Game of Thrones: Season Six, Episode 8 – “No One”

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Anton Lesser, Arya Stark, Beric Dondarrion, Braavos, Brother Ray, Catelyn Stark, Cersei Lannister, Cleganebowl, Clive Russell, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dorne, Dragons, Drogon, Edmure Tully, Emilia Clarke, Essie Davis, Game of Thrones, George RR Martin, Grey Worm, Gwendoline Christie, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, Ian McShane, Iwan Rheon, Jacob Anderson, Jaime Lannister, Jaqen H'ghar, Jerome Flynn, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Lady Crane, Lady Stoneheart, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Mark Addy, Meereen, Michelle Fairley, Missandei, Nathalie Emmanuel, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, No One, Peter Dinklage, Qyburn, Ramsay Bolton, Richard Dormer, Riverrun, Robert Baratheon, Rory McCann, Sansa Stark, Sean Bean, Sophie Turner, Television, The Blackfish, The Brotherhood Without Banners, The Faceless Men, The Faith Militant, The Mountain, Tobias Menzies, Tom Wlaschiha, Tommen Baratheon, TV, Tyrion Lannister, White Walkers

via watchersonthewall.com

“No One” was a divisive episode of “Game of Thrones”. Major media outlets that regularly praise the show in spite of its faults stated that they didn’t enjoy the episode, and in particular they criticised the handling of Arya’s (Maisie Williams) storyline.

I can understand why this storyline frustrated some viewers because a part of me is disappointed that Arya’s time in Braavos didn’t really develop her as a character, but from my perspective the mistakes that were made here weren’t the result of what this episode did. Arya’s scenes in this episode were exciting and well-shot, and Maisie Williams did a great job, so it seems unfair to criticise “No One” in isolation for faults in a story which has taken two seasons to tell.

Having said that, the failings that the showrunners are guilty of as far as Arya’s storyline is concerned are very apparent. When Arya told Jaqen (Tom Wlaschiha) that she was going home it should’ve been a marquee moment for the character, but instead it felt cheap because her actions leading up to it didn’t really highlight what she had learnt from her time with the Faceless Men. Yes, she used her former blindness to her advantage, so being able to fight in the dark is another string to her bow, but it’s not like this parlour trick is going to be her signature move going forward. In the previous episode Arya had a lapse in concentration which nearly cost her her life, so it’s clear that her time in Braavos hasn’t exactly made her the perfect assassin.

via telegraph.co.uk

Much of Arya’s storyline in season five could’ve been omitted and replaced with her arc this year and not a lot would’ve changed in the grand scheme of things, and the events of this episode would’ve been just as impactful if Arya hadn’t been stabbed in episode seven. Arya could’ve gone to see Lady Crane (Essie Davis) in this episode to say goodbye because she felt a daughterly affection for her, which would’ve made just as much sense as Arya surviving after having her stomach sliced open, so the latter now feels like a cheap trick which happened simply because episode seven was uneventful on the whole.

To see a character shake off multiple stab wounds in the way that Arya did is really annoying, particularly on a show which is known for its realism and grim depiction of violence, so I have to question what the writers were going for here. Re-watch season one and you’ll see that Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) died of a similar injury to spark the series into life, so to have a child survive – and be able to outrun a merciless killer in spite of her wounds – is disappointing.

Still, these criticisms aren’t levelled entirely at this episode, so I still feel that the reception for “No One” has been unfair. If you’re going to review “Game of Thrones” episode-by-episode, (which I clearly feel is the way to go because it’s what I do), then obviously you have to balance what you’re saying by taking the series as a whole into consideration. You have to consider where the events of each episode fit into the wider narrative, because you can’t separate scenes which are influenced by five seasons of television from said seasons. However, you still have to look at what an episode does and judge it on that basis, because it’s unfair to judge the father by the sins of the son, or vice versa.

With that in mind, I don’t think that Arya’s scenes in this episode were particularly bad. Her interactions with Lady Crane were engaging and reminded us all about her past and what she has lost – i.e. a mother figure – and Maisie Williams’ acting was fantastic, as it has been throughout the series. Furthermore, whilst the mic-drop moment at the end of the episode was a little cliché, we finally got what we all wanted, the promise that Arya is going to return home. So, from a personal perspective I was more than happy with how this episode handled Arya’s story, I just think that there were a couple of speed bumps along the way because of the mistakes that previous episodes have made.

via comingsoon.net

Much the same can be said for an equally criticised set of scenes in which Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and the Lannister forces took back Riverrun, because whilst these scenes didn’t necessarily land in the way that the writers would’ve hoped for, they weren’t terrible at all. Jaime’s interaction with Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) was wonderful, and it reminded us that he has some good left in him (even if he did proceed to threaten to use a baby as ammunition for a catapult), and so was his conversation with Edmure (Tobias Menzies).

Like Rory McCann, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is an actor who really excels when he can play-off someone else, whether it be Gwendoline Christie, Sean Bean, Jerome Flynn, or Peter Dinklage, so it was no surprise that this episode marked a return to form for him and his character. We saw both sides of the man here – the Oathbreaker and the Oathkeeper – and Coster-Waldau’s acting was brilliant. George R. R. Martin has stated that the only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself, and I think that it’s clear in this episode that this perfectly describes Jaime’s character arc.

via collider.com

Since the series began Jaime has been fighting against the person that everyone else thinks he is, and in the process he’s had to decide what he thinks of himself. Is he the Kingslayer or is he an honourable man who broke his oath to save lives? Is he trying to get back to Cersei (Lena Headey) when he threatens Edmure, as he claims, or is he trying to prevent a full-scale attack and thus keep his promise to Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) not to take up arms against the Tullys? You never really know, but I think that this episode posed these questions in an interesting and intelligent way and the writers deserve credit for that.

The issues that there are with the Riverrun storyline aren’t wholly the result of how the scenes in this episode and its predecessor were executed, but rather the result of the fact that not enough time was spent to build up the conflict in the first place because of the Dorne storyline in season five. In my opinion, if the siege that took place in this episode had been prolonged, perhaps occurring over the course of a whole season, then it would’ve been a lot better and more exciting than what we saw in Dorne last year.

The only genuine issue that I had with Riverrun in this episode was the way in which the writers dealt with The Blackfish’s (Clive Russell) death, because having it happen off-screen was a strange decision. He was portrayed as an honourable man who wanted a death to suit his status, so for that notion to be the main driving force of his character and then not have the moment itself appear simply didn’t work. Plus, when a character isn’t shown to have died on “Game of Thrones” the audience is forced to believe that they’re still alive – given the fact that even characters who die on this show aren’t always dead for good – which takes all impact away from the storyline.

via bgr.com

Back in King’s Landing, Cersei took the fight to the Faith by choosing violence rather than surrender. This was a fine scene, but personally I didn’t really care what was happening because it was abundantly clear how the charade was going to end. Nobody in the world could possibly have believed that The Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) would be overcome by a fool in a cloak, so it was hard to become invested in the events playing out on screen. Nevertheless, the murder that The Mountain committed was still creative and entertaining, and it served to show once again that he is a dangerous man/zombie. Still, part of me wonders why the Faith aren’t preparing a trial for him as well, given that they have that authority and aren’t too fond of murder.

After seeing the physical capabilities of The Mountain, the Faith clearly had to rethink their strategy for dealing with Cersei, because they must’ve been fully aware at that point that the safest bet for the former Queen would be to request a trial by combat with The Mountain acting as her champion. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together could’ve figured that one out, so in the next scene involving Cersei it was revealed by Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) that the practice would be banned. This was a surprising turn of events and puts ideas of Cleganebowl on the backburner for now.

However, The Mountain isn’t the only henchman that Cersei can call upon when she needs to get out of a sticky situation; she also has the deceptively nasty Qyburn (Anton Lesser), along with his little birds. Having exhausted all other options, Qyburn reveals to Cersei that he has followed up on a rumour that she told him about, and that the results are positive. This could mean any number of things, and it would be unwise to jump to too many conclusions, but it would appear that he is referring to wildfire.

We learned from Jaime in season three that The Mad King hid wildfire underneath King’s Landing as a sort of contingency plan should Robert Baratheon succeed in taking the city. His plan was to burn the entire place down and rise again as a dragon, but Cersei probably has a slightly less drastic plan in place. If I had to guess then I’d say that she’ll most likely want to burn down the Sept of Balor in order to get out of her trial, but I’m convinced that in doing so she will cause a lot of collateral damage and possibly kill Tommen. This isn’t just a theory that I’ve made up off the top of my head, it’s actually got a lot of traction online and I think that at this point it’s quite likely. Hopefully if it happens it will push Cersei and Jaime apart so that the latter can finally be the man that he deserves to be.

via screenrant.com

Finally, we have the scenes in Meereen and the scenes involving The Hound (Rory McCann), neither of which were particularly memorable from my perspective. Meereen is never very exciting, but this week it was particularly boring as Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) awkwardly tried to make jokes with Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) before the Masters returned to reclaim their property. With the situation looking dire, there was a loud banging noise, and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) returned to save the day.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I like all three of these characters, but it was frustrating that Daenerys returned to Meereen at such a convenient moment. Also, despite the fact that the conversations between Tyrion and his new friends give Missandei and Grey Worm more depth, I just didn’t think that the jokes in this episode were interesting, well-delivered, or funny. I know that this isn’t a comedy and that the point of the jokes was to act as the calm before the storm, but the jokes could’ve at least been interesting in some way couldn’t they? Tyrion has a wealth of knowledge and is constantly reading, so you’d think that he’d have just the right relatable joke for the situation, and it would’ve been hilarious for Grey Worm to tell a really dark joke and think it was normal.

