By Zane Bixby
Overall Grade: A
Part of me is at a complete loss for words. When I first started watching Game of Thrones I hadn’t read the books. So when Ned Stark lost his head it completely altered my perspective for what this show was going to be. When Robb Stark and his family died at the Twins in the Red wedding, I still had not read the books. And the shock once again permitted another change of perspective. I started to read the books after season 3, and by the time season 4 was starting I was all caught up. So when Oberyn died in Season 4, it wasn’t the shock of it happening that affected me, but the way it was portrayed. This week was the first time I was truly shocked by Game of Thrones for the first time since The Red Wedding, something that I’m sure many Book Readers will admit too.
For as few overall plots as there were this episode, there is a lot to talk about. I’m going in reverse order now, discussing the weakest plot point first as the strongest truly deserves it’s spot at the end of this review.
Meeran:
Do not misinterpret its place at the “bottom” of the list for it being a weak plot. In truth, there were no real weak plots tonight. But the problem that Meeran (and any non-Stark plot this week truth be told) faced was that it had to give way to the Starks tonight. They were our first introduction into this world, and as we are inevitably trying to start the progress toward closing this series it makes sense to fall back to them. But the Starks make no claim to Meeran and thus their plot line is their own. Where Meeran does take hold and become effective is with Varys and the Red Woman. Seeing Daenerys’ “Small Council” discuss the actions taken by a different Red Woman in Westeros is, while interesting, a bit more like a recap than anything. It doesn’t truly take the full weight of what it could be. Hell hearing this Red Woman claim that Daenerys is the “One that was promised,” as opposed to being a “Prince” as the prophecy had so far claimed, is a bit unsettling in its own right. Where this scene really becomes potent is when she turns her attention to the skeptical Varys, so carefully listing off the details of the childhood that haunts him. It’s an extremely well-acted scene that shows just how much Varys is still attached to what happened to him as a child.
Daenerys
After a strong anchor scene at the end of last week’s episode it is fair for her to be given a slightly smaller scene this week. Jorah and Dany have been paired in scenes since season 1, they are nearly the oldest and longest running pairing that we have left in the series, and no Cersei/Jaime don’t count for that title because they spent a large portion of multiple seasons separated as their duties were separate from each other. So seeing Jorah reveal to Dany that she has to send him away because of his Greyscale is effective. It pulls at our heartstrings knowing that these two are being separated because we grew so accustomed to seeing them together. Hearing Dany claim that she needs him by her side when she takes the Iron Throne makes us all hopeful that Jorah the Andal will be able to find a cure for his Greyscale, but in truth many of us that may be less optimistic know we may never see Jorah again. If that is the case then this may be a satisfying exit for him, not exactly the heroic fall that Barristan the Bold got as he battled dozens of Sons of the Harpy with Greyworm. But a satisfying ending knowing he gave up what he truly wanted, being by Dany’s side forever, because he knows that sacrifice is sometimes the name of the game.
Pyke:
Well Kingsmoot has come and now Kingsmoot has gone. Euron has now taken the Salt Throne and is the King of the Ironborne. So why is it that this doesn’t feel as epic as it could have been? It’s a great scene, do not assume otherwise, but it felt like it almost fell a bit flat as they rushed through it so quickly to fit it into a shorter time slot than some of the other scenes we received. Part of me wonders how much of Victarian and Quentyn’s stories have been distributed to Euron, Yara and Theon but at this point only time will truly tell. With the end of Kingsmoot Yara, Theon, and a Contingent (Well Large Contingent seeing how many ships they took) are now fugitives from Euron but I honestly can’t predict where the show is going to be sending them. We know Euron is aiming to build a massive fleet and deliver it to Dany (with the idea stuck in his head that he’s going to bed and marry the Dragon Queen as she is so thoughtfully called) but I am left to wonder if this is going to end with Euron being dragon food. I will be the first to admit I would have probably just given this episode an A+ had Euron now woken from his Salt Rebirth just because it would have been kinda funny.
Arya:
While I can’t exactly say I’m loving every bit of Arya’s storyline this season I can understand what they are going for with it. Her transformation, or lack thereof a transformation, into a Servant of the Faceless Man is supposed to be front and center of her story. But when she very clearly is just playing a certain amount of a role, something we can for sure tell Jaqen notices, it becomes hard to invest in where her story is going. Arya is a strong character, and yet she has constantly been thrown into a subservient role (not quite unlike Sansa but in a very different way), so seeing her end up as a servant again doesn’t truly do her character justice. It almost seems far TOO convenient that her first mission is to kill an actor portraying a part in her life. A test by Jaqen to see if she can act without question or if she is still tied to her past. But it only takes knowing that Needle is still hidden outside the House of Black and White to know that Arya still exists. And until that sword is gone, if ever, she will never truly become nobody.
