Game of Thrones starts unusual this week because we go directly into the show rather than the typical opening score. that leads the reintroduction of a much beloved character. Part of that you can see with the credits showing this actor’s name being billed up there.
In the books, we’re given not-so-subtle hints that the Hound is still alive but we get no name. On the other hand in the show, we hear Sandor Clegane mentioned by name. Of course, once we see his face, there is no question who the person is. i let out a huge cheer in seeing his return as I’m sure everyone else did. Without question this has to be one of the most anticipated returns of the season.
The main thing is hearing how his life has changed. He’s still haunted by his past but he’s been reborn in some way with a renewed purpose. You still see he has rage in the way he swings his axe but there is also calmness in his attitude. And for once he is treated kindly. There’s a great quote where Clegane asks, “If the gods are real, why haven’t they punished me?” Ray replies, “They have.”
After that Clegane looks away thoughtfully. That speech makes him reflect that perhaps his biggest issue is that he hasn’t been able to forgive himself. Now, he might be able to move forward. That of course comes crashing to a half when his group gets slaughtered by the Brotherhood without Banners, the same people who took him prisoner at one time and forced him into a trial by combat (where he won). He does note, before his septon gets slain, that the Brotherhood follows the Lord of Light. Despite being religious, they use religion as a tool for justifying their holy war, hypocritically preying upon the weak that they said they were protecting. In some now, they are like the reverse Robin Hood and his merry bandits.
In King’s Landing, Queen Margaery holds a talk with the High Sparrow. She makes it seem she has repented and the High Sparrow wants her to convince her mother to also change her ways. When Margaery meets with her mother, she offers a speech with Septa Unella but ultimately hands the Queen of Thorns a waded up piece of paper with their house sigil, indicating that she has been scheming. It’s difficult to know whether or not Septa Unella picked upon Margarey’s scheming, but Margaery does act peculiar in requesting to pray with the Septa right after.
In the meantime, Jon Snow, Sansa and Ser Davos go around attempting to rally other houses to their cause. First, with Tormund’s aid, Jon Snow manages to convince the wildlings to their cause. His simpler, straight forward viewpoint articulates the fact that the North without a united front cannot face the White Walkers and that the Boltons and other houses linked to them do not see the true enemy. However, the wildlings are viewed as enemies of all people, making them a natural target for those not on the Starks’ side.
After that the trio visit Bear Island where they plead with Lyanna Mormont, a girl of 10, to join their cause. Neither Sansa nor Jon have any luck themselves in providing arguments for the lady to rally to their side. However, Ser Davos steps up to make an appeal. Because of his rapport with Shireen, he manages to convince the young Mormont in illustrating the overall picture of the wars to come.
For their final house, the three meet with the Glovers but fail in persuading them. The purpose of that scene is to demonstrate that despite oaths and promises, not everything is easy as in the storybooks. Instead, getting other bannermen to march with them is more about appealing to reason. In some ways, it’s almost like an election where you need to show your best hand to get the vote. While the three have stepped up their game on the political side, they still need a lot of work it seems.
But what I really enjoyed about these scenes is the grassroots approach that the Starks (and Ser Davos) have taken. If you compare their situation to Daenerys’ from the previous week, you can see how the trio must utilize rhetoric in order to get people to ally with them. Daenerys’ uses raw force most of the time or the awe of her dragons to convince people to fight for her side. You have to respect Jon and the others for visiting everyone and making an appeal rather than the more forceful approach that Daenerys does.
Back in King’s Landing, Cersei tries to do her own little campaigning in uniting her house with the Tyrells to take back the power of the throne from the fanatical Sparrows. Despite her somewhat earnestness, Cersei fails miserably in trying to persuade the Queen of Thorns. Part of the problem is that Olenna flat out does not trust Cersei and makes no attempt to hide her contempt for Cersei. She also points out that Cersei’s power base for the most part has disintegrated as a result of her own blundering.
The thing is that Cersei, indeed, has alienated herself from virtually everyone in King’s Landing and perhaps more. Outside of their money (which in truth they have none due to their debt to the Iron Bank), the Lannisters are for the most part without much power anymore. Yet you could see how Cersei, being the cornered feral animal that she is, is plotting against everyone. It’s not a coincidence that Olenna mentions that Cersei’s only real option is to kill everyone. Cersei doesn’t care for anyone outside of her remaining son and brother. So if she can sacrifice the entire world, she would do it in a blink of an eye. Still, she’s keeping her cards very close to her chest this time around and hasn’t unveiled her ultimate plan.
debate.
