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Kavi Balakumar

So I resurrect Guru, and give him the full clip.

We are two weeks into what promises to be an amazing season of GoT and there are so many things to discuss! I have to stop myself from buckling under this enormous pressure to re-watch every season and just sit back and enjoy the ride.

For those of you just joining us, my recaps are largely in response to those posted by my good friend, Samit. If you haven’t read his S6E2 recap yet, do that first and follow him! Also, I’m not a book reader so I’m probably getting half of this shit wrong.

Cave of the Three-Eyed-Raven — Bran Stark, Three-Eyed-Raven, Hodor (Wylis!), Meera

  • Anyone else feel awkwardly attracted to a teenage Bran? Anyone? No one? Me Neither.
  • The actor playing the Three-Eyed Raven, Max von Sydow, is incredible and I just want to be blanketed by his rich, warm voice on this dreary New York Friday. You may remember him as Director Lamar Burgess from the Minority Report or more recently from Star Wars: Episode VII-The Force Awakens. Let’s be honest folks- it’s not winning an Oscar but being cast as a character on GoT that legitimizes one’s acting career. I cannot wait for him to drop more knowledge and show Bran how to control his powers rather than be consumed by them. I also appreciate that the Three-Eyed Raven’s costume is so raven.
  • This is a big revelation that Bran is a GreenSeer i.e. a person who can see events for which they were not present. I think Samit is right — this is how we will learn about Jon Snow’s parentage (L+R=J). B&W consider flashbacks “lazy storytelling” and have chosen to do only 1 up until now but they needed a device to give us the rich back story and now they have one. I am really looking forward to seeing more of these scenes and learning how Wylis became Hodor! Young Wylis had a scar on his temple so perhaps it was blunt force trauma? Who got in a fight with the stable boy?
  • Meera is an important character. They don’t do those lingering close-ups on just anyone. Quick review: She is the only daughter of Howland Reed, the man who saved Ned’s life during Robert’s Rebellion (apparently during their rescue of Lyanna). The Reed-Stark alliance is ages old and I think her role is going to go beyond simply playing bodyguard to Bran while he’s north of The Wall. She is going to be a big player in this fight and I’m looking forward to seeing her character develop more.
  • Watching Lyanna show up her brothers’ sparring session reminded me of a young Arya schooling Bran. It seems like they have similar spirits. Maybe that’s why Ned always encouraged Arya to keep up with her training and why she and Jon have such a strong bond. Also, Lyanna doesn’t seem like the type to need rescuing. Just sayin’.

Castle Black — Davos, Edd, Melisandre, Alliser Thorne, Olly, Wun Wun, Tormund, Jon Snow

  • Anyone else feel awkwardly attracted to a super dead Jon Snow? Anyone? No one? Me Neither.
  • While I had the utmost faith in the ability of the Loyal Band of Four Brothers led by Ser Davos to defend Jon Snow until the end, I was super psyched that The Giant — I’m not calling him Wun Wun, that’s a stupid name and there’s only one giant so you know who I’m talking about — Jackson Pollock-ed a wall with one of the archers and put an end to that fight before it even began. One stern look from Tormund and the thieves and stable boys of the Night’s Watch promptly dropped their weapons which was clearly the right thing to do. Speaking of Tormund, he just joined instagram (@khivju). Holllaaaaaa.
  • WHY DIDN’T SOMEBODY KILL ALLISER THORNE?!? He was completely defenseless. Edd could’ve done it (maybe not since it’s against their code to kill their own). Tormund could’ve done it. The Giant could’ve done it. But nobody did it. In a world notorious for its ruthlessness, why show mercy? The whole non-fight scene would’ve been fine as long as it ended with Alliser getting his much-deserved comeuppance but he didn’t. It felt a little exasperating. I’ve been waiting for that dude to die for three seasons. I would say they were saving him for Jon, but at this point they didn’t know he was coming back!
  • Ser Davos’s conversation with Melisandre was this week’s Least Favorite Scene. Don’t get me wrong, Ser Davos is the Lebron James of giving pep talks. He Leo McGarry-ed a President Bartlet if Leo was a finger-less pirate and Jed was a scary fire priestess. All that said, the dialogue was a joke.
D: I saw you drink poison that should’ve killed you. I saw you give birth to a demon made of shadows.

