bit between them. Edd is standing in for so many perspectives. It's so compelling to see him trying desperately to wrap his head around the idea that there is actually a person who has fulfilled his vow to the Night's Watch and is still alive to be able to go do other things. It *is* crazy. Hearing Jon throw "...and they killed me" and " I got murdered" in the past tense is so bizarre. We're literally seeing a man who *was dead* and now isn't and his friends also seem to be struggling with this. It is great.
The next moment made me smile and made my wife cry. FINALLY we get a Stark reunion! It's tear-filled, warm, tender and just wonderful. Just as Jon is about to go, Sansa shows up and Jon almost dies again. The familial love there, the raw happiness and relief to see someone you know you can trust was palpable and I think it was a huge release for all of us. To be honest, I half thought Jon would leave and Sansa would show up moments later, somehow having missed them. I'm so glad that didn't happen.
Davos and Mel have this conversation I thought was interesting that is followed up on when Brienne gets there. I hadn't realized that Davos didn't actually know what happened with the battle! Mel never actually told him. Here he learns for the first time in a concrete way (and so do we in Stannis' case, though we pretty much knew) that Stannis is 100% dead. His face when he asked about Shireen broke my heart.
Tyrion's work this week was really interesting and got to the realistic heart of what's happening in Essos. Dany has been going about things from a very idealistic angle but Tyrion, ever the pragmatist, takes a different tack here that seemingly no one but possibly Varys, is expecting.
Sitting with the representatives from the slave cities, he presents the Dragon Queen's terms. The slaver cities are part of a dying tradition, and it's clear that it will be going away. However, due to the nature of their economy and how the entire part of the world's life is built, ending slavery cold-turkey was perhaps not the most practical way to go about things. They have seven years to get their affairs in order and begin the shutdown process.
The others are aghast at this but Tyrion explains himself well, and makes very compelling arguments. Grey Worm and Missandei are not pleased with this but grudgingly trust Tyrion with a "This had better work..." attitude. Score another one for the Halfman.
Between the Lannister Clan, The Faith anf the Small Council, lots of little things are happening, most of which come down to Maegaery's current situation.
To that point, the imprisoned queen has the amazing scene with the High Sparrow, where he talks about how he came to the Faith. Honestly, I loved how true it rang. So often in life, I think we find ourselves wanting and striving for *more.* Doesn't matter what it is, just *more.* He mentions how he dumped hundreds, even thousands of hours into work just to get a taste of "better" life, a life he thought was worth all that effort, time and struggle. Once he got it, he didn't like the taste and instead sought out a righteous life; one of meaning, service and purpose. I thought it was a wonderful choice to have the now barefoot penitent be a cobbler in his past life. It was a truly touching story.
On the following scene, we get the other part of the "What's it all worth?" diptych. Margaery is finally able to see her brother, who seems to be channeling Reek. A shadow of his former glory, Loras Tyrell, pride of his house, huddles in the fetal position in squalor and rags. His sister comes to him, cradles him in her arms and tells him to be strong. Don't give them what they want, that they just have to fight and they can win. It's here that Loras says one of the most profound things I've heard from the show: he doesn't want to. He wants it to be over. He doesn't want to fight, he just wants it to end, for the pain to stop.
All through this series we've seen characters put through the ringer. Trial after trial and we believe "They just gotta keep fighting and they'll make it! They're our heroes (or protagonists at least)!" We (or at least I) often forget that they're people. That these are human characters who have limits and who reach breaking points that bring things into perspective.
All throughout this episode we see our characters presented with the question: Do we continue to fight? Jon feels it's all he's done, and he lost. Sansa feels they must, that it's their duty to take back their home. Tyrion thinks that they can outwit the enemy. The Queen of Thorns exhorts those in the room that they must fight because, inevitable as deaths will be, better anyone else than them. We saw Margaery's mind go to standing up to the Faith and any who would come against them but Loras just wants an end to it. Asha and Theon talk about fighting for the Iron Islands, and a new way of life for a people who've known only pointless conflict. Dario, walking along with Jorah, even looks at the possibility of a fight where there's no benefit: beating Jorah. Either way, he either is the jerk who killed an old man, or he's the clod who got beat by one.
Jon, in his second appearance of the episode receives a letter, ominously sealed with the now oh-so-familiar flayed man of Bolton. Unrolling it, he intones the demands of a madman:
"To the traitor and bastard, Jon Snow. You allowed thousands of Wildlings past the Wall. You've betrayed your own kind. You've betrayed the North. Winterfell is mine, bastard. Come and see. Your brother, Rickon, is in my dungeon. His direwolf's skin is on my floor. Come and see. I want my bride back. Send her to me, bastard, and I will not trouble you or your Wildling lovers. Keep her from me and I will ride north and slaughter every Wildling man, woman and babe living under your protection. You will watch as I skin them living. You will watch as my soldiers take turns raping your sister. You will watch as my dogs devour your wild little brother. Then, I will spring your eyes from your sockets and let my dogs do the rest. Come and see.
Ramsay Bolton - Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North"
Everything here is meant to provoke. Everything here is meant to drive Jon to action. Every series of sentences is a call to action. "Come and see." It's a Westerosi "Come at me, bro." Little does Ramsay understand, Jon is a man unlike few who are still living. He's a scion of House Stark. He's a true leader. He's battle tested. He's got something different than madness or rage, ambition or fear of loss. He's got legions of fighters who truly believe in him and Stark blood. When The Stark calls the banners of the North, a rallying call for all true Northmen, the many loyal will rise. House Stark isn't dead and Ramsay is going to see what happens when he runs into someone who's fighting for something that's worth fighting for. Family, home, and plain-'ol good.
Finally, we have Dany. She stands among the Dosh Kahleen, and listens to their advice and wisdom. All the while, you can tell she is just letting it wash over her. She steps out to use the little-Khaleesi's-room, one of the other younger member's of the Ex-Khaleesi Club. Walking from the hall, they run smack into Jorah and Dario (who, incidentally, found out how to get away with a Vaes Dothrak shanking...bludgeon the poor bastard beyond all recognition with a rock). Jorah and Dario say they need to get the Seven Hells out of there; Dany says she's not going yet; she's got a plan.
Dany, per the Dothraki law, stands before the Khalar Vezhven, basically the Khal Council. They vote on her fate and the discourse predictably dissolves into misogyny and barbaric behavior which we've come to expect. But this time, things go differently.
Dany says to them that none of them are qualified to lead. None of them have any aspirations of greatness. None of them are even close to good enough. This, of course, is not met with acceptance. Khal Moro (the most respectful of the bunch until now) rises with the rest, hurling the ugliest threats they can, asserting their dominance in this temple that is theirs. Dany looks at them with light flickering in her eyes.
As if she finally came back to herself, the dragon coming alive inside her, she puts her hand on the crackling brazier with nary-a-sizzle. Daenerys, the Unburnt. She shoves the whole thing over, spilling fire into the midst of the giant hut made of kindling. Daenerys, Mother of Dragons. She tips the other two braziers, engulfing the entire gathering in a raging inferno and the Khals look to her as she looks back, wreathed in flame, a dragon in its natural habitat. Screaming, trying to escape, they find the door barred and the Khalar Vezhven becomes a pyre that could be seen from space.
Outside, every Dothraki in Vaes Dothrak comes to see the biggest house fire on record. Through the caved in door of the hall, you only see a white-hot furnace. Gaping, wide eyed, all look on, stunned. From the fire walks a lone figure. The Khaleesi who would not be a Khaleesi, the exiled princess who knows she has a destiny and a mission to return to, a dragon queen who has to get back to her dragons and her people.
She walks out, clothes plainly torched but herself utterly unharmed; an image of power and someone who knows who she is. The entire khalasar bows and Jorah and Dario look on in awe as they see a reminder of just what they fight for.
Thank you all for reading and I hope you liked it. It was one of my favorite episodes and I can't wait for what comes next. Please hit up the comments, share your thoughts and tell your friends. Game of Thrones is more fun with friends!
I've got to say, watching this show as someone who now has no firm knowledge of what's coming has been an absolute rush. The moments are raised to a whole new level and I've been loving every bit!
Based on some feedback I've gotten, I'm going to do the review a bit differently tonight and mainly keep it to opinions and let the comments and feedback lead where they will.
Right of the bat, we got Jon and Edd, with Jon essentially packing his things. Edd is asking pretty much what we're all thinking.
I really liked this bit between them. Edd is standing in for so many perspectives. It's so compelling to see him trying desperately to wrap his head around the idea that there is actually a person who has fulfilled his vow to the Night's Watch and is still alive to be able to go do other things. It *is* crazy. Hearing Jon throw "...and they killed me" and " I got murdered" in the past tense is so bizarre. We're literally seeing a man who *was dead* and now isn't and his friends also seem to be struggling with this. It is great.
The next moment made me smile and made my wife cry. FINALLY we get a Stark reunion! It's tear-filled, warm, tender and just wonderful. Just as Jon is about to go, Sansa shows up and Jon almost dies again. The familial love there, the raw happiness and relief to see someone you know you can trust was palpable and I think it was a huge release for all of us. To be honest, I half thought Jon would leave and Sansa would show up moments later, somehow having missed them. I'm so glad that didn't happen.
Davos and Mel have this conversation I thought was interesting that is followed up on when Brienne gets there. I hadn't realized that Davos didn't actually know what happened with the battle! Mel never actually told him. Here he learns for the first time in a concrete way (and so do we in Stannis' case, though we pretty much knew) that Stannis is 100% dead. His face when he asked about Shireen broke my heart.
Tyrion's work this week was really interesting and got to the realistic heart of what's happening in Essos. Dany has been going about things from a very idealistic angle but Tyrion, ever the pragmatist, takes a different tack here that seemingly no one but possibly Varys, is expecting.
Sitting with the representatives from the slave cities, he presents the Dragon Queen's terms. The slaver cities are part of a dying tradition, and it's clear that it will be going away. However, due to the nature of their economy and how the entire part of the world's life is built, ending slavery cold-turkey was perhaps not the most practical way to go about things. They have seven years to get their affairs in order and begin the shutdown process.
The others are aghast at this but Tyrion explains himself well, and makes very compelling arguments. Grey Worm and Missandei are not pleased with this but grudgingly trust Tyrion with a "This had better work..." attitude. Score another one for the Halfman.
Between the Lannister Clan, The Faith anf the Small Council, lots of little things are happening, most of which come down to Maegaery's current situation.
To that point, the imprisoned queen has the amazing scene with the High Sparrow, where he talks about how he came to the Faith. Honestly, I loved how true it rang. So often in life, I think we find ourselves wanting and striving for *more.* Doesn't matter what it is, just *more.* He mentions how he dumped hundreds, even thousands of hours into work just to get a taste of "better" life, a life he thought was worth all that effort, time and struggle. Once he got it, he didn't like the taste and instead sought out a righteous life; one of meaning, service and purpose. I thought it was a wonderful choice to have the now barefoot penitent be a cobbler in his past life. It was a truly touching story.
On the following scene, we get the other part of the "What's it all worth?" diptych. Margaery is finally able to see her brother, who seems to be channeling Reek. A shadow of his former glory, Loras Tyrell, pride of his house, huddles in the fetal position in squalor and rags. His sister comes to him, cradles him in her arms and tells him to be strong. Don't give them what they want, that they just have to fight and they can win. It's here that Loras says one of the most profound things I've heard from the show: he doesn't want to. He wants it to be over. He doesn't want to fight, he just wants it to end, for the pain to stop.
