Week 9 (S5E09-S6E04)

Episode 49: The Dance of Dragons

“I am the Princess Shireen of House Baratheon. And I am your daughter.”

Major Plot Points: Stannis tries one last trick to win the throne.  Jon brings his new wildling friends to Castle Black.  Arya sells oysters, clams, and cockles.  Daenerys has to deal with an assassination attempt. 

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. The Dance of Dragons was the name given to a Targaryen civil war between Aegon II and his half sister Rhaenyra over their father’s throne.  By the end both were dead, along with their dragons. Shireen is shown reading a book about it before her death.
2. As stated before, Davos was never in the North, he was recruiting more lords to Stannis’ cause.  At this point Melisandre and Shireen were also still at Castle Black, and Stannis’ state in the north was unknown.  However there is still a lot of evidence that what Stannis did in the show will still happen.
3. Doran sent Nymeria Sand to take Oberyn’s place on the small council. She wasn’t nearly as annoying and respected his plan to overthrow Cersei.
4. Hizdahr Zo Loraq was not killed in the fighting pits, and tried to take control of the city after Daenerys left.  No one really listened to him though, and Barristan believed he tried to poison Dany before her escape.  This is because he offered her a bowl of honeyed locusts that she refused.  Her giant guard, Strong Belwas, ate them and immediately became sick and almost died in the days after.
5. Daenerys’ hair burned off, and she did suffer some burns from Drogon.  This shows that in the books, she was not fireproof like she is depicted on the show multiple times.

Other Points to Notice

1. Somehow 20 men were enough to destroy all of Stannis’ siege equipment, and food stores.  This seems like a convenient plot device to me, as those would probably be the heaviest guarded tents that Stannis had.  It did give us a badass Stannis line though, when he told Davos to have the dead horses butchered for their meat.
2. The toy Davos gives Shireen comes back in season 6, and is all the evidence Davos needs to accuse Melisandre of her murder.
3. Mace wasn’t the sharpest in the books, but in the show he is an outright clown.  It seems amazing to me that he has been able to survive as long as he has, probably all due to his mother.
4. Meryn Trant’s affinity for beating young girls puts a dark light on the times he hit Sansa for Joffrey.
5. Selyse, who always openly talked down about Shireen, ended up being the only one to try to stop her death.  It seems that deep down she did love the child.
6. Hizdahr being killed by the Sons of the Harpy really was solid proof that he was not their leader.
7. Jorah offers his hand to Daenerys and she takes it. Greyscale is spread via touch. This seems like a bad oversight on both the writers and Jorah.

Stray Observations:

1. Ellaria is really unbearable.  But it does bother me more that Doran refuses to have a plan to overthrow Tommen.
2. What Stannis did was unforgivable.  But in his mind, he was the rightful king and the only one in the world that could save the world from the Long Night.  This was of course due to the constant indoctrination from Melisandre.  He had to choose between his daughter and the lives of everyone in Westeros.  Of course it did not matter in the end, making both his fall, and Shireen’s death, even more tragic.
3. Shireen’s death has to be the darkest moment in the series. Fuck it’s still so hard to watch.  I hope it doesn’t happen in the books.

RIP: Shireen Baratheon. First of her name. And a truly good person.

Episode 50: Mother’s Mercy

“Go on, do your duty.”

