After a controversial and divisive fifth season, Game of Thrones returned Sunday night showing us our first look at probably the most anticipated season of television since the end of Breaking Bad. Theories were confirmed and denied, returns were teased, and dark futures were set. But did it live up to the hype? And where will the show go from here? Find out in my (spoiler-filled) thoughts on the episode after the jump.
As this is my first Game of Thrones review, I will briefly explain what to expect. For most of the review, I will break down the plot by location, discussing the events that happened and their importance. After this breakdown, I will give brief bullet points of what I loved, liked, disliked, and hated about the episode. At the end, I will use officially-released teasers and information to predict what could happen in the next episode. I will not be using leaks or spoilers in this prediction.
So if you just want a quick breakdown of my thoughts, you can skip down to the WHAT I LOVED section. If you want a detailed breakdown of the major scenes and my thoughts on what they mean, you can read the entire post by location.
THE WALL
When we last left Westeros, Jon Snow had been stabbed by his fellow Watchmen, assassinated for his treatment of Wildlings and breaking of vows. Since the moment the knives pierced Jon's black cloak, theories had been racing across every site and platform of the internet. For months, every cast member had been constantly harassed and interrogated with the same question: Is Jon Snow Dead?
Many of them stayed quiet, claiming they did not know. Others, including Kit Harrington himself, were much more open about his fate. "He's dead." Harrington said in countless Late Show interviews. "He was stabbed 15 times in the heart," Nikolaj Coster-Waldu said on Jimmy Kimmel Live, "at the end of Season Five, he was dead."
Of course none of these answers were enough to satisfy the fandom. Everyone I talked to about the show seemed to have their own theory on Jon's return. Melisandre will use her magic to raise him. He will Warg into Ghost. He will be raised as a White Walker to lead a revenge war against the Nights Watch. Maybe he would just survive the stabbing and be fine. This theorizing alone made this premier very anticipated for fans of the show and books alike.
However it seems the wait will need to keep going a little longer. The cast was not lying when they said Jon was dead as he is clearly lying dead in the snow in our first shot this season. After hearing Ghost clawing and howling, Davos rushes down to find the dead Commander. Quickly knowing what had happened, he and a few of Jon's friends carry the body to a small room where they decide to hold out and contemplate their next move.
Meanwhile, Alistair Thorne professes to the men that he and their leaders are responsible for Jon's death, calling Jon a traitor to the Watch and their vows. Thorne claims that he has always been a loyal follower of Jon, but that the best thing to do for the Watch was to kill him. This logic felt very self-serving and backwards. Sure, Thorne had never directly disobeyed Jon, but he had actively worked against him from the start. Surely a man who justifies supporting the sacrifice of infant children to the White Walkers should not be citing the vows and Protecting Realms of Men for his actions.
With the actions of Thorne, and the overall reactions of the Nights Watch, it seems clear to me that the Watch has forgotten who their true enemy is. While they are justifying their hatred towards Free Folk and assassinate their leaders, the Whites march slowly south towards the clearly shattered and broken Watch. I doubt this abandonment of their traditions will be easily resolved. It is very possible that by the end of the season Westeros will no longer have a White Watch. If Jon is to return, he will most likely split the Watch down the middle and cause a violent confrontation for power.
Davos and Jon's few supporters are clearly outnumbered. In a direct fight, they would be killed nearly instantly. Their only way to survive is for Jon to return and cause a schism in the Watch. Surely a magically-revived leader will cause some debate among the group who has been fighting White Walkers. On top of this, Davos will need to get a message to the Wildlings that Jon saved. They are possibly the only people outside of their room that would side with Jon. A risen-from-the-dead Jon along with an army of Wildlings returned to Castle Black would shattered the Watch and devolve this stalemate into acion. The only way for Davos and Jon to escape is to use this chaos to their advantage. And the only one who can cause this chaos is Melisandre. The Red Woman. The title character of the episode.