All through this series we've seen characters put through the ringer. Trial after trial and we believe "They just gotta keep fighting and they'll make it! They're our heroes (or protagonists at least)!" We (or at least I) often forget that they're people. That these are human characters who have limits and who reach breaking points that bring things into perspective.
All throughout this episode we see our characters presented with the question: Do we continue to fight? Jon feels it's all he's done, and he lost. Sansa feels they must, that it's their duty to take back their home. Tyrion thinks that they can outwit the enemy. The Queen of Thorns exhorts those in the room that they must fight because, inevitable as deaths will be, better anyone else than them. We saw Margaery's mind go to standing up to the Faith and any who would come against them but Loras just wants an end to it. Asha and Theon talk about fighting for the Iron Islands, and a new way of life for a people who've known only pointless conflict. Dario, walking along with Jorah, even looks at the possibility of a fight where there's no benefit: beating Jorah. Either way, he either is the jerk who killed an old man, or he's the clod who got beat by one.
Jon, in his second appearance of the episode receives a letter, ominously sealed with the now oh-so-familiar flayed man of Bolton. Unrolling it, he intones the demands of a madman:
"To the traitor and bastard, Jon Snow. You allowed thousands of Wildlings past the Wall. You've betrayed your own kind. You've betrayed the North. Winterfell is mine, bastard. Come and see. Your brother, Rickon, is in my dungeon. His direwolf's skin is on my floor. Come and see. I want my bride back. Send her to me, bastard, and I will not trouble you or your Wildling lovers. Keep her from me and I will ride north and slaughter every Wildling man, woman and babe living under your protection. You will watch as I skin them living. You will watch as my soldiers take turns raping your sister. You will watch as my dogs devour your wild little brother. Then, I will spring your eyes from your sockets and let my dogs do the rest. Come and see.
Ramsay Bolton - Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North"
Everything here is meant to provoke. Everything here is meant to drive Jon to action. Every series of sentences is a call to action. "Come and see." It's a Westerosi "Come at me, bro." Little does Ramsay understand, Jon is a man unlike few who are still living. He's a scion of House Stark. He's a true leader. He's battle tested. He's got something different than madness or rage, ambition or fear of loss. He's got legions of fighters who truly believe in him and Stark blood. When The Stark calls the banners of the North, a rallying call for all true Northmen, the many loyal will rise. House Stark isn't dead and Ramsay is going to see what happens when he runs into someone who's fighting for something that's worth fighting for. Family, home, and plain-'ol good.
Finally, we have Dany. She stands among the Dosh Kahleen, and listens to their advice and wisdom. All the while, you can tell she is just letting it wash over her. She steps out to use the little-Khaleesi's-room, one of the other younger member's of the Ex-Khaleesi Club. Walking from the hall, they run smack into Jorah and Dario (who, incidentally, found out how to get away with a Vaes Dothrak shanking...bludgeon the poor bastard beyond all recognition with a rock). Jorah and Dario say they need to get the Seven Hells out of there; Dany says she's not going yet; she's got a plan.
Dany, per the Dothraki law, stands before the Khalar Vezhven, basically the Khal Council. They vote on her fate and the discourse predictably dissolves into misogyny and barbaric behavior which we've come to expect. But this time, things go differently.
Dany says to them that none of them are qualified to lead. None of them have any aspirations of greatness. None of them are even close to good enough. This, of course, is not met with acceptance. Khal Moro (the most respectful of the bunch until now) rises with the rest, hurling the ugliest threats they can, asserting their dominance in this temple that is theirs. Dany looks at them with light flickering in her eyes.
As if she finally came back to herself, the dragon coming alive inside her, she puts her hand on the crackling brazier with nary-a-sizzle. Daenerys, the Unburnt. She shoves the whole thing over, spilling fire into the midst of the giant hut made of kindling. Daenerys, Mother of Dragons. She tips the other two braziers, engulfing the entire gathering in a raging inferno and the Khals look to her as she looks back, wreathed in flame, a dragon in its natural habitat. Screaming, trying to escape, they find the door barred and the Khalar Vezhven becomes a pyre that could be seen from space.
Outside, every Dothraki in Vaes Dothrak comes to see the biggest house fire on record. Through the caved in door of the hall, you only see a white-hot furnace. Gaping, wide eyed, all look on, stunned. From the fire walks a lone figure. The Khaleesi who would not be a Khaleesi, the exiled princess who knows she has a destiny and a mission to return to, a dragon queen who has to get back to her dragons and her people.
She walks out, clothes plainly torched but herself utterly unharmed; an image of power and someone who knows who she is. The entire khalasar bows and Jorah and Dario look on in awe as they see a reminder of just what they fight for.
Thank you all for reading and I hope you liked it. It was one of my favorite episodes and I can't wait for what comes next. Please hit up the comments, share your thoughts and tell your friends. Game of Thrones is more fun with friends!
Also be sure to check out the reviews our buddies from Boiled Leather are doing over at Rolling Stone and The Nerdstream Era!
Friday, May 13, 2016
Game of Thrones: Season 6 - Opinion Discussion 1
Spoiler Alert: This article may contain spoilers for Game of Thrones through S6 Ep3, as well as all published books. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
I was bouncing around the interwebs, as you do, and came across a few posts on IGN. I have not watched them, but the topics looked interesting and I felt like we could talk about them (would be interesting to see how we do or don't match up).
The topics were:
1) Dany and Arya's S6 plots so far - The issues with them
2) What is driving Jamie Lannister? Is his story becoming unfocused?
Point 1 first.
Whether or not I end up agreeing with what IGN says, I can see there's a point to be made here. Both plot lines have had a distinct feel that sets them apart from the others.
In Dany's case it seems like it may be partially due (like the transition from A Storm of Swords to Feast/Dance) to a change of pace and expectations. Dany, for the past 3 seasons at least, has been on a hardcore conquering spree. Even when she wasn't conquering, she was ruling. She had bodyguards, advisors, an army, even just an 83-mile-long string of titles. When we pick up Season 6, she is in a *very* different situation.
Right from the get-go, we find where she was found by the Dothraki. Even then, she was looking pretty rough (versus clean and super-regal). She gets surrounded by every Dothraki on the planet and Drogon doesn't show up for the horsey buffet.
I hadn't really thought about it but apart from The House of the Undying, we've never really seen Dany alone. She's always had some one (or some ones) to help or at least back her up. She's now trying to navigate this situation by herself and it *is* very different.
I think an issue I have, Dany and the pacing aside, is just how irritating I find the Dothraki at this point. Compared to the sophistication of everything going on around them, they seem like a people that can't possible survive in their current state beyond another generation or two. The way HBO has conveyed the Dothraki is as a people who are dominated by the males, (which is accurate, sure), but even those males who we run into seem so one-note. "Rawr, I'm a Dothraki. I'm a barbarian so I talk about rape/sex and use vulgarity constantly and think only about sex and violence and conquering."
I understand that they are barbarians, but I just wish they gave the individuals more personality. They all seem brash, overconfident, ignorant and shallow, except the Khals. Also, how do they not know who-the-actual-eff she is? Drogo was the biggest name in Dothraki society for a *while.* They also spent time in Vaes Dothrak, where all Dothraki gather and exist communally. As many things that seem "known" by the the collective whole, you'd think they would have heard mention, at some point, about Drogo's pale, silver-haired Khaleesi, who was bearing the Stallion Who Mounts The Damn World. She sticks out like a sore thumb. Also, if Drogon has been ranging like we know he has, she should guess they've seen him and as superstitious as they are, she could probably make some progress leveraging that connection.
I get the sense that right now, this section is the tape connecting the last bit seen in the books, to the next major plot stuff in the show and we're just buying time for the moment.
On to Arya. Her story right now is a bit frustrating for other reasons. The House of Black and White is cool. It's an order of freakin' face-changing, shape-shifting assassins. They're hard core. We know Arya is hard core. We're hoping for this epic, extended training montage, with some bumps in the road for flavor. At the very least, if not epic montage, then deep training. We don't quite get that.
Here's my first issue: the Waif. In the books, she is this girl who has really been there a while. She doesn't quite age normally, but it's plain she has been here a while and is much older than her appearance lets on. She is the teacher's aide. She shows Arya things, teaches her. Sometimes they are hard lessons, but not always. In the show, however, the Waif is just mean spirited and honestly comes off as jealous. At no point do I feel like the Waif is trying to teach Arya. She may be trying to get her to quit, but she never says that. It's just constant beatings and bitchy glaring.
Aside from that, there are the No One questions. These get resolved in Ep 3, but I feel they've done a mediocre job really showing the point. I *know* the point, but I feel it could have been elaborated on or illustrated better. It's that the assassin is an impartial instrument of Death and it is impossible to be this if you're are peraonally invested in the targets (or just feel anything towards them at all). To become an instrument of death, you sacrifice your "self" for the cause.
Also, in terms of the HoBaW, we also haven't seen much in terms of how the place *works* apart from mortuary services and the face chamber itself. We haven't seen much in the way of contracts, other legitimate members, or what Arya is actually aspiring to. It would be nice to see more that there is even a *hidden* belief inside Jaqen that she could succeed / should succeed. Up until recently, the sense of whether she was really accomplishing things or where she was progressing to was pretty muted.
All that having been said, we DID just see her pass the ultimate death-water No One test, and start putting the Waif on the back-foot. She's gaining traction and maybe we've just been waiting for things to kick off. It is likely that when we're able to see all this within the greater scheme of the season, it may seem perfect. Just have to wait and see.
Where do we think Arya will end up at the end of this season? Do you think she'll leave the faceless men (I do)? If so, under what circumstances and where does she go next?
Finally, we get to Jamie. Oh Jamie, what a winding road you walk. Let's break down where he's been:
- Has alwayd had an intimate relationship, sleeping with his sister, having 3 children by her, and watching them grow up thinking another man (one he despises) is their father.
- Attained knighthood at an extremely young age
- Admitted to the Kingsguard at an unprecedented age
- Stabbed his King in the back in his own throneroom while his father was taking the city
- Throws a child out a window
- The second king he has served dies from boarsassination
- His son is now king
- His son is a sadistic idiot and kills the Patron of one of the Great Houses, kicking off a war
- He goes off to fight in this war
- Kills a bunch of people in battle and is captured by the Starks
- Is held prisoner, being dragged camp-to-camp for months at least
- Is released by Catelyn Stark in the hopes his return will get her daughters released by the Crown (fat chance)
- He's escorted by some huge, ugly wench (his words) and hates her guts.
- He grudgingly starts seeing her value
- They're captured by mercenaries working for the northern cause
- Turns out they're psychotic and chop off his sword hand (and identity)
- He descends into a dark place where he questions himself and Brienne helps him view things differently, giving him the strength to go on.
- They're taken to Harrenhal and he's eventually released by Roose Bolton, while Brienne is to be kept for less-than-altruistic purposes
- Jamie leaves but then realizes he can't leave this new friend, goes back and rescues her from being bear food.
- We find out he saved the city by slaying Aerys, because he would have ignited secret chaches of wildfire across the city.
- He gets back to Kings Landing, changed.
