Games of Thrones & the Women of Westeros 6/6 & 6/7
“Blood of My Blood” rewards the just and riles us up for battle, then “The Broken Man” comes along to punish the good and cast us into misery. Basically, Game of Thrones happened.
Previously…
Yes, I am still playing catch-up with this show. My day job (which mostly happens at night) is singing and people like me, like DJs, like catering waitstaff are all in the middle of the waking nightmare we call wedding season. But I previously went into a double recap of the last two here, where I was left crying over Hodor’s futile existence.
In a nutshell…
“Blood of My Blood”
Meera is dragging Bran through the snow all by herself while Bran is white-eyed, his mind tripping through time at high speed (I had to keep pausing to see it all: his own fall from the tower, the Night King changing the baby, his mother dying, the battle at Hardhome, his father’s death, wildfire bombs, explosions, Dany and her dragons, Aegon screaming “burn them all,” Jaime killing Aegon, a bloody hand, Robb’s death, the battle at The Wall, the Night King marking him, and lots of ravens flapping their wings). They are being chased by a horde of ice zombies. She finally loses strength and breaks down sobbing just as Bran stops tripping. He rightly guesses “they found us” and they embrace as the horde surrounds them. But a man rides in out of nowhere with a flaming flail and takes every last one of the undead out and puts them on his horse and rides off.
We join Sam and Gilly traveling to his home. Sam is nervous and reminds us his father forced him into renouncing his title and joining The Night’s Watch because he’s a total dillhole.
He tells Gilly she has to pretend Little Sam is definitely his and that she is not a Wildling because his father is also a racist. Luckily, we meet his mother and sister, Melessa and Talla, first and they are delightful.
Even Little Sam loves them. “You’ll be a scholar, like your father.” Aw! At least someone’s proud of poor Sam. Talla dresses Gilly in a fancy dress and hairdo and it’s rather adorable, how much Sam loves seeing her all dolled up for dinner.
As for that dinner, it’s the worst. His father, Randyll, belittles him and shames him for being fat and bookish until Gilly is moved to defend him, to tell them he killed a Thenn and a White Walker, that he saved her life, also to tell him that she’s a Wildling.
Randyll rants about Wildlings and calls her a whore and points out the family sword that should have been Sam’s except his father forced him out. Sam’s mother angrily leaves the table, taking Gilly and Tarla with her. His father tells Sam Gilly can work in the kitchen and “the bastard” will be raised there.
Later, Sam takes leave of Gilly, who is still mad at the injustice of horrible people treating good people badly. They kiss and Gilly bolsters him (“You’re not what he thinks you are, Sam. He doesn’t know what you are.”) before he leaves her… then he comes back pretty much right away for her and Little Sam. He says they’re all going to Oldtown, and takes his family’s sword to boot. Go Sam!
Incidentally, that’s Freddie Stroma (Unreal, the Harry Potter franchise) playing Sam’s brother. I think, with them having cast someone so recognizable, this won’t be the last we’ll see of the other Tarlys.
In King’s Landing, Tommen and The Sparrow are talking about Margaery’s progress and he finally lets Tommen see her. Margaery commits to the same bit she was using with The Sparrow with Tommen, talking about her newfound piety and how she loves The Sparrow and how vain she used to be.
In Braavos, the play-within-a-play gives us Joffrey’s death and Tyrion’s villainy to Arya’s delight, though she is moved by Lady Crane’s performance. Backstage, she reluctantly goes through with poisoning the actress’ rum, then Crane comes in and talks to her, accuses her of being back there to watch the play for free, not that she’s mad.
Arya says the play would be crap without her, that she should change her final speech to reflect the rage Cersei might feel. Lady Crane invites her to join the players, but Arya just leaves, looking ashamed. Lady Crane starts to talk to the writer about her crappy lines (he’s a douche about it) when Arya knocks the poisoned rum from her hands, tells her to watch out for the Sansa actress, then runs out.
I knew it! I knew she wouldn’t go through with it! Unfortunately, The Waif has been spying and she tattles on Arya to Not!Jaqen. Jaqen tells The Waif “don’t let her suffer.” Meanwhile, Arya finds Needle and looks awfully determined.