However Mel is not the confident and dominating personality she was. After losing Stannis and Jon alike, Mel's faith in The Lord of Light is fading quickly. This is shown beautifully in her tragic shedding of her false beauty. As theorized by some fans online, Mel is much older than she appears. In the final scene of the episode, we see her strip down physically and emotionally. For the first time, we see that Mel's beautiful and seductive appearance is nothing but a facade. In reality, she is frail old woman, broken and crooked. Revealing her true self, removing her famous red wardrobe, and slowly falling into bed shows that Mel is a broken and shattered woman, abandoning her faith in the Light. Will she be able to find her connection to Rhllor again when Jon and Davos need her most? Or will He see her lose of faith as a betrayal and abandon her? Only time will tell as we wait the long week before returning to what was easily the best, most driving location of the episode.
WINTERFELL
At the end of Season Five, many of our main core characters were in the North. Sansa and Theon had just jumped off a Winterfell wall in a desperate escape. Brienne had just abandoned her post to hunt down and kill Stannis Baratheon. Ramsey Bolton had just lead a slaughtering of Stannis' few remaining loyal men, shattering the Baratheon claim to the Iron Throne for good.
We pick up not long after we left. Ramsey is meeting with Roose Bolton, his father, to talk about their next action. Roose is clearly displeased with his son, saying that his games with Theon and Sansa and ruined their plans for The North and the Iron Islands. I find it surprising that Roose, someone cunning enough to plan The Red Wedding, would leave such important people in the hands of his clearly unstable son. This seems like a massive underestimation done by Roose that is mostly out of character. On top of this, he seems to fully entrust Ramsey with finding Theon and Sansa, despite the fact that Ramsey is the one who had utterly failed to contain them.
Roose should be smarter than that and should be sending his own men, leading a large search. After all, without Sansa, the Boltons lose their claim to the North and lose their power over the Lannisters. Without Theon, they lose their power over the Greyjoys in the Iron Islands. Now, they would have nearly every other House in the Kingdoms against them with no power to play for themselves. It is possible that Roose anticipated this failure and is playing a bigger game, but for now I am disappointed with the way the writers have seemingly dumbed down one of the biggest antagonists in the series.
Outside Winterfell, Sansa and Theon are on a desperate run. When the Boltons catch up to them, Theon is ready to sacrifice himself for Sansa. Thankfully, the Great God of Coincidence sheds His convenient light upon Brienne again, because her and Pod rush in at the last second to get in a tense but fairly one-sided battle against the Bolton soldiers.
The first thing I noticed about this scene was Pod's sudden skill in battle. He is able to block and and attack against a Bolton soldier while riding a horse. Only a season ago, Pod could barely get a horse to go in the right direction. It seems that some of Brienne's greatness is rubbing off on Pod. Maybe she has been training him off screen? Either way, it is fun to see Pod holding his own and I hope we can get some more background on his increasing skill.
After the fighting, Brienne bows to Sansa, swearing her loyalty as she had to Catlyn Stark all those years ago. This time, Sansa accepts her oath, creating a team of multiple significant characters together, heading off together. This scene was perhaps the best of the episode, with Sansa struggling through the traditional vow she probably learned as a young girl in Winterfell to Brienne kneeling deep in the snow, pledging with the sword Jaime Lannister had entrusted her with.
The symbolism of the sword is very interesting. In the season four premier, Tywin Lannister melted down Ice, the Valeryian Steel sword that had been in the long line of Starks before Ned's death. Tywin melted this sword, symbolizing the ultimate shattering of the Stark family. However we know see that, even if it is shattered, the Stark family remains strong. The sword is also named Oathkeeper and it's name comes full circle as Brienne can finally keep the oath she swore to Cat way back in season two.
KINGS LANDING
Cersei, clearly back in some sort of position of power after her walk of shame, eagerly awaits the return of her brother Jaime and their daugher Marcella. She rushes out to greet them, a genuine smile across her face for the first time in perhaps the entire series. However this smile does not last long. In a very heartbreaking scene, she realizes that her daughter has been killed in Drone. All the hope that occupied her face quickly fades away and tears begin to fall down her cheeks.
