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scifi_rewatchEvery season finale that isn’t a series finale should end with at least one cliffhanger, but I think this ep takes the cake. Every single story arc—and we check in with all of them—ends with a shocking event or two. There’s deaths, there’s other trauma, and there’s fates that hang in the balance. You could play a game about who survived and who didn’t, which I guess, on the macro level, is what some people do with “Game of Thrones” anyway. :P
One death, at the very end, is meant to be particularly arresting. It also very much marks a barrier between published canon and the unpublished wilderness, because this scene also ends book five, “A Dance With Dragons.” Still other scenes put a definitive mark on storylines that are more up in the air thus far in the novels. Next season, almost everything will be new terrain.
Shocking reveals and twists aside, I would say that most main characters had to grapple with a choice of some sort this episode. The only characters I really didn’t care about, as always, were the Dornish. They started and ended the season as the same vengeful, one-dimensional creatures. Yawn. On the opposite side of the scale, in a deftly handled canon scene, Cersei Lannister proved that a villain can also be a victim, and there’s a fine line between justice and cruelty. Probably the strongest storyline, but as always, I’m most obsessed with the fate of the Starks. :P Seems like things might be coming to a head in the north…guess we will all have to wait and see!
Summary
Winterfell
Post-Shireen sacrifice, Stannis finds melted snows, but also his horses and half of his army is gone, Selyse hangs herself, and Melissandre deserts the party. The remainder of Stannis’s troops arrive at Winterfell in time to be slaughtered by the Boltons. Sansa uses the corkscrew to escape her confines and lights the candle in the old tower, but Brienne leaves to take her vengeance on Stannis. Myranda and Theon confront Sansa, but Theon turns on Ramsay’s ally, killing her, and then he and Sansa jump from the ramparts as the Bolton soldiers arrive home.
Braavos
Meryn abuses three young girls in the brothel; one of them is Arya, wearing the face of the youngster she euthanized earlier in the season. When they are alone, Arya maims, taunts, and then viciously kills her foe. But when she returns to the House of Black and White, Jaqen chastises her for breaking the rules, and she loses her eyesight.
Dorne
Ellaria kisses Myrcella goodbye, Bronn and Tyene flirt, and then the King’s Landing party boards their boat home. Once settled, Jaime and Myrcella share a moment where the young girl comes clean about knowing that he’s her father. But before things get too cozy, she starts suffocating; it becomes clear that Ellaria, watching the ship on the dock with the Sand Snakes, has poisoned her.
Meereen
Daenerys’s companions struggle with what to do in her absence; ultimately it’s decided that Jorah and Daario will mount a rescue mission, and Tyrion will stay to rule with Missandei and Grey Worm. Later, Varys decides to make an appearance and help with Tyrion with this task as well. Somewhere far away, Drogon is nursing his wounds and Dany hunts for food when she comes across an ominous party of Dothraki riders.
King’s Landing
Cersei confesses her adulterous incest with Lancel to the High Sparrow, but denies all other charges levied against her. This means that she will still have a trial, but she’s allowed to go home after an “atonement” of walking, naked, through the streets while being pelted with filth and gendered insults. Safe inside the Keep, most of the small council is indifferent to her suffering, but Qyburn presents her with a zombie-fied Gregor Clegane to exact revenge.
The Wall
Jon allows for Sam to leave and train as a maester, taking Gilly and the baby with him to the Citadel. Davos and Jon argue about enlisting the wildlings to help Stannis; Melissandre arrives, likely to share bad news. Later, Olly lures Jon out of his quarters with a story about an Uncle Benjen sighting; instead, it’s a trap where several brothers, including Thorne and Olly, kill Jon for betraying their understanding of the Night’s Watch.
Differences from page to screen
Winterfell: Mance and his companions convince Theon to help rescue “Arya.” During the escape, the wildlings are all killed or captured; Theon and Jeyne do escape by jumping, but into a storm, not hardened snow. Jeyne, unlike Sansa, does not play an active role in these events. Myranda is not a character in the novels, and ergo she doesn’t die. So far in the published materials, the Winterfell battle hasn’t happened yet, and Brienne isn’t around to take her vengeance on Stannis. Melissandre hasn’t abandoned Stannis per se, but she is at the Wall (Davos is not.) Shireen and Selyse both still appear to be alive.
Braavos: Arya is wearing the face of an actress named Mercy when she kills Raff the Sweetling. There’s a much more explicit fornication scene involving him groping her sex (Arya in the books is also much younger.) She doesn’t monologue in the novel, either. In a separate incident, Arya kills a deserter from the Night’s Watch, and the kindly man calls her out on it. He gives her a cup of warm milk and the next day she wakes up blind. This action isn’t directly related to her using a face for her own purposes.