Major Plot Points: Stannis marches one last time.  Arya breaks loses sight of her assassin goals.  Tyrion, Daario, and Jorah miss Dany.  Dany enjoys life in the wild. Cersei goes on a shameful walk. Jon is murdered by his own men.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. Stannis is still entrenched in the snows outside of Winterfell.  We know this because there is a chapter from book 6 with him interrogating the newly escaped Theon.  Theon’s sister is also with Stannis at this point. 
2. It was Jon’s idea, not Sam’s, for him to become a Maester.  Sam actually refused to do it at first, due to childhood trauma.  He once told his father he wanted to be a Maester and his father tormented and shamed him about it.
3. Reek and Jeyne Poole escaped in the same way, by jumping into a snow bank.
4. As I stated once before,  Arya killed Daeron, a deserter from the Night’s Watch, not Meryn Trant.  I don’t have a problem with this deviation though, as it gave us a familiar face for Arya to murder. 
5. Myrcella is still alive.  She’s definitely going to die, as will Tommen, but not at the hands of Ellaria Sand.  Ridiculous that they made her the villain here.
6. Varys was still in King’s Landing. In the epilogue of A Dance with Dragons, he appears in the Tower of the Hand and murders Kevan Lannister.  Varys said that Kevan was doing too much to fix Cersei’s mistakes, and he needed unrest in order to put Aegon Targaryen on the throne.
7. The Mountain was a zombie, but Qyburn and everyone else hilariously called him Ser Gregor Strong, even though it was obvious who he really was.
8. Before Jon was killed, he received a letter from Ramsey.  This letter (known to fans as the pink letter due to the sealing wax color) taunted Jon, and told him that Stannis was dead, and that Mance (who was still alive and sent there undercover) was captured as well.  The letter then demanded Jon send Reek, his wife, and Val the wildling, to him, or he would march to the Wall and kill Jon.  At this point Jon does not know Ramsey is married to a fake Arya. The letter enrages Jon and he then decides to rally the wildling army and march on Winterfell.  He sends Tormund to Hardhome instead of going himself.  This was the last straw for the mutineers, and they killed him before he left.  Many fans have different theories on if Ramsey actually sent the letter, and how much of it was true.
9. Jon’s last words before dying were “Ghost”.  Not “Olly”.

Other Points to Notice

1. Melisandre was right about the Bolton banners burning, but she was very wrong about Stannis being the one to do it.  Also, she was technically right about the snow melting when Shireen was sacrificed.
2. Stannis’ battle at Winterfell leaves much to be desired.  It almost feels like we were robbed.  Hopefully in the books it is more epic and fleshed out.  But he did get a proper sendoff.  He did not deny that he killed his brother, and accepted his death gracefully.
3. How did Arya already learn how to use fake faces? We never saw her trained in this, and it bothers me that we still gain no idea of how the Faceless Men really work.  Also since she clearly knows the secrets of face-swapping, you’d think she would be less scared when Jaqen uses the trick on her.
4. Lena Headey did not want to film herself naked in front of that many people, and she listed good reasons for it.  So her walk of shame scene is done entirely with a body double.

Stray Observations:

1. Sam is still an unrepentant horn dog.
2. Renly was cool and all but in no world was he the rightful heir as Brienne proclaims.
3. When Sam leaves, Jon is standing from the same bannister we used to always see Jeor Mormont stand.
4. Because we didn’t explicitly see Stannis die, there were many annoying theories that he still lived.  As if Brienne would just not kill him. 
5. The bad pussy line has to be the worst line in tv history. Why?

RIP:  Stannis Baratheon, rightful heir to the Iron Throne.  Also Jon Snow, the 998^th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch.  And now his watch is ended.  Until next season. Did anyone think he actually stayed dead?

Episode 51: The Red Woman

“Buried, burned, she’s good meat. Feed her to the hounds.”

Major Plot Points: Davos watches Thorne seize power.  Jon is still dead.  Sansa and Reek find Brienne.  Cersei mourns the loss of her only daughter.  Margaery is getting tired of captivity.  Tyrion and Varys learn about their new home.  Daenerys is a slave of the Dothraki once again.  Arya is blind.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. Ghost was not locked up when Jon died, and his reaction to his master’s death will be very interesting.  Most fans are expecting a chapter of Jon warged inside Ghost’s body.
2. Roose constantly humiliates and belittles Ramsey in public.  This is one of his only methods to control him.  On the show it is usually more private, which seems more dangerous, as it gives Ramsey ample opportunity to strike back.
3. Alexander Siddig (Doran Martell) was very upset that his character was killed off for what he thought was pure shock value.  When he played Doran in Season 5, he assumed the whole time that Doran had a plan to overthrow the Lannisters, and played the character as such.  But it seems that D&D enjoyed Ellaria as a villain and killed Doran off, dooming us to more Sand Snakes.  It is one of my biggest problems with the show.  Especially how they kill his son Trystane, who was completely innocent.  Also can you imagine how upset Oberyn would be by all of this? Plus why would the common people of Dorne accept Ellaria’s rule?
4. Theon’s Uncle Victarion was very close to Meereen at this point.  Euron Greyjoy sent him there to capture Daenerys to be his new bride.  By now Euron was already King of the Iron Islands, and had shown an ancient horn which was said to control dragons at the Kingsmoot.  Victarion was basically a pirate stereotype, and was removed from the show, but it does seem like show-Euron has some of his tendencies. 
5. Khal Jhaqo captures Daenerys, and since he once was a bloodrider to Drogo, recognized Dany immediately. 