She reflects on the prophecy of Maggy the Frog, shown via flashback last season. As Maggy predicted, yet antoher of Cersi's three children has died. Leaving only Tommen alive. Reunited with Jaime, they both swear to enact their revenge on those who had wronged him. "Fuck everyone who isn't us." Jaime says as he embraces his sister and lover.
In a short scene, we see Margery broken down and curled small in a cell, interrogated by the Faith Militant. They are hoping for her to confess to her sins, whatever they may be, and face her punishment. She refuses, but softens, perhaps teasing a break in the coming episode.
I am sure that Cersi will not take this death lightly and that her protective nature over Tommen will only tighten. With the powerful Robert Strong/The Mountain beside her, the Lannister revenge may be at hand. The Faith Militant still control the capitol, however, and with a strong stance against bastards and incest as well as the queen among their captives, they pose a great threat to King Tommen. As skilled as Jaime and The Mountain are, will they be powerful enough to take down the entire Faith, if it were to come to that? And how will the people react to seeing the peaceful leader they had come to follow slaughtered by the Lannisters?
For being the centerpiece location of the series, our time spent at Kings Landing this episode was very light. This was probably done to focus on the North, which actually contains many more significant characters than the Capitol at this point. I am sure we will see a lot of Kings Landing with Cersi there, but the focus of the series continues to expand. Not only North, but south to Dorne.
DORNE
In such a short and brief appearance, the stability of Dorne -and my interest in the storyline- still manages to go as far south as south can go. Prince Doran, the acting leader of Dorne, receives a letter about the death of Marcella. After a few seconds of shock at the news, he is assassinated by the Sand Snakes, who kill his loyal men and claim, "weak men will never rule Dorne again." Which I guess is true. Sadly, it will still be ruled by weak writing.
I always try to watch an adaptation as something stand alone, separated from its source material, but it is impossible not to compare the books to this TV series at times. The Dorne plot was a weaker aspect of A Feast for Crows, the book they are mostly drawn from, so it is hard for me to entirely blame the TV writers for this storyline, however the execution of their plot was the weakest aspect of Season Five, and it is clear from this rushed mess of a scene that we may be facing the same problems. As I've said, I read the books, but I still struggled to remember the names of these characters and their connections to each other. This was easily the weakest of the setting this episode. The assassination scene felt very rushed and we were not given any time to feel it's impact before it instantly cuts to other scenes.
On the positive side, this big shift in leadership could propel Dorne to take action and finally become relevant to the plot. Now that the revenge-fueled Sand Snakes have control, we could see the Lannisters facing another threat as they are still dealing with the troubles among their own.
ESSOS
Several scenes take place over a few locations in the East, all revolving vaguely around the disappearance of Danny. First, we see Tyrion and Varys walking through the streets of Mareen, talking through the problems they face there without Dany as a leader. Tyrion quips with Varys about his dicklessness and struggles through broken Valeryian by telling a beggar he wants to eat her baby. The scene turns to having some bigger importance when they see a Red Priest preaching to a crowd. This scene shows the people beginning to lose faith in Dany's return. Varys informs Tyrion that he is investigating into who may be leading the Sons of the Harpy, the cult of violent revolutionaries who had been causing major problems for Dany last season. All this exposition and recap is interrupted when the duo see smoke rising and rush to the coast to see their boats burning. "Looks like we're not going to Westeros any time soon," Tyrion says as the audience screams in desperation.
