Game of Thrones: Season Six, Episode 5 – “The Door”

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Carice van Houten, CGI, Cleganebowl, Comedy, Conleth Hill, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Dragons, Emilia Clarke, Euron Greyjoy, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones Season Six, George RR Martin, GoT, Grey Worm, Gwendoline Christie, Hodor, Hold the Door, Iain Glen, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Iwan Rheon, Jaqen H'ghar, Jon Snow, Jorah Mormont, King's Landing, Kingsmoot, Kit Harington, Kristian Nairn, Kristofer Hivju, Liam Cunningham, Littlefinger, Maisie Williams, Max von Sydow, Meereen, Melisandre, Michiel Huisman, Natalie Dormer, Ned Stark, Peter Dinklage, Pilou Asbaek, Ramsay Bolton, Sansa Stark, Sophie Turner, Summer, Television, The Door, The Night King, The Night's Watch, The Three-Eyed-Raven, The Wall, The White Walkers, Theon Greyjoy, TV, Tyrion Lannister, Varys, Vladimir Furdik, Westeros, White Walkers, Winterfell, Yara Greyjoy

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When I first saw that the fifth episode of season six was called “The Door” I had expected that title to be some sort of analogy regarding life and death, and in a way it was. Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) opened the door between life and death by allowing the Night King (Vladimir Furdik) to mark him, and in doing so he caused the deaths of the Three-Eyed Raven (Max von Sydow), Hodor (Kristian Nairn), and Summer. However, more literally the title related to Hodor and the origin of his name, as he had to ‘hold the door’ to keep Bran alive.

Personally, I thought that this origin story was a little strange because it seems harsh to brand a child with a name as a result of a mental breakdown; still, I suppose the “Game of Thrones” universe has always been a bit off-kilter. Still, the fact that Hodor gave his life to save Bran and was the way that he was because of his loyalty made his character all the more loveable, and gave him a lot more gravitas. Before this episode he was predominantly used for comic relief, but now when we watch the series back we will know that his simplicity, so to speak, is the result of heroism and not stupidity. In a world of duplicitous and often malicious people he was kind and courageous, which makes him one of the most memorable characters on the show.

via winteriscoming.net

Hodor’s death, as well as Summer’s, was representative of the fact that Bran’s childhood is slowly fading away, and that winter has finally arrived. In a quite literal sense winter killed summer in this episode, which probably marks a shift in the story. If Bran is going to head south – which would make sense given that heading deeper into the snow would take him into the white walker’s territory – then this could be the catalyst to take the walkers past The Wall and into the realms of men, after all, it’s likely that the magic that protected the lair of the Three-Eyed Raven is the same magic that protects The Wall. If this is the case then Bran’s passing The Wall as a marked man could allow the walkers to follow him, which would make his idiocy in this episode all the more frustrating.

I have to say that from my perspective Bran’s scenes were the least compelling of the entire episode, even though they had the biggest ramifications, because they relied on a suspension of disbelief. Through Bran we learnt about the origin of the white walkers and of Hodor, but the way the scenes were executed marred the moments for me. It seems silly to me that something as important as stopping Bran from allowing the Night King to touch him wouldn’t have at least been mentioned by the Three-Eyed Raven, because the fact that this information could’ve saved multiple lives and saved a species makes it worth knowing! It’s possible that with time travel now in place in the “Game of Thrones” universe in a minimalistic way, the Three-Eyed Raven knew what was going to happen before it happened and thus intentionally withheld information, but that still feels a little cheap to me.

Other issues I had with Bran’s scenes were: 1) the acting of the young man playing Wylis; 2) the acting of Isaac Hempstead-Wright; 3) the fact that Leaf (Kae Alexander) – the child of the forest – sacrificed herself to kill the wights when she could’ve just as easily thrown the fireball in their direction; 4) the CGI, which was quite poor and jarring to look at – I know that there’s a budget in place and that the special effects on the show are usually great, but the CGI here tarnished the impact of the wights for me; and 5) the fact that Bran’s being marked caused the death of a beloved character and could possibly have a huge part to play in the wars to come, yet it wasn’t explained before or after it occurred.

