This week on Game of Thrones, siblings reunite and things get heated with Dany. My thoughts on the episode are after the jump.
Ha, did you like my pun at the top? Lame, I know. But how cool was that scene? Granted, this all feels a little repetitive (almost like a greatest hits of Dany's successes in seasons 1 and 3), but on this scale it was quite something. In fact, this is the sort of reaction I kind of wanted with Jon's resurrection last week; everyone being awestruck and falling to their knees in the glow of an event you have to witness in order to believe. Keeping in touch with A Song of Ice and Fire however, I love how these two "resurrections" compliment each other. In true Dany fashion, hers was engulfed in flame and the charred corpses of her oppressive enemies. Jon's was in the cold of the north with quieter more subtle circumstances, but no less shocking and crowd pleasing. I guess I'm just saying that I wish we could have had a moment where the men (and annoying Olly) who killed Jon fell to their knees before the newly risen Jon Snow. Hanging them with no remorse was a nice compromise though, so I can forgive.
Or was it so remorseless? Sansa and Jon were reunited this week (cue the happy tears) and he opens up to her about how much shame and tiredness he has concerning the fighting that has been going on since he left home. He specifically referenced Olly being hung (by him) just one episode ago and how he felt guilty over it. I am not sure what kind of headspace Jon is in right now, but with Sansa's impeccably timed arrival with Brienne and Pod and the news that Ramsay Bolton has Rickon, I believe he finally has the motivation he needs to finally spend his post-death fighting for the one thing he still has left, albeit less of: his family. I DO NOT WANT ANY MORE DEAD STARKS. You better go kick some Ramsay ass Jon Snow.
The title of this episode, Book of the Stranger, is an interesting one. This is in reference to Faith Militant's Bible-equivalent text, one that Margaery actually knows a bit about. After this reference, the High Sparrow tells her his conversion story when he finally decided to not be a part of a material world and to instead devote his time to the poor and helpless by being poor himself. Part of me thinks that the purpose behind the title of the episode is to remind us of how strong the power of words is and how they can be used to achieve any kind of agenda. By mentioning that she knows the holy book, Margaery is able to finally see her brother (who is not in great shape by the way) but do exactly the opposite of what the High Sparrow thought he had accomplished with her. Instead of getting her to appeal him to Loras, she uses the opportunity to start scheming with no remorse to her "sins". However, I cannot ignore that this is not the only sibling reunion we had this week.
Along with Jon and Sansa's reunion, we also saw Theon and Yara reunited. This led to a tense scene where Yara assumed the worst about Theon's intentions on coming home. Instead of seeking some sort of power or vengeance, he came home to support her bid as ruler of the Iron Islands. This is something that we have not seen on the show too often; a character putting aside his or her pride and personal aspirations to support another. We have seen so many people battling for power and influence on this show, including the season 6 return of Petyr Baelish being as schemey as ever, that it is a welcome breath of fresh air when we see someone put aside more selfish goals to support their family or friends, especially when it does not end in their sudden death (RIP Ned). Along with the resulting story from the High Sparrow, I believe that the purpose of the title of this episode was to mark a transition for many of the characters and give them a reality check. As Tywin Lannister used to contantly remind us, family is nothing more than the name you carry and the influence and legacy it carries in this world. I think these characters are about to rediscover the importance of family and supporting one another before the real battle arrives in the form of freaky ice zombies.
This makes me concerned for Dany. She is a sort of exception to that idea. She still puts aside some of the other things she has been dealing with to refocus on what is important to her, that being liberation and power, but that's just it. Despite her awesome ending, this is still all for her own personal gain and she is exceedingly bold about it. Contrary to Tyrion taking a more diplomatic and controversially compromising position in Meereen, Dany has never been the compromising type. As much as I love her, I do not think this will lead to good things for her. I believe her pride and power will get to her Mad King style and she will fall. That is, unless she finds someone who can balance her out and support her. Like maybe a Jon Snow? Who knows? They could be family. (cough cough R+L=J cough cough)
Other than the ending of the episode being maybe a bit too reminiscent of past Dany storylines and feeling like a retread of sorts, my only other big complaint with the episode is with Ramsay's scene with Osha. Yay! We got the return of Osha! I've missed her for a couple of years now! I cannot wait to see what she does this season- oh she's dead. Like, immediately. She tried her seductive tricks to try to get to Ramsay the same way she got to Theon (also in Winterfell after a hostile take over mind you) and she paid the ultimate price. I am not against shocking deaths on the show, in fact I love it. It keeps me on my toes, However, most deaths on Game of Thrones serve a larger purpose or at least set up interesting new circumstances that push the plot in a new and exciting direction. I do not think Osha's death serves any of that. Granted, I could be proved wrong in the future in true GoT fashion, but I doubt much will change because of this. Osha has been around since season one and after being gone so long, she was killed off rather unceremoniously. It felt hollow and cheap, which is something I do not ever accuse this show of being. It was always been intelligent and frightening with its death scenes so I was left wanting with Osha's demise. It was sad and did not add up to much other than it being our weekly reminder that Ramsay is a vile piece of psychotic human trash. This disappointed me because I know the show is so much better than this. I really hope her death takes on more significance in the coming future, but for some reason I highly doubt that we will get any more follow up to this.
Overall this was a great episode of Game of Thrones. It pushed us further into the endgame by bringing characters together at last (and making us all choke up on tears in the process), killing off a ton of awful Dothraki dudes in explosive fashion, and by showing us a ton of major characters secretly conspiring to screw over each other. In other news, it is what Game of Thrones does best.
Grade: B+.
Game of Thrones airs every Sunday night on HBO.
Like fantasy? Check out my reviews for The Huntsman: Winter's War and Gods of Egypt by following the links!
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