Firstly I would like to apologise for not posting this last week, it was snowing here at the start of May and just as the sun started to shine again I got the flu. We could blame the weather all day long but it's my own fault for not checking the weather reports and being out during a blizzard. But I decided to write this anyway as it was halfway done (If this wasn't so detailed it would have been done by now) and it will be a nice refresher to you all who have yet to see last nights episode.
Moving on from that, I loved this episode so much I watched it twice, but if you haven't watched it yet then be warned SPOILERS ARE COMING! Ok now you've been warned so venture on at your own peril!
Under the Weirwood
We start off this episode with a look at what Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) has been up too since we last saw way back in Season Four. Under the Weirwood is as dark and creepy as I remember but Bloodraven (Max Von Sydow) has had a haircut and a shave since we last saw him. Both these characters have warged into the great Weirwood Network and are currently visiting the Winterfell of old.
We see a young Ned Stark (Sebastian Croft) sparring with his younger brother Benjen (Matteo Elezi), Ned then holds Benjens face and tells him to keep his shield up, this scene is pretty much identical to the first episode of season five when Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is training Olly (Brenock O'Connor).
The similarities don't stop there however, Bran and Bloodraven are standing in the spot where Ned (Sean Bean) and Catelyn (Michelle Fairley) stand and watch Bran train in the show's very first episode. Lyanna (Cordelia Hill) the appears in the courtyard on horseback showing off in front of her brothers. Bran mentions that his father never mentions Lyanna and then he goes down to the courtyard for a closer look.
Lyanna wants Benjen to spar with Willas (Sam Coleman), for a second we think she is talking about Bran, but then we see that she is talking to the stable boy. It turns out that Willas is the younger version of Hodor and that at one point he could actually talk. I've been wondering what had happened to him since I read this in the book and I don't have any answers, but maybe Hodor's story is much more important than we know.
Old Nan (Annette Tierney) appears to keep young Willas away from sparring. Bloodraven wants Bran to leave this memory, Bran wants to stay a little longer, so Bloodraven has to forcibly remove Bran himself. Bran isn't very happy when this happens but Bloodraven has a similar attitude about going under to that of the deceased Jojen Reed (Thomas Brodie-Sangster).
Bran talks to Hodor (Kristian Nairn) about what he saw and then goes outside to talk to Meera (Ellie Kendrick). She seems to be bothered as she is currently spending most of her time watching Bran's eyes roll, Bran tries to comfort her but this doesn't work so he and Hodor go back inside. Leaf (Kae Alexander) also tries to talk to Meera, telling her that Bran won't be stuck here forever, do the Children of the Forest plan to go south?
Kings Landing
This guy, who has drunk way more than his fair share of ale, is bragging to anyone who will listen about flashing his man parts to Cersei (Lena Headey) as she was being shamed naked through the streets of King's Landing. The drunk guy goes and relieves himself in a nearby alleyway, midstream Ser Robert Strong (Hafþór JúlÃus Björnsson) shows up behind the drunk guy, he turns around and pees on Ser Roberts boots and before we know it the drunk guys head has been bashed into the wall and he is lying dead on the floor.
Ser Robert then shows up to escort Cersei to Myrcella's (Nell Tiger Free) funeral, however they are stopped by a bunch of Lannister guards as they make there way down the stairs. King Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) has ordered them to keep Cersei away from the funeral, there is a little stand off but Cersei stands off eventually. I feel that if this was a few season ago then Cersei would have cut off all their heads for disobeying her, maybe it was just because they were Lannister guards and she might need them in the long run, but it was kinda nice seeing Cersei not want to cut off everyone's heads for once.
Tommen and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) are looking at Myrcella's body, Jaime is trying to get Tommen to go and visit his mother. Tommen is whining about not being strong enough to take back his mother and his wife from the wicked faith militant, but Jaime manages to talk him around his shame and he sends Tommen off.
The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) then appears and he and Jaime have a bit of a stand off, I liked this scene very much as Jaime does poke holes in the hypocrisy of the faith. Jaime has done a lot of bad things and they certainly aren't throwing the Commander of the King's Guard in the cells below the sept. He calls in his Sparrows as Jaime unsheathed his weapon, they are pretty far away and would not be able to save the High Sparrow but as he quite clearly points out if Jaime kills him then they are close enough to kill Jaime.
Tommen goes to apologise to Cersei for not tearing down the Great Sept in order to save her from the Faith Militant's clutches. He apologises for him letting them parade her along the streets of King's Landing naked and accompanied by the bell of shame. At first Cersei seems cold and annoyed but eventually she forgives him, which again is totally unlike her but I suppose she just has a soft spot for Lannisters. Who knew right?
Meeren
Last season I would groan whenever I saw during the titles that we were getting Meeren in the titles but this is no longer the case. Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) is one of my favorite characters (alongside Arya and Jon) and the thought of him ruling Meeren and fixing many of it's problems (alongside Varys) so that we can eventually get the hell out of Slaver's Bay has brought new life into this dull, dry and frankly annoying storyline. Don't hate me too much, I absolutely love Dany (Khaleesi) and I get her motives for sticking around but my god let's just kill the Harpy already and free Meeren once and for all (same goes for you George).