Everything and Everybody at the Night’s Watch:
The Night’s Watch continues to be consistently great to watch. Between Tormund still being obviously love struck by Brienne and Sansa coming into her own as a character it has easily been the highlight of the season. Unlike Arya who is being forced to strip her identity away to become nobody, Sansa is on a very different path. One that possibly leads to her becoming the QUEEN of the North. She has certainly gone through enough shit to be ready for something good to fall her way. I was a bit worried last season when we had to witness Ramsey rape Sansa. This was something that easily could have been glossed over far too heavily without witnessing the widespread effects of what such a tragic event could do to a person. But seeing Sansa confront Littlefinger about this, seeing it still permeate across her being is so very true to how something so horrific forever changes a person. So it’s easy to understand why she was so quick to dismiss Littlefinger’s help without consulting Jon or Davos, the people who may have tried to be pragmatic about the situation and still get Littlefinger’s help. It’s a decision that can be understood because Sansa is tired of having to bend to the will of others and allowing Littlefinger to help would have easily put her back into that role.
So from there we are treated to a scene of a war table planning, they are surrounded by enemies and if they truly want to stop the Whitewalkers they will need the North to do it. So it makes sense that they will first set their eyes on Winterfell, putting a Stark back into power and reclaiming the North for their family. And even though Jon so clearly DOESN’T have the Stark name (as is kindly pointed out to us) he is still a Stark, and it’s almost smacking us upside the head with how obvious it is that someone is going to do something to rectify this in the coming weeks to legitimize him. It does give way to a touching scene with Sansa handing him a cloak so similar to Ned Starks. It’s her own way of saying she accepts him as her family and is a soft moment in the mist of everything else in this episode.
While we now know that Castle Black is probably going to be behind us for a long time, given that Dolores Edd is the only person left at Castle Black that we mighty REMOTELY care about, what is ahead of us is exciting to consider. Brienne will be headed for Riverrun where the Blackfish has started to reform their army (and I would honestly love to see Tormund tag along with her just to get more faces of confusion from Brienne.) Sansa and Jon will be headed to the smaller houses ready to put together the army that will take down Ramsey and his still large army. The BastardBowl is incoming and it’s a war that may tear the North apart, just to put it back together.
Bran:
But it’s all with the anchor scene, once again, that we get everything we could have wanted in a scene and more. While learning that the Children of the Forest created the White Walkers was interesting, it’s more of a passing information scene than anything else. I don’t believe the show has done anything to really flesh out who the Children are to none book readers and now with most, if not all, of them dead it’s unlikely we will get anything more apart from any visions Bran might get. It’s Brans impatience that drives this part of the story. His trips into the past with the Three-Eyed Raven going far to slow for his own liking and thus he takes it into his own power when he finds everyone sleeping and decides to use the tree to make a solo journey that will change everything. Why he sees the present instead of the past in this vision I can’t say I know the answer, but it’s this trip where the Night King sees him (and touches him) that spurs the rest of the storyline forward. With his mark on Bran the tree is no longer a safe place and the Three-Eyed Raven knows that even though Bran isn’t ready, he no longer has a choice.
Watching the White Walkers storm the tree was gut wrenching as we are delivered a scene that I think will truly out do anything the books will deliver for the same scene (something the “Inside the Episode” for “The Door” establishes is right from the mouth of G.R.R.M) and it’s because of the duality of this scene. When we are given a scene that takes place simultaneously in the past and the present it’s easy for us to visualize thanks to how the show presents it. But the book could never do that justice because with a book it requires the set up between which scene is being presented to us and wouldn’t offer the same visual impact. So with the chaotic “battle” takes place and we watch as the Three-Eyed Raven, the Children of the Forest and even Summer (Bran’s Direwolf) all sacrifice themselves to allow Bran to escape each of those deaths feels meaningful in their own way because it strips away a layer of security that Bran had. But as Hodor, Meera, and Bran are making their escape the sheer number of white walkers leaves an uncomfortable truth with all of us. And it forces Bran and Meera to make the split tragic decision to leave Hodor behind.