Other Points to Notice

1. This is the only time we see Melisandre act like a human, and not some beautiful demon with no emotions.  Seeing Jon die is really the last straw for her faith in herself. 
2. We have now seen 2 Lord Commanders in a row murdered by the men they commanded.  Not a good sign for Jon’s successor. 
3. As soon as Brienne appears, the dogs stop barking and immediately disappear.  A bit of a weird oversight by the director, since we know Ramsey trains his hounds to attack his enemies.
4. Sansa repeats the same words to Brienne that her mother once did.
5. Daenerys mentions that she will never have children again, a point she reiterates in Season 7. In the books it is made more clear why she believes this, as Mirri Maz Duur tells her that she will never carry children again when she last speaks to her. For some reason the show skipped that part of Mirri’s prophecy.

Stray Observations:

1. Holy shit I really hate Olly. Look at him standing there all cocky.
2. Brienne finally keeps an oath.  She really needed this. It’s weird to me that Roose is never worried about Ramsey murdering him.
3. Melisandre being insanely old is a long held book theory finally proven true.

RIP:  Ramsey’s best hunters.

Episode 52: Home

“I am the storm, brother. The first storm and the last.”

Major Plot Points: Bran returns to the show and does some flashbacks.  Jaime threatens the High Sparrow. Tyrion meets Rhaegal and Viserion.  Roose Bolton was poisoned by his enemies.  Arya is still blind.  Davos begs Melisandre to make Jon stop being dead.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. Jojen was alive, or so we were led to believe.  While Bran was in the cave, he repeatedly ate a weird paste given to him by the children of the forest.  This was supposed to enhance his abilities, and some fans speculate that the paste was made…out of Jojen.  Jojen was shown to be weak and dying by this point, so it is possible. 
2. Tommen did not lock Cersei in the Red Keep when she left the captivity of the Sept.  He was too busy eating sweets and stamping things for fun.  He was not a very bright child.
3. Probably the second largest theory in the ASOIAF fandom is that Tyrion is secretly the child of Joanna Lannister and Aerys Targaryen.   It was repeatedly stated in the books that the Mad King lusted after Joanna, even to Tywin’s face.  Tyrion was also described as having almost white blonde hair, and we hear Tywin once say something along the lines of “Because I can not prove that you are not my son.”  The theory goes on to state that Tyrion and Jon, the 2 secret Targaryens, will ride Dany’s other 2 dragons.  This episode adds slight fuel to the fire, when Tyrion is able to tame the dragons in captivity, a feat that we hear in the books usually only works for those with Targaryen ancestry.  Personally, I do not like this theory, and I think it cheapens Tyrion’s character and growth, especially his confrontation with Tywin. 
4. Theon is a captive of Stannis, but even if he is freed it is higly doubtful he goes back to Pyke.  Euron was already in command after the Kingsmoot and would kill him immediately.  We also do not see Euron kill Balon, but it seems fairly obvious he was responsible. 
5. Euron wore an eye patch, and had a “black eye shining with malice underneath it.”  This earned him the nickname “Crow’s-Eye”. 

Other Points to Notice

1. After years of speculating over Jon’s parentage, even seeing the teen version of Lyanna seemed like a huge deal. 
2. I hate Olly as much as the next guy, but he does have a good reason to hate Tormund, he literally watched this dude murder his entire family. 
3. The eye stones that the High Sparrow mentions, are a show-only invention.  They were added in the pilot episode, mostly because they looked cool. It is possible they are a homage to Ancient Greece, where coins were placed on the eyes of the deceased. 
4. Arya’s plotline comes to a screeching halt.  How many times do we have to watch her fight ineffectively while blind?  Two seems too many. 
5. Roose was an incredibly smart man, and probably should have known better than to get close to Ramsey.  It did give us the hilarious “poisoned by his enemies” line though. 
6. Now it makes sense as to why Melisandre was written to see Thoros bring Beric back from the dead.  Although since she never saw him in the books…does this mean Jon is staying dead?? Probably not. 