Meeren was pretty great this episode, Tyrion just lands himself in it with Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) during a council meeting, when he makes a joke about Varys' (Conleth Hill) not having any male genitalia. Tyrion is concerned about the two dragons, Viserion and Rhaegal, who are chained up below the Great Pyramid.
Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) tells the council that the dragons have not eaten anything since Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) left. Tyrion stresses how bad it is for Dragons to be kept in captivity by showing the link between the size of the great dragons of Aemon the Conqueror and the last generation of dragons who died a hundred years ago who were no bigger than cats. He tells them that he will unchain the dragons as they are intelligent and will not see him as a threat,
Tyrion and Varys go down to the pit where the dragons are kept in chains, Varys stays at the door as Tyrion descends down the staircase. He slowly walks up to the dragons and at one moment we think that Tyrion is about to become dinner but we then see that Tyrion was correct, Dragons are intelligent. Tyrion tells them a story about his name day when he was very young, he tells them that he wanted one of them for his birthday, it could even be a small one like him.
Tyrion then tells them how much the others laughed at him for suggesting this, the last Dragon had died over a hundred years earlier but who is laughing now? He frees the Dragons from their chains and they seem to have begun to cheer up a little, maybe that wild speculative theory could have some merit, or maybe they are just happy to be unchained.
Braavos
The Blind Girl has been getting the crap kicked out of her in that street again, does no one in Braavos care at all about this little blind girl getting beaten up. I love Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), she is actually my favorite character, possibly as I can be a bit of a tomboy too. But this story is just a bit slow and I get why it has to be, Arya's fighting style has been getting a little bit better, especially when compared to the last episode.
I literally wrote two points when I was watching the first one about the fighting and the second was that a girl has no name and is not a beggar anymore. I love badass Arya, I don't care how crazy it gets (and I'm sure she's going to do some dark stuff before the series is over) but Braavos was so slow last season and I feel that we are right back to square one.
Winterfell
Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) is visiting his father Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton) along with the new Lord of the Karstarks, Ramsay wants to kill Jon Snow (Kit Harington) but Roose tells him that they can't just kill the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. The Maester interrupts them and tells them that Lady Walda (Elizabeth Webster) has gave Roose a new heir, and the baby is what Ramsay has been dreading, a boy.
Ramsey then does something really out of character, he congratulates and hugs his father after hearing the news. Roose tells him that he will always be his firstborn but Ramsay stabs him with the dagger (that was strapped to his back this whole time) and orders the Maester to tell everyone that Roose was poisoned by his enemies before he sends him to get Walda and his new brother.
Walda and the baby meet Ramsay outside in the Winterfell courtyard where Ramsay gets to creepily hold his little brother for the first time. Walda is expecting to see her husband as he is Lord Bolton, so Ramsay plays along and leads her into the Kennels.
Walda begins to get scared when Ramsay locks the door and keeps asking for her husband as Ramsay slowly opens the kennel cages. Ramsay then tells her that he is Lord Bolton now, Walda pleds with Ramsay, but he calls in the dogs anyway but thankfully we didn't get to see what they actually do to her.
Sansa (Sophie Turner) is in the woods making camp with Brienne (Gwendoline Christie), Podrick (Daniel Portman), and Theon (Alfie Allen). Sansa won't talk about Winterfell so Brienne tells her about her run in with Arya, but Brienne fails to mention that she was with The Hound (Rory McCann) when she met her. They spoke about Arya's well being and the fact that she didn't dress or act much like a Lady. Sansa seemed to be really happy in this moment, their is hope that another member of her family that she had written off as dead is actually alive.
Theon is having much of a nice time though as he is arguing with Podrick about lighting a fire. He goes off in a bad mood and Sansa runs off after him. Theon is scared that Ramsay will find them because of the fire, and explains the importance of this as he has decided to leave Sansa in the capable hands of Brienne and Podrick.
Sansa doesn't want him to leave, Theon explains that Jon will either kill him if he goes to the wall or he'll become a member of the Night's Watch and these are two fates which he doesn't deserve. He will never stop making up for what he has done to her family, he thinks he deserves a fate worse than death, and for this he has to go back home.
Iron Islands
Balon Greyjoy (Patrick Malahide) is arguing with his daughter Yara (Gemma Whelan) as she wants to abandon the war (remember one of the five Kings is still alive) to save her people from more bloodshed. Balon will not listen to her and orders her to obey her King. The comparison between the two couldn't be more apparent during this exchange, and we see how good a leader that Yara could potentially be.
Balon leaves the room and starts to walk over a rope bridge (this is when book Emma got excited), the storm is a pretty bad one but I suppose that is nothing for the Ironborn. While he walks over the bridge we see that a dark cloaked figure is at the other end of the bridge.