Give the sheer body count of the show this season so far, the fact that Hodor dies tonight is not itself remarkable. While it is far more significant than Osha or even Balon Greyjoy were to us, given that both of them had been offscreen for so long, Hodor’s inability to speak truly hindered his ability to become a strong narrative in his own right. What Hodor’s death here does for us, is present a cold fact of life in this world, sometimes sacrifices will HAVE to be made, and Hodor dying to hold back the seemingly never-ending assault of wights to allow Bran and Meera to escape is the exact type of tragic yet heroic ending that you could expect from a character whose loyalty was never questioned, even when the fact that he was a coward couldn’t exactly live up to it. But it’s in the strange way the past is tied to the present that makes this truly tragic.
As we witness Bran take one more journey into the past with the Three-Eyed Raven we are given a scene where Hodor, then Wyllis, is witnessing Ned Stark about to be sent off to the Vale. And it is in this scene that it all happens and we are affirmed that the future is very much destined to happen. As Bran simultaneously wargs into Hodor to make the escape in the present something triggers and Wyllis is warged into as well. And as Meera constantly yells to Hodor to “Hold the Door!” it seeps into the past, in a scene that is so hauntingly well put together, and we witness the exact moment Hodor is both born, and dies. It’s this ability to play the scenes together at the same time that allows us to feel the weight of everything that has and will happened.
Bran is now the new Three-Eyed Raven and as he is being dragged out into the snow by Meera the future seems bleak for them, and possibly for the rest of Westeros.
About Last Week…..
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ZaneBixby, I try to tweet during the show but often get to distracted or caught up in what’s happening. I also tweet about gaming news and complain about League of Legends eSports!
Overall Grade: A
Part of me is at a complete loss for words. When I first started watching Game of Thrones I hadn’t read the books. So when Ned Stark lost his head it completely altered my perspective for what this show was going to be. When Robb Stark and his family died at the Twins in the Red wedding, I still had not read the books. And the shock once again permitted another change of perspective. I started to read the books after season 3, and by the time season 4 was starting I was all caught up. So when Oberyn died in Season 4, it wasn’t the shock of it happening that affected me, but the way it was portrayed. This week was the first time I was truly shocked by Game of Thrones for the first time since The Red Wedding, something that I’m sure many Book Readers will admit too.
For as few overall plots as there were this episode, there is a lot to talk about. I’m going in reverse order now, discussing the weakest plot point first as the strongest truly deserves it’s spot at the end of this review.
Meeran:
Do not misinterpret its place at the “bottom” of the list for it being a weak plot. In truth, there were no real weak plots tonight. But the problem that Meeran (and any non-Stark plot this week truth be told) faced was that it had to give way to the Starks tonight. They were our first introduction into this world, and as we are inevitably trying to start the progress toward closing this series it makes sense to fall back to them. But the Starks make no claim to Meeran and thus their plot line is their own. Where Meeran does take hold and become effective is with Varys and the Red Woman. Seeing Daenerys’ “Small Council” discuss the actions taken by a different Red Woman in Westeros is, while interesting, a bit more like a recap than anything. It doesn’t truly take the full weight of what it could be. Hell hearing this Red Woman claim that Daenerys is the “One that was promised,” as opposed to being a “Prince” as the prophecy had so far claimed, is a bit unsettling in its own right. Where this scene really becomes potent is when she turns her attention to the skeptical Varys, so carefully listing off the details of the childhood that haunts him. It’s an extremely well-acted scene that shows just how much Varys is still attached to what happened to him as a child.
Daenerys
After a strong anchor scene at the end of last week’s episode it is fair for her to be given a slightly smaller scene this week. Jorah and Dany have been paired in scenes since season 1, they are nearly the oldest and longest running pairing that we have left in the series, and no Cersei/Jaime don’t count for that title because they spent a large portion of multiple seasons separated as their duties were separate from each other. So seeing Jorah reveal to Dany that she has to send him away because of his Greyscale is effective. It pulls at our heartstrings knowing that these two are being separated because we grew so accustomed to seeing them together. Hearing Dany claim that she needs him by her side when she takes the Iron Throne makes us all hopeful that Jorah the Andal will be able to find a cure for his Greyscale, but in truth many of us that may be less optimistic know we may never see Jorah again. If that is the case then this may be a satisfying exit for him, not exactly the heroic fall that Barristan the Bold got as he battled dozens of Sons of the Harpy with Greyworm. But a satisfying ending knowing he gave up what he truly wanted, being by Dany’s side forever, because he knows that sacrifice is sometimes the name of the game.