My point is simply that these characters are diverse and well-travelled people with stories to tell, so a moment like this should give them a distinct voice – that simply didn’t happen here, and in fact it was Missandei who came out of the scene on top because she was at least somewhat endearing.

via bgr.com

The Hound’s scenes were somewhat more exciting than those in Meereen, and actually they were a lot funnier despite the fact that they contained beheadings and hangings. We saw The Hound deal with those responsible for murdering Brother Ray (Ian McShane) and his followers, and we were treated to some time with Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) and the Brotherhood Without Banners. It’s interesting that at this point in The Hound’s story he’s met up with the Brotherhood again, because whilst he isn’t necessarily religious it’s clear that he wants to better himself and fight for a noble cause. He’s lucky to be alive, but he doesn’t really have any reason to go on, so to meet up with men who have a clear purpose could do him a lot of good. Plus, if he’s headed north to fight the white walkers then he could potentially reunite with Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Arya, which would be something special.

So, overall I liked this episode of “Game of Thrones”. It wasn’t perfect and I have to admit that the climax of Arya’s storyline in Braavos was slightly underwhelming, but in my opinion the problems that this episode encountered were directly caused by the way the story has been handled previously, not because this episode itself was bad. In my opinion, “No One” actually did an admirable job of salvaging certain ideas and making them interesting again, such as Jaime’s inner conflict and Arya’s need for a mother in her life, and there were parts of the episode that I loved, such as Jaime’s conversation with Brienne.

7.5/10

Game of Thrones: Season Six, Episode 7 – “The Broken Man”

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Arya Stark, Braavos, Bran Stark, Brienne of Tarth, Brother Ray, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, Cleganebowl, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dragons, Emilia Clarke, Essie Davis, Faye Marsay, Game of Thrones, George RR Martin, Gwendoline Christie, Ian McShane, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Iwan Rheon, Jaime Lannister, Jaqen H'ghar, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Lady Crane, Lady Stoneheart, Lena Headey, Littlefinger, Maisie Williams, Margaery Tyrell, Meereen, Melisandre, Natalie Dormer, Ned Stark, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, No One, Peter Dinklage, Ramsay Bolton, Richard Madden, Riverrun, Robb Stark, Robett Glover, Rory McCann, Sansa Stark, Sean Bean, Sophie Turner, Television, The Blackfish, The Broken Man, The Faceless Men, The High Sparrow, The Hound, The House of Black and White, The Ironborn, The Many-Faced God, The Night's Watch, The Waif, The Wall, Theon Greyjoy, Tom McInnerny, Tom Wlaschiha, Tommen Baratheon, TV, Tyrion Lannister, Westeros, White Walkers, Winterfell

via comingsoon.net

“The Broken Man” was a slow episode; it began with a cold opening and ended with a sombre finale, and in between there wasn’t a lot going on. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Seasons of television require moments of restraint, and whilst I didn’t find this episode particularly exciting, it set up future conflict in a reasonably intelligent way. Fan theories were touched upon to thrill book readers, which is enough to keep them entertained despite a noticeable lack of death (until the final two scenes), and there was a lot of strategic positioning going on; whether it be Sansa (Sophie Turner) sending a letter to Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen), Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) speaking with The Blackfish (Clive Russell), or Yara (Gemma Whelan) expressing her plans to make a pact with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke).

This episode was titled “The Broken Man” for a reason; The Hound (Rory McCann), Arya’s (Maisie Williams) worst enemy turned best mate, returned in what was a pretty cool opening scene. It wasn’t particularly shocking for me, because Ian McShane (the actor playing Brother Ray – The Hound’s ‘teacher’ in this episode) gave away the fact that he was going to bring back a character previously thought to be dead on the show prior to the start of season six. This could’ve been a number of characters, with Lady Stoneheart and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) cited as possibilities at the time, but it was obvious to most of us that the only real choice for this resurrection was The Hound, given the description of the character that McShane was set to play and the Gravedigger theory.

On top of that, McShane also revealed that he would only be on the show for one episode, which tarnished my enjoyment of the final scene in “The Broken Man” because it was abundantly clear that Brother Ray was going to die and that The Hound was going to move on. This didn’t make the final scene any less interesting, particularly because it teased Lady Stoneheart in a big way by re-introducing The Brotherhood Without Banners, but I do wish that I hadn’t read any articles about the series before it started because it would’ve been nice to have gone into this episode without knowing this information.

via popmatters.com

Still, The Hound being back opens up a world of possibilities, including Cleganebowl. I think that everyone in the “Game of Thrones” fandom would like to see the two Clegane brothers face-off against one another at some point, so the fact that this is now a possibility is really exciting. Plus, the face that the reveal was done using a cold opening (i.e. a scene which occurs before the opening credits) made it all the more impactful, as it caught me off guard and made it feel as though The Hound’s return must have real significance. However, I should point out that the main reason that the episode was edited in this way was that Rory McCann’s name appeared in the opening credits!

Having said all this, The Hound wasn’t the only broken man in this episode; Jaime Lannister, Robett Glover (Tom McInnerny), and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) also showed that they are also utterly damaged.

Jaime’s storyline is perhaps the most interesting here, as he is once again separated from Cersei (Lena Headey) and is thus able to understand the ramifications of his actions outside of King’s Landing. As a character Jaime has always shown that he can be kind as well as cruel, and any abhorrent things he may have done have always been for the sake of Cersei, including pushing Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) out of a window back in episode one. Cersei is toxic for Jaime and she stops him from fulfilling his true potential, so I welcome having him as far away from her as possible.

via idigitaltimes.com

However, I can’t say that I’m overly bothered about the Freys and The Blackfish. This isn’t to say that the characters themselves are dull or that the actors playing them are doing a bad job, it’s just that it doesn’t feel as though this storyline is ever going to go anywhere, given that the Lannister forces outnumber the Tully forces significantly and it would be silly to have Jaime orchestrating a protracted siege on a decrepit castle for the remainder of the series. He’s going to win the battle, so the real question is whether or not doing so is going to affect his character in an important way. Hopefully it will, because I think the majority of the audience would like to see Jaime return to how he was in season three, when he was finally showing some humanity on his travels with Brienne (Gwendoline Christie).

We know that Brienne and Jaime are going to meet up again in the next episode because their doing so is on the promo, and also because Brienne is headed to Riverrun, so I’m hoping that she can talk some sense into him. I’m not expecting some sort of dramatic change in the character right away, but perhaps Brienne can be the catalyst for another redemptive Jaime character arc.

via watchersonthewall.com

Elsewhere, Jon and Sansa were on a kind of recruitment drive in the North, trying to convince Stark loyalists to fight for them. Back in season one this was an easy sell for Robb Stark (Richard Madden); at the time Ned (Sean Bean) was still alive, and there was a sense of hatred towards the Lannisters permeating the North. However, following The War of the Five Kings people are less inclined to take up arms – they’ve lost their families, friends, and livelihoods, and they simply want peace. They feel a sense of betrayal at the Starks because of what happened in the North during the aforementioned war, as the ironborn attacked their castles and killed their people, so they aren’t really ready to put their faith in a bastard and a woman who has been married to two of her enemies.

Their logic is sound here, so it’s difficult to get behind the protagonists even though we know that their cause is righteous. They’re in a tough spot right now, so they need to do something to turn the tide – step in Littlefinger. It seems obvious to me that Sansa was writing her letter to Littlefinger asking for his support, and it also seems clear that she’ll get it… for now. I like to imagine that Littlefinger wants what’s best for Sansa, but it’s going to be hard for her to trust him in the future after everything he’s done, and I don’t think that he’ll be satisfied with an alliance in which he doesn’t have complete control. This leads me to think that we could well see a trademark Littlefinger betrayal before the season is over; imagine if Littlefinger was to lend his support to Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) and bolster the Bolton army instead at the last minute! He likes to fight for the team that’s got the best chance of winning after all.

via comingsoon.net

A scene which wasn’t so amazing in this episode was the one in which Margaery (Natalie Dormer) and the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) had a conversation about the marriage bed. I have to say that from a personal perspective I’m becoming increasingly bored with this storyline and with King’s Landing in general, because as I mentioned last week, there’s nothing that the Lannisters, the Tyrells, or the Faith can do to stop Daenerys or the white walkers. Although they were a key factor in the first few seasons of this series, the Lannisters feel like a side note to a far more important story now, which means that when they appear on screen they merely take up time which could be spent on more compelling events elsewhere.