In King’s Landing, it’s nearly time for Margaery to be marched naked through the streets. The Tyrell army’s incompetent leader, Mace, gives the worst battle speech ever (as Jaime rolls his eyes) before they march right into the middle of The Sparrow’s big speech, demands they free the queen and Loras. The Sparrow insists they are all there at the behest of the gods. The Sparrow starts to say he would willingly die in service of the gods, then suddenly says there will be no bloodshed and no walk.
Olenna side-eyes him hard. He says Margaery has already atoned by converting Tommen. Margaery and Tommen link hands as The Sparrow and Tommen announce the holy alliance between the crown and the faith. The marriage of church and state, eh? That always goes well and doesn’t lead to holy wars, oppression, or female subjugation like ever.
In the throne room, Tommen takes his uncle/father Jaime to task for attacking the faith, tells him he won’t be serving the crown in the city any longer. He’s being sent to The Riverlands to help the Freys take Riverrun. He whines to Cersei, who tells him to lead the army and leave her to be defended in her upcoming trial by combat by the Undead Mountain. Cersei vows their revenge will totally still happen, which prompts much incestuous making out.
Over at House Frey, Argus Filch… I mean, Walder is berating his sons for not holding Riverrun, with the Tullys taking the house again. He has them bring Edmure Tully (the groom of The Red Wedding himself) out in chains, tells them to use him to bargain. And I just realized Edmure is Frank/Black Jack Randall from Outlander!
In the north, Bran and Meera’s savior reveals himself to be working with The Raven, then also to be Uncle Benjen Stark (more on that in notes). He said he was stabbed by a White Walker, but The Children stopped him becoming a full ice zombie. He makes a weird blood tea (I guess?) and tells Bran he must become ready to meet The Night King again.
Then we end up in the desert with Dany, Daario, and the khalassar. Daario, full of his new awe for her, tells Dany he doesn’t see her sitting on a throne in a palace, that she’s a conqueror. She sees something in the distance and rides off, then comes back on Drogon! She makes a specch to the khalassar in Dothraki that… I mean, here it is:
Every khal who ever lived chose three blood riders to fight beside him and guard his way. But I am not a khal. I will not choose three blood riders. I choose you all.
The crowd goes wild!
I will ask more of you than any khal has ever asked of his khalassar! Will you ride the wooden horses across the black salt sea?
Loud cheering!
Even more loud cheering!
They are super into it. So am I. But I’m an easier sell.
“The Broken Man”
We open on my favorite babysitter and yours, The Hound! He’s not dead!
You sure are, sir, and we love you for it. He’s building a sept with some poor villagers for this grassroots septon named Ray in a pastoral scene that is way too peaceful to last on this show. The Sparrow might have tainted my idea of the faith of The Seven, but Ray is simple and kind in real way, not outwardly pious in that showboaty way the Sparrow is, not pretending he has all the answers as to what the correct religion of Westeros is. He just knows there’s something “greater than us” out there and he wants to be a part of it. He’s likable, and on this show, so we can just count the minutes to his death.
Anyway, he and The Hound have an exposition-heavy conversation about how Ray found The Hound hanging onto life, though he should be dead, how that must mean the gods have plans for him. The Hound also very matter-of-factly reminds us that it was a woman who cut him down, and not even in a douchey, butthurt way like any other man might have. I can’t hide it anymore, you guys (like I’ve been hiding it). I love The Hound and I want to see him cut his way through all the baddies.
In King’s Landing, Margaery is quoting scripture to The Sparrow like a good little actress, dressed all simply. The Sparrow, nosy bastard, says he knows she hasn’t been in bed with Tommen since her release and tells her she has to get on getting that heir, then tells her he hopes he can fix her grandmother, too.
Oooh! You leave her alone! Still, Margaery goes to Olenna with Septa Nasty and puts on a big show of kindly telling her she’s a sinner and that Loras needs to live his life as a penitent. She tells her grandmother she needs to return home and secretly slips her a note.
It’s a drawing of their house sigil, a rose, but Olenna knows what it means. This show needs to go on a bit longer, but Margaery wants to protect her. Cersei goes to see Olenna before she leaves, reminding her that her grandson is still in prison. Olenna reminds Cersei that everything up to The Sparrow and Pals taking over the crown is all because of her. Cersei wants her to stay and fight with her.