So much of the magic involved in this storyline is just there and we’re supposed to accept it, even though no effort is made to make it feel believable! The dragons are great because their birth was ritualistic and they feel other-worldly whilst remaining partly possible, but the magic in Bran’s storyline is so prevalent and unearned. As far as I can tell, magic occurs in Bran’s storyline when there’s no other way to either give exposition or fill a hole in the story, which makes it feel like a plot device and nothing more.

via theverge.com

Elsewhere, Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen) and Sansa (Sophie Turner) had a reunion of sorts, although it wasn’t a very warm one. It’s still unclear exactly what Littlefinger knew about Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) before he left Sansa in his care, but I think that either way he made a mistake. Sansa said that either Littlefinger was an idiot for leaving her at Winterfell, or he was her enemy, and she’s probably right.

Both actors did a great job in this scene, and from the perspective of someone who loves dialogue-heavy episodes I really enjoyed watching the pair chat. The way that both characters acted in this scene left me unsure as to who was playing who, because it seemed like Littlefinger was genuinely surprised by Sansa’s assertiveness, but also that he had a plan. Sansa has now sent Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) to The Riverlands because of what he said, so he still has a high level of control, and it remains unclear whether or not he told the truth – this is Littlefinger we’re talking about, so this whole wild goose chase could easily be a trap.

It also seems like Littlefinger wanted to drive a wedge between Jon (Kit Harington) and Sansa, perhaps because he perceives the former to be a threat, but I doubt that this will work. Jon is the closest thing to family that Sansa has got right now, so if she starts to doubt his trustworthiness I think it would be wholly unbelievable. She did keep important information from him, but I think she did that because she wants to keep her cards close to her chest, and also perhaps because if the rest of the people in the war room knew about Littlefinger’s army then they would probably want to side with him.

via moviepilot.com

Arya (Maisie Williams) isn’t quite as empowered as her sister right now, as she tries to become a servant of the Many-Faced God. The writers are really pushing the idea that she isn’t going to succeed in her journey to become No One because she clearly doesn’t want to kill the actress from the play, so I’m expecting her to make a run for it before the end of the season. Arya as a character has always had a keen sense of what’s right and what’s wrong, and even though she’s a capable killer she chooses her victims carefully. She wants to kill people who deserve to die, so she isn’t going to like being a glorified hitman for malicious and jealous people.

Still, if Arya does try to escape then it’s hard to see what her end game could possibly be – there are faceless men all over the world, so if she goes against their wishes then surely she will be a wanted woman for the rest of her days. This isn’t a particularly brilliant life for a character who has suffered since childhood, so it wouldn’t be very satisfying from a viewer’s perspective.

I loved Arya’s scenes in this episode, especially the play, because the dialogue was well-written and as always Maisie Williams’ acting was perfect. Arya is my favourite character on the show so I am a little biased, but I still thought that her scenes here had it all. Comedy, grief, drama, foreboding, male nudity – what more could you want? I just hope that it all pays off by the end of season six.

via screenrant.com

Another character that I’m growing quite fond of, surprisingly, is Yara (Gemma Whelan). She’s always been a fairly likeable character on the show because she’s a powerful woman who is also quite kind for an ironborn, but now she’s becoming more interesting because she could have a part to play in the wider story.

I’ve really enjoyed the Greyjoy storyline so far this season, mostly because I think that Euron (Pilou Asbæk) is an interesting character, but I feel that it has been rushed a little bit. Euron’s argument and his plan were sound – although I don’t think he’ll sell Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) on his marriage proposal – but the kingsmoot should’ve been a huge political battle between him and Yara for the Salt Throne, whereas it turned out to be a five minute war of words for a crown made out of twigs. It was a fine five minutes – Euron admitted that he’d murdered his brother and Theon (Alfie Allen) sided with his sister – but it could’ve been a lot better if the showrunners just took their time.

The real issues I had with the Greyjoy scenes in this episode were more specific than an issue with the streamlining of their storyline, most notably the fact that Euron spoke about building 1,000 ships as though it was an afternoon’s work, and also that he allowed his main opposition to steal his biggest assets right in front of his nose! If he knew that becoming the leader of the ironborn would require an elaborate (and very cool) ceremony, surely he should’ve kept them locked up somewhere where they couldn’t cause any trouble? Still, it seems like there’s now going to be a race between Euron’s forces and Yara’s forces to reach Daenerys, which I feel is really exciting if they give it some screen time.