Obviously it is a little angering to see there is yet another barrier holding Dany across the Narrow Sea, but it is not too concerning as she has much more pressing problems to deal with. A more interesting question to ask is who burned the ships. The obvious answer is that it was the Sons of the Harpy in an attack against Dany, but I wonder if it could have been the people themselves. Right before the ships burning, we see a scene where a crowd gathers to hear a Red Priest talk of rebellion. As we know from Melisandre, the Lord of Light and his followers love to use fire as a form of expression. We even saw Mel burning the idols of the gods in Season Two's premier as an act of rebellion against the old ways. Could this ship burning have also been an act of faith in Rhollar? Probably not, but I think it could be an interesting turn.
In our second scene in the East, Jorah and Darrio search for Dany. After talking about and addressing the tension between them and their feelings for Dany, they find a ring of turn grass and a piece of Dany's wardrobe, concluding that she had been captured by Dothraki. There is not much to dig into from this scene except that Darrio is clearly aware of Jorah's feelings for Dany and that he is not yet aware of Jorah's affliction with Greyscale. How this relationship blooms as they make their way towards Vaas Dothrak could be interesting.
The biggest Eastern scene is Dany, captured by a Dothrak Khalasar. She is not recognized, overhearing the riders talking about the brutal ways they wish they could assault her. When she is presented to Khal Moro, she reveals herself as the Khalisi to Khal Drogo, seemingly thinking it will get her freedom. However Moro reveals to her that, as a widowed Khalisi, she must be taken to Vaas Dothrak to live out her days in mourning. I find it very unbelievable that Dany did not know about this custom as she learned a lot about the Dothraki ways while she was Khalisi. Perhaps she was hoping that Moro would ignore this tradition, or maybe she was just buying herself time to be rescued. However the direction of the scene and the look on her face seem to imply that she was not aware, which seems fairly out of character for someone who still prides herself by her Khalisi name, years after losing her Khal.
BRAVOS
Our final plotline is a short scene involving Arya in Bravos. She is still blinded after her confrontation last season, and is now begging on the streets. She is approached by a Faceless Man, wearing the familiar appearance of the girl who had tormented her in the House of Black and White. The girl beats Arya effortlessly with the staff, taunting her. When Arya has taken enough hits, the girl tells her she will be back tomorrow. Arya must begin to train once again if she is to be accepted back as a Faceless Man.
The most interesting thing in this scene was that Arya had been banished by the Faceless Men. I was not sure if they would truly kick her out or if they would want to keep her in the House and continue her training from the start, I think her return to the Faceless one way or another is inevitable after so much set up, so I wonder what means she will take to return to them. I theorize that the only way she will be able to see if when she is in the appearance of someone else. So the only way she can be full again is by truly abandoning Arya Stark. But will she?
WHAT I LOVED
- Cersi and Jaime. This was a great scene reuniting two characters who have changed tremendously over the course of the series. Together again with united goals, the Lannisters could really be a force to be reckoned with once again.
- Davos on the Wall. Davos took a true position of leadership among Jon's loyalists. His quick reactions is the only reason they are still alive and the only reason Jon's return has potential.
WHAT I LIKED
- Brienne reunited with Sansa. While their paths crossing was a glaring coincidence and Pod's increased battle skills seem sudden, the scene with Brienne's oath to Sansa is really well done and carries a lot of interesting symbolic weight teasing a potential return of positive outcomes to the Starks.
- Tyrion in Mareen. This scene was fairly unimportant and probably could have been cut for bigger things, but I enjoyed seeing Tyrion's turn towards optimism. The Red Priest's presence in Mareen poses interesting potential and I am looking forward to Tyrion being in a position of power once again as his political maneuverings in Season Two were exciting and satisfying.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
- Dany and the Dorthaki. The scene had good moments, but overall I found it very strange to watch. Khal Moro, who it seems we are to take seriously as a leader, runs through a sort of stand up comedy routine with his brothers, which makes him seem sort of silly and weak. I also found it hard to believe that Dany thought she could get away by crying Khalisi. Perhaps her true motives will be revealed in the future.