Pyke:
Well Kingsmoot has come and now Kingsmoot has gone. Euron has now taken the Salt Throne and is the King of the Ironborne. So why is it that this doesn’t feel as epic as it could have been? It’s a great scene, do not assume otherwise, but it felt like it almost fell a bit flat as they rushed through it so quickly to fit it into a shorter time slot than some of the other scenes we received. Part of me wonders how much of Victarian and Quentyn’s stories have been distributed to Euron, Yara and Theon but at this point only time will truly tell. With the end of Kingsmoot Yara, Theon, and a Contingent (Well Large Contingent seeing how many ships they took) are now fugitives from Euron but I honestly can’t predict where the show is going to be sending them. We know Euron is aiming to build a massive fleet and deliver it to Dany (with the idea stuck in his head that he’s going to bed and marry the Dragon Queen as she is so thoughtfully called) but I am left to wonder if this is going to end with Euron being dragon food. I will be the first to admit I would have probably just given this episode an A+ had Euron now woken from his Salt Rebirth just because it would have been kinda funny.
Arya:
While I can’t exactly say I’m loving every bit of Arya’s storyline this season I can understand what they are going for with it. Her transformation, or lack thereof a transformation, into a Servant of the Faceless Man is supposed to be front and center of her story. But when she very clearly is just playing a certain amount of a role, something we can for sure tell Jaqen notices, it becomes hard to invest in where her story is going. Arya is a strong character, and yet she has constantly been thrown into a subservient role (not quite unlike Sansa but in a very different way), so seeing her end up as a servant again doesn’t truly do her character justice. It almost seems far TOO convenient that her first mission is to kill an actor portraying a part in her life. A test by Jaqen to see if she can act without question or if she is still tied to her past. But it only takes knowing that Needle is still hidden outside the House of Black and White to know that Arya still exists. And until that sword is gone, if ever, she will never truly become nobody.
Everything and Everybody at the Night’s Watch:
The Night’s Watch continues to be consistently great to watch. Between Tormund still being obviously love struck by Brienne and Sansa coming into her own as a character it has easily been the highlight of the season. Unlike Arya who is being forced to strip her identity away to become nobody, Sansa is on a very different path. One that possibly leads to her becoming the QUEEN of the North. She has certainly gone through enough shit to be ready for something good to fall her way. I was a bit worried last season when we had to witness Ramsey rape Sansa. This was something that easily could have been glossed over far too heavily without witnessing the widespread effects of what such a tragic event could do to a person. But seeing Sansa confront Littlefinger about this, seeing it still permeate across her being is so very true to how something so horrific forever changes a person. So it’s easy to understand why she was so quick to dismiss Littlefinger’s help without consulting Jon or Davos, the people who may have tried to be pragmatic about the situation and still get Littlefinger’s help. It’s a decision that can be understood because Sansa is tired of having to bend to the will of others and allowing Littlefinger to help would have easily put her back into that role.
So from there we are treated to a scene of a war table planning, they are surrounded by enemies and if they truly want to stop the Whitewalkers they will need the North to do it. So it makes sense that they will first set their eyes on Winterfell, putting a Stark back into power and reclaiming the North for their family. And even though Jon so clearly DOESN’T have the Stark name (as is kindly pointed out to us) he is still a Stark, and it’s almost smacking us upside the head with how obvious it is that someone is going to do something to rectify this in the coming weeks to legitimize him. It does give way to a touching scene with Sansa handing him a cloak so similar to Ned Starks. It’s her own way of saying she accepts him as her family and is a soft moment in the mist of everything else in this episode.
While we now know that Castle Black is probably going to be behind us for a long time, given that Dolores Edd is the only person left at Castle Black that we mighty REMOTELY care about, what is ahead of us is exciting to consider. Brienne will be headed for Riverrun where the Blackfish has started to reform their army (and I would honestly love to see Tormund tag along with her just to get more faces of confusion from Brienne.) Sansa and Jon will be headed to the smaller houses ready to put together the army that will take down Ramsey and his still large army. The BastardBowl is incoming and it’s a war that may tear the North apart, just to put it back together.