- Cersei's view of him has changed.
- He rejects his father's control
- He takes his position as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard seriously, forswearing the chance to be released from his vows to become Lord of Casterly Rock (his initial birthright).
- He sees his son die by poisoning
- He sends Brienne off to find and keep the Stark girls safe, giving her the Valyrian Steel sword given to him by his father, which becomes named Oathkeeper.
- He sees his brother tried for murdering Joffrey.
- He watches Tyrion's trial by combat fail and sees him sentenced to death.
- He breaks his brother out, out of love and the belief in his innocence.
- After the death of Oberyn Martell in Tyrion's trial by combat, Dorne sends a death threat, saying Myrcella (his daughter) is in danger.
- He volunteers to go rescue her himself and takes Bronn.
- They find her, get her released, and finally leave.
- On their way out, he starts telling her the truth about him and Cersei, and really has a wonderful moment with her, only to find she'd been poisoned by the Dornish.
- He arrives home, to Cersei's grief and learns about her incarceration by the faith, and her walk of attonement (and the apparent reanimation of Gregor Clegane)
...
GOOD LORD! This guy has been around the world and back! He has gone from Villain to Hero (or at least respectable person) and is perhaps one of the best examples of what a great author can do with a character and the reader's / watcher's feelings toward them.
With all that, Jamie really has never *been* on a course, per se. He is one who has always been reactionary, moving where fate wills that he go. He faces challenges, overcomes them, and moves to face new ones. I think he finds new purpose in each situation he finds himself in and thats where he is now. He's asking himself "Who am I and who do I need to be?"
I honestly think Jamie has never been a character with typical purpose. In fact, part of what makes him interesting is that even IN the books, everyone around him tries to dictate his purpose TO him and he rebels, holding true only to himself and what feels right to him.
We genuinely see him grow, think and change over a course of events that become a crucible for him. I think his purpose now is to find his place in a world where his family once held ultimate sway and now is only hanging on by a thread. I think his purpose is to find something true to him worth living, fighting or even dying for. I think his ultimate purpose is that he doesn't want to be remembered as The Kingslayer, he wants to be remembered as a man who tried to do the best he could and was at times got to taste greatness.
What do you all think? Post your thoughts in the comments and be sure to share this with any friends / fans you know.
Thanks for reading!
I was bouncing around the interwebs, as you do, and came across a few posts on IGN. I have not watched them, but the topics looked interesting and I felt like we could talk about them (would be interesting to see how we do or don't match up).
The topics were:
1) Dany and Arya's S6 plots so far - The issues with them
2) What is driving Jamie Lannister? Is his story becoming unfocused?
Point 1 first.
Whether or not I end up agreeing with what IGN says, I can see there's a point to be made here. Both plot lines have had a distinct feel that sets them apart from the others.
In Dany's case it seems like it may be partially due (like the transition from A Storm of Swords to Feast/Dance) to a change of pace and expectations. Dany, for the past 3 seasons at least, has been on a hardcore conquering spree. Even when she wasn't conquering, she was ruling. She had bodyguards, advisors, an army, even just an 83-mile-long string of titles. When we pick up Season 6, she is in a *very* different situation.
Right from the get-go, we find where she was found by the Dothraki. Even then, she was looking pretty rough (versus clean and super-regal). She gets surrounded by every Dothraki on the planet and Drogon doesn't show up for the horsey buffet.
I hadn't really thought about it but apart from The House of the Undying, we've never really seen Dany alone. She's always had some one (or some ones) to help or at least back her up. She's now trying to navigate this situation by herself and it *is* very different.
I think an issue I have, Dany and the pacing aside, is just how irritating I find the Dothraki at this point. Compared to the sophistication of everything going on around them, they seem like a people that can't possible survive in their current state beyond another generation or two. The way HBO has conveyed the Dothraki is as a people who are dominated by the males, (which is accurate, sure), but even those males who we run into seem so one-note. "Rawr, I'm a Dothraki. I'm a barbarian so I talk about rape/sex and use vulgarity constantly and think only about sex and violence and conquering."
I understand that they are barbarians, but I just wish they gave the individuals more personality. They all seem brash, overconfident, ignorant and shallow, except the Khals. Also, how do they not know who-the-actual-eff she is? Drogo was the biggest name in Dothraki society for a *while.* They also spent time in Vaes Dothrak, where all Dothraki gather and exist communally. As many things that seem "known" by the the collective whole, you'd think they would have heard mention, at some point, about Drogo's pale, silver-haired Khaleesi, who was bearing the Stallion Who Mounts The Damn World. She sticks out like a sore thumb. Also, if Drogon has been ranging like we know he has, she should guess they've seen him and as superstitious as they are, she could probably make some progress leveraging that connection.
I get the sense that right now, this section is the tape connecting the last bit seen in the books, to the next major plot stuff in the show and we're just buying time for the moment.
On to Arya. Her story right now is a bit frustrating for other reasons. The House of Black and White is cool. It's an order of freakin' face-changing, shape-shifting assassins. They're hard core. We know Arya is hard core. We're hoping for this epic, extended training montage, with some bumps in the road for flavor. At the very least, if not epic montage, then deep training. We don't quite get that.
Here's my first issue: the Waif. In the books, she is this girl who has really been there a while. She doesn't quite age normally, but it's plain she has been here a while and is much older than her appearance lets on. She is the teacher's aide. She shows Arya things, teaches her. Sometimes they are hard lessons, but not always. In the show, however, the Waif is just mean spirited and honestly comes off as jealous. At no point do I feel like the Waif is trying to teach Arya. She may be trying to get her to quit, but she never says that. It's just constant beatings and bitchy glaring.
Aside from that, there are the No One questions. These get resolved in Ep 3, but I feel they've done a mediocre job really showing the point. I *know* the point, but I feel it could have been elaborated on or illustrated better. It's that the assassin is an impartial instrument of Death and it is impossible to be this if you're are peraonally invested in the targets (or just feel anything towards them at all). To become an instrument of death, you sacrifice your "self" for the cause.
Also, in terms of the HoBaW, we also haven't seen much in terms of how the place *works* apart from mortuary services and the face chamber itself. We haven't seen much in the way of contracts, other legitimate members, or what Arya is actually aspiring to. It would be nice to see more that there is even a *hidden* belief inside Jaqen that she could succeed / should succeed. Up until recently, the sense of whether she was really accomplishing things or where she was progressing to was pretty muted.
All that having been said, we DID just see her pass the ultimate death-water No One test, and start putting the Waif on the back-foot. She's gaining traction and maybe we've just been waiting for things to kick off. It is likely that when we're able to see all this within the greater scheme of the season, it may seem perfect. Just have to wait and see.
Where do we think Arya will end up at the end of this season? Do you think she'll leave the faceless men (I do)? If so, under what circumstances and where does she go next?
Finally, we get to Jamie. Oh Jamie, what a winding road you walk. Let's break down where he's been:
- Has alwayd had an intimate relationship, sleeping with his sister, having 3 children by her, and watching them grow up thinking another man (one he despises) is their father.
- Attained knighthood at an extremely young age
- Admitted to the Kingsguard at an unprecedented age
- Stabbed his King in the back in his own throneroom while his father was taking the city
- Throws a child out a window
- The second king he has served dies from boarsassination
- His son is now king
- His son is a sadistic idiot and kills the Patron of one of the Great Houses, kicking off a war
- He goes off to fight in this war
- Kills a bunch of people in battle and is captured by the Starks
- Is held prisoner, being dragged camp-to-camp for months at least
- Is released by Catelyn Stark in the hopes his return will get her daughters released by the Crown (fat chance)
- He's escorted by some huge, ugly wench (his words) and hates her guts.
- He grudgingly starts seeing her value
- They're captured by mercenaries working for the northern cause
- Turns out they're psychotic and chop off his sword hand (and identity)
- He descends into a dark place where he questions himself and Brienne helps him view things differently, giving him the strength to go on.
- They're taken to Harrenhal and he's eventually released by Roose Bolton, while Brienne is to be kept for less-than-altruistic purposes
- Jamie leaves but then realizes he can't leave this new friend, goes back and rescues her from being bear food.
- We find out he saved the city by slaying Aerys, because he would have ignited secret chaches of wildfire across the city.
- He gets back to Kings Landing, changed.
- Cersei's view of him has changed.
- He rejects his father's control
- He takes his position as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard seriously, forswearing the chance to be released from his vows to become Lord of Casterly Rock (his initial birthright).
- He sees his son die by poisoning
- He sends Brienne off to find and keep the Stark girls safe, giving her the Valyrian Steel sword given to him by his father, which becomes named Oathkeeper.
- He sees his brother tried for murdering Joffrey.
- He watches Tyrion's trial by combat fail and sees him sentenced to death.
- He breaks his brother out, out of love and the belief in his innocence.
- After the death of Oberyn Martell in Tyrion's trial by combat, Dorne sends a death threat, saying Myrcella (his daughter) is in danger.
- He volunteers to go rescue her himself and takes Bronn.
- They find her, get her released, and finally leave.
- On their way out, he starts telling her the truth about him and Cersei, and really has a wonderful moment with her, only to find she'd been poisoned by the Dornish.
- He arrives home, to Cersei's grief and learns about her incarceration by the faith, and her walk of attonement (and the apparent reanimation of Gregor Clegane)
...
GOOD LORD! This guy has been around the world and back! He has gone from Villain to Hero (or at least respectable person) and is perhaps one of the best examples of what a great author can do with a character and the reader's / watcher's feelings toward them.
With all that, Jamie really has never *been* on a course, per se. He is one who has always been reactionary, moving where fate wills that he go. He faces challenges, overcomes them, and moves to face new ones. I think he finds new purpose in each situation he finds himself in and thats where he is now. He's asking himself "Who am I and who do I need to be?"
I honestly think Jamie has never been a character with typical purpose. In fact, part of what makes him interesting is that even IN the books, everyone around him tries to dictate his purpose TO him and he rebels, holding true only to himself and what feels right to him.
We genuinely see him grow, think and change over a course of events that become a crucible for him. I think his purpose now is to find his place in a world where his family once held ultimate sway and now is only hanging on by a thread. I think his purpose is to find something true to him worth living, fighting or even dying for. I think his ultimate purpose is that he doesn't want to be remembered as The Kingslayer, he wants to be remembered as a man who tried to do the best he could and was at times got to taste greatness.
What do you all think? Post your thoughts in the comments and be sure to share this with any friends / fans you know.
Thanks for reading!
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Review: Game of Thrones - S6E03 - Oathbreaker
Spoiler Alert: These reviews contain spoilers for the titled episode. They may also contain spoilers for any previous episodes and published book content. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
Wow. This season seems to be batting a thousand so far. Rob Bricken, in his review you can find over at io9 states that a running theme throughout this episode is anger and I would heartily agree. Close to every character is some shade of angry, whether it be a simmering determination to downright boiling rage. These characters (much like the audience, at this point) have been through a lot. As we pelt onward to the encroaching conclusion to one of the most epic, sprawling tales out there, things are really coming together. Here we go: Oathbreaker.