Stray Observations:

1. We see young Rodrick Cassel, and apparently he always had the epic mutton chops.
2. The smirk that the High Sparrow gives Jaime as he leaves the sept, is all the proof I need that he is secretly enjoying his new power. 
3. Fat Walda (that was her book nick name) seemed like a nice person, and I could have done without having to see her and her baby killed so brutally.
4. The ironborn throne was called the Seastone Chair, not the Salt Throne.

RIP:  King Balon Greyjoy.  Somehow the last surviving leader from the War of the Five Kings

Episode 53: Oathbreaker

“Wear it. Burn it. You have Castle Black. My watch is ended.”

Major Plot Points:   Sam, Gilly, and Sam head for Horn Hill.  Bran’s visions fuel book reader’s long held theories.  Daenerys joins the Dosh Khaleen.  Tommen learns about religion.  Cersei plots for her trial.  Arya trains blindly.  Jon is free from his vows.

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. Some theorize that Beric, and Jon if he comes back, are the opposite of the wights that the White Walkers command.  They are fire wights in a way, and hopefully more will be explored on the implications of this.
2. Sam and Gilly went straight to Oldtown after booking passage on a merchant ship in Braavos.  When we last saw Gilly, she was in Oldtown waiting for Sam to send her to Horn Hill.  It remains to be seen if she actually does go there.
3. We do not see Ned fight Arthur Dayne at the Tower of Joy.  In the first book, we do see the situation through a fever dream of Ned’s.  However the details are cloudy and jump from the confrontation directly to Lyanna making Ned promise her something. Also, it was 3 vs 7, as Ser Oswell Whent was also there with Dayne and Hightower.
4. Arthur Dayne was widely regarded as the greatest swordsman to ever live. 
5. Smalljon Umber died at the Red Wedding.  Before this, the Umbers were among the most loyal Stark bannerman.  It is very unlikely they would ever align with the Boltons, especially since Roose was the reason most of the Umber leaders were dead.  Seeing Rickon and Osha again also seems unlikely, as most believe they left Westeros for the island of Skagos.  However the Karstarks did join the Boltons and once pledged to join Stannis with the intention of betraying him. 

Other Points to Notice

1. When Beric Dondarrion came back from the dead, he told Arya that each time he lost a little more of himself.  In the books he talked about how he couldn’t even remember what his home looked like.  We never really get that sense from Jon, and after he comes back it almost has no plot relevance, other than him being proof of the Red God’s power.  I wonder if from his POV in the books we will see him change.
2. The first man we see in Bran’s vision, is Ser Gerold Hightower.  A formidable duelist in his own right, he was the Commander of the Kingsguard for Aerys.  The fact that both he and Arthur Dayne were outside the tower protecting Lyanna was all the proof fans needed to create the R + L = J theory.
3. It bothers me that Bran says he has heard the story a thousand times about how Ned beat Dayne.  It seems unlikely Ned would ever talk about this fight, especially given the tragic ending to both Dayne and Lyanna.
4. The whore Varys interrogates is the same one that we saw slit an Unsullied soldier’s throat, and direct Barristan to his death. 
5. Qyburn immediately uses the same child spies that Varys once employed.
6. The High Sparrow manipulates Tommen just as easily as Margaery or Cersei ever did.  He somehow makes him his puppet in just one conversation.
7. Interestingly enough, we see Arya able to best the Waif in a fight while blind.  It does make her eventual victory seem more likely I guess.

Stray Observations:

1. Jon is rightfully disturbed at being alive again.
2. Dany really doesn’t understand that other Dothraki do not care about her titles.
3. Tyrion trying to get Grey Worm and Missandei to play a game with him was extremely sad.
4. Technically, Jon did serve the Night’s Watch till death.

RIP: Ser Alliser Thorne, for a short time First Ranger, and for an even shorter time the Lord Commander, of the Night’s Watch. And now his watch is ended. Fuck Olly

Episode 54: Book of the Stranger

“I fought, and I lost.”