And then…

D: I’m asking the woman who showed me that miracles exist.

Miracles? Is that what we’re calling them now?

M: You were right all along. The Lord never spoke to me. I suck at everything. I read the leeches and flames all wrong! WOE is ME.
D: Fuck those guys! I believe in you even though you’re an evil murderess who unbeknownst to me is responsible for the death of my beloved Shireen! But now that I need you to do this thing, it’s all good! Water under the bridge of fire, I say! Don’t say you can’t do it until you try it. Remember the story of the Little Red Fire Engine that could? That’s you!
  • Melisandre Vidal Sassoons Jon Snow’s super dead, super hot body, says a little prayer for you (him), and voila! He’s back. No rebirth through the flames. No human sacrifice. What. A. Letdown. I thought this was going to be so much cooler. Don’t get it twisted — I’m over the moon that we have the many faces of Jon Snow look forward to.
  • I just thought it was going to be a little more…involved. Also, I wanted that bitch to die but, she does have a date with Arya planned in the future and we still have to find out the significance of her glamour trick now that she’s back in her hot girl bod.

King’s Landing — Cersei, Jaime, Franken-Mountain, High Sparrow, Tommen

  • In one fell head-smashing swoop, Franken-Mountain went from terrifying and creepy to awesome and almost endearing. Well played.
  • Using Tommen as his puppet, The High Sparrow has barred Cersei from attending Myrcella’s funeral. She mysteriously obeys even with the Mountain at her disposal. That said, she has always been in it for the long game and I’m sure she will have her revenge. I just wonder if Tommen will be an unexpected casualty in the clash that will ensue between the remaining Lannisters and the Faith Militant. If so, the prophecy that she is so fixated on will be fulfilled.
  • For all of my impatience with this story line, seeing Jaime intimidated by a shoeless holy man and a handful of nobodys wins Most Favorite Scene of S6E2. Not only did both actors play this scene perfectly, but the Faith Militant slowly creeping into the background of the shot made me feel like I was also being surrounded by an angry mob of religious extremists.
  • Two things are clear: The High Sparrow is a symbol. He doesn’t value his own life as much as he values the mission. In the words of Medgar Evers, “You can kill a man but you can’t kill an idea.” How will they pull this off?The Mission: This whole idea of a united populace rallying against an elite ruling class strikes so many chords, especially now. Jaime could have dispatched those men individually but stood no chance against the group.
  • So we’ve established that they are mission oriented and that they don’t care about their own lives and that there are a lot of them. If they can’t be fought, how can they be negotiated with or outsmarted? Although he makes a pledge to Cersei to protect and defend his kin from here on out, as long as they have Margaery, Tommen is going to do what The High Sparrow wants. Step 1: Get Margaery back? Have Franken-Mountain smash Septa Unella’s head against a wall and get her outta there?
  • Note to B&W: I know I am echoing Samit here, but Tommen’s abysmal acting skills are highlighted times one million when his scene falls in between those with Jonathan Pryce, Lena Headey, and Peter Dinklage. Please limit his monologues to 10 seconds or less or have him speaking to a brick wall next time.

Meereen — Tyrion, Missandei, Varys, Grey Worm, Rhaegal, Viserion

  • I love Peter Dinklage so much. That is all.
  • Just kidding! There’s so much going on in Meereen. Basically, everything sucks again. Big whoop.The Slavers once again have control over Slavers Bay and Meereen is hanging between chaos and order by a single blonde thread. Dany’s storyline has always been the least compelling to me. It has been boring, boring, and more boring punctuated by random acts of awesomeness for which she adds another title to her ever-growing moniker. I’m glad people are finally being objective about the fact that her story line is STALE and has been for a while now.
  • Dragons. This was an unexpected pivot. I thought the scenes of people organizing and becoming political in E1 would be fleshed out a bit more in E2, but instead we revisited the dragons which was awesome, just not where I thought we were going to go.
  • I love Peter Dinklage so much. That is all.

RE: POTENTIAL SPOILER THEORY — I would hate if Tyrion was actually a Targaryan. That would feel like a total cop-out to me. Riddle me this: Would it be possible for him to ride a dragon as a non-Targaryan?