- The lack of Bran. If you watched the preview for next week or the trailers released over the last month or so, you know that Bran Stark is returning to the show. Many viewers would probably read that name and struggle to remember who that is. Last time we saw Bran, he was far North in a cave with the Three Eyed Raven and the Children of the Forest. You can't be blamed for forgetting that, though, because that was in the finale of Season FOUR, A scene with Bran setting up his big future in the story at the end would have given not only an exciting tease for the future but a reminder that he even exists. Old Mel was a cool reveal, but something involving Bran and magic would have been a much bigger hook.
WHAT I HATED
- Dorne. This was a weak aspect of last season and the weakest aspect of this premier. I was hoping for a better execution of these characters this season (maybe even a fan-favorite monologue from the book) but in a quick scene they managed to kill my expectations. I don't rule out the potential for a cool plot in the future, especially now that the Sand Snakes have taken control, but as I watched two one-note characters kill someone with 30 seconds of screen time total, all while giving weird one-liner quips back and forth, I wondered if I would even care.
- The overall editing. This was a crowded episode and was cut short with a 5+ minute recap, leaving only about 45 minutes of footage in a series that usually gets about an hour. Many scenes felt rushed and sloppy and we were rarely given the time to process or react to what was happening before we were cut to another entirely separate storyline. This was a similar problem in Season Five's finale and I am hopeful that the pacing and focus can recover in the future.
MY PREDICTIONS
A fair warning. I will not be relying on or referencing any spoilers or leaks in my predictions. I will only be going off officially released information including titles, the post-episode teaser, and the official trailers released leading up to the season. I will also not reference directly to any book-only content. That does not mean I might correctly predict something that does end up happening. So if you wanted to go in to this series completely open, avoid this section.
Next week's episode is called Home. It's written by David and Dan and directed by Jeremy Podeswa. This combo also gave us the premier. From the teaser, we see that it finally does reintroduce Bran. And features appearances by most of the major characters.
My prediction is that it opens with a vision from Bran, fueled by the Three Eyed Raven. Perhaps a flashback to younger characters or to Jon dead. Bran will wake up startled, as seen in the teaser, and we will be treated to a recap of what in the seven hells he has been up to for the last season. This may be a Bran-heavy episode as we have not seen him in some time. We will probably get a glimpse in to his training and a layout of what his mission or goals are. I believe his ultimate purpose will be to resurrect Jon Snow through the power of the Old Gods. This would explain the big delay in his progress because the producers knew what his next actions would be. We have not seen him for a while, so it will be important to make his return seem significant.
In the North, we will see a more proactive Ramsey, desperate to make up for his mistakes and save himself. He will claim to know Sansa will head to Jon at the wall and propose a march North towards it to capture her. Meanwhile at the wall itself, Davos' desperation will hit a new height and he will struggle to get along with Mel, who has been his foil from the start. Mel will feel defeated and it will be up to Davos to reassure her of her faith.
Sansa and Brienne will probably do as Ramsey believes and go to the wall. The trailer makes it seem possible that they will look for Aya, but I do not think this will happen as Brienne has completely no idea where Arya could be.
Tyrion and Varys will need to make big moves to maintain peace in Mareen as civil unrest rises. In the teaser we see Tyrion visit the dragons. I am not quite sure why he would do this. Maybe he attempts to release one in order to mislead the people into thinking that Dany is back. Or perhaps he thinks that the dragon will be able to find their mother.
Margery will confess something incriminating against Cersi, which is why the Sparrows are moving against her and Jaime in the teaser. Perhaps they will discover the incest between the siblings and attempt retribution.
We will probably see the early introduction of some of the Greyjoy storyline left over from Feast for Crows, but I will avoid talking about that for those who have not read the book.
I do not think we will see Dany this episode.
Well, there are my long-winded thoughts on the premier of Season Six of Game of Thrones. I do not know if I will keep them this long because I doubt you guys will want to read all of this every week. And we will probably get smaller episodes in the future.
Either way, let me know what you think in the comments or on Facebook. This is my first post on here, so I would really appreciate feedback of any kind on how I can make this better.