At the Riverlands, Jamie and Bronn confront the Blackfish. The Freys almost execute Edmure but they falter at the last second. Jamie tries to parlay with the Blackfish. The Blackfish won’t surrender and Jamie attempts to appeal to the Blackfish in sparring his soldiers. Jamie tries to treat Edmure better too compared to the Freys. Much of this section is taking from his original storyline in the books and now he’s back on track more or less. Yet we do see another side from Jamie that hasn’t manifested this season where he shows some compassion for his enemy. This is because of his desire to restore some honor to his name.
In Volantis, Yara and Theon are at a whore house along with the other Greyjoy fleet. Yara turns out to like women. Theon is triggered and messed up still mentally from what Ramsay Bolton has done. However, Yara tries to bring the old Theon back in forcing him to regain some of his confidence. He’s not really doing this at this point for himself but for his sister it seems. Another major point they make is sailing to Meereen and finding Daenerys to form a treatise in retaking the Iron Islands. One of my thoughts was that possibly Yara wants to propose to Daenerys herself, now that we know she likes women (at least in the show).
Back at the Stark army encampment, the army show issues with wildlings. Both Ser Davos and Jon become testy at the way their men are an oddball bunch who must somehow get along enough to combat the Boltons eventually. As they prevent a quarrel from further breaking out, Sansa spots Lyanna Mormont with a caged raven, giving her an idea. From there, Sansa writes a letter, presumably to Littlefinger as she recognizes that their army simply is too small to fight the much larger and possibly better prepared army of the Boltons.
In Braavos, Arya tries to get back to Westeros by handing some money to someone getting ready to set sail back there. While glancing at the entrance, Ara gets stabbed by the Waif. She manages to escape after smacking her head against the Waif’s and tossing herself over the bridge into the water. When she recovers enough, she wanders around the streets of Braavos, clutching her wounded stomach as onlookers attempt to discern her state. Yet no one bothers to help her (well, not like she requested help neither).
Of course, this is more setup leading to converges of stories and a massive return. Most people figure that Sandor Clegane’s ultimate purpose is to fight against his brother in a trial by combat for Cersei. However, at the moment, the main people in his way is this new version of the Brotherhood without Banners. However, it’s clear that he has been reborn in a different manner so it’ll be interesting to see if his penchant for pure violence still is around.
With Arya we finally see her turn her eyes back home. However, she is in a very precarious situation where she has been stabbed and possibly can lose her life. Right now, it’s anyone’s guess if she’ll make it from her situation back home this season. One thing I believe is that with all the returned people, we might see someone show up to aid her. Gendry perhaps? So far, of all the major supposedly alive characters, Gendry is one of the remaining cast members whose fate has yet to be revealed. While the idea is cheesy, having Gendry be the one finding and rescuing Arya also makes sense in some ways. The only other thing I can see as a possible return for him would be if he rejoined the Brotherhood without Banners (where his named character in the books supposedly is still acting as a blacksmith for them). At any rate, Arya for the most part is alone without allies. So it’ll be interesting to see who comes and rescues her (if anyone at all).
The scene with Cersei and Olenna practically screams Mad Queen Cersei. I wouldn’t put it past her to destroy King’s Landing once her son perishes. But before that happens, I’m sure she’ll act against the Tyrells first at this rate. With Queen Margaery, it’s hard to say how she intends to act at this point. She’s in a horribly precarious spot in trying to figure out a way to get her brother to safety while planning her own escape (if any). But I feel that the High Sparrow is a far better judge of character than Margaery realizes, especially the way he stares into her soul. Pretty much at this point, it’s a race to the finish to see who can reclaim Tommen between the three parties.
Jamie’s story arc finally returns where it should be. Having him be away from his sister is the best option for him. They’re essentially poison for one another. He seems to desire better overall when he’s not around her as we can see some minimal concern with the lives at stake in Riverrun. However, he’s also not afraid to push back when necessary as we see how he deals with the Freys. As we see with the upcoming preview, Brienne will meet up with him and the two may come to blows. I’m holding out that she manages to talk some sense into him about his sister.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this episode. The setup definitely leaves me wanting more and I was not disappointed compared to last week. Then again I think with all the storylines finally converging or being cleaned up, we’re seeing a clearer picture of the narrative.