Is this a faceless man? No it is Balon's brother Euron (Pilou Asbæk), he is a bit of a potential Joffrey character, we find out during the exchange that Euron strapped himself to his sails during a bad storm, and after it he cut out the tongues of his crew. Euron seems like a bit of a loose cannon and then he kills his brother by throwing him the bridge (lot of Brother killing in this episode).
Yara is talking to the Maester after Balon's funeral, she talks to the Maester about her father's death and swears on the Seastone chair that she will avenge him. The Maester reminds Yara that she hasn't got the throne yet, and that she knows fine well that a Kingsmoot (KINGSMOOT!) must be held to determine who rules the Iron Islands. Will she be the first woman in history to rule the Ironborn? We'll just have to wait and see.
The Wall
Ser Alliser (Owen Teale) and the rest of the Night's Watch are outside of the room waiting on Davos to surrender, Ser Alliser tells them that Ghost will be set free in the North and they will be pardoned as he has crossbows pointed at the room door from every possible angle so we all know that this is all lies. Davos apologises for what he is about to do and take out Longclaw. The rest of the Night's Watch in the room follow suit and we wait as the Night's Watch outside are ordered to break down the door.
However we don't see Ghost rip out any throats or Davos in action, instead we hear a long banging noise at the gate. It's Wun Wun (Ian Whyte) the Giant as the rips through the gates, we see Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and the rest of the wildlings emerge to take on the Night's Watch. It is pointless as their are so many wildlings so most of them back down.
Ser Alliser however call's them all cowards and possibly by mistake or false courage a crow fires his crossbow at Wun Wun. As Wun Wun turns to face him the member of the Night's Watch begins to look terrified as he is picked up and has his head smashed against a wall (a lot of head smashing this episode too) and throws him towards Ser Alliser who at this point has now backed down.
Dolorous Edd (Ben Crompton) has the traitors thrown in the cells but Olly (Brenock O'Connor) isn't having it and tries to attack. He is swiftly handled with and makes his way to the cells along with the other traitors.
Melisandre (Carice van Houten) is looking pretty depressed when Davos comes to talk to her, she is having a big crisis of faith and her confidence is shattered. Davos wants to know if she can bring Jon back to life, Melisandre spoke of her time with Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye) and how he had brought back Beric Dondarrion (Richard Dormer) from the dead several times. She however believes it couldn't be possible but Davos (ever the atheist) convinces her that it is worth at least a try.
Melisandre listens to Davos and tries to bring back Jon as Davos, Edd and Tormund look on. She washes him (is it weird that they are watching her wash him), cuts his hair off (#hairwatch) and starts saying the old words over and over again as she places her hairs on his torso.
She pleads with the Red God asking him to please bring Jon back but nothing seems to be happening, Tormund has seen enough and walks out of the room, and Edd shorty follows. Again Melisandre looks utterly defeated, she gives up and leaves the room. Davos however sticks round a little bit longer and the camera starts to focus on Ghost who is quite happily sleeping in the corner.
Davos has one last look at Jon, leaves the room and shuts the door. The camera then slowly zooms into the sleeping direwolf who seems to know that something is about to happen and looks up towards Jon's body. The camera again slowly zooms in on Jon Snow and then we see Jon come back to life, yay finally hope is not yet lost.
My Thoughts and Predictions
Overall I really liked this episode, yes it was obvious that Melisandre was going to bring Jon back but it's also pretty obvious that it will also happen in the books and I am happy that one of many fan theories are actually pretty true. Do I think Jon was in Ghost? On the show no but I did like that it took the Ghost waking in for Jon to wake up but as I said I think he was sensing what is yet to come but we may still see Jon warg in the future.
I've really started to sound as if I am on Cersei's side, I'd like to clarify that I haven't forgotten what Cersei has done to countless people these last few seasons, but I will praise her for not acting like a complete psychopath and burning everyone to the ground just yet. I am sure by the end of this season Cersei will go full blown Mad King and kill everyone but as of now she seems to not be as rational as she once was.
I really enjoyed Bran's storyline in this episode, I was kinda geeking out a little when we got to see a young Lyanna Stark as she is the reason for Robert's Rebellion. It was also nice to see Winterfell as it once was and it felt like a nice little trip down memory lane to times that were less bloody. I am enjoying Max Von Sydow as Bloodraven even if he did get a haircut.
Ramsay is a maniac and I think killing his father has possibly put the first nail in Ramsay's coffin. I think some houses may support him but the majority of houses may now stand up to him now that his father is no longer there to protect him. Maybe we'll see a similar Ramsay arch to that of Cersei last season, maybe not exactly the same but I think he might be just getting a little bit too big for his britches, just you wait until Walder Frey get's wind of what he did (two birds, one stone).
I've said all I can just now about Braavos for now, the Iron Island's scenes where a great book service to a possible theory about Balon's death so I can't complain other than to say what took them so long. The Kingsmoot is going to be an event to see.
All images courtesy of HBO
Comments
Post a Comment