The Wall - In keeping with the chronology of the past episodes, we pick up immediately after the cliffhanger we were left on. We see Jon rise from the table (and all the fangirls squeal) pale, cold, disoriented and scared. He, very understandably, has not the slightest bleeping clue what is going on. We see Davos' face in what may be one of the best WTF faces I've ever seen. As he as tended towards, Davos has a fatherly nature to him, when it comes down to it, and he falls into this a bit here. He also speaks with frankness and candor, mentioning that given how mad the situation seems to him, he can't imagine what Jon must be feeling. I'm thinking that Jon's probably thinking he's spot on.
Melisandre enters and seems rather amazed that the ritual really worked. Were Darth Vader here, I imagine he find her lack of faith disturbing; I sure did. Look, lady, in a world where seeing is believing, where there clearly is magic and you actually do seem to know the in's and out's of at least some magic, you'd think you could recognize a genuine miracle right in front of you. Maybe she does, but you would think that this would be faith affirming in a huge way.
Jon goes out and sees the boys and they have perfect looks of shock and awe on their faces. Jon sees Tormund and mentions the vast majority of the men think he's some kind of God, but he knows better, having seen him Stark naked on that table. We all get a nice chuckle out of that. Good ol' Tormund. Finally Jon gets to the stalwart Dolorous Edd. He gives him a big hug and Edd gets a bit of a scare, wondering whether it really is still Jon in that skin because... well... Jon makes a joke. It's good to see Edd finally gets to laugh. :)
A Ship At Sea - Sam! On one of the below-decks of a ship, mid-voyage, Sam tries to keep it together, doing his damndest to look heroic for Gilly as only Sam can. They're headed to Oldtown, reportedly the most beautiful city in all of Westeros, where Sam will begin his pursuit of a Maester's chain so he can get back to Castle Black to fill the incredibly large shoes of the late, great Maester Aemon. While speaking with Gilly, she talks about her journey to literacy and mentions a time "before she knew how to read" and we smile, knowing that was something like a few weeks ago. She's a quick learner!
Sam also reiterates that he's doing this to do his duty for Castle Black, and for his best friend and Lord Commander, Jon Snow. This moment really struck me, as I say there realizing Sam has no idea what happened at Castle Black. For all he knows, Jon is still strongly in charge. Think about those you hold most dear, and then think about being away on vacation. The idea that something terrible could happen while you're away isn't a thought that occurs to most of us. I wonder what Sam would do if he was to find out about this. Inevitably he will, but what if this is after he's been chained and sworn? Also, for that matter, would his vow as a Maester overwrite his vow as a man of the Night's Watch? Maester Luwin, for example, as a Maester, was stationed at Winterfell and sworn to serve whoever ruled there, Stark or not. I wonder if Sam would, as such, be assigned to Castle Black, regardless if the Night's Watch held sway there or not. That being said, something tells me if the Night's Watch is gone from Castle Black, there might not be a Castle Black worth being a Maester for...
It is also brought up that while Sam had connections he could leverage at Castle Black which allowed him to bring Gilly to safety, he wouldn't have the same advantage down in Oldtown. The Citadel, being an ancient order devoted to training the learned men of Westeros, would not have a woman in their halls. Fortunately Sam's home is near Oldtown. They're planning to take Gilly and baby Sam to Horn Hill, the ancestral seat of House Tarly and abode to the loving dad that told Sam he would go north, take The Black, and renounce any claim to house Tarly or he would have a most regrettable "hunting accident." Luckily it sounds like the women of Sam's family are far better people. Gilly and the baby may just be alright.
The Tower of Joy - Here we get to some real meat. In another Bran flashback, we see a young Ned and company taking care of some business after the Battle of the Trident (where Robert Baratheon defeats young prince Rhaegar Targaryen). Outside the tower are stationed some old school Kingsguard, still in service to Aerys (The Mad King) and the still-current royal family. Visibly a much less flashy, much more practical group of guys, we see their armor is still the tri-crested helm, but here is simple steel, with an understated Targaryen sigil on the chest. This is the armor of someone who is dressed for work.
Ned is looking for his sister, Lyanna (whom we met in the previous flashback). Robert told us in season 1 that he was betrothed to her and the whole mess started because Rhaegar abducted her. Sounds like this may be where he took her. Among Ned's company is none other than Jojan and Meera's father, Howland Reed. I don't know why, but I was surprised that he looked normal. Being from The Neck, and a crannogman, I expected him to almost look like a mix between a human and the Children.
Ned demands to see his Sister and that the Kingsguard step aside. At this point we see exactly why the Kingsguard used to be revered and respected. Arguably the greatest knight to ever don armor, Ser Arthur Dayne steps forward. He looks Ned in the face and turns him down. Ned and his boys aren't taking no for an answer. Cue one of the most badass fight scenes we've seen in the show yet.
Arthur Dayne is plainly head and shoulders above the rest; uniquely acquitting himself with a sword in each hand. He takes on multiple simultaneous opponents with expert movement, showing exactly why Ser Barristan Selmy held him in such high regard.
In the end, Bran sees that the only way Dayne was defeated wasn't, in fact, due to his father honorably wresting victory from the paragon of the Kingsguard, but instead was thanks to a timely shanking from a not-dead-yet Howland Reed. Bran is visibly shaken as a key story about his father, our greatest example of an honorable man, is shifted forever.
Ned runs for the tower. The Raven tells him it's time to go. We're pissed. So is Bran. He chases after his father, calling out for him but sadly, we know no one can hear or see them. Except Ned turns. Looking around, sure he heard something (we know he did), he stops a moment. He can't see anything, shakes it off and runs up the stairs. We're ready to follow, to get some answers! Yet again, Bran is denied, and so too are we. The Raven instructs Bran to moderate and that he should be mindful that he will not stay there forever and that he has much to learn. When he asks what, the Raven says one chilling word... "Everything."
Vaes Dothrak - Dany enters the Dothraki capital and more and more I tire of the Dothraki. She looks at them, plainly as someone on a whole other level. They treat her with disrespect and an odd air of superiority (you'd think that they might possibly view a dragon as a big, winged horse or something... although Drogon isn't exactly around either...). She's taken to the Dosh Kahleen, a coven of withered ex-Khaleesi's, who try to verbally intimidate the Mother of Dragons. All I can think is that either they'll soon be following her, or they'll be kindling. They know not with whom they mess.
Meereen - Varys meets with the woman who was giving comfort to that cuddly unsullied last season, until he got that really sloppy tracheotomy and we see the face of the Sons of the Harpy for the first time. We see, yet again, why Varys is where he is and how he's gotten so far. He's very good. He gives her the opportunity to help him out, smartly using honey instead of vinegar while still conveying just how much danger she and her son could find themselves in. It was an extremely well played scene.
Jump over to Tyrion playing out a short, funny scene between himself, Grey Worm and Missandei. It would seem games, drinking and even conversation are not things that easily cross cultural and societal divides. In comes Varys, and we learn that a plan is being put in place where his spies and being deployed to Volantis, Astapor and Yunkai. He and Tyrion are planning to unleash some serious multi-point espionage. I'm interested to see how this goes.
Kings Landing - Speaking of little birds, the new Master of Whispers talks with the KL chapter of the Little Birds gang. Qyburn plies them with sweets while they ask where their old master is. Almost sounds like they miss him. They're told that they're working for Qyburn now and that the arrangements will remain largely the same, so long as they continue their good work, just for him now.
Shortly thereafter, in comes Jamie, Cersei and Ser Robert Strong. Wait... Ser Gregor. Qyburn just says it, straight up, as if it's no big deal that the guy used to be a corpse. "Oh, don't mind him. I know what you're thinking, but trust me, it's cool." So much for that; I suppose the mystery is slightly easier to buy on paper, but looking at him, and having seen so many scenes of Qyburn working on his body, there plainly was no mystery intended.
Cersei meets with her Master of Whispers and demands he stretch his spy tendrils out to their farthest extent, wanting word of even the slightest inflammatory goings-on. She's had it up to here with other people messing with them and she's ready to be in undisputed power again.
The Small Council Chamber - Lord and Hand-of-the-King, Ser Kevan Lannister meets with the small council. Pycelle, whinging and moaning as usual, is griping about the queen's new bodyguard. The best part is when the twins Lannister walk in with the hulk looming behind them.
Pycelle keeps rambling as every other gaze in the room (include the returning Olenna Tyrell!) turns to the new guests. With classic comedic timing he stammers to a halt, turns and... "...he's right behind me, isn't he..."
The twins look at the small council and Cersei is dismayed about being left out. I love how Kevan has at no point put up with Cersei's shenanigans, and Olenna Tyrell, I don't think, has put up with someone's crap a day in her life.
Obstinately, when refused a place at the table, and flatly told by the Queen of Thorns that she (Cersei) is not the queen anymore, she and Jamie channel a bit of Tyrion and pull up chairs anyway. Just as we're thinking things are going to move forward, the small council simply decides "Sure, we can't make Cersei leave, but she can't make us stay" and they leave. How's that for adaptability?
The Great Sept of Baelor - Tommen goes to see the High Sparrow and decides to really lay some force down. He puts his game face on, squares his shoulders, tells the priest exactly how it's going to be... and then gets played like a fiddle. Tommen, as young as he is, is plainly doing the best he can, drawing on the advice he's been given, but oddly enough, he could probably do with having a little Joff in him. Tommen's prudence and willingness to listen combined with just a touch of gusto and willfulness might just be a great combo. As it stands, he's brushed off.
Braavos - Finally back in the House of Black and White, Arya undergoes a great training montage. It's tightly edited and has awesome mental training woven in amongst the physical. As her character is systematically broken down, she gets real with herself. We hear that she really views Jon as her full brother, though she knows he isn't. She's honest with herself about her feelings about The Hound. We realize that her list has become startlingly short. It's odd to think there's actually been that kind of progress made, but given that it is Game of Thrones... folks be dyin'.
After the Waif puts Arya through her paces, finally being bested by the girl she was so easily beating not so long ago, a man we recognize as looking like Jaqen H'gar takes over. He gives Arya the "No One" questions and she answers predictably. He then sits her down on the edge of the small pool and says "If you really are No One, drink this."
In this moment, I have to say, though I knew where it was going, I was still scared for her. We've seen the water send those looking for the long sleep drink and die. It makes me wonder if magic was involved (apart from what's usually there) or what this might be. How is it that it brings back her sight? We haven't seen the water used for ought else but giving the gift of death. I'm not sure what to think of this. At the end of the day, we have an Arya with her vision back and that's to the good.
Winterfell - This scene was crazy to me. The Boltons show up, exchange unpleasantries in an all-too-Umber-like fashion and state that they know about Jon's Wildling situation at the wall. Ramsay wants fealty (of course) and the Umbers are fine with that, but ain't gonna be no kneelin', ring kissin' or scrapin' for the new Warden of the North, no sir... but never let it be said that the Umbers show up with nothing to offer.
In stumbles two burlap-hooded captives, looking rough and ragged to say the least. Off comes hood number one and it's our old Wildling friend Osha. To our dawning horror, it takes two seconds to do the math on who's under the second hood. Off it comes and sure enough, it's Rickon Stark. This is doubly huge because as far as anyone knows, he's the only living male Stark left on the planet.
Color Ramsay skeptical, he doesn't buy it. How does he know that this is really Rickon? Could be anyone, right? Well, sounds like the Umbers thought he'd say that, so they give him proof: the head of Shaggy Dog, Rickon's damn direwolf.