Nonetheless, I’m not naïve enough to believe that this is really the case, because the way in which the showrunners are streamlining George R. R. Martin’s narrative leads me to believe that anything they’re putting on the screen has to be important in some way or another; it’s just that this storyling doesn’t feel like it is when I’m watching it unfold, and the way it feels to watch an episode of television is very important.

I’m expecting Cersei to get her comeuppance at some point, just as I’m expecting Margaery to outthink the High Sparrow, but how either of these things will come about is much less clear. It seems like Cersei will have a trial by combat to decide her fate, but it also appears that if she does she’ll come out on top, so the trouble won’t end there. Cersei wants the High Sparrow dead and the High Sparrow wants Cersei in chains, so it’s pretty clear that both of them can’t go on living as they are right now. After Bran’s visions last week, I’m expecting Cersei to use wild fire to burn down the Great Sept of Balor (probably with the High Sparrow inside) but because we’re talking about Cersei here something will likely go array. Perhaps she’ll set the whole city on fire, making it easier for Daenerys to take it amidst the chaos, or maybe she’ll unwittingly kill Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) and thus fulfil the prophecy which she fears so much. I think the latter would be a really satisfying way to end her character arc, so that’s what I’m putting my money on.

Finally, I should probably mention what was simultaneously my favourite and least favourite scene in “The Broken Man”, Arya’s stabbing by The Waif (Faye Marsay). Arya walked the streets of Braavos with a skip in her step, booking passage back to Westeros and staring out into the distance with a dream of freedom in her mind. She looked triumphant and happy for the first time in a long time because she was finally herself again – she wasn’t ‘No One’, she was Arya Stark and she was ready to go home.

via bgr.com

Sadly, things aren’t so easy for the youngest of the Stark girls, and once again her dreams were wrecked by violence. The Waif, disguised as a very agile old woman, snuck up from behind her and stabbed her violently in the stomach, once again showing that she is a very bad Faceless Man; firstly because she didn’t finish the job, and secondly because Jaqen (Tom Wlaschiha) told her not to let Arya suffer – I don’t know if this is just my opinion, but being stabbed in the belly and allowed to bleed out in a canal isn’t a peaceful way to go.

The scene itself was great to watch because for a moment I really did believe that Arya was going to die, and it injected a feeling of urgency into the episode which was noticeably missing before that moment. However, when I took a step back and thought about the stabbing in the context of the series, I realised that Arya’s actions were wholly unbelievable. There’s a real inconsistency here with the portrayal of the character, because the Arya Stark that we know wouldn’t be so careless with her life as to walk out into the open and stand still for all to see; at least not when she knows that there is a skilled assassin out to kill her.

As such, there are two logical explanations which explain her carelessness; 1) she doesn’t think anyone is out to kill her, which seems incredibly silly given that she knows that she’s denied the Many-Faced God a life; or 2) the writers are lazy.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out which one of these options is the reality of the situation, as it’s pretty clear that the character knew what she was in for when she spared Lady Crane’s (Essie Davis) life; after all, she ran away rather than returning to the House of Black and White. Some people have gone as far as to theorise that Arya has split-personality disorder in order to bridge the logical gap between Arya’s actions and the character as established by the first five seasons, but I have to say that I think this is a massive stretch on their part. Whilst it would be interesting if this was actually the case – with The Waif symbolising the side of Arya that wants to become ‘No One’ and destroy what’s left of the girl she once was – the show just doesn’t have the time to sink its teeth into a psychological phenomenon like this before the end of the season. To do so would require a lot of exposition and a lot of explanation that the writers don’t really need to implement, especially when most people have been satisfied with how Arya’s plot has been handled thus far in season six.

It’s more likely that Arya really did have a lapse of concentration at the worst possible time, and that the writers wrote the storyline in this way to save time in a series which has become diluted with characters competing for a slither of screen time. It’s a shame, but it’s the reality of the situation.

via moviepilot.com

Where Arya goes from here is much more interesting to theorise about, because she’s definitely going to need help if she’s going to survive (although if we’re being honest with ourselves she wouldn’t survive – she has no access to proper healthcare and her gaping stomach wounds would either cause her to die of blood loss or they’d become infected, leading to septic shock). Help will most likely come in the form of Lady Crane, not just because she’s the only person that Arya knows in Braavos who doesn’t want her dead, but also because the writers have spent a lot of time this season trying to establish a rapport between the pair. I think having Lady Crane support Arya in her time of need would be incredibly cheap on the part of the writers, but frankly I wouldn’t put it past them right now given that they’re desperate to simplify proceedings at every turn.

I’ve seen screenshots which suggest that Syrio Forel (Arya’s ‘dance teacher’ in season one played by Miltos Yerolemou) could be the person who helps Arya survive her attack, but they could easily have been photo-shopped so I wouldn’t hold out much hope. I think that this would be a far better way to carry on her story and also to remind her of her past as Arya Stark, but when Maisie Williams has asked the showrunners whether or not Syrio Forel is still alive in the past they have responded with a resounding ‘no’, which probably means we won’t see him again on the series.

So, that was the episode. The Hound returned, the High Sparrow talked about the birds and the bees, Jon and Sansa recruited their army, Jaime went to Riverrun, Theon was sad in a brothel, (which I’ve intentionally ignored because it was a nothing scene), and Arya got stabbed. That might be a slightly patronising description of what was a reasonably well-written and intelligent episode of television, but that’s the meat of what happened in “The Broken Man”. It was an episode which took a long time to come to life, but the reintroduction of The Hound and the imminent conclusion to Arya’s time in Braavos were enough to provide a sense of intrigue and excitement. It wasn’t a memorable episode, and moments could’ve been executed with greater care, but on the whole “The Broken Man” was a decent hour of television.

6.5/10

Game of Thrones: Season Six, Episode 6 – “Blood of My Blood”

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Arya Stark, Benjen Stark, Blood of My Blood, Braavos, Cersei Lannister, Coldhands, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dragons, Emilia Clarke, Essie Davis, Game of Thrones, Gwendoline Christie, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Jaime Lannister, Jaqen H'ghar, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Lady Crane, Lady Stoneheart, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Natalie Dormer, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Riverrun, Samwell Tarly, Sansa Stark, Sophie Turner, Stannis Baratheon, Stephen Dillane, Television, The Black Fish, The Faceless Men, The House of Black and White, The Night's Watch, Tom Wlaschiha, Tommen Baratheon, TV, Walder Frey, Walk of Atonement

via ign.com

Personally, I felt that this episode of “Game of Thrones” did what it had to do. Bran’s (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) brief visions provided a glimpse into the past and the future, Arya (Maisie Williams) finally decided to leave the Faceless Men, and two very influential characters returned to the fold – Walder Frey (David Bradley) and Benjen Stark (Joseph Mawle) respectively. I felt that the writers handled these moments well, and although Sam’s (John Bradley) extended sequence made the episode a lot worse than it had to be, it didn’t ruin it for me.

The problem with this aforementioned scene wasn’t the quality of the acting – as has been suggested – but rather that Sam as a character doesn’t deserve this kind of attention in the first place. He’s always been one-dimensional, but previously this has been masked by his endearing friendship with Jon Snow (Kit Harington). Now Sam doesn’t have that mask, so to spend twenty consecutive minutes with him is jarring.

It was a shame that we spent so much time with Sam after one of the best Bran scenes of the series to date, because the episode started on a high and then fell flat. Bran’s visions might’ve required several watches to fully appreciate, but when you’ve paused your TV enough times to catch each one separately they become a brilliant flicker of “Game of Thrones” past, present, and future. The shadow of a dragon passing over King’s Landing, a burst of wild fire, the Mad King shouting the phrase ‘kill them all’; what more could you ask for? Then there was the return of Benjen Stark, a character who we haven’t seen since the third episode of the entire series, so “Blood of My Blood” started in a very strong way. It was a pulsating, atmospheric, speculation-building beginning to the episode, and it deserved better than to be proceeded by Sam’s journey home with his girlfriend.

Still, for my money these moments left the episode in a reasonably positive place. There was a scene involving Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman), Margaery (Natalie Dormer), and The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) wedged in the middle if we’re following the script properly, but in all fairness this scene didn’t really have much of an impact on the episode. The main reason that it was forced in was to set up the plot twist later on involving the same characters, and to provide the audience with an insight into Margaery’s head space, so on its own it wasn’t very interesting.

via screenrant.com

When Sam’s scenes were finally over the episode shifted to a more exciting place – Braavos. Arya went to see the play again, and this time we got to see a later scene in which the actors were portraying Joffrey’s (Jack Gleeson) death at the Purple Wedding. Once again I really enjoyed watching the play, not only because the dialogue was poetic and well-written, but because it offered a new perspective on events that we’ve already seen. The actress playing Cersei (Lena Headey) in the play, Lady Crane (Essie Davis), spoke of her pain and anguish at the loss of her first child which we’ve never really seen from the real Cersei. We know that she feels a great deal of sadness, but she puts her energy into vengeance and malice rather than self-pity, so having Lady Crane act as she did allowed the audience to empathise with the real version of the character a little bit more, and also did the same for Arya.