Dorne: Myrcella is still alive at this point, particularly because Ellaria has no intention to kill her. She and Jaime haven’t had a father/daughter moment, as it’s less likely that she knows about her true paternity anyway. Doran in the novels turns out to have a much more layered plan than simply playing ball with the Lannisters; beyond installing Nymeria at the small council and Tyene with the Faith, he also made plans for his daughter, Arianne, to wed Viserys. Once Viserys died, he sent his son (Trystane’s older brother in the books), Quentyn, to court Dany. Doran also makes preparations for Trystane’s safety on his sea journey by delaying the Kings Guardsman whom Cersei wanted to escort him and Myrcella.
Meereen: Drogon does carry Dany to his island lair and shows little interest in her. Dany is suffering from the fire, symptoms ranging from baldness to malnourishment and fever. She eats strange berries and decides that she is not meant to bring peace, but fire and blood. Drogon assists Dany for the first time in evading/killing/eating a Dothraki scout. They are then come across by Khal Jhaqo (killed in the first season of the show) and his khalasar. Hizdahr briefly rules in Meereen, removing Dany’s advisers and attempting to make peace with the Yunkai. Selmy is ultimately able to arrest him on suspicion that he was involved in the attempt to poison Dany. He takes over rulership as Hand of the Queen, and starts his own council among the Meereenese. He attempts for the release of Yunkai hostages, including Daario, involving lots more backstory and plot (like Quentyn’s journey to Meereen) that don’t appear on the show. Selmy dispatches Dany’s bloodriders (her Dothraki companions that have been with her since the beginning) to find her. Jorah and Tyrion are able to align with the Second Sons, not affiliated with Daario in the books. Tyrion specifically wants their help to win Casterly Rock for himself. Varys is in King’s Landing, having never left , but he doesn’t re-appear until the “Dance of Dragons” epilogue. Then, he kills Kevan and Pycelle in order to herald in a (presumably fake) Targaryen contender for the throne.
King’s Landing: In the book Cersei admits to having relations with many men, but only after Robert’s death. The High Sparrow doesn’t see this as treason since she is a widow. He also takes the time to mention that Stannis worships a false god, so he likely wouldn’t support his claim to the throne. The walk of shame is very similar, except that it’s explicit in the book that Cersei intends not to break down (she fails at this). Her body is completely shorn of all hair. Ser Robert Strong, Qyburn’s creation, has his skin completely covered, and has taken a vow of silence.
The Wall: Jon wants Sam to accompany Aemon, who later dies on the road, Gilly, and a baby who is actually not hers, to the Citadel. Sam actually wants to stay, but among Jon’s plans (including saving said baby from Melissandre’s fires,) he wants to distance himself from his boyhood friends. Much later, Jon receives a letter from Ramsay (so the letter is signed, anyway), saying that Stannis is dead and demanding the return of “Arya” and Theon (who have yet to make it to the Wall, if they ever do.) Jon decides to confront Ramsay, with the help of the wildlings. There is some planning/reasoning involved that the readership is not privy to. Later Jon tries to break up a fight between a giant and some men; there, the brothers stab him to death for betraying the Watch. Presumably their reason is that he has decided to get involved in Westerosi politics. Neither Thorne or Olly are involved, because Thorne is off ranging and Olly doesn’t exist in the books. Jon’s final word is “Ghost,” and with his ability to warg (both he and Arya have some capacity in the books) there’s some question that maybe his consciousness now resides in his wolf. But this is not confirmed.
Thoughts
Looking back on the end of the published material vs the end of season five, there’s a lot to unpack. The Winterfell castle stuff is, broadly, the most canonical. The main difference is that in swapping Sansa for Jeyne, the story arc has been predominately about the female victim. Like I wrote earlier, I have my qualms about the rape scene. But the aftermath proved that this wasn’t just about shock value; Sansa’s character continued to move forward. I hope, though am not convinced, that in the coming seasons Sansa might address the rapes as demanding a specific response beyond just any ol’ violence; I particularly hope it alters her relationship to Littlefinger. There’s a lot that can go right and wrong next season. But for now, she’s refused to be reduced to Ramsay’s pain receptor/breeding machine (Myranda’s comments were such nauseating systematic misogyny), and stands up for herself this hour. I’m ok with Theon taking the reigns on the specifics of the escape (Sansa got herself out of her locked tower, after all.) It does, perhaps, seem a little sudden, which is why I actually appreciate that it was Myranda and not Ramsay whom he challenged. That character was a little too one dimensional for my tastes, but thank you, Charlotte Hope, for your part in all this!
Logically speaking, it seems quite plausible that the Theon/Sansa leap could result in death, or at least significant injuries. But I’m going to call on the power of plot armor for this one. It’s just a little too nihilistic for Sansa and Theon to finally break free of Ramsay, only to find cold oblivion at the bottom of the castle. My verdict: the god of death passed them by.
Some people have criticized Stannis’s willingness to go into a fight where he was so clearly outmatched. I suppose, in keeping with how he’s been characterized on the show, he is stubborn to a fault. Obviously there’s a sense of poetic justice to Stannis’s final stand. He embraced monstrous acts in service of his goals, and in response his troops abandoned him. His wife, wracked with guilt, hanged herself. Kudos to Tara Fitzgerald for making Selyse a more fