Game of thrones Season 6 Episode 5, general thoughts/ review: (spoilers)

See, without Cersei and Jaime dragging it down with their boringness, I enjoy this show a lot more. Now if we can only cut out Dany, Jorah, Tyrion and Varys, we’ll have a cracking show.

This was probably the first episode in this series’ history that I as a long time book fan literally stood up with my jaw dropped at what was happening on the screen. So many theories confirmed; so many other theories quashed in this episode. Previously bits from the show that hadn’t featured in the books were either so obvious(Daenerys) or just not going to happen that way in the books(anything with Sansa or Brienne…) But the Bran scene had me floored.

A lot of scenes of people asserting good old fashioned dominance: Sansa dominates Littlefinger; The Waif dominates Arya; The Red Priestess dominates Varys; Euron Greyjoy dominates Yara and Theon; Bran dominates Hodor;

• The North—some good solid soap opera going on between Sansa and Littlefinger. Littlefinger is still manipulating Sansa. People all over the internet are bitching about Sansa lying to Jon: these are the same people who bitch about her being so honest to everybody. I think holding her cards close to her chest is a good thing; and I’m not so sure she should trust Littlefinger with his men. I mean, from her point of view. We saw what happened the last time Littlefinger offered to help someone(Ned.) But what confuses me, is why is Melisandre at that table? I mean, isn’t Melisandre all about fighting the White Walkers? Isn’t that her MAIN THING? And suddenly she’s all just involved in the council meeting to take Winterfell? This show needs to think things through a little bit. I have a sour taste in my mouth about Brienne and Tormund Chocolate Stealer because my HILARIOUS post about him last week was flagged for being a joke answer, even though it wasn’t really a joke, it was just funny. Lord Commander Edd Tollett. ‘Don’t Let the WAll Fall Down while I’m gone.” Jon says.
  
  Gee, I wonder what that was foreshadowing? Hamfisted Weiss and Benioff strike again.
• Braavos—impressive as it is and despite the fact that it works cinematically, you have to wonder what the whole beat Arya training is good for? I understand it’s some brainwashing technique, but it seems to be an end to itself. When Arya can’t hit the Waif, she’s failed: as if the whole thing is to hit the waif. By not hitting the waif, she proves that she’s not ‘one of them.’ Yet, if she hit the waif, wouldn’t that prove that the waif wasn’t one of them? And anyway, what do all these quarterstaff shenanigans have to do with being a Faceless Man? How often are Faceless Men going to have to deal with people coming at them and fighting like that? It’s like the show has combined water dancing of the books with, er, Faceless Manning. It’s funny how the show boils thing down to sheer obviousness: Kill this innocent person or we’ll kill you.
  
  But the play…though the circumstances are slightly different, the play(based on a play from the Mercy chapter from the yet-to-be-released Winds of Winter…I mean THIS is George RR Martin. You can really tell that this is the product of a great mind: the play is so multi-layered: it comments on nature of drama and it’s distortion of events for the sake of story, as good king Joffrey is betrayed by the evil Tyrion and Stark’s head is cut off; it works as history: medieval drama really was that silly; it works as we see the affect on poor Arya at the story being told and how it ‘reminds’ her of who she is—so, so sad. And it’s funny as hell. So when Arya says she’s made her decision at the end, I think it’s clear: she’s out of there! On the other handd, was that Richardd E Grant as one of the actors? I can’t imagine that he would have such a small role in this show: I assume he’ll be back.
• Daenerys—”find a cure and then come back. I’ll need you in Westeros.” Ah, see? This is just shit. I mean pure, unadulterated, unpasteurized, grade A, unfiltered, free-range, grass-fed, non-biodegradable nuclear SHIT. I can buy Dany walking unburnt through the fire. No problem. But Jorah just merrily riding off to cure an incurable disease? Puh-lease. Obviously, Benioff and Weiss screwed up by giving Greyscale to Jorah and now they have to backpedal furiously because ‘they need him’ with Dany for whatever the plot demands. Stupid.
• The Iron Islands—Yara is, like, queen of the Game of Thrones montage, isn’t she? I liked the King’s Moot scene. Show Euron has all the spookiness and freakiness and madness shaved off him. Why is the show so afraid to get freaky? But it does what it does and I thought it worked well. Some other reviewer remarked about the whole kinslaying taboo having gone out the window. I could write alot about how the show boils everything down to life and death. I don’t like it, but the show does, so I think that Euron’s gleeful admission of murdering his brother and his wishes to murder Theon and Yara make sense within the confines of the show.
  
  I totally called that Theon would be taking Victarion’s place. I didn’t call Yara doing it.
  
  By the way, Theon’s accent totally changed. That thick Yorkshire accent he’s been doing…it was mostly gone. I don’t like that.
• Meereen: Speaking of stupid, I thought Tyrion was all-good, all-knowing? I can’t think that his spreading the News of Daenerys’ godhood is all that good idea. And the show hates religioun with a passion. So working with the Red Priestess is going to backfire. Nice face acting from Conleth Hill, seriously. I bought his horror and fear. But, where exactly is it going? Are the Red Priests going to screw things up for the fragile peace, or…ooh, yeah. I forgot. I don’t care.
• Bran: WOW!!. So this is what it’s like for show-only watchers. A dozen fan-theories confirmed or destroyed in a few scenes.
• Children of the Forest made the White Walkers to defend themselves from humans!! Someone on reddit pointed out a throwaway line from A Storm of Swords: “Was it really an Other you killed, Sam, or just a child’s snow knight?” Grrm strikes again!
• White Walkers/Others are NOT bothered by fire. Fire does NOT destroy them. Repeat Fire does not destroy them. Only the wights.
• Hodor. That ‘hold the door’ theory was always one of the funniest and most pointless bits of tinfoil I’ve ever read. And yet…apparently… Laughing my a off.
• No Tower of Joy revelation, but don’t worry, we’re getting it.
• I have to wonder about Summer dying. Do you all think that it happens that way in the books? I tend to think Summer will survive that episode in the books, and they killed him off because of budget and shock value. But Hodor’s death felt all too book-like, for me: effectively because Hodor gives his life for Bran, but because Bran wargs him and ruins his mind. There is no way that Benioff and Weiss came up with that idea: that’s GRRM all the way.
  . And which way were they heading? North or South? I think something has to happen at the standing stones, which I think is where the White Walkers took the Craster’s baby in Season 4, right?

I don’t know if it was just the spoiler power of the last scene or the lack of Jaime and Cersei’s boring boringness or what, but I enjoyed this episode more than most.

Written May 23rd