Of course, this scene had to move the plot forward, and it definitely did. Arya couldn’t kill Lady Crane because she still has a very clear sense of right and wrong, and also because having had the chance to speak to the actress in this episode she realised that the two might have more in common than she thought. This realisation was enough for Arya to give up her chance at becoming ‘No One’ and face a fight for her life against The Waif (Faye Marsay).

We all knew that this was coming, but I do find it slightly frustrating that Arya gave up her chance to live a safe life for the sake of a woman that she barely knows. I understand that in reality Arya’s decision was made for herself, for the sake of the person that she would be giving up if she killed an innocent woman, but perhaps the target could’ve been a more personal one for Arya so that the storyline would’ve been more believable. If Arya had been tasked with killing a friend, say Gendry (Joe Dempsie), who hasn’t appeared on the show for a long enough amount of time that his death would’ve been partly plausible, then her decision would’ve been much more palatable. After all, it’s likely that she’ll be on the run forever now isn’t it?

Well, maybe not, but either way my point is valid because for the character it will seem like that’s what the decision entails. However, there’s still an outside chance that Arya’s mission was in fact another test designed by Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha). That might seem like a long shot to some people because Arya has already failed two tests and was told that this was her last chance at redemption, but the test I’m referring to wouldn’t be for Arya at all. When you become ‘No One’ you’re supposed to give up your desires and give your life in service of the Many-Faced God; it seems obvious, but to become ‘No One’ you have to lose your identity. You kill who you’re told to kill and you do so without pleasure; that’s all you do. So, with that in mind, it appears as though The Waif’s bloodlust for Arya breaks the code that the Faceless Men live by. If it doesn’t then they’re a wholly inconsistent organisation and the writers have a lot to answer for.

via vox.com

I’m not saying that Jaqen would let Arya’s failure go unpunished, because the pair made a deal, but surely being banished from The House of Black and White would be punishment enough. Still, a life has to be paid to the Many-Faced God because as we’ve been told before, only death can pay for life. Lady Crane got to keep hers because of what Arya did, so there’s a “Final Destination” style imbalance in place in the world. With that in mind, either Arya or The Waif has to die to pay the debt, but which one it is should be of no consequence to Jaqen. If Arya dies then she is punished for her misdemeanour, and if Arya kills The Waif then The Waif will be punished for wanting to kill Arya. It’s a win-win situation for the Faceless Men.

Obviously, I think that Arya will come out on top, but as I’ve said I expect that afterwards she’ll be banished from The House of Black and White, (probably following a witty line from Jaqen about a girl having a name, only for him to say the name of The Waif – at least that’s how I’d write the scene), or Jaqen would come across as an overly sympathetic character.

Elsewhere, in King’s Landing, The High Sparrow regained the upper hand by humiliating Mace Tyrell (Roger Ashton-Griffiths) and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), which was an interesting scene, but the practicality of it was questionable.

When The High Sparrow started speaking it seemed as though Margaery was going to do her Walk of Atonement, which deceived the audience, but in reality it was idiotic because that was never the plan. The only reason that the scene was written and filmed in this way was so that the reveal of The Crown and The Faith’s merging was more surprising, so the writers basically ignored all realism for the sake of their soap-opera make-the-audience-gasp moment.

via vanityfair.com

Moreover, the new armour that The Kingsguard were wearing, (which was a merging of The Faith’s symbol and a crown), was stupid because there was no way that the armour could’ve been made in time behind everyone’s back! Making armour in that amount of time, to that level of quality, is almost as nonsensical as building 1,000 ships on a whim… oh, wait, forget I said that and think about dragons.

The whole scene felt so convenient and cheap, which again lessened the impact of the one which preceded it. I’m not saying that it was terrible, or that it wasn’t a legitimate surprise, but it required a real suspension of disbelief and in my opinion the storyline isn’t going anywhere. Tommen will probably die at some point anyway, along with Cersei and The High Sparrow; with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and her Dothraki horde on the way I fail to see why I should care about the political battle going on inside King’s Landing right now at all.

The only positive thing to come out of this whole escapade was Jaime’s removal from the Kingsguard and subsequent mission to Riverrun, because this shift in his story will hopefully inject the character with a bit of personality again. Ever since he got captured by Robb Stark (Richard Madden) he’s gone from strength to strength as a character, but this season he’s stagnated because he’s reverted back to being Cersei’s prettiest henchman. Taking him away from his sister can only be a good thing, and at Riverrun there are a multitude of possibilities which could make him exciting again. The most interesting of these possibilities would be for Jaime to reunite with Brienne (Gwendoline Christie), which seems likely, or with Lady Stoneheart.

If he does meet up with Brienne then it will be intriguing to see whether or not he’s willing to help her, because he did make a promise to protect the Stark girls and he actually sent Brienne away to do just that. I’m hopeful that he’ll do something to help Sansa (Sophie Turner), but I’m not entirely sure why he would, given that this would hurt Cersei at a time when she needs her family to support her. The only justification I can think of for him helping Sansa and Brienne would be that somehow he finds out about Cersei and Lancel (Eugene Simon) sleeping together in season one, perhaps from Lancel himself or from The High Sparrow.

My dream scenario is that Lady Stoneheart will return, see Brienne and Jaime talking, and kill them both believing that Brienne has betrayed her. It might sound dark, but I think that both of them have had their character arcs now – Brienne killed Stannis (Stephen Dillane) and has also succeeded in helping Sansa, and Jaime could also gain redemption if he helps Brienne, so that would leave them both at a point where they are no longer needed in the story. Don’t get me wrong, I like them both, but with Benjen returning Lady Stoneheart is an all too real possibility, and I want her to start with a bang.

via monstersandcritics.com

Finally, I should address Daenerys’ triumphant/unsettling scene, given that the episode was titled “Blood of My Blood” which clearly relates to our favourite egomaniac Targaryen. Whether or not you take her speech at the end of this episode as one of growth or as one which marks her slow decline into madness is entirely up to you, but I think that either way this was a slightly weird scene. On one hand it was cool that Daenerys gave a variation of the speech that Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) gave in season one, but on the other it felt like a completely unnecessary moment in the episode. It was very out of place in a fairly restrained hour of television, and it felt as though it had been tacked onto the end of the episode simply because there wasn’t another OMG moment to end with.

I think that the writers are toying with the audience, trying to make us all wonder whether or not Daenerys might become the villain of the piece – the fire to Jon Snow’s unrelenting ice – but I don’t think that the scene should’ve been used to end the episode. Surely Sam’s scenes earlier in the episode could’ve been shortened so that one of Bran’s visions could’ve been explored in more detail, thus providing the episode with a more satisfactory conclusion. Seeing an extended version of one of his earlier visions, such as the Mad King’s death, would’ve been far more exciting than watching Daenerys talk about what she’s going to achieve somewhere down the line.

Nevertheless, I felt that the positive aspects of this episode outweighed the negatives. This might not be immediately clear from what I’ve written, but the fact that I can speculate so excessively about the future of certain characters after watching this episode means that it achieved what it was intended to achieve. The structure of the episode as a whole was questionable – we spent too long with Sam and Daenerys’ scene felt out of place – but the fractured viewing experience was filled with intriguing moments and moved the story along nicely. “Blood of My Blood” opened up a lot of exciting possibilities for future episodes, so as an episode which was designed specifically for that purpose it was more than acceptable.

7.5/10

Game of Thrones: Season Six Preview – Part One

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Arthur Dayne, Arya Stark, Azor Ahai, Beric Dondarrion, Braavos, Bran Stark, Brienne of Tarth, Bronn, Carice van Houten, Catelyn Stark, Cersei Lannister, Cleganebowl, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Daniel Portman, David Bradley, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dorne, Dragons, Drogon, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones Premiere, Game of Thrones Season Five, Game of Thrones Season Six, Game of Thrones Season Six Preview, Ghost, Gwendoline Christie, Hardhome, Ian Beattie, Is Jon Snow Dead?, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Iwan Rheon, Jaime Lannister, Jaqen H'ghar, Jerome Flynn, John Bradley, Jon Snow, Jon Snow Dead?, Jon Snow Death, Jon Snow Resurrection, Jonathan Pryce, King's Landing, Kingsguard, Kit Harington, Kristofer Hivju, Lady Stoneheart, Lena Headey, Liam Cunningham, Littlefinger, Lyanna Stark, Maester Aemon, Maisie Williams, Margaery Tyrell, Max von Sydow, Meereen, Melisandre, Meryn Trant, Michael McElhatton, Michelle Fairley, Michiel Huisman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, No One, Oathbreaker, Paul Kaye, Peter Dinklage, Peter Vaughan, Podrick Payne, R + L = J, Ramsay Bolton, Rhaegar Targaryen, Richard Dormer, Richard Madden, Rickon Stark, Robb Stark, Roose Bolton, Samwell Tarly, Sansa Stark, Ser Davos, Sophie Turner, Stannis Baratheon, Stephen Dillane, Television, Television Review, The Boltons, The Dothraki, The Gravedigger Theory, The Greyjoys, The High Sparrow, The Hound, The Iron Throne, The Mad King, The Night's King, The Night's Watch, The Red Wedding, The Red Woman, The Three-Eyed-Raven, The Tower of Joy, The Wall, The Wildlings, Theon Greyjoy, Thoros of Myr, Tom Wlaschiha, Tormund Giantsbane, TV, TV Review, Walder Frey, White Walkers, Winter Is Coming, Winterfell

This preview will contain spoilers for everything that’s happened on the show so far, as well as a couple of fan theories and some book plot points which are yet to appear on the show.