Speaking of Daenerys, she had an all too brief cameo in this episode, and in my opinion it was one of the worst moments of the season so far. Although I’m personally glad that Jorah (Iain Glen) has finally told her how he feels, I found the scene itself both silly and cheesy. First off, Dany said that she couldn’t take Jorah back but she also couldn’t send him away, yet once she found out that he had a deadly disease she commanded him to find a cure and return to her! I don’t know how everyone else feels about that U-Turn, but to me asking him to return is taking him back! Jorah should’ve caught greyscale a long time ago because the sympathy vote would’ve saved him a lot of hassle!

via watchersonthewall.com

Finally, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) continued to rule in Meereen in Daenerys’ stead, and he began a propaganda push in the city. His thought processes are rational enough – he wants to sway public opinion towards Daenerys and force a particular narrative down their throats – but the way he’s applying them is pretty naïve. I don’t think he fully appreciates the danger that having a red priestess in your service poses, and it seems like Kinvara (Ania Bukstein) may be even more dangerous than Melisandre (Carice van Houten).

This scene was well executed, as there was a lot of fire around to light the room (which was clearly intentional) and the actors played off one another wonderfully. I thought the actress playing Kinvara did a really good job of making her seem powerful, and she portrayed the same sense of self-confidence that Melisandre had back in the early seasons. I see this storyline getting better with time, and I’m excited to see where it goes, but I’m very worried for poor old Varys (Conleth Hill)!

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. It wasn’t perfect, but I thought the dialogue was well written and I appreciated the fact that we got to spend more time with characters than we have previously in season six. I didn’t really care for Bran’s scenes, even though conceptually they were probably the most interesting of the episode, but I thought that everything else was pretty good. If things weren’t being so rushed then this episode would undoubtedly have been better – for example, more time should’ve been spent on the kingsmoot – but that’s just something that we’re going to have to accept from here on out. Storylines are in a good place right now, and with half the season left to go I’m expecting a lot of fireworks! Bring on Cleganebowl, Bastardbowl, and widespread bloodshed!

9/10

Game of Thrones: Season Six Preview – Part Two

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Alliser Thorne, Arya Stark, Balon Greyjoy, Braavos, Bran Stark, Breaking Bad, Brienne of Tarth, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, Cleganebowl, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dorne, Dothraki, Dragons, Drogon, Ellaria Sand, Emilia Clarke, Euron Greyjoy, Finn Jones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones Season Five, Game of Thrones Season Six, George RR Martin, Gregor Clegane, Gwendoline Christie, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, Hizdahr, Ian McShane, Indira Varma, Jaime Lannister, Jaqen H'ghar, Joel Fry, John Bradley, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, Jorah Mormont, Khal Drogo, King's Landing, Kingsmoot, Kit Harington, Laura Pradelska, Lena Headey, Littlefinger, Loras Tyrell, Maisie Williams, Margaery Tyrell, Mark Addy, Meereen, Melisandre, Natalie Dormer, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Patrick Malahide, Peter Dinklage, Pilou Asbaek, Qarth, Quaithe, Ramsay Bolton, Richard Madden, Robb Stark, Robert Baratheon, Robert Strong, Roose Bolton, Rory McCann, Sandor Clegane, Sansa Stark, Sophie Turner, Spain, Stannis Baratheon, Stephen Dillane, Television, Television Review, The Faith Militant, The Gravedigger Theory, The Greyjoys, The High Sparrow, The Hound, The Mountain, The Red Woman, The Sand Snakes, The Sons of the Harpy, The Unsullied, Theon Greyjoy, TV, TV Review, Tyrion Lannister

This preview will contain spoilers for everything that has happened on the series so far, as well as some book plot points that haven’t appeared on the show and two well-documented fan theories.

The Greyjoys

The Greyjoys haven’t really been done justice on the show so far, with Theon’s (Alfie Allen) resentment of his father and jealously of his sister being our main connection to their storyline. This year it seems like this might change, as Euron (played by Pilou Asbæk), the younger brother of Theon’s father Balon (Patrick Malahide), has been introduced. (SPOILER ALERT) In the books Balon dies in a fall, but there’s speculation that in fact his death was an assassination at the hands of Euron, which is all but confirmed by the season six trailer. This, as well as the kingsmoot which will follow, could make the Greyjoys a much more important family on the show than they have been in previous seasons.