She’s leaving before The Sparrow jails her, too. “You’ve lost, Cersei. It’s the only joy I can find in all this misery.”
Beyond The Wall, Jon and Tormund are trying to convince the remaining Wildlings to join their fight to win Winterfell. Jon tells them, if Bolton wins, they are as good as dead because no one else will stand up for them. Tormund hammers in the Jon=Jesus of it all with “he died for us.” The Giant Wun-Wun joins and that seems to convince the rest.
In the Riverlands, Jaime, a whining Bronn, and friends join The Freys and their incompetent siege. They are trying to threaten Edmure in exchange for Blackfish yielding the castle, reminding them how they killed his niece (poor Catelyn! I’m sad you’re not Lady Stoneheart right now), but The Blackfish won’t give. Jaime comes up and tells them to feed and bathe Edmure, slapping one Frey with his golden hand, and taking over the siege.
Jaime gets let in to talk terms with The Blackfish. Jaime asks him to surrender, saying they’ll spare them. Blackfish reminds Jaime of his old nickname, Oathbreaker, having killed his king. He’s not giving in. Blackfish says they have an unbreakable fortress and food to hole up for two years. He only let him in to meet the famous Kingslayer.
Then the best thing happens. We meet Lady Lyanna Mormont (named for Lyanna Stark), Ser Jeor’s niece, Ser Jorah’s cousin and the current head of House Mormont of Bear Island. Also, she’s ten.
Sansa tries to flatter her with how pretty she is, Jon tries to flatter her with how brave her uncle was, but Lyanna’s there to talk business. She’s pledged to the Starks, but she lost her family fighting for Robb Stark. She doesn’t want to sacrifice her soldiers for Jon, who is not a Stark, but a Snow, and Sansa, who has been married to a Bolton and a Lannister. Sansa heatedly says she did what she had to do to survive, but she will always be a Stark. Jon tells her they have to save Rickon, but she’s still not buying.
Davos, who has a soft spot for smart little girls (when will he learn about Shireen? I’d hate to see it, but he deserves to know!), gets on her level. He says he understands being thrust into tough positions and being given hard responsibilities, but this war is bigger than any of the houses. “The dead are coming.” Jon confirms the White Walkers are coming. They need to reunite the North to fight them. She re-pledges her allegiance and pledges her soldiers… all sixty-two of them.
It’s pretty disappointing, but Davos barely blinks. “If they’re half as ferocious as their lady, then the Boltons are doomed.” I love everything about this scene!
Jon and Sansa then go to House Glover, but with less success, as The Boltons helped the Glovers fight off the Iron Islands. He also doesn’t want to fight beside Wildlings. Sansa questions his honor, but he says he lost enough men to Robb’s cause, while Robb didn’t aid him in his time of need.
In Volantis, we get our quick moment with the Greyjoys. Theon is surrounded by what used to be his favorite thing, prostitutes, and no longer able to enjoy them. Yara is, though. Looks like Show Yara is a little bit gay (Book Yara AKA Asha, not so much, according to GRRM, but the internet is greatly enjoying this development). Anyway, Theon still hates himself for his past crimes.
Yara takes a break from fondling naked ladies of the night and gives Theon an epic speech with much forced drinking, telling him to kill himself now if he’s going to continue to act like a “beaten dog,” but that if he stays, they’ll get the Dragon Queen’s alliance and take back their home. He gets on board. She goes to enjoy some lady loving while Theon stews and Buzzfeed rejoices.
At Camp Stark/Snow, they all bemoan their lack of men, but Davos hopes they have a chance. Sansa says they need more, they need to wait, but Jon says they can’t waste any more time. Sansa sends a raven to… someone.
Somewhere in The Riverlands, Septon Ray is talking about his checkered and criminal past to his devotees with the message that his shame drove him to use the time he has left to help people, eyeing The Hound as he says it’s never too late to be a force for good. Some rogue Brotherhood without Banners types come around to see if the people have any valuables or food, which they don’t, then leave without much fuss, The Hound eyeing them suspiciously, then warning Ray about those red god followers. The other Brotherhood guys weren’t so bad, really (despite being red-godists or Rhlorrists, if you will), pledging to protect the against thieves and rapists, but I suppose there’s been a change in the guard, considering what’s coming.