On the 25^th of April “Game of Thrones” returns to our screens. After months of speculation we’ll finally discover the fate of Jon Snow (Kit Harington), the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch who was mercilessly left in a puddle of his own blood in the season five finale, as well as a few other things that fans have basically ignored over the last few months.

Jon Snow

via mtv.com

I should start with the elephant in the room… will Jon Snow be brought back from the dead? His death has been the focus of multiple fan theories since the season five finale, with many book readers stating that he will be resurrected; this has led to denials from several cast members and indeed Kit Harington himself. Personally, I would love it if Jon Snow didn’t come back this year simply because of the collective outrage that there would be, but it seems very unlikely. In my opinion, it would be quite ridiculous to put so much work into developing the character, placing him at the forefront of the story, just to kill him off.

This has happened before on “Game of Thrones”, but there’s an important difference when it comes to our favourite bastard. The problem with Jon Snow not coming back is that it would significantly weaken the show’s narrative and the work that has been done so far, because not only has the character himself been given a lot of screen time, but other characters have spoken on several occasions about his parentage and the mythical Azor Ahai. There have been references to the fact that Jon Snow could in fact be a Targaryen ever since the show began, and there have also been many mentions of a possible death and resurrection involving the character – remember when Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan) said ‘kill the boy Jon Snow, let the man be born’ last season? These aren’t just throw-away lines of dialogue written for dramatic effect; they have a purpose and they foreshadow what is to come.

We know that Jon Snow’s return is possible in this universe because of Beric Dondarrion’s (Richard Dormer) resurrection at the hands of Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye) back in season three, and there’s no coincidence in the fact that Melisandre (Carice van Houten) – who spoke to Thoros directly during season three about such things – finds herself at The Wall at the start of season six. She’s lost her reason for existence now that Stannis (Stephen Dillane) is dead, and she will be looking for a new person to lead the realms of men against the White Walkers, with the obvious choice being Jon.

It’s been too easy in the build up to this season for the actors to say things like ‘Jon Snow isn’t coming back’, ‘Jon Snow is dead’, and ‘Kit Harington has been seen on set because he’ll be playing a corpse’, because all of these things are true. Nobody has to lie to say any of those things because Jon really was killed at the end of season five, he will be a corpse at the start of this one, and he may not come back as the exact same character.

In any case, I don’t think that Jon Snow will come back straight away. Pacing will be of the upmost importance when it comes to this storyline because the writers will want to keep people guessing for as long as possible, so we may have to sit back and theorise a little while longer.

As a side-note, I’d like to mention the fact that the Night’s Watch mutineers didn’t burn the body immediately after killing Jon Snow, which is something that you would’ve expected them to do when they had the chance. For me, this is a significant plot hole which speaks to the possibility that he will be resurrected, because it really doesn’t make sense that men of the Night’s Watch would leave a dead body out in the open when they know that it could be reanimated as a wight, unless this would somehow serve the story. Of course, I can’t be 100% sure that they don’t intend to burn the body before something stops them (maybe Ghost, the wildlings, or Davos (Liam Cunningham)), but the marketing team has edited the trailer in such a way that it does seem as though the body has simply been left to decay.

The Boltons vs. Sansa, Theon, Davos, Tormund, and the Northern Lords

via screenrant.com

Sticking to the North; Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) ended last season on a high, defeating Stannis’ army and partaking in his favourite pastime (murder). However, he isn’t going to be quite so happy when he returns from the battlefield at the start of this season to find that his prized asset has escaped from Winterfell. Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Theon (Alfie Allen) took the long dive down into the snow from the castle walls in the season finale last year to get away from Ramsay, so it’s likely that his first priority will be to get them back when we see him again.

There’s also the small matter of the fact that his lover died at the hands of those same escapees, so I dread to think what torture he will have in store for them if he actually finds them.

Despite the fact that Ramsay has lost his toys, this season wouldn’t be the same if he wasn’t playing the role of the show’s most hateable villain. With that in mind, I think the most obvious course of action for him would be to kill his future half-brother and mother-in-law so that Roose (Michael McElhatton) doesn’t have a legitimate heir – this would be suitably evil because Roose’s wife seems pretty harmless, and killing an unborn baby is frowned upon even in the “Game of Thrones” universe. I’d also like this moment to be followed up with Roose confronting Ramsay, only for Ramsay to say something along the lines of – ‘I learnt it from you’ – given the fact that Roose killed Robb Stark‘s (Richard Madden) unborn child at the Red Wedding. In a dream scenario this would then be followed by Ramsay killing his father, or vice versa – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

A plot point like this would be shocking and maintain the character’s persona, whilst also giving him something to do whilst Sansa is away. It would also make sense given the nature of Roose as a character, because he’s definitely going to reprimand Ramsay for giving Sansa a reason to run away and this will frustrate the young Lord to a point where he may feel that he’s left with no option but to take drastic action.

The most interesting aspect of this storyline from my perspective is the reason why Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) and the wildlings seem to be fighting against the Boltons in the footage from the trailers. We know from experience that the wildlings don’t like to get involved in power disputes in what they see as the South, so there has to be some outside reason why they are willing to fight, other than the fact that Ramsay is an absolute bastard despite his legitimisation.

One possibility here is that they have been forced away from The Wall after Jon Snow’s death, which would be interesting because Winterfell is the obvious place to go for protection. It’s been said on the show that 50 men could defend Winterfell against 500, so there’s every chance that they could see the castle as their next best option after The Wall.

It looks like the wildlings could rally around Ser Davos, who will most likely try to persuade the Northern Lords to help him in fighting the White Walkers, so there’s a chance that he could seek Roose’s help along the way. Maybe Roose refuses to help, and thus Davos agrees to join the other lords to defeat him in return for their aid against the Walkers? It’s just a thought, but it could be interesting. A simpler explanation would be that Jon Snow is resurrected, finds out what Ramsay did to Sansa, and decides to get some lovely revenge. This would fit with the theme of the season, as many cast members have spoken about how vengeance will be a key aspect of “Game of Thrones” this year.

Bran vs. The White Walkers

I think we can all agree that Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) is one of the least memorable and least likeable characters on “Game of Thrones”, which is why no one noticed his absence in season five. However, hopefully we can also agree that one of the best moments from the season six trailer is when Bran turns around to see The Night’s King standing behind him.

This scene probably has a lot of people wetting their pants at the exciting possibility of Bran exiting the show for good, but let’s be clear – Bran can’t walk. In that scene he’s clearly standing up, so it’s obvious that this moment is either a vision or a dream. We know that off-screen Bran has been going through a tedious training montage with the Three-Eyed-Raven (Max von Sydow), learning all about greensight and how to make the most out of his powers, so it’s probably a vision. Still, there’s a good chance that Bran will come face to face with the White Walkers for real at some point over the course of this season, because they are clearly seen causing damage on the trailer. They’ve already taken Hardhome, so there’s a high probability that their next stop will be either the lair of the Three-Eyed-Raven, or The Wall.

Isaac Hempstead-Wright has spoken publicly in the build-up to season six about how his character will have visions of the past, present, and future this year, with the past probably being the most documented as it appears extremely likely that Bran will provide our insight into Jon Snow’s true parentage, with the Tower of Joy all but confirmed. For those of you who can’t remember, this is where Rhaegar Targaryen took Lyanna Stark after he (allegedly) kidnapped her. The flashback will show Ned Stark and his men taking on Arthur Dayne and two other members of the Mad King’s Kingsguard, in what is sure to be one of the best moments yet on “Game of Thrones”, answering a question which fans of the books have been asking for twenty years.

Arya

The last Stark on my to-do-list for this preview is that charming blind assassin known as Arya (Maisie Williams). At the end of last season Arya brutally killed Meryn Trant (Ian Beattie), as revenge for the murder of her ‘dance teacher’ Syrio Forel (Miltos Yerolemou) in season one. This act cost her her eyesight, as Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha) punished her for taking a life which was not hers to take. She will be blind at the start of the season and for the foreseeable future, so I expect to see her adapting to this new difficultly whist also trying to serve the Many-Faced God.