This turned my stomach. The only thing that consoles me is that I think there's a good deal of Shaggy Dog in Rickon, and maybe, just maybe, Ramsay will have gotten more than he bargained for in the youngest Stark. Let the wolfblood run hot in your veins, Rickon. Time to take back Winterfell.
Please let that be where this goes....
Castle Black - Back to Jon. He comes out, looking like he's got to do some Lord Commander business. He grabs Longclaw and, after last season, I was pretty sure we were going to see someone go the way of Slynt. Turns out they're going to expedite the process and the four main traitors have nooses around their necks.
True to his Stark training, he gives the men their last words and hears them all out. You know, at the end of this, I really had to say I respected Ser Alliser Thorne. He's an unlikable bastard, but he really did do what he did for The Watch. He stuck to his guns and, as far as he thought, stood by his vows. What do you think? Should Alliser Thorne really have been executed?
Jon Snow thought so. After a tortured moment, Jon swings Longclaw down with gusto, dropping the supports from the men, strangling the life out of them. After a few moments, their faces are changed into asphyxiated death masks. And so their watch is ended...
Jon walks to Edd, takes his cloak off, and does what I've been predicting since I read in the books that Jon Snow had been killed: if he came back, he'd be leaving The Watch. Their vows state "It shall not end until my death." Well, vow fulfilled and for the first time since Season 1, Episode 2, Jon Snow is no longer a member of the Night's Watch. Where do you think he's off to?
Thank you all for reading. As always, please hit up the comments below, share your thoughts. I really would like to hear your thoughts on the episode and would love to discuss what went on in this third, excellent episode!
Also be sure to check out the reviews our buddies from Boiled Leather are doing over at Rolling Stone and The Nerdstream Era!
Wow. This season seems to be batting a thousand so far. Rob Bricken, in his review you can find over at io9 states that a running theme throughout this episode is anger and I would heartily agree. Close to every character is some shade of angry, whether it be a simmering determination to downright boiling rage. These characters (much like the audience, at this point) have been through a lot. As we pelt onward to the encroaching conclusion to one of the most epic, sprawling tales out there, things are really coming together. Here we go: Oathbreaker.
The Wall - In keeping with the chronology of the past episodes, we pick up immediately after the cliffhanger we were left on. We see Jon rise from the table (and all the fangirls squeal) pale, cold, disoriented and scared. He, very understandably, has not the slightest bleeping clue what is going on. We see Davos' face in what may be one of the best WTF faces I've ever seen. As he as tended towards, Davos has a fatherly nature to him, when it comes down to it, and he falls into this a bit here. He also speaks with frankness and candor, mentioning that given how mad the situation seems to him, he can't imagine what Jon must be feeling. I'm thinking that Jon's probably thinking he's spot on.
Melisandre enters and seems rather amazed that the ritual really worked. Were Darth Vader here, I imagine he find her lack of faith disturbing; I sure did. Look, lady, in a world where seeing is believing, where there clearly is magic and you actually do seem to know the in's and out's of at least some magic, you'd think you could recognize a genuine miracle right in front of you. Maybe she does, but you would think that this would be faith affirming in a huge way.
Jon goes out and sees the boys and they have perfect looks of shock and awe on their faces. Jon sees Tormund and mentions the vast majority of the men think he's some kind of God, but he knows better, having seen him Stark naked on that table. We all get a nice chuckle out of that. Good ol' Tormund. Finally Jon gets to the stalwart Dolorous Edd. He gives him a big hug and Edd gets a bit of a scare, wondering whether it really is still Jon in that skin because... well... Jon makes a joke. It's good to see Edd finally gets to laugh. :)
A Ship At Sea - Sam! On one of the below-decks of a ship, mid-voyage, Sam tries to keep it together, doing his damndest to look heroic for Gilly as only Sam can. They're headed to Oldtown, reportedly the most beautiful city in all of Westeros, where Sam will begin his pursuit of a Maester's chain so he can get back to Castle Black to fill the incredibly large shoes of the late, great Maester Aemon. While speaking with Gilly, she talks about her journey to literacy and mentions a time "before she knew how to read" and we smile, knowing that was something like a few weeks ago. She's a quick learner!
Sam also reiterates that he's doing this to do his duty for Castle Black, and for his best friend and Lord Commander, Jon Snow. This moment really struck me, as I say there realizing Sam has no idea what happened at Castle Black. For all he knows, Jon is still strongly in charge. Think about those you hold most dear, and then think about being away on vacation. The idea that something terrible could happen while you're away isn't a thought that occurs to most of us. I wonder what Sam would do if he was to find out about this. Inevitably he will, but what if this is after he's been chained and sworn? Also, for that matter, would his vow as a Maester overwrite his vow as a man of the Night's Watch? Maester Luwin, for example, as a Maester, was stationed at Winterfell and sworn to serve whoever ruled there, Stark or not. I wonder if Sam would, as such, be assigned to Castle Black, regardless if the Night's Watch held sway there or not. That being said, something tells me if the Night's Watch is gone from Castle Black, there might not be a Castle Black worth being a Maester for...
It is also brought up that while Sam had connections he could leverage at Castle Black which allowed him to bring Gilly to safety, he wouldn't have the same advantage down in Oldtown. The Citadel, being an ancient order devoted to training the learned men of Westeros, would not have a woman in their halls. Fortunately Sam's home is near Oldtown. They're planning to take Gilly and baby Sam to Horn Hill, the ancestral seat of House Tarly and abode to the loving dad that told Sam he would go north, take The Black, and renounce any claim to house Tarly or he would have a most regrettable "hunting accident." Luckily it sounds like the women of Sam's family are far better people. Gilly and the baby may just be alright.
The Tower of Joy - Here we get to some real meat. In another Bran flashback, we see a young Ned and company taking care of some business after the Battle of the Trident (where Robert Baratheon defeats young prince Rhaegar Targaryen). Outside the tower are stationed some old school Kingsguard, still in service to Aerys (The Mad King) and the still-current royal family. Visibly a much less flashy, much more practical group of guys, we see their armor is still the tri-crested helm, but here is simple steel, with an understated Targaryen sigil on the chest. This is the armor of someone who is dressed for work.
Ned is looking for his sister, Lyanna (whom we met in the previous flashback). Robert told us in season 1 that he was betrothed to her and the whole mess started because Rhaegar abducted her. Sounds like this may be where he took her. Among Ned's company is none other than Jojan and Meera's father, Howland Reed. I don't know why, but I was surprised that he looked normal. Being from The Neck, and a crannogman, I expected him to almost look like a mix between a human and the Children.
Ned demands to see his Sister and that the Kingsguard step aside. At this point we see exactly why the Kingsguard used to be revered and respected. Arguably the greatest knight to ever don armor, Ser Arthur Dayne steps forward. He looks Ned in the face and turns him down. Ned and his boys aren't taking no for an answer. Cue one of the most badass fight scenes we've seen in the show yet.
Arthur Dayne is plainly head and shoulders above the rest; uniquely acquitting himself with a sword in each hand. He takes on multiple simultaneous opponents with expert movement, showing exactly why Ser Barristan Selmy held him in such high regard.
In the end, Bran sees that the only way Dayne was defeated wasn't, in fact, due to his father honorably wresting victory from the paragon of the Kingsguard, but instead was thanks to a timely shanking from a not-dead-yet Howland Reed. Bran is visibly shaken as a key story about his father, our greatest example of an honorable man, is shifted forever.
Ned runs for the tower. The Raven tells him it's time to go. We're pissed. So is Bran. He chases after his father, calling out for him but sadly, we know no one can hear or see them. Except Ned turns. Looking around, sure he heard something (we know he did), he stops a moment. He can't see anything, shakes it off and runs up the stairs. We're ready to follow, to get some answers! Yet again, Bran is denied, and so too are we. The Raven instructs Bran to moderate and that he should be mindful that he will not stay there forever and that he has much to learn. When he asks what, the Raven says one chilling word... "Everything."
Vaes Dothrak - Dany enters the Dothraki capital and more and more I tire of the Dothraki. She looks at them, plainly as someone on a whole other level. They treat her with disrespect and an odd air of superiority (you'd think that they might possibly view a dragon as a big, winged horse or something... although Drogon isn't exactly around either...). She's taken to the Dosh Kahleen, a coven of withered ex-Khaleesi's, who try to verbally intimidate the Mother of Dragons. All I can think is that either they'll soon be following her, or they'll be kindling. They know not with whom they mess.
Meereen - Varys meets with the woman who was giving comfort to that cuddly unsullied last season, until he got that really sloppy tracheotomy and we see the face of the Sons of the Harpy for the first time. We see, yet again, why Varys is where he is and how he's gotten so far. He's very good. He gives her the opportunity to help him out, smartly using honey instead of vinegar while still conveying just how much danger she and her son could find themselves in. It was an extremely well played scene.
Jump over to Tyrion playing out a short, funny scene between himself, Grey Worm and Missandei. It would seem games, drinking and even conversation are not things that easily cross cultural and societal divides. In comes Varys, and we learn that a plan is being put in place where his spies and being deployed to Volantis, Astapor and Yunkai. He and Tyrion are planning to unleash some serious multi-point espionage. I'm interested to see how this goes.
Kings Landing - Speaking of little birds, the new Master of Whispers talks with the KL chapter of the Little Birds gang. Qyburn plies them with sweets while they ask where their old master is. Almost sounds like they miss him. They're told that they're working for Qyburn now and that the arrangements will remain largely the same, so long as they continue their good work, just for him now.
Shortly thereafter, in comes Jamie, Cersei and Ser Robert Strong. Wait... Ser Gregor. Qyburn just says it, straight up, as if it's no big deal that the guy used to be a corpse. "Oh, don't mind him. I know what you're thinking, but trust me, it's cool." So much for that; I suppose the mystery is slightly easier to buy on paper, but looking at him, and having seen so many scenes of Qyburn working on his body, there plainly was no mystery intended.
Cersei meets with her Master of Whispers and demands he stretch his spy tendrils out to their farthest extent, wanting word of even the slightest inflammatory goings-on. She's had it up to here with other people messing with them and she's ready to be in undisputed power again.
The Small Council Chamber - Lord and Hand-of-the-King, Ser Kevan Lannister meets with the small council. Pycelle, whinging and moaning as usual, is griping about the queen's new bodyguard. The best part is when the twins Lannister walk in with the hulk looming behind them.
Pycelle keeps rambling as every other gaze in the room (include the returning Olenna Tyrell!) turns to the new guests. With classic comedic timing he stammers to a halt, turns and... "...he's right behind me, isn't he..."
The twins look at the small council and Cersei is dismayed about being left out. I love how Kevan has at no point put up with Cersei's shenanigans, and Olenna Tyrell, I don't think, has put up with someone's crap a day in her life.
Obstinately, when refused a place at the table, and flatly told by the Queen of Thorns that she (Cersei) is not the queen anymore, she and Jamie channel a bit of Tyrion and pull up chairs anyway. Just as we're thinking things are going to move forward, the small council simply decides "Sure, we can't make Cersei leave, but she can't make us stay" and they leave. How's that for adaptability?
