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!

Also be sure to check out the reviews our buddies from Boiled Leather are doing over at Rolling Stone and The Nerdstream Era!