Nevertheless, I don’t think that she’ll be blind for the entirety of the season. I’m hoping that she finally moves on from Braavos and becomes the person that she’s meant to be before season six finishes, because I think that the majority of the audience is getting tired of how her story has stagnated recently. She was my favourite character in season four but she’s become something of an afterthought after last season, so I hope that she’ll decide that being No One is someone else’s calling. How this will come about is anyone’s guess, but there’s only so many times that a girl can get slapped and be called No One before she slaps back.

Littlefinger

via whatculture.com

There’s not a lot to be said about Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) right now, other than that he seems to be losing control. He’s had a plan from the beginning, and it seems like he’s always been one step ahead, but last season he was juggling a lot of powerful people and he made a couple of stupid mistakes. He’s always got a trick up his sleeve, but it’s unlikely that Sansa will be happy about the situation that he left her in last year, and I don’t think that Cersei (Lena Headey) will be very pleased if she finds out that he had a hand in delivering her to The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce).

I had a sneaky suspicion that Littlefinger’s time might be up on “Game of Thrones” until very recently, because it doesn’t seem like he has a place in this world if the White Walkers get past The Wall. However, in a recent interview, when asked about what she’d like to see happen on “Game of Thrones”, Sophie Turner said that she wanted to see Littlefinger on the Iron Throne. This would be incredibly difficult if he happened to be dead before the end of season six.

Still, this isn’t proof that he survives the season – far from it – because Turner has also stated that this year she hasn’t read parts of the script which don’t relate to her character so that she can watch the show as a fan. This does suggest that Littlefinger could die in an upcoming episode without her knowing, but I still believe that it would be quite difficult for Sophie Turner to remain ignorant of Littlefinger’s fate when he seems to appear in the North on the trailer. It was my contention that if Littlefinger was to die then Sansa would have to have a hand in it, or that it would at least come to her attention, so maybe we can put thoughts of Littlefinger’s demise on ice for now. On the other hand, if Lady Stoneheart appears and Littlefinger is in the North then it is definitely squeaky-bum-time.

Brienne, Jaime, and Lady Stoneheart

via variety.com

(SPOILER ALERT) Speaking of Lady Stoneheart… whether or not the resurrected and very angry Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) will make an appearance in season six is another aspect of the story which remains unclear, but it has been reported that Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr will return, which leaves me feeling very suspicious. If Lady Stoneheart does turn up then Brienne’s (Gwendoline Christie) head will be on the chopping block for failing to protect the Stark children, as will Jaime’s (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) for crippling Bran back in episode one.

It seems like Jaime, Pod (Daniel Portman), Bronn (Jerome Flynn), and Brienne will meet up again at some point this season, because it looks like Pod is grabbed in the trailer by Bronn, so they will all be in one place if our least favourite dead Stark comes back from the dead.

There are a lot of theories going around suggesting that Jaime will help Brienne to get revenge on the Freys on behalf of the Stark children, which would be interesting and could save his skin, but I think it’s a tough one to call. If Jaime is going to stand at the head of the Lannister army, which the trailers suggest that he will, then I don’t think it would be a very sensible decision to go after Walder Frey (David Bradley), even if Jaime feels he has an oath to keep.

That’s it for Part One – Part Two will focus on King’s Landing, Meereen, The Greyjoys, and Daenerys’ troubles with the Dothraki. I’ll also go into detail about a fan theory relating to The Hound and the possibility that seasons seven and eight will be shortened to eight episodes each. Thanks for reading!

Game of Thrones: Season Five Finale – “Mother’s Mercy”

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Aidan Gillen, Alfie Allen, Alliser Thorne, Arya Stark, Benjen Stark, Beric Dondarrion, Braavos, Bran Stark, Brenock O'Connor, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, Conleth Hill, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Dean-Charles Chapman, Dorne, Dothraki, Dragons, Drogon, Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones, Grey Worm, Gwendoline Christie, Hafthor Julius Bjornsson, Iain Glen, Ian Beattie, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Iwan Rheon, Jacob Anderson, Jaime Lannister, Jon Snow, Jonathan Pryce, Jorah Mormont, Joseph Mawle, Kerry Ingram, King's Landing, Kit Harington, Lady Stoneheart, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Meereen, Melisandre, Meryn Trant, Michiel Huisman, Missandei, Mother's Mercy, Myrcella Baratheon, Nathalie Emmanuel, Nell Tiger Free, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Olly, Peter Dinklage, Ramsay Bolton, Richard Dormer, Richard Madden, Robb Stark, Sansa Stark, Shireen Baratheon, Sky, Sophie Turner, Stannis Baratheon, Stephen Dillane, Television, The High Sparrow, The Mountain, The Night's King, The Night's Watch, The Wall, Theon Greyjoy, Tommen Baratheon, TV, Tyrion Lannister, Varys, Westeros, White Walkers, Winterfell

Game of Thrones, Series 5, Episode 10, Mother’s Mercy, Sky Atlantic, Drogon.

This review contains spoilers for the episode and the series.

The “Game of Thrones” season five finale was really disappointing. Lots happened, with plenty of cliffhangers to keep fans guessing, but because the showrunners were so intent on leaving things open-ended each storyline felt insignificant. Characters died, but the show can’t surprise us like it used to, and the big name casualties like Stannis (Stephen Dillane) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) don’t really feel gone. Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t, but the way that those scenes were handled left their deaths feeling less permanent than say Robb Stark’s (Richard Madden) at the Red Wedding. The episode ended up ruining the story arcs that were enjoyable across the course of the season, and although it did a good job of capturing my interest in Dorne and Braavos, it just didn’t live up to expectations. Too many storylines needed resolving, too much had to happen, and in the end everything felt extremely rushed.

The season began at a meandering pace, as character arcs were set up in an excruciatingly slow fashion. This strategic positioning took up far too much of the season’s time, meaning that the final episode collapsed under its own weight as too many of the character’s storylines required satisfying endings. None of the storylines were afforded enough time to develop over the course of the season or in this episode, so when they concluded they felt hollow. Never before have I felt so disconnected to the fates of Jon Snow, Arya (Maisie Williams), or Sansa (Sophie Turner), characters who I previously loved as though they were a part of my own social circle.

As we flittered around Westeros I couldn’t help but feel frustrated at the fact that we didn’t spend a prolonged period of time with any one character. The longest continuous stretch of time spent with a single character was in King’s Landing, as we watched Cersei’s (Lena Headey) humiliation at the hands of The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce). We looked on as Cersei transitioned from a proud Queen to a snivelling peasant, which demonstrated just how quickly the tide can change on “Game of Thrones”.

However, that scene itself wasn’t particularly entertaining. Cersei is an arrogant and hateful antagonist and the source of a lot of pain for fans of the series, so it was impossible to care about her torment in this episode. I wasn’t able to empathise with her because a part of me knows that she deserves everything she gets, but I was also unable to revel in her suffering because her punishment came in such a vile and rotten form. As a result, the scene was dull and took any sense of urgency away from the episode. I enjoyed seeing The Mountain (Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson) back on the show as a zombie-like servant to Cersei, but apart from that I found King’s Landing to be a dull destination in “Mother’s Mercy”.

The storylines that have really impressed me over the course of this season finished in infuriatingly anti-climactic ways. Stannis, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), and Jon Snow all found themselves in dire straits, but by the time the credits rolled we had no idea where their stories were going, or if they’d even make it to season six. Stannis is presumed dead but we didn’t see his body, Jon is in a similar predicament but Melisandre is at The Wall, and Daenerys is right back where she started, at the mercy of a Dothraki horde, with a dragon that may as well still be in its egg at her side!

I would expect Stannis to be dead, because Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) did swing her sword directly at his head, but you never know on this show. We’ve seen Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) die and be resurrected as a result of magic, so we could see something similar given what happened to Shireen (Kerry Ingram) last week. I’d like to think that Stannis isn’t gone, because he had a decent arc this year and I thought Stephen Dillane was doing a really good job. It seems a shame that his life should end so abruptly after he finally got interesting, but that does happen a lot on “Game of Thrones”.

Brienne got her revenge on Stannis, which should’ve been enjoyable to watch, but she didn’t take enough satisfaction in the moment to excite me. It was a lacklustre scene that should’ve had a lot more impact. The point of Stannis’ defeat was to show that he isn’t a saviour on the show – he isn’t going to save the world from the White Walkers – but because of how clear they tried to make that (by making his defeat emphatic) the scene shattered the positives of his story over the course of the season.

The fact that Brienne missed Sansa’s candle seems quite significant to me, because she isn’t going to know that Sansa escaped Winterfell in the commotion; as far as she’s concerned the situation hasn’t changed, so her role is going to largely stay the same. I’m still holding out for a Lady Stoneheart appearance, because Brienne is culpable if anything bad happens to Sansa now, and it seems like she’s just going to be wandering around in the North for the foreseeable future.