In Braavos, we finally see Arya, who finds some Westerosi sailors and teases them with her two bags of gold, telling them they’ll sail at sunrise with her, then staring out at the sea in possible joyful anticipation. We all know how this is gonna go. No one gets an easy out in this show. An old woman approaches her and she lets her guard down only to find it’s The Waif.
She stabs her three times in the gut, making sure to twist the knife hard. Arya tosses herself into the water, then crawls out further away, staring at everyone around her as she bleeds out, not sure which of them could be The Waif as she staggers around, losing blood.
Later, The Hound is out chopping wood when he hears screaming in the distance. He comes back to the unfinished sept to find everyone slaughtered, and Septon Ray hanging from it, something I think we all knew was coming.
Yes! I mean… No. That’s all horrible, but I really want to see The Hound slice up some baddies. I’m not heartless, I swear, just bloodthirsty.
The Women of Westeros…
I love her so much right now. I love that she couldn’t betray her sense of right and wrong, in the end. As much as Arya has seen and done, there’s a part of her that remains untouched. Even going back to her last moments with The Hound, there was justice in her walking away. Sure, killing him would have been a mercy (her latest name!) at that moment, but I think she also couldn’t bring herself to end his life when she’d come to respect him. There was cruelty in that moment, but also Arya’s humanity shining through. He might die and it might be painful, but she wouldn’t be the one to do it after how he’d protected her and taught her to fight. I think she is the one character, out of everyone, whose death could make me quit this show. Her journey has been too momentous for it to end so abruptly here. So I don’t think she’ll be dying from her wounds.
I had been going back and forth on whether The Waif is just another face or the true face of a trainee at The House. I’m now positive she’s a rival trainee now and also that she envies Arya or she wouldn’t be so eager to take Arya out. In that way, she kind of fails at her chosen Faceless path. You aren’t supposed to want things, after all, and The Waif is just a little too bloodthirsty for that game. Not!Jaqen said to make it quick and painless and she made sure not only to unmask herself, but to twist that knife. Fail, Waif!
No matter how many times that girl falls, she gets up stronger. Her ability to adapt and conquer is awe inspiring. But there is this part of me that wonders if we should be cheering. In Bran’s vision, they show Daenerys and her dragons, but also her father, AKA The Mad King Aerys, ready to kill all of his own people. The Targaryen line (possibly due to too much inbreeding) ended up with some crazies in it. I’m not saying Dany is one of them. She has a pretty strong moral center being anti-rape, anti-slavery, having more sympathy for the downtrodden than most royals. But she is also ruthless and not much for diplomacy. Could she end up bad for Westeros in the end? I guess we’ll see.
This wasn’t a huge Sansa storyline, but I am still enjoying determined, bitter Sansa. As for that letter, it’s totally going to Littlefinger or she wouldn’t be so secretive about it.
I love her. I love her so much! I’ve loved her since before we met her, when she sent Stannis that sneering message denying her support. She’s competing with Olenna as character most likely to make me squeal with glee every time she speaks!
The book makes it clear Bran has feelings for Meera, but the show hasn’t shown us anything in that direction up till now. I’m trying to decide if Meera’s cradling of Bran is romantic or just her clinging to the only familiar person she has now. Maybe it’s a little of both. Either way, it was heartbreaking watching her struggle to drag him through the snow all by herself. Poor kid. I hope Benjen pulls all of that Bran weight as we go.
I did look forward to the idea of Gilly getting some fresh air and regular meals at Casa Sam. But now that I met Sam’s father, I don’t think it’s worth it. I loved how readily she stood up for herself and for Sam, and I love that Sam didn’t make that all for nothing, taking her and Little Sam away from that ogre.
As for Melessa and Talla Tarly, they were lovely. I don’t know if we’ll see them again. I wish we could have spent more time with them. There are so few uncomplicatedly good people on this show that get to live.