The Great Sept of Baelor - Tommen goes to see the High Sparrow and decides to really lay some force down. He puts his game face on, squares his shoulders, tells the priest exactly how it's going to be... and then gets played like a fiddle. Tommen, as young as he is, is plainly doing the best he can, drawing on the advice he's been given, but oddly enough, he could probably do with having a little Joff in him. Tommen's prudence and willingness to listen combined with just a touch of gusto and willfulness might just be a great combo. As it stands, he's brushed off.
Braavos - Finally back in the House of Black and White, Arya undergoes a great training montage. It's tightly edited and has awesome mental training woven in amongst the physical. As her character is systematically broken down, she gets real with herself. We hear that she really views Jon as her full brother, though she knows he isn't. She's honest with herself about her feelings about The Hound. We realize that her list has become startlingly short. It's odd to think there's actually been that kind of progress made, but given that it is Game of Thrones... folks be dyin'.
After the Waif puts Arya through her paces, finally being bested by the girl she was so easily beating not so long ago, a man we recognize as looking like Jaqen H'gar takes over. He gives Arya the "No One" questions and she answers predictably. He then sits her down on the edge of the small pool and says "If you really are No One, drink this."
In this moment, I have to say, though I knew where it was going, I was still scared for her. We've seen the water send those looking for the long sleep drink and die. It makes me wonder if magic was involved (apart from what's usually there) or what this might be. How is it that it brings back her sight? We haven't seen the water used for ought else but giving the gift of death. I'm not sure what to think of this. At the end of the day, we have an Arya with her vision back and that's to the good.
Winterfell - This scene was crazy to me. The Boltons show up, exchange unpleasantries in an all-too-Umber-like fashion and state that they know about Jon's Wildling situation at the wall. Ramsay wants fealty (of course) and the Umbers are fine with that, but ain't gonna be no kneelin', ring kissin' or scrapin' for the new Warden of the North, no sir... but never let it be said that the Umbers show up with nothing to offer.
In stumbles two burlap-hooded captives, looking rough and ragged to say the least. Off comes hood number one and it's our old Wildling friend Osha. To our dawning horror, it takes two seconds to do the math on who's under the second hood. Off it comes and sure enough, it's Rickon Stark. This is doubly huge because as far as anyone knows, he's the only living male Stark left on the planet.
Color Ramsay skeptical, he doesn't buy it. How does he know that this is really Rickon? Could be anyone, right? Well, sounds like the Umbers thought he'd say that, so they give him proof: the head of Shaggy Dog, Rickon's damn direwolf.
This turned my stomach. The only thing that consoles me is that I think there's a good deal of Shaggy Dog in Rickon, and maybe, just maybe, Ramsay will have gotten more than he bargained for in the youngest Stark. Let the wolfblood run hot in your veins, Rickon. Time to take back Winterfell.
Please let that be where this goes....
Castle Black - Back to Jon. He comes out, looking like he's got to do some Lord Commander business. He grabs Longclaw and, after last season, I was pretty sure we were going to see someone go the way of Slynt. Turns out they're going to expedite the process and the four main traitors have nooses around their necks.
True to his Stark training, he gives the men their last words and hears them all out. You know, at the end of this, I really had to say I respected Ser Alliser Thorne. He's an unlikable bastard, but he really did do what he did for The Watch. He stuck to his guns and, as far as he thought, stood by his vows. What do you think? Should Alliser Thorne really have been executed?
Jon Snow thought so. After a tortured moment, Jon swings Longclaw down with gusto, dropping the supports from the men, strangling the life out of them. After a few moments, their faces are changed into asphyxiated death masks. And so their watch is ended...
Jon walks to Edd, takes his cloak off, and does what I've been predicting since I read in the books that Jon Snow had been killed: if he came back, he'd be leaving The Watch. Their vows state "It shall not end until my death." Well, vow fulfilled and for the first time since Season 1, Episode 2, Jon Snow is no longer a member of the Night's Watch. Where do you think he's off to?
Thank you all for reading. As always, please hit up the comments below, share your thoughts. I really would like to hear your thoughts on the episode and would love to discuss what went on in this third, excellent episode!
Also be sure to check out the reviews our buddies from Boiled Leather are doing over at Rolling Stone and The Nerdstream Era!
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Review: Game of Thrones - S6E02 - Home
Spoiler Alert: These reviews contain spoilers for the titled episode. They may also contain spoilers for any previous episodes and published book content. If you are not caught up, this is your warning.
North of the Wall - Bran! If you don't recall, he wasn't even in the previous season, so this was a long time coming. Last we saw him, he finally found the 3-Eyed Raven (or 3-Eyed Crow, depending on your preference). We open with Bran and his new teacher both blank-eyed and dreaming.
We find ourselves in Winterfell, which looks sunny and relatively happy (which is strange to say the least). Before long, we notice the boys that are fighting are a very young Ned and Benjen (go figure we see a flashback of Benjen before we find out what actually happened to him). I believe we also see Brandon standing with their Master-At-Arms. In a nice little throw-back we hear Ned tell Benjen to keep his shield up or he'd ring Benjen's head like a bell. Now we know where Jon might have learned that one. We also get a look at their wolf-spirited sister Lyanna, who we've heard mentioned between Robert and Ned back in Season 1.
Bran also sees a big lad named Willis who turns out to be Hodor! He can talk, fight a bit, and seems like the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. We also see a very not-so-old Nan! Makes me really miss our original Old Nan as well (her voice in those early trailers made them so wonderfully haunting).
After seeing this heartwarming scene that took us back to an earlier Stark generation, Bran's new mentor tells him it's time to go home, because as we've learned well by now, Summer never lasts and Winter is coming... Although by the looks of things, it's darn near here.
Snapping back from the vision, Bran laments just when he's shown something he cares about, that he's pulled away. His teacher replies, poetically (if darkly) that everything under the sea is beautiful but stay too long and you'll drown. Bran needs to come back or he would waste away.
Hodor looks happy to hear Bran's revelation about him, but if there's more to it, he's not telling.... Hodor takes Bran outside to see Meera who looks cold, frustrated and restless. Her brothers death seems to be weighing heavily on her and it appears she feels without purpose now. Bran's excited pronouncements about his visions don't seem to stir her at all. When Hodor has carried Bran back inside, one of the Children (who look positively otherworldly!) tells Meera that he will need her in the war to come. It sounds like Bran will be leaving the Raven's tutelage at some point (though who can tell when that will be). Meera looks out over the distant North and it is a vast, open, flat, frigid wasteland. Nothing good will be coming from there....
Castle Black - Thorne has had it with waiting and Davos is set, at this point, to fight. He and The Holdouts unsheathe weapons, Ghost goes into his patented super battle mode and they brace for impact. A bruiser starts whaling on the door with a wooden mallet, giving the men inside moments to contemplate their premature fate, guarding the corpse of their Lord Commander. Just as the door starts giving way, a thunderous boom hits Castle Black's southern gate. It blows inward and IT'S DOLOROUS EDD, A GIANT AND A WILDLING HORDE! Man, leave it to Edd to get the job done. This was certainly another whoop and cheer moment.
The conflict between the Wildlings and Black Brothers is short lived, however, after only a man or two dies fighting. One fellow with decidedly poor judgement shoots the giant (Wun Wun?) in the shoulder with a toothpick. The giant, with snappy ease, smashes that poor bastard full against a wall. All I could think right there is that's how it should have been when The Hulk did likewise to Loki. What a great, darkly funny moment. Do not eff with a giant...
King's Landing - We're down in what appears to be Flea Bottom, the seediest part of King's Landing (and that's saying something). We're having Cersei's walk of atonement recounted for us as a bit of a fisherman's tail. Apparently his fish was "this" big, and not only that, but the Queen-her-own-self was pretty impressed if he did-say-so-his-self. We roll our eyes and think back to one of the most harrowing experiences that someone could go through.
Later on, the Pride-of-Flea-Bottom is relieving himself in a back-alley and suddenly, it appears the sun has been blotted out. The Foley work here is amazing when, in simply the motion of him turning around to see a looming figure standing over him, the sound of trickling water on stone abruptly turns to water pattering on metal. Metal armor. Jump cut to Ser Robert Strong, Qyburn's undead monstrosity, towering over our new friend. With quickness that would have made Oberyn Martell proud, he splatters this guy's head all over the wall and walks away. I half expected him to be whistling to himself. The Queen still has ears in this city....
The massive Kingsguard returns to the Red Keep, his shining plate only bearing slight blood spattering on his right gauntlet. Cersei joins him to attend her daughter's wedding but finds that she's not to leave her quarters, ostensibly for her safety. She is not thrilled by this. It's also noteworthy that an entire contingent of Lannister guards almost collectively soil themselves at the prospect of any conflict with her bodyguard.
The Great Sept of Baelor - Jamie and Tommen stand over the deceased Myrcella, stone eyes ever open in the most unsettling fashion (they do seem, though, like Christopher Walken would approve). Tommen decries his feelings of inadequacy in protecting his wife and mother, feeling real sorrow and anger over what's transpired. Jamie being the ever dutifulfather uncle advises him we all have our shortcomings and that he needs to go see his mother. The High Sparrow enters, Tommen makes demands that are swiftly rejected, and before things really jump off, Jamie insists he go see his mother. He does.
Jamie has some dialogue with the High Sparrow about the nature of Sin and who is and isn't deemed guilty, whose sins are worst, that need atonement, and Jamie enumerates his many sins, including treason, kingslaying and assisting in the escape of a convicted regicide. He says he'd happily shed blood in the holy place they stand in, as the Gods won't mind, having spilled more blood than all the petty mortals combined. Lancel and the faith militant show themselves and these guys look nastier every time we see them. You know that's Chekhov's Faith Militant at this point.
Cersei's Quarters - Tommen visits the Queen and lays his heart bare. It's a particularly well done scene where Lena Heady looks tortured, angry, sad and weary all before saying a word. She hears her son, trying to be King, trying to be strong, trying to do right by his family and feeling powerless. She embraces him and there is real love there, for all her faults. It's a beautiful scene.
Meereen - We see Tyrion and Varys meeting with Missandei and Grey Worm. Tyrion and Varys make some cracks at each other that are born of comfort and being friends both possessed of equally razor sharp wit. Conversation meanders from the toasted fleet, to the dragons and what to do about them. Tyrion suggests their captivity is positively the worst thing for them, and that it will keep them from reaching their full physical potential.
You might not know that by looking at them though... Tyrion makes his way into the bowels of the pyramid and if we didn't feel like Tyrion had a bit of plot armor, it would seem like those dragons would be having themselves a fun-size snack. As he approaches, he shows genuine awe, terror and sympathy for the captive animals, talking to them the same way you'd talk to a nervous horse; calming tones, gentle touch and slow movements. The dragons here, to me, look more unique than they ever have and both seem to have slightly differing personalities, just in terms of their body language and facial expressions (Dragon facial expressions?! How cool is that?!). Tyrion pulls the first pin and we see some real smarts in the animals when the second (can't yet tell which is Rhaegal or Vyserion, too dark) turns his neck after seeing Tyrion remove the first collar as if to say "Ah, I see where this is going. Get this off of me." Incredible.
Tyrion does the slow-to-rapidly-quickening steps of someone who just somehow looked dwarf-eating-death-machines in the face and lived, telling Varys that if he ever hears Tyrion have an idea like that again, to punch him in the face.