Moving on to Sansa’s escape… I didn’t like it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that she’s escaped Ramsay’s (Iwan Rheon) torment and that she’ll be doing something different next year, but I thought her scenes were quite poor. Sansa picked a lock (where did she learnt that?), then she was saved by Theon’s (Alfie Allen) bravery, which didn’t make a lot of sense because he’s had ample opportunity to help her in the past from equally tragic circumstances, and finally she jumped a life-threatening distance into a pile of snow. It was all incredibly convenient and frustrated me greatly – it could’ve happened in a much better way.

Where Sansa will go is exciting – she could go to find Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright), but she doesn’t really know where he is, or she could go to The Wall because she knows about Jon. Another possibility is that Theon could take her to his family, but I don’t know why she’d agree to that given what she knows about Theon’s family and how he acted the last time he returned home. My money is on The Wall, but I’m open to suggestions.

Game of Thrones, Series 5, Episode 10, Mother’s Mercy, Sky Atlantic, Williams, Maisie; Beattie, Ian as Arya Stark; Meryn Trant.

Events in Dorne and Braavos were more exciting this week than they have been in the past, as Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free) met what is likely to be her end, and Arya lost her sight. I loved Arya’s mutilation of Meryn Trant (Ian Beattie) and I also thought that the effects were great when faces were being changed. However, the fact that Arya’s story this season has been so slow meant that I didn’t actually care about her misfortune in the Hall of Faces. All I want is for Arya to move on and cross names off her list, which for now seems pretty unlikely.

My least favourite moments in the episode revolved around Daenerys and Meereen, as Daenerys’ allies miraculously survived the aftermath of their Queen’s escape and argued about how they should proceed. My advice would’ve been to get the hell outta Dodge, but instead Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), and Varys (Conleth Hill) will be ruling over Meereen whilst Jorah (Iain Glen) and Daario (Michiel Huisman) go in search of Daenerys. With this set up in place I’m very apprehensive about these arcs moving forward. I don’t care about Meereen and I’m not interested in the Jorah and Daario dynamic – there’ve been better double acts before and I presume that most of their scenes will be a series of fights in which they try to one-up one another to prove their love for Daenerys. Why should I care about that?

There are a couple of theories going around about Varys and his role in Meereen, with some people believing that he could be The Harpy. That would certainly spice things up a bit, but I don’t know why he’d have lied to Tyrion about his motives if that is the case. Tyrion wouldn’t have argued if Varys had told him that he wanted to oust Daenerys, so I don’t think these theories are true.

via polygon.com

Finally, the big moment of season five came and went, as the Night’s Watch lost its commander in an act of mutiny. I thought this scene was alright, and it would’ve been a shock for casual viewers, but for me it was too obvious that it was coming. I’ve been cautious of Olly (Brenock O’Connor) all season and Alliser (Owen Teale) was clearly up to something, so this wasn’t much of a surprise. I liked that Alliser used Benjen (Joseph Mawle) as the ploy by which to get Jon out in the open, but apart from that I thought the scene lacked a bit of impact. I wanted the scene to be a bit more brutal, and Brenock O’Connor’s acting when he dealt the final blow was a bit weak.

I don’t think that Jon is gone, and I’m certainly not alone on that front, but I’m not sure exactly how his resurrection will occur. He’s dead, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that – no one is going to stop him succumbing to his wounds. Still, with Melisandre (Carice van Houten) at The Wall it seems as though there’s a return on the cards. She needs a new champion for The Lord of Light, and if she knows about his parentage he might be the perfect candidate – this is cool, but it makes the entirety of Stannis’ story feel like a device to get exposition across for Jon’s future role.

Another possibility is that he’ll be resurrected by The Night’s King – that would certainly give us an inside look at the White Walkers – but whether or not that would work remains to be seen. The next book is called “The Winds of Winter” though, so clearly the White Walkers will play a big part in the narrative. Having Jon on the side of the Walkers would be incredible, so I wouldn’t mind, and it would also make it a lot easier for the showrunners to have The Wall brought down.

Although I enjoy speculating about the future of the series, and this episode did open the floor up to such a discussion, it didn’t resolve anything and felt anticlimactic. All in all, “Mother’s Mercy” was a bland and frustrating “Game of Thrones” finale, capping off a season that has failed to live up to my high expectations. There were cliffhangers and character deaths galore, but nothing was properly concluded and many of the character’s fates were left up in the air, leaving me with a very sour taste in my mouth.

5.5/10

Game of Thrones: Season Five, Episode 9 – “The Dance of Dragons”

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Alexander Siddig, Alliser Thorne, Arya Stark, Braavos, Carice van Houten, Cersei Lannister, CGI, Daario Naharis, Daenerys Targaryen, Doran Martell, Dorne, Dragons, Drogon, Ellaria Sand, Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones, Gwendoline Christie, Hizdahr, Iain Glen, Ian Beattie, Indira Varma, Iwan Rheon, Jaime Lannister, Joel Fry, Jon Snow, Jorah Mormont, Kerry Ingram, King's Landing, Lady Stoneheart, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Meereen, Melisandre, Meryn Trant, Michiel Huisman, Myrcella Baratheon, Nell Tiger Free, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Owen Teale, Peter Dinklage, Ramsay Bolton, Sansa Stark, Shireen Baratheon, Sons of the Harpy, Sophie Turner, Stannis Baratheon, Stephen Dillane, Television, The Dance of Dragons, The Iron Throne, The Lord of Light, The Many-Faced God, The Night's Watch, The Red God, The Wall, The Wildlings, Toby Sebastain, Trystane Martell, TV, Tyrion Lannister

via winteriscoming.net

“The Dance of Dragons” was a decent episode, but it was slightly disappointing considering how late on we are in the season. For the majority of its run time it was dark and cold, but it ended with a moment of hope in which Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) really felt like this series’ protagonist again. However, this part of the episode was actually pretty weak for me, not because of the special effects, but because the dialogue and action sequences were sloppily executed.

I thought it was interesting that the episode opened with fire raining down on Stannis (Stephen Dillane), because he uses fire to his advantage so often and worships his god by utilising it. Also, Stannis’ arc in this episode ended with fire as he put his own daughter to the torch, which brought things around full circle – I’ll dig into that scene in more detail, but for now I’ll just say that I enjoyed how it was signposted at the start of the episode, and how Ramsay’s (Iwan Rheon) actions inadvertently caused Shireen’s (Kerry Ingram) death.

I liked all the scenes in The North this week, because the scenery looked beautiful and everything had the same bleak atmosphere. Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) return to The Wall was very tense, as he appealed to Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) for entry through the gates. I was surprised that Alliser was so quick to allow Jon through said gates, because I thought that moment could’ve been drawn out for a little bit longer, as we know that most of Jon’s brothers don’t want to live amongst the Wildlings. Right now things are very precarious for Jon, he’s making friends of his enemies and enemies of his friends, and he can’t trust either party.

via tyrionlannister.net

Another group that weren’t very happy this week was the Baratheon army. Stannis’ appearance this week was haunting, and his actions were absolutely horrific. To see Shireen die in such a horrible way, at the hands of her father, was very distressing and destroyed any notion of heroism that we might attach to Stannis. It wasn’t as bad as some people have made out, because we’ve seen this sort of thing before and we shouldn’t be so selective about when it’s disturbing, but when something so nasty happens to a child it is hard to watch.

The reason that people have been so affected by this scene is that the writers have worked hard to position Stannis as a possible protagonist this year; they’ve also done a similar level of work in attempting to create a positive relationship between the audience and Shireen. In my opinion, those who are complaining about this scene are actually complementing everyone involved, because they’re basically telling the showrunners that their plans have worked and Stannis’ scenes have had their desired effect.

Of all the character arcs this season I think that Stannis’ has been the best, so I was conflicted when I saw this scene – was it in keeping with the Stannis that we’ve grown attached to during season five? Well, no… but that’s not to say that character continuity has been broken.

Over the course of the last nine episodes Stannis has come across in a more positive light because he’s been fighting for what seemed to be a just cause, to take the Iron Throne (which rightfully belongs to him) and protect the world from a White Walker invasion. Plus, he’s been friendly (in his own way) with one of the most beloved characters on the show, Jon Snow, so by extension he’s been more likeable. However, this doesn’t change what Stannis really is – brutal, aggressive, and cold. It seems like over the course of this season we’ve forgotten about the terrible things that Stannis has done previously, and we’ve also overlooked the fact that he burned another important character alive at the start of the season.

via hbo.com

Stannis is a worshipper of dark magic and a murderer, so his actions in this episode make complete sense with his character as established on the show. Killing his own daughter might’ve been a level above the horrendous crimes he’s committed thus far, but his situation is also more dire; he finds himself hungry, freezing, and walking into battle unprepared, so his actions reflect that. He believes that if he succumbs to the Boltons and fails to take the throne then the whole world will be under threat – in his mind only he can save it from the White Walkers, he’s a god on earth. He’s a slave to his own ego, to the legacy that he believes is his right, and he truly believes he has no choice as far as Shireen is concerned.