One of the best things about Yara is the tough love. She doesn’t pull punches with Theon, but she has shown, through trying to rescue him and accepting him back, that she cares about him and what has become of him. It’s actually the strongest sibling relationship on this show right now, considering Jon and Sansa are at odds (if they are actually siblings, that is, what with the R+L=J theory being closer to confirmed, they’d be cousins) and Jaime and Cersei are dysfunctional and incestuous.
Margaery remains cool under every kind of pressure. We all need to be more like her. Hell, she commits fully to the bit, sensing easy-going little Tommen has been taken in by The Sparrow and pretending she has, too. I can’t help admiring the Tyrell women in general. They aren’t full-on good people, they might go for looking good over being good, and they might change with the current regime, but they know how to survive and they only harm those who deserve it (see Joffrey).
As for Joffrey’s killer, I still adore her and wish we could have more of her. But damned if she doesn’t make every second and every line count. She’s one of those characters who pulls off murder and sneaky doings in a way that seems almost noble. I hate that she’s going back to Highgarden and we very likely won’t see her again till next year. Olenna and Margaery are two of the few exceptions to my Book>>>>Show arguments, with them not being POV characters, we only see them adjacently. In the show, they are fleshed out and interesting and I’m so glad we’ve had the time with them.
Cersei continues to be all about Lannisters on top and having her revenge (somehow!) and I just don’t buy it anymore. Sure, she wants it. But I don’t think she’ll get it. I think she’ll keep making stupid ego-driven decisions that will lead to Tommen’s death and her own. She might bring a few people down with her, but it’s just marking time by now, waiting for her ignominious downfall and death. As for Jaime, I don’t think he’ll make it out of this series alive, either. Even if he manages to break free of his obsession with his sister, he’s not a man marked for a happy end, with all he’s done, and especially considering he started off this entire terrible chain of events by pushing a little boy from a tower. Tyrion aside, The Lannisters depress me.
I forgot to talk about her last time but, much like Arya does, I like her. She’s talented, hard-working, and kind. These aren’t qualities the show rewards, so I’m happy to see her end up un-poisoned and not so dead… for now. It’s also interesting how Arya opens up to her in the form of advice about playing Cersei, about how Cersei wouldn’t be crying pretty tears — she’d want her revenge. Arya may have Cersei on her kill list, but she understands her in a strange way.
The Bechdel Test…
Both episodes pass, between Arya and Lady Crane, Olenna and Margaery, and Olenna and Cersei. All conversations were substantive, so I’m happy to say the episodes didn’t just squeak by.
Other Notes…
GRRM has confirmed, through various means, that the character known as Coldhands in the books is NOT Benjen Stark. But they seem to be taking his arc (slightly out of order) and giving it to Benjen in the show. I don’t have a problem with it as I also wanted Coldhands to be Benjen. I just wonder what it tells us about both characters and their significance or lack thereof, if the show can make this move.
RIP, Septon Ray. Much like every other uncomplicated good person we meet on this show, you left us too soon. Let’s hope The Hound makes your killers pay!
The Hound living is something that has been hinted at in the books. This is definitely a spoiler for us, though not on the level of Hodor and the cave massacre. Still, with the Benjen/Coldhands discrepancy above, I have to wonder if the show is just doing its own thing here. So I’ll still strive to see these things as two separate entities and hope for the best.
With Sam taking the family sword, being one of three people who have killed a White Walker, it’s fitting he’s in possession of one of the rare Valyrian steel blades (I think there are only four named on the show). So Sam’s got Heartsbane, Jon has Longclaw, but Meera offed a Walker, too. When does she get her prize?
Fangasms…
Arya is just! Daenerys commands armies from atop a dragon! The Hound lives! Lady Lyanna Mormont is everything! The Tyrell ladies continue to be awesome! I have to give both of these episodes an A, which is surprising for me. I am dealing much better with the bookless show than I thought.
Next up: “No One” and “Battle of the Bastards” and “The Winds of Winter”
Agree? Disagree? Want to tell me about you? Feel free to comment below or hit that ❤ button.
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All Images from Game of Thrones are the property of Weiss, Benioff, HBO, and a whole slew of other people who are not me. They are used here for illustration and analysis only. I would like to thank the countless good people of Tumblr for always making and freely sharing their lovely gifs — and always so quickly after an episode.
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