Braavos - Arya is still begging, and the Waif visits again. She starts the "No One" game, beating the tar out of her with her staff; Arya's attempts to block being woefully inadequate. After throwing herself into it, swinging at open air, Jaquen (or A Man who looks like him) appears and speaks. If a girl would give him her name, she would have a roof over her head, food, even her sight back. A girl has no name. She's told to come with him, and to leave her bowl. A girl isn't a beggar any longer.
Winterfell - And now we arrive to the location that most starkly (sorry) contrasts the opening scene of this episode; the shadow of what Winterfell once was.
Before I hit the actual content of the episode here, I just had a thought that struck me. How amazing is it that a location is able to stir these kinds of feelings? At the beginning of the series, Winterfell was the representation of "Home." It's the first castle we really become familiar with, the residents of which we come to love like family. It's a place where we expect warmth, shelter and protection; a bastion against the storms life can hurl at us. Now we see Winterfell in its ruined, bastardized state with the darkest scum the north has to offer blighting the halls we once loved. I ache to see Winterfell return to the hands of good....
On that note, we have Ramsay and Roose. Also we have a new guest to the party, Lord Rickard Karstark's son. Beheaded by Robb for treason and war crimes, the Karstark horde deserted. Now we know where they went.
Roose speaks with Ramsay, and they discuss the news that the contingent they sent after Sansa and Theon were taken apart, wholesale. They can't wrap their brains around how that happened, though if someone told them the truth, I doubt they'd believe that either. The Maid of Tarth went medieval on the lot of them and they didn't stand a ghost of a chance.
The conversation turns to Lady Walda and her advanced state of pregnancy. The Maester arrives and announces she's just given birth to a bouncing baby boy. Ramsay embraces his father and congratulates him. Roose, tells him that he'll always be his first born son. This is music to Ramsay's ears and to reward his sire's acceptance and approval, knife's Roose in the gut.
This honestly took me by surprise. I thought that he'd sneakily try to have the baby done away with and make it appear to be sickness or something to that effect. Roose was one of the biggest players involved in the Red Wedding. The last thing we're wanting is his death to be at the hands of one of the few people more despicable than he is. That being said, perhaps it is poetic that the evil serpent he'd been turning a blind eye to finally spun round and bit him. Either way, good riddance. Ramsay's not done, though... He sends for Lady Walda and the baby.
It must be said that for having just gone through labor, she was looking rather well. That aside, Ramsay plays the excited new big brother, holding the infant. The instant he even looked at that kid, my skin started crawling (this probably was not aided by the fact that my wife is going to be having our first baby soon). He's standing right next to that brazier and I'm half convinced he was going to just "Oops" and drop the kid in the fire. Instead, ever the pragmatist, he lures Walda into the kennels because, you know, any revolting act is fine for Ramsay so long as the dogs get fed.
In all fairness, I felt that this scene was done in possibly the tamest fashion possible. In terms of Ramsay's character, this had to happen. That it was done off screen, with some screams and growls as the primary sound effects was at least some kind of mercy for us. We know Ramsay is a sick animal, further evidence doesn't need to be any worse than it's been.
The one thing that intrigued me was how when Walda pleads with him, asking him to let her and the baby leave, that they would run and never come back, his face wasn't smirking or grinning sadistically. It actually looked like he was struggling, even briefly. There was a fraction of a second where his face twitches, as if he thought about it. Then he vocalized his preference for only-child-hood and whistled for the rabid dogs. The day this bastard gets gutted can't be soon enough.
The Wolfswood - We find Sansa and Theon, Pod and Brienne all setting up camp, resting and talking. Sansa is speaking with Brienne about difficult choices and having some momentary advice and words of wisdom from the first really kind-hearted, well-meaning figure that's been in her life in a long time. Sansa then speaks with Theon and we get a scene that is one of Alfie Allen's best.
In this moment, Sansa is speaking to Theon, offering him forgiveness. She sees the tragedy he's become, what he is now compared to how he used to be. We watch Theon, though, and see something amazing. He acknowledges it all. He lays his sins bare and his heart breaks with sorrow. Even offered the chance for refuge, protection and forgiveness, he says he doesn't want it, and we can see that his soul is now filled with nothing but remorse. He simply asks for a horse and when asked where he'll go, he simply says "...Home."
Pyke - At long last we arrive back at one of the most dismal specks the Seven Gods put on the planet, the Iron Islands. Never one to brighten a room, we find Baelon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands brooding in front of what is (whether you're a Greyjoy fan or not) objectively one of the most awesome fireplaces ever. He is having a heated discussion with his daughter, Theon's sister,Asha Yara.
Asha exhorts Baelon to cut the war efforts. She gives him the reports of their losses and struggles on the mainland and Baelon's desire is to stay the course. He bellows "They call it The War of the Five Kings. Well four are dead and I'm still here!" Yara rebuts with sense but he won't hear it. He tells her to shut her mouth or he'll father another heir who'll do as they should. He storms out.
Heh. Storms out....
Baelon steps out onto one of those bouncy rope bridges we see in the opening credits linking Pyke's towers to one another. He encounters a dark figure who we learn is his brother. This guy is new, and strange. They exchange barbs and it becomes clear that his brother is supposed to have been long gone and is purported to be rather mad. Being a Greyjoy, it sounds like he's one hell of a pirate, with not quite the same pious bent as Baelon, claiming (perhaps facetiously) to be the Drowned God, and The Storm. Then he sends Baelon howling into the black waters far below.
At his funeral, we see Baelon is placed into a crab pod, to be shoved out to sea to feed said crabs and other aquatic life. We also meet another priest of the Drowned God who speaks rather gruffly to Yara about her wishes for the fate of the Iron Islands, her claim to it's seat and then we hear mention of a Kings Moot. What, you thought just because it was Game of Thrones that you'd escape the fact that it's an election year?
Castle Black - Davos has come to Melisadre to request aid. He enters like a gentleman and sees her in a state he's not seen her in before. Normally strikingly confident, radiating power, understanding and control, she now slumps in front of her hearth, lost in thought, brow heavy with worry and a tinge of despair. Davos does what it seemed seasons ago he'd never do: asks if she has magic she could use to bring back the Lord Commander.
Rewind to Season 3, we recall she met the Brotherhood Without Banners, including Beric Dondarion and our good buddy, the other Red Priest, Thoros of Myr. We recall that Thoros was able to bring The Lightning Lord back from death. Though powerful, Melisandre had never had that gift, nor had ever even seen it done. Even now, though she knew it to be possible, she has no faith in her ability to perform such a feat. She thinks Davos had been right about her all along. Davos turns to her and asks "Have you ever tried?"
Back in the room with Jon's body lying on the table, cold, lifeless and pale (with awful looking stab-wounds), Davos and The Holdouts stand, Melisandre entering. It seems Davos' words were enough to get her to give it one last shot.
She prepares. She cleans Jon's body of the mess the stabbings had made. She trims his hair and beard, dropping the clippings into the fire, praying and chanting all the while. Laying her hands on him, she closes her eyes and prays. Her face tightens in concentration as she prays in another tongue, finally pausing to whisper a quiet "....please."
She finishes the ritual. Tormund leaves, the others leave, even Melisandre leaves. Davos gives the body one last lingering look, sadness and worry etched on every line in his face, and leaves as well. Just as we found Jon when he first arrived at Castle Black, his only friend a loyal-to-the-bone, snow-white dire wolf, so we leave him. Camera hovering above Jon almost like an out-of-body experience, we look down on a man who would have been... could have been the Hero that broken Westeros needed.
Then his eyes snap open, he jolts awake, music kicks in, credits roll and windows shatter across the world at the screams of millions of fangirls everywhere.
Welcome back, Jon. Time to go to work.
This is some damn exciting TV and what an incredible episode. Thank you all for reading, and join me next week for Season 6, Episode 3. Who the hell knows what's gonna happen next.
As always, be sure to check out the reviews our buddies from Boiled Leather are doing over at Rolling Stone and The Nerdstream Era!
North of the Wall - Bran! If you don't recall, he wasn't even in the previous season, so this was a long time coming. Last we saw him, he finally found the 3-Eyed Raven (or 3-Eyed Crow, depending on your preference). We open with Bran and his new teacher both blank-eyed and dreaming.
We find ourselves in Winterfell, which looks sunny and relatively happy (which is strange to say the least). Before long, we notice the boys that are fighting are a very young Ned and Benjen (go figure we see a flashback of Benjen before we find out what actually happened to him). I believe we also see Brandon standing with their Master-At-Arms. In a nice little throw-back we hear Ned tell Benjen to keep his shield up or he'd ring Benjen's head like a bell. Now we know where Jon might have learned that one. We also get a look at their wolf-spirited sister Lyanna, who we've heard mentioned between Robert and Ned back in Season 1.
Bran also sees a big lad named Willis who turns out to be Hodor! He can talk, fight a bit, and seems like the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. We also see a very not-so-old Nan! Makes me really miss our original Old Nan as well (her voice in those early trailers made them so wonderfully haunting).
After seeing this heartwarming scene that took us back to an earlier Stark generation, Bran's new mentor tells him it's time to go home, because as we've learned well by now, Summer never lasts and Winter is coming... Although by the looks of things, it's darn near here.
Snapping back from the vision, Bran laments just when he's shown something he cares about, that he's pulled away. His teacher replies, poetically (if darkly) that everything under the sea is beautiful but stay too long and you'll drown. Bran needs to come back or he would waste away.
Hodor looks happy to hear Bran's revelation about him, but if there's more to it, he's not telling.... Hodor takes Bran outside to see Meera who looks cold, frustrated and restless. Her brothers death seems to be weighing heavily on her and it appears she feels without purpose now. Bran's excited pronouncements about his visions don't seem to stir her at all. When Hodor has carried Bran back inside, one of the Children (who look positively otherworldly!) tells Meera that he will need her in the war to come. It sounds like Bran will be leaving the Raven's tutelage at some point (though who can tell when that will be). Meera looks out over the distant North and it is a vast, open, flat, frigid wasteland. Nothing good will be coming from there....
Castle Black - Thorne has had it with waiting and Davos is set, at this point, to fight. He and The Holdouts unsheathe weapons, Ghost goes into his patented super battle mode and they brace for impact. A bruiser starts whaling on the door with a wooden mallet, giving the men inside moments to contemplate their premature fate, guarding the corpse of their Lord Commander. Just as the door starts giving way, a thunderous boom hits Castle Black's southern gate. It blows inward and IT'S DOLOROUS EDD, A GIANT AND A WILDLING HORDE! Man, leave it to Edd to get the job done. This was certainly another whoop and cheer moment.
The conflict between the Wildlings and Black Brothers is short lived, however, after only a man or two dies fighting. One fellow with decidedly poor judgement shoots the giant (Wun Wun?) in the shoulder with a toothpick. The giant, with snappy ease, smashes that poor bastard full against a wall. All I could think right there is that's how it should have been when The Hulk did likewise to Loki. What a great, darkly funny moment. Do not eff with a giant...
King's Landing - We're down in what appears to be Flea Bottom, the seediest part of King's Landing (and that's saying something). We're having Cersei's walk of atonement recounted for us as a bit of a fisherman's tail. Apparently his fish was "this" big, and not only that, but the Queen-her-own-self was pretty impressed if he did-say-so-his-self. We roll our eyes and think back to one of the most harrowing experiences that someone could go through.