Dillane’s performance was once again fantastic here – the way he sluggishly closed his eyes whilst blinking and let his head fall every now and again made everything he did appear incredibly laboured. He looked so tired and distant, a shell of the man that had left The Wall, and that was exactly what was required of him in order to convey to the audience that Stannis had reached the point of no return. Stannis’ confidence was drained and so was his spirit, which Dillane portrayed perfectly.

via denofgeek.com

Speculation is ripe regarding the repercussions of Shireen’s death, with a few different theories floating around. Shireen’s death is supposed to give Stannis an advantage, so most theories are going down that route; if that’s the way things are going to play out then there are a couple of avenues that the narrative could take:

• Things don’t have to be tangible for Stannis to gain an advantage; it could just be that his men feel rejuvenated, or that the weather becomes less harsh. Personally, I don’t think that time would’ve been wasted killing off Shireen if there wasn’t going to be an exciting pay-off, but my point is that although the Lord of Light should be on Stannis’ side, that doesn’t mean that something massive has to happen on screen.

• (SPOILER ALERT) There’s a chance that certain characters from the books will be revived as a result of the magic, characters that would inadvertently help Stannis in his war against the Boltons. One possibility here is that Lady Stoneheart will be introduced. I won’t go into too much detail about the character, because there’s a chance that people could stumble on this paragraph without reading the spoiler warning, but let’s just say that she’d have a big problem with how Sansa (Sophie Turner) has been treated this year. People wanted her to be in the finale last year, so the writers might’ve worked her into the story this time around, which I think would work really nicely given where Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) is at the moment.

Things could also work against Stannis, because despite the fact that he’s pleased the Red God there’s no assurance that he’ll be helped. I’m actually hoping that Ramsay will come out on top now, because this would hurt Stannis so much, and I believe that it would make for some fantastic scenes.

What I really want from this story is for Melisandre to betray Stannis – I keep getting that kind of vibe from her, so I’d like the twist in this story to be that she’s working against him for another cause. I thought that she’d sacrifice Shireen without Stannis’ consent after he initially balked at her plan, but now I’m hoping that she’s using her magic to solve an unrelated problem she’s seen in the fire.

(SPOILER ALERT FOR THE FINALE AND THE BOOKS) I don’t want to be overly specific, because what I’m writing about might not happen in the finale, and it really shouldn’t be spoilt, so let’s just say that by the end of the season Jon Snow might need some dark magic. If he does, this could be the real reason that Melisandre wanted to sacrifice Shireen.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Jon Snow may have royal blood, and I doubt that this was hinted at earlier in the season if it wasn’t going to count for something by the end. What if Melisandre wanted to keep Jon safe, so had Shireen killed to protect him? I think this would be amazing to see in the finale, because Stannis could fail in his battle against the Boltons and then we could cut to Jon Snow’s last scene, somehow aware of Melisandre’s scheme. It would be a crazy way to end the season, and I think this kind of twist is what’s needed to elevate the season to another level.

via winteriscoming.net

In Braavos, Arya’s (Maisie Williams) story was connected to events elsewhere by the inclusion of Meryn Trant (Ian Beattie). His appearance in this episode has given things a bit of impetus in Braavos, because we couldn’t really hate the thin man that Arya was tasked to kill. We don’t know a lot about him, and frankly we don’t have time to find out who he is – Arya’s arc needs to kick on and get out of first gear, so fleshing out side characters just won’t do right now (the finale is next week after all). By bringing a disgusting character into the story, a man that Arya personally hates, it creates friction between the duties that she has to the Many-Faced God and her own desires, and also gives the audience a reason to care about her actions.

I did enjoy Arya’s scenes this week, and I really do want to see Trant get what he deserves following his clear villainy in the brothel. At least now I’m somewhat invested in how things will play out in Braavos, but I’m still not excited for those moments – does anyone really believe that Trant will get the better of Arya?

Events in Dorne once again took away from the episode, as previous actions in the region were spat on, and it was revealed that nothing that’s happened so far will have any significance whatsoever. After nine episodes the storyline has barely moved – everything that’s happened in Dorne could’ve taken place in one episode! The stakes feel so low that it’s almost laughable; Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) wasn’t harmed for his conspiracy to kidnap Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free), and likewise Ellaria (Indira Varma) was given a pass despite her intention to murder the Princess. Jaime is now going to leave with exactly what he wanted, which basically means that he should’ve walked up to Doran (Alexander Siddig) and asked for Myrcella’s release.

Of course, Doran may have an ulterior motive, in fact it’s likely that he does given the fact that he sent Trystane (Toby Sebastian) back to King’s Landing, but that doesn’t make things feel any more exciting for the time being. Whatever plan Doran has is likely to be put on the backburner whilst Cersei’s (Lena Headey) life hangs in the balance, so we’re going to have to wait for the Dorne storyline to pick up, presuming it ever will.

via indiewire.com

I’ve yet to discuss what I assume was meant to be the iconic episode nine moment, namely Daenerys’ escape from the fighting pits on the back of her dragon Drogon, so I suppose I’d better get into it. I loved the conversations that were taking place between Hizdahr (Joel Fry), Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), Daario (Michiel Huisman), and Daenerys, but I thought the last ten minutes were quite poor. That might not be a popular opinion, but I’m not just trying to go against the crowd or nit-pick, I truly didn’t like what I was watching.

First of all, I should say that my issue isn’t with the CGI. I didn’t like the moment at which Daenerys climbed atop Drogon, because I thought the way that it was designed was a bit silly – it was far too clear that what we were watching was computer generated, and it really didn’t have to be, because the camera didn’t need to linger on Daenerys so much. However, I want to stress that I didn’t think it was terrible, I can forgive thirty seconds of dodgy CGI, especially given that it was preceded by some pretty good CGI, and a lot of the budget must’ve been spent on episode eight.

What I took issue with in the last ten minutes was the fact that a lot of what happened was just plain unbelievable, and the characters relied more on dumb luck than on their wit. I have two main problems, and although they concern the finer details, I believe that they are quite damning. The first is that Jorah (Iain Glen) threw his spear at Daenerys… DIRECTLY at her! He didn’t throw it just to the side or inches above her, he relied on her moving out of the way in order to hit the Harpy assassin, yet he couldn’t be certain that she’d be able to move. He could’ve killed her easily yet he just threw it!

via indiewire.com

My second problem is that Daenerys’ moment with Drogon allowed far too much time for someone to stab her to death, or for her to be impaled by a spear. The Harpy’s were all around the arena, they could’ve attacked from any angle, so I’m yet to understand why Daenerys thought she had time to stand still and look into her child’s eyes. In this heartfelt moment she should’ve died 100 times over! Not only that, but someone decided it would be a good idea to run up to Drogon and stab him with a spear when his back was turned, even though Daenerys was right there behind him! That was the perfect moment to kill her and liberate Meereen from her leadership, yet he wasted it giving the dragon a pointless scratch. (Oh, and if you’re going to say that Drogon was shielding Daenerys then I just plain disagree. Daario threw something at a Harpy in the exact direction that a spear could’ve flown towards Daenerys – she wasn’t attacked because the story didn’t dictate that she should be).

As a moment on the show it will serve a useful purpose, because now Daenerys might do something about the Meereen problem; she could leave and let things revert back to how they were before, or she could have all those who oppose her burnt alive, but she can’t carry on doing what she was doing before. I don’t really care what she does as long as her story doesn’t stagnate any further – I just want her to move on.

I should also quickly note that there was a line of dialogue which I’m 99.9% certain was written or read incorrectly. Tyrion said to Hizdahr, ‘you’re an eloquent man, doesn’t mean you’re wrong’… forgive me if I’m the one who is wrong, but shouldn’t it have been ‘doesn’t mean you’re right’? How did that get past editing?

One thing I haven’t touched on is Hizdahr’s stabbing at the hands of the Harpy. This was a genuine surprise for me, because I truly believed that he was their leader. Everything was in place for another Red Wedding moment; Hizdahr had his chance to be the one to kill Daenerys, and it would’ve been fascinating to see him try. If he’s really dead then I don’t know why he didn’t try to kill her, because he could’ve easily pulled out a dagger and thus been the one that Jorah threw his spear towards. That reveal would’ve had a greater impact than a random Harpy being killed, so I have to assume that in reality Hizdahr has survived.

Overall, this was a disappointing episode considering the record that “Game of Thrones” has when it comes to their penultimate episodes. I still think that Dorne has been wasted this season, and scenes in Braavos carry less weight than those scenes happening elsewhere. In my opinion Stannis’ scenes in this episode made it more memorable than its overall quality gave it any right to be, and I don’t think that one character’s decent arc is enough to make an episode great on the whole. The fighting pits finale was an important scene and it did a lot for Daenerys’ story, but personally I didn’t think it was done very well, so it left a slightly sour taste in my mouth.

6/10