Major Plot Points: Jon meets the family member he cares the least about.  Daenerys meets her old friends in an old place.  Tyrion tries to run a new city.  Margaery reunites with Loras.  Cersei finally begins to take action.  Osha dies. 

Observations from a Book Reader:

1. If Jon does come back to life, I am certain he will use the same loophole he uses on the show to get out of his vows.  Jon is clearly the main character of the series and there isn’t much he can do plot-wise from the Wall.
2. Astapor, Yunkai, and Volantis did not send envoys to negotiate with Daenerys in Meereen.  They all joined forces and sent massive armies to besiege the city.  Outside of Meereen was a no mans land of slavers, armies, war ships, and disease. 
3. Daenerys’ plan to escape Vaes Dothrak would never work.  This is due to the fact that she does not have a superpower where she is immune to fire.  The only time she was fireproof was when she also burned Mirri Maz Duur, so it may have been some type of blood magic.
4. Lancel was not a member of the faith militant.  He was super depressed though. 
5. We get our show version of the Pink Letter. Doesn’t have the same impact when we know Ramsey isn’t lying.

Other Points to Notice

1. It’s interesting to imagine how much differently things would have ended up if Jon left Castle Black before Sansa arrived.  Hard to picture him going to Dorne and enjoying a life on the beach.
2. It was refreshing to hear Davos question Mel about Stannis, since to this point she has not had to atone for her decisions.  I have a strong feeling she will be killed by Arya in Season 8.
3. This is where it gets hard to understand Littlefinger’s motives.  Did he always plan to give Sansa to the Boltons, only to then march on the Boltons? The only way this makes sense is when you remember he currently has Cersei’s blessing to overthrow them.  Except Cersei will be furious when she finds out he didn’t kill Sansa.  Idk the whole thing is super confusing. 
4. Both Tyrion and Missandei are correct in their actions.  Tyrion is doing the right thing and trying to peacefully stop the masters from attacking them, and Missandei is right in not believing the masters can be placated.  The result is infuriating.
5. Not sure why Margaery is still captive.  All she was accused of was lying while in a sept.  In the books Cersei framed her for sleeping with several different knights. 

Stray Observations:

1. The first Stark reunion we see is definitely the best Stark reunion.
2. Remember the wise master from Astapor?  Same guy that Dany once took gold from and threatened to unleash Drogon on. 
3. The High Sparrow’s monologue was weirdly awesome.  I know we are supposed to hate him but how can you hate someone that good at acting??
4. Theon’s second boat ride to Pyke is much different than his first, when he came in super cocky.
   
5. I feel like Osha did not get the send off she deserved.  No one in the world believed her plan to seduce Ramsey would work.  They may as well have killed her offscreen and saved her dignity. 

RIP:  Osha the Wildling.  Also some Dothraki.

Daenerys Boob Counter: 1

Overall: 4.5

Season 6 was immediately better than Season 5.  Hard to explain why, but it felt more like Game of Thrones again.  It’s going to get harder and harder to write book facts moving forward since we are about at the point in the show where every plotline has gone beyond the source material.  Only 2 full weeks left before season 8.

Things I Liked: The Tyrion and Varys reunion in Meereen was a nice addition.  It helped us remember the glory days of Season 2, where the show reveled in constant political maneuvering.  I also am a big fan of the way Jon came back and immediately was pissed about it.  Seems like the best reaction possible.  Stannis had a pretty cool final scene as well.  However by far the most powerful moment of this group of episodes, was the murder of Shireen.  It was horrifying, and completely fucked up, but it was supposed to be and I’m glad they gave the moment the gravity it needed.  Still super fucked though.

Things I Did Not Like: Ellaria Sand murdering Myrcella, Doran, and Trystane, then somehow taking control of an entire kingdom is the worst part of Game of Thrones.  First off, she is literally a bastard.  Second of all, she was not even married to Oberyn Martell.  Third, and most importantly, she commands 0 armies and has no lords loyal to her.  Literally any highborn in Dorne has a stronger claim than her to the kingdom and she would immediately be overthrown, along with the fucking Sand Snakes.  Doran was such a waste of a character.  Also, the “battle” between Stannis and Ramsey was a pathetic joke.