Later on, the Pride-of-Flea-Bottom is relieving himself in a back-alley and suddenly, it appears the sun has been blotted out. The Foley work here is amazing when, in simply the motion of him turning around to see a looming figure standing over him, the sound of trickling water on stone abruptly turns to water pattering on metal. Metal armor. Jump cut to Ser Robert Strong, Qyburn's undead monstrosity, towering over our new friend. With quickness that would have made Oberyn Martell proud, he splatters this guy's head all over the wall and walks away. I half expected him to be whistling to himself. The Queen still has ears in this city....
The massive Kingsguard returns to the Red Keep, his shining plate only bearing slight blood spattering on his right gauntlet. Cersei joins him to attend her daughter's wedding but finds that she's not to leave her quarters, ostensibly for her safety. She is not thrilled by this. It's also noteworthy that an entire contingent of Lannister guards almost collectively soil themselves at the prospect of any conflict with her bodyguard.
The Great Sept of Baelor - Jamie and Tommen stand over the deceased Myrcella, stone eyes ever open in the most unsettling fashion (they do seem, though, like Christopher Walken would approve). Tommen decries his feelings of inadequacy in protecting his wife and mother, feeling real sorrow and anger over what's transpired. Jamie being the ever dutiful
Jamie has some dialogue with the High Sparrow about the nature of Sin and who is and isn't deemed guilty, whose sins are worst, that need atonement, and Jamie enumerates his many sins, including treason, kingslaying and assisting in the escape of a convicted regicide. He says he'd happily shed blood in the holy place they stand in, as the Gods won't mind, having spilled more blood than all the petty mortals combined. Lancel and the faith militant show themselves and these guys look nastier every time we see them. You know that's Chekhov's Faith Militant at this point.
Cersei's Quarters - Tommen visits the Queen and lays his heart bare. It's a particularly well done scene where Lena Heady looks tortured, angry, sad and weary all before saying a word. She hears her son, trying to be King, trying to be strong, trying to do right by his family and feeling powerless. She embraces him and there is real love there, for all her faults. It's a beautiful scene.
Meereen - We see Tyrion and Varys meeting with Missandei and Grey Worm. Tyrion and Varys make some cracks at each other that are born of comfort and being friends both possessed of equally razor sharp wit. Conversation meanders from the toasted fleet, to the dragons and what to do about them. Tyrion suggests their captivity is positively the worst thing for them, and that it will keep them from reaching their full physical potential.
You might not know that by looking at them though... Tyrion makes his way into the bowels of the pyramid and if we didn't feel like Tyrion had a bit of plot armor, it would seem like those dragons would be having themselves a fun-size snack. As he approaches, he shows genuine awe, terror and sympathy for the captive animals, talking to them the same way you'd talk to a nervous horse; calming tones, gentle touch and slow movements. The dragons here, to me, look more unique than they ever have and both seem to have slightly differing personalities, just in terms of their body language and facial expressions (Dragon facial expressions?! How cool is that?!). Tyrion pulls the first pin and we see some real smarts in the animals when the second (can't yet tell which is Rhaegal or Vyserion, too dark) turns his neck after seeing Tyrion remove the first collar as if to say "Ah, I see where this is going. Get this off of me." Incredible.
Tyrion does the slow-to-rapidly-quickening steps of someone who just somehow looked dwarf-eating-death-machines in the face and lived, telling Varys that if he ever hears Tyrion have an idea like that again, to punch him in the face.
Braavos - Arya is still begging, and the Waif visits again. She starts the "No One" game, beating the tar out of her with her staff; Arya's attempts to block being woefully inadequate. After throwing herself into it, swinging at open air, Jaquen (or A Man who looks like him) appears and speaks. If a girl would give him her name, she would have a roof over her head, food, even her sight back. A girl has no name. She's told to come with him, and to leave her bowl. A girl isn't a beggar any longer.
Winterfell - And now we arrive to the location that most starkly (sorry) contrasts the opening scene of this episode; the shadow of what Winterfell once was.
Before I hit the actual content of the episode here, I just had a thought that struck me. How amazing is it that a location is able to stir these kinds of feelings? At the beginning of the series, Winterfell was the representation of "Home." It's the first castle we really become familiar with, the residents of which we come to love like family. It's a place where we expect warmth, shelter and protection; a bastion against the storms life can hurl at us. Now we see Winterfell in its ruined, bastardized state with the darkest scum the north has to offer blighting the halls we once loved. I ache to see Winterfell return to the hands of good....
On that note, we have Ramsay and Roose. Also we have a new guest to the party, Lord Rickard Karstark's son. Beheaded by Robb for treason and war crimes, the Karstark horde deserted. Now we know where they went.
Roose speaks with Ramsay, and they discuss the news that the contingent they sent after Sansa and Theon were taken apart, wholesale. They can't wrap their brains around how that happened, though if someone told them the truth, I doubt they'd believe that either. The Maid of Tarth went medieval on the lot of them and they didn't stand a ghost of a chance.
The conversation turns to Lady Walda and her advanced state of pregnancy. The Maester arrives and announces she's just given birth to a bouncing baby boy. Ramsay embraces his father and congratulates him. Roose, tells him that he'll always be his first born son. This is music to Ramsay's ears and to reward his sire's acceptance and approval, knife's Roose in the gut.
This honestly took me by surprise. I thought that he'd sneakily try to have the baby done away with and make it appear to be sickness or something to that effect. Roose was one of the biggest players involved in the Red Wedding. The last thing we're wanting is his death to be at the hands of one of the few people more despicable than he is. That being said, perhaps it is poetic that the evil serpent he'd been turning a blind eye to finally spun round and bit him. Either way, good riddance. Ramsay's not done, though... He sends for Lady Walda and the baby.
It must be said that for having just gone through labor, she was looking rather well. That aside, Ramsay plays the excited new big brother, holding the infant. The instant he even looked at that kid, my skin started crawling (this probably was not aided by the fact that my wife is going to be having our first baby soon). He's standing right next to that brazier and I'm half convinced he was going to just "Oops" and drop the kid in the fire. Instead, ever the pragmatist, he lures Walda into the kennels because, you know, any revolting act is fine for Ramsay so long as the dogs get fed.
In all fairness, I felt that this scene was done in possibly the tamest fashion possible. In terms of Ramsay's character, this had to happen. That it was done off screen, with some screams and growls as the primary sound effects was at least some kind of mercy for us. We know Ramsay is a sick animal, further evidence doesn't need to be any worse than it's been.
The one thing that intrigued me was how when Walda pleads with him, asking him to let her and the baby leave, that they would run and never come back, his face wasn't smirking or grinning sadistically. It actually looked like he was struggling, even briefly. There was a fraction of a second where his face twitches, as if he thought about it. Then he vocalized his preference for only-child-hood and whistled for the rabid dogs. The day this bastard gets gutted can't be soon enough.
The Wolfswood - We find Sansa and Theon, Pod and Brienne all setting up camp, resting and talking. Sansa is speaking with Brienne about difficult choices and having some momentary advice and words of wisdom from the first really kind-hearted, well-meaning figure that's been in her life in a long time. Sansa then speaks with Theon and we get a scene that is one of Alfie Allen's best.
In this moment, Sansa is speaking to Theon, offering him forgiveness. She sees the tragedy he's become, what he is now compared to how he used to be. We watch Theon, though, and see something amazing. He acknowledges it all. He lays his sins bare and his heart breaks with sorrow. Even offered the chance for refuge, protection and forgiveness, he says he doesn't want it, and we can see that his soul is now filled with nothing but remorse. He simply asks for a horse and when asked where he'll go, he simply says "...Home."
Pyke - At long last we arrive back at one of the most dismal specks the Seven Gods put on the planet, the Iron Islands. Never one to brighten a room, we find Baelon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands brooding in front of what is (whether you're a Greyjoy fan or not) objectively one of the most awesome fireplaces ever. He is having a heated discussion with his daughter, Theon's sister,
Asha exhorts Baelon to cut the war efforts. She gives him the reports of their losses and struggles on the mainland and Baelon's desire is to stay the course. He bellows "They call it The War of the Five Kings. Well four are dead and I'm still here!" Yara rebuts with sense but he won't hear it. He tells her to shut her mouth or he'll father another heir who'll do as they should. He storms out.
Heh. Storms out....
Baelon steps out onto one of those bouncy rope bridges we see in the opening credits linking Pyke's towers to one another. He encounters a dark figure who we learn is his brother. This guy is new, and strange. They exchange barbs and it becomes clear that his brother is supposed to have been long gone and is purported to be rather mad. Being a Greyjoy, it sounds like he's one hell of a pirate, with not quite the same pious bent as Baelon, claiming (perhaps facetiously) to be the Drowned God, and The Storm. Then he sends Baelon howling into the black waters far below.
At his funeral, we see Baelon is placed into a crab pod, to be shoved out to sea to feed said crabs and other aquatic life. We also meet another priest of the Drowned God who speaks rather gruffly to Yara about her wishes for the fate of the Iron Islands, her claim to it's seat and then we hear mention of a Kings Moot. What, you thought just because it was Game of Thrones that you'd escape the fact that it's an election year?
Castle Black - Davos has come to Melisadre to request aid. He enters like a gentleman and sees her in a state he's not seen her in before. Normally strikingly confident, radiating power, understanding and control, she now slumps in front of her hearth, lost in thought, brow heavy with worry and a tinge of despair. Davos does what it seemed seasons ago he'd never do: asks if she has magic she could use to bring back the Lord Commander.
Rewind to Season 3, we recall she met the Brotherhood Without Banners, including Beric Dondarion and our good buddy, the other Red Priest, Thoros of Myr. We recall that Thoros was able to bring The Lightning Lord back from death. Though powerful, Melisandre had never had that gift, nor had ever even seen it done. Even now, though she knew it to be possible, she has no faith in her ability to perform such a feat. She thinks Davos had been right about her all along. Davos turns to her and asks "Have you ever tried?"
Back in the room with Jon's body lying on the table, cold, lifeless and pale (with awful looking stab-wounds), Davos and The Holdouts stand, Melisandre entering. It seems Davos' words were enough to get her to give it one last shot.
She prepares. She cleans Jon's body of the mess the stabbings had made. She trims his hair and beard, dropping the clippings into the fire, praying and chanting all the while. Laying her hands on him, she closes her eyes and prays. Her face tightens in concentration as she prays in another tongue, finally pausing to whisper a quiet "....please."
She finishes the ritual. Tormund leaves, the others leave, even Melisandre leaves. Davos gives the body one last lingering look, sadness and worry etched on every line in his face, and leaves as well. Just as we found Jon when he first arrived at Castle Black, his only friend a loyal-to-the-bone, snow-white dire wolf, so we leave him. Camera hovering above Jon almost like an out-of-body experience, we look down on a man who would have been... could have been the Hero that broken Westeros needed.
Then his eyes snap open, he jolts awake, music kicks in, credits roll and windows shatter across the world at the screams of millions of fangirls everywhere.
Welcome back, Jon. Time to go to work.
This is some damn exciting TV and what an incredible episode. Thank you all for reading, and join me next week for Season 6, Episode 3. Who the hell knows what's gonna happen next.
As always, be sure to check out the reviews our buddies from Boiled Leather are doing over at Rolling Stone and The Nerdstream Era!
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