Braavos — Arya, The Waif, Jaqen H’ghar

  • Good news for Arya at last — she won’t stay blind as long as she can guess the right answers to Jaquen’s questions. I almost felt like he wanted her to answer, “Arya” but that wouldn’t have made sense at all.
  • Is there some transcendence in this process of losing one’s identity? Is this what gives the nameless, faceless people the power to pay for life in death? Westeros is a world in which one’s fortunes, literal and metaphorical, are wholly dependent on their family name (Stark, Lannister, Greyjoy, Tyrell, Arryn, Baratheon, Bolton, Frey, Martell). This is the ultimate sacrifice for Arya — a relinquishing of her family, her lineage, her history, her home. Can she do it? How long will it last? Again, I don’t see how this will end well for her. Even if she sheds her (s)kin for now, she will have to assume her identity as Arya Stark once again before this story wraps up and what will the consequences of that betrayal be? Loss of limb? Loss of life?

Winterfell — Ramsay, Roose, Lady Walda, Theon, Sansa, Brienne

If you acquire a reputation as a mad dog, you’ll be treated as a mad dog. — Roose Bolton
  • Roose is (was) strategic. Ramsay is impulsive. Without the threat of a legitimate heir keeping him in check, he will look to ravage the North like one of those mad dogs he unleashed on Lady Walda. He seems to think he only needs the support of the Karstarks and two other households to keep power in the region but I think he’ll soon find out that the North is vast and difficult to govern, especially with very low approval ratings (SO MANY ELECTION PARALLELS, IT’S CRAY) and some of his forces being dispatched to Castle Black in pursuit of Sansa.
  • Alfie Allen continues to be brilliant in his role. I loved the scene between Theon and Sansa but I wanted so badly for their journey together to continue all the way to Castle Black! They just jumped off a wall into some cushy snow and ran through a freezing river. By no means was it the Odyssey that I was expecting. And now that Theon finally has people to keep him safe at the very least (not warm since Pod can’t seem to get the damn fire going), why is he choosing to leave them to return to a household that has rejected him over and over and over again? It’s pretty clear that he is returning to Pyke since they cut straight to the Iron Islands from this scene. He doesn’t know that there will be a power vacuum waiting for him when he gets there, if he gets there.
  • What else is to come? I’m with Samit on this — “the gift” for Ramsay in the Ep3 may be Rickon/Osha.

Pyke (Iron Islands) — Balon Greyjoy, Yara Greyjoy

  • Ding dong, that mean ass MOFO Balon Greyjoy is dead! But who the heck killed him? Insert New Mystery Hooded Character On Rickety Drawbridge of Death, also known as Euron Greyjoy. Can’t wait to find out that backstory if we ever do.
With Balon gone, there will be some intrigue over who becomes ruler of the Iron Island. The man who is talking to Yara during the funeral is apparently Balon’s older brother, Aeron. It seems like there are 4 contenders for the “Salt Throne”: Aeron, Euron, Yara, and soon-to-arrive Theon. — Samit Sheth
  • Correction: Aeron is one of Balon’s younger brothers and a water priest of some sort.
I’m going to find out who did this. I am going to feed them to the sharks while they live. I swear it by the Salt Throne. — Yara Greyjoy
  • She doesn’t seem to know who killed her father. The only reason Euron has to kill his brother is to assume the Salt Throne so why not come forward and claim it?
  • This is why. Apparently a person called the “Kingsmoot” chooses who will rule the Iron Islands. Different candidates toss their anchors into the ring (not literally but they do have to be captains of their own ships) and try to convince the Kingsmoot that they are the right person for the job. Read more about that process here. Aeron thinks Yara being picked is unlikely and is clearly disdainful of the prospect of a woman ruling the Iron Islands. Shocker. Maybe an alliance with Theon will strengthen her chances but Theon doesn’t seem to be well-respected among the Iron born. As it stands, Euron seems to be the most likely successor. From the little we know of him (homicidal, violent, tortured his own crew, murdered his own brother), it’s anyone’s guess what type of ruler he is going to make.

Headcounts

  • Who Died? Roose Bolton // Lady Walda & son // Balon Greyjoy
  • Who Didn’t Die That I Expected to Die Who Might Still Die But I’m Not Sure When? Melisandre // Jaime // The High Sparrow // Jorah
  • Who Undied? Jon Snow
  • Who Will Die Next? Enter our Fantasy GoT draft to make your predictions!