Game of Thrones episode 6.05: “The Door”

[chavalah]

If I thought the beginning of the last episode would destroy my fragile emotions, the end of this one came quite close to mounting a second attack. Anyone who has watched this hour knows just what this episode was named for (probably the biggest, most shocking reveal for we book fans), but in avoiding specific spoilers, I thought I’d talk a little bit about theme. Characters in this episode have a “door” to go through, choices to make. Sansa, reunited with Littlefinger, ponders her next political moves. Bran’s desire to gain knowledge on his own terms certainly has consequences. The Kingsmoot comes, and Theon either has to throw his weight behind his sister or make his own claim. Daenerys has to decide what to do with the twice-banished Jorah; Tyrion invites a controversial ally to spread his propaganda. And Arya—who is supposed to be no one—is confronted with the assignment to assassinate a decent person.

In lighter terms, some questions this episode ponders is—again, how the hell does Littlefinger move across Westeros so fast? Where will Euron find trees to fell for ships when he lives on an inhospitable rock? And who took the parental controls off of Bran’s remote control? :P

Regarding Sansa again, I know the showrunners want to focus on the fact that she’s still very much Littlefinger’s student. But that speech she gave about what it felt like to be sexually violated—I think that’s the most honest thing I’ve heard about rape on television. Considering the huge controversy of showing the rape last season, this seems to end it on a good note. What happened to Sansa turned out to be far more than just shock value.

( Episode summary and spoilers )