Bran:
But it’s all with the anchor scene, once again, that we get everything we could have wanted in a scene and more. While learning that the Children of the Forest created the White Walkers was interesting, it’s more of a passing information scene than anything else. I don’t believe the show has done anything to really flesh out who the Children are to none book readers and now with most, if not all, of them dead it’s unlikely we will get anything more apart from any visions Bran might get. It’s Brans impatience that drives this part of the story. His trips into the past with the Three-Eyed Raven going far to slow for his own liking and thus he takes it into his own power when he finds everyone sleeping and decides to use the tree to make a solo journey that will change everything. Why he sees the present instead of the past in this vision I can’t say I know the answer, but it’s this trip where the Night King sees him (and touches him) that spurs the rest of the storyline forward. With his mark on Bran the tree is no longer a safe place and the Three-Eyed Raven knows that even though Bran isn’t ready, he no longer has a choice.
Watching the White Walkers storm the tree was gut wrenching as we are delivered a scene that I think will truly out do anything the books will deliver for the same scene (something the “Inside the Episode” for “The Door” establishes is right from the mouth of G.R.R.M) and it’s because of the duality of this scene. When we are given a scene that takes place simultaneously in the past and the present it’s easy for us to visualize thanks to how the show presents it. But the book could never do that justice because with a book it requires the set up between which scene is being presented to us and wouldn’t offer the same visual impact. So with the chaotic “battle” takes place and we watch as the Three-Eyed Raven, the Children of the Forest and even Summer (Bran’s Direwolf) all sacrifice themselves to allow Bran to escape each of those deaths feels meaningful in their own way because it strips away a layer of security that Bran had. But as Hodor, Meera, and Bran are making their escape the sheer number of white walkers leaves an uncomfortable truth with all of us. And it forces Bran and Meera to make the split tragic decision to leave Hodor behind.
Give the sheer body count of the show this season so far, the fact that Hodor dies tonight is not itself remarkable. While it is far more significant than Osha or even Balon Greyjoy were to us, given that both of them had been offscreen for so long, Hodor’s inability to speak truly hindered his ability to become a strong narrative in his own right. What Hodor’s death here does for us, is present a cold fact of life in this world, sometimes sacrifices will HAVE to be made, and Hodor dying to hold back the seemingly never-ending assault of wights to allow Bran and Meera to escape is the exact type of tragic yet heroic ending that you could expect from a character whose loyalty was never questioned, even when the fact that he was a coward couldn’t exactly live up to it. But it’s in the strange way the past is tied to the present that makes this truly tragic.
As we witness Bran take one more journey into the past with the Three-Eyed Raven we are given a scene where Hodor, then Wyllis, is witnessing Ned Stark about to be sent off to the Vale. And it is in this scene that it all happens and we are affirmed that the future is very much destined to happen. As Bran simultaneously wargs into Hodor to make the escape in the present something triggers and Wyllis is warged into as well. And as Meera constantly yells to Hodor to “Hold the Door!” it seeps into the past, in a scene that is so hauntingly well put together, and we witness the exact moment Hodor is both born, and dies. It’s this ability to play the scenes together at the same time that allows us to feel the weight of everything that has and will happened.
Bran is now the new Three-Eyed Raven and as he is being dragged out into the snow by Meera the future seems bleak for them, and possibly for the rest of Westeros.
About Last Week…..
- I’m starting to become increasingly worried about the Umbers in the show. Last week I was still holding out hope that everything happening in Winterfell was a part of some greater Umber plot to lure Ramsey into a false sense of security but that is seeming to be more and more unlikely.
- While we are given some affirmation this week that the Sons of the Harpy’s attacks have decreased, I still don’t know how much faith I put in the Masters of Slaver’s Bay. It will be truly telling when Daenerys shows up with her hoard of Dothraki.
- Speaking of Daenerys, the more I think about it the more I sort of wish Drogon had taken a part in Daenerys becoming the unquestioned Queen of the Dothraki. Had he shown up and set fire to the hut it would have made more sense, logistically speaking, that Dany had survived the fire as it could have been the same magic protecting her. But again this may just be where the show is taking advantage of its creative freedoms.
- It almost pains me to say this but I think I was right last week when it comes to Petyr, this week doesn’t give me hope that he is going to be a big player in the coming weeks and he only existed as a plot point to spur Sansa’s story further.
Feel free to follow me on Twitter @ZaneBixby, I try to tweet during the show but often get to distracted or caught up in what’s happening. I also tweet about gaming news and complain about League of Legends eSports!