King’s Landing

The first thing that comes into everyone’s minds when they think of King’s Landing is the ongoing battle between Cersei (Lena Headey) and The Faith Militant’s conniving leader The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce). Last year’s shaming ceremony was clearly a big deal for both characters, and it will likely start a war between them in upcoming episodes – still, that war will probably be fought mainly by Robert Strong, aka Zombie Mountain (Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson), and the Sparrow’s many followers.

What many people forget when they think about what will be happening in King’s Landing this year is that at the end of last season Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) witnessed his daughter/niece die due to a kiss of death from Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma), which will probably be a more immediate issue when this season opens. I don’t think that Cersei is going to be very happy when her lover/brother returns home from Dorne with her daughter’s corpse accompanying him, so revenge will definitely be on the cards.

There’s also the small issue of the Tyrells, with Margaery (Natalie Dormer) and Loras (Finn Jones) both sitting in a cell. From the trailers it looks like Jaime is going to try to help the Tyrell army in forcing their release, but there’s still going to be a lot of resentment between Margaery and Cersei when the pair are both free. (It seems pretty obvious that Margaery is going to be freed at some point this year because Natalie Dormer has talked about filming in Spain, and filming in Spain wouldn’t be very practical if she’s just going to be sitting in a dark room for the majority of the season).

Cersei just isn’t going to have a great time of it this year unless she has a hell of a lot of luck, because whilst she has a man-mountain (pun intended) as a protector, she also has enemies everywhere and an upcoming trial. The main fan theory relating to this trial is usually called the Cleganebowl, and relates to a possible trial by combat between The Mountain, and his possibly dead brother, The Hound (Rory McCann). The idea here is that Cersei would want to avoid a real trial because she knows that she can’t sway The High Sparrow with riches or cripple him with fear, and would therefore request a trial by combat believing that The Mountain was unstoppable. The faith would then need a champion, with The Hound being a perfect choice if he is still alive because 1) he’s a great fighter, and 2) he’ll want to kill his malevolent older brother.

Of course, in the season four finale it was suggested that Sandor Clegane would succumb to his injuries at the hands of Brienne (Gwendoline Christie), but if fans of the series are to be believed then our favourite Clegane brother is very much alive. The theory that I am referring to here is known as the gravedigger theory, and has been given extra weight by the fact that actor Ian McShane (recently cast on the show) has reportedly said that he will resurrect a well-known character this year. The obvious choice would be Jon Snow (Kit Harington), but it’s pretty obvious that he isn’t the character that McShane is talking about, otherwise we’d be talking about a highly publicised law suit.

Tyrion in Meereen

In Meereen things have been getting pretty hectic, so I’m hoping that this year they settle down with Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) in charge. I know that the Sons of the Harpy will still be in full swing, trying to oust control back for themselves, but that doesn’t mean that things can’t be a little more political than they were last season.

We don’t know a whole lot about what Tyrion is going to be doing this year, other than trying to rule in Daenerys’ stead (Emilia Clarke), but we do know that he’s going to come face to face with two very angry caged dragons. The trailer also appears to show that there will be a new Red Woman introduced to the story in Meereen, which could be really cool. For me, this is probably the most interesting aspect of the story this season, because it’s something new and I have literally no idea what kind of character she’s going to be. Will she be working with or against Tyrion? Is she going to be tied to other events on the show from the past? I just don’t know, and I can’t wait to find out.

Daenerys vs. The Dothraki

Finally, we have Daenerys, stumbling her way towards the Iron Throne by flying thousands of miles away in the wrong direction. The scene in the fighting pits last year was one of the most exciting and important yet on “Game of Thrones”, as it proved that Daenerys has a hold of her most powerful dragon and that that dragon isn’t yet large enough to conquer a kingdom.

However, it also left the main contender to the Iron Throne stranded, and at the mercy of a Dothraki horde. Still, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because in the books Quaithe (played briefly on the show by Laura Pradelska when Daenerys was in Qarth) cryptically tells Daenerys that ‘to go north… [she] must go south, to reach the west… [she] must go east. To go forward… [she] must go back and to touch the light… [she] must pass beneath the shadow’. This could mean that Daenerys’ backpedalling will be her salvation, and bring her one step closer to the Iron Throne, because she really is right back where she started.

It’s unclear right now exactly how being with the Dothraki again will help Daenerys, but she could make a similar sort of deal to the one that her brother made back in season one, offering herself in marriage to the new Khal in order to gain an army with which to cross the Narrow Sea. This would still be as dangerous to the rest of the Seven Kingdoms as it was when Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) was in charge; especially given that Daenerys now also has three dragons and an army of Unsullied by her side.

It would make a lot of sense if Daenerys did propose marriage to the new Khal, because last year she proved that this is something that she is willing to do to improve her chances at taking the Iron Throne, as she married Hizdahr (Joel Fry) despite the fact that she detested him. This would also explain why Hizdahr was killed off so unceremoniously in episode nine of season five.

Nevertheless, it does appear that at the start of the season the Dothraki will mistreat Daenerys – although their actions on the trailer seem tame given their nature – which will probably enrage Drogon, who we know will be flying around the area. What this will mean is again unclear, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a Dothraki BBQ at some point in season six. If this does happen then it wouldn’t necessarily mean that the Dothraki would turn against Daenerys and refuse to back her claim for the Iron Throne, because we know from experience that the Dothraki respect power above all else, and having your dragon-baby burn your enemies alive is a pretty clear display of strength.

My Thoughts on Season Six and The Possibility of Seasons Seven and Eight Being Shortened to Eight Episodes Each

via buzzfeed.com

With talk of characters and their journeys this season out of the way, I’d like to address a couple of things that perhaps the mainstream “Game of Thrones” audience won’t be aware of right now. The first is that there has been a suggestion that the final two seasons of the show – seasons seven and eight – will be cut down to eight episodes each, sort of in the vein of “Breaking Bad” and its final season. This is a big decision, because it would mean that we as an audience got less “Game of Thrones” than we were expecting, and that storylines would have to be streamlined to allow the main narrative to progress naturally (which I would probably find disappointing from a personal perspective).

However, if this is a creative decision which best serves the story then I’m all for it! The only thing that really matters to me personally is that every character gets the right amount of screen time, and that the series has a significant pay-off at the end, which could still happen in 16 episodes + the 10 that we’ll get this season. Nonetheless, there are a lot of story arcs to wrap up on the show, and I have to admit that I’m a little worried that 26 episodes isn’t enough time to give everyone’s story a respectable conclusion – the last thing that I want is for the rest of the characters to face the same lacklustre end as Stannis (Stephen Dillane) did in season five.

I have to say that I still think that putting the finale on the big screen would be the best way to end the series, and would make everyone involved a tonne of money, but the rational side of me doesn’t believe that this will happen because HBO gets a lot of its money from a subscription model in the US.

As far as my thoughts on this upcoming season are concerned, I think that from a story perspective it has every chance of being the best yet. There are very few plot points that fans can really feel they have a grasp on, due to the fact that the show has caught up with the books, so things should feel even more tense than they already did on a show where (almost) anyone can die.

Nevertheless, there’s still a chance that this season could start a decline if the writers don’t strike the right balance with all the characters and their respective storylines – this was something which I felt was happening last season, so it could become a trend. Emilia Clarke has spoken recently about how she didn’t think that it was possible to fit so much into one season of television as has been slotted into this one, which worries me greatly. I really want things to start meshing together this year rather than become more convoluted, so I hope that when she says that there’s a lot going on she means that there’s lots of excitement within focused narratives, rather than just a lot of content.

In my opinion, “Game of Thrones” is still the best dramatic series on television – it has amazing writers and a committed cast, so I remain confident that my concerns will be quashed by the end of this season.

P.S. I still think that Stannis’ death was really weird last season. I believe that he died, but part of me wonders whether or not we’ll see him again. Melisandre (Carice van Houten) believed that she saw him fighting a great battle when she looked into the fire – what if she saw him fighting for the wrong side? Just a theory, but it’s one that I wanted to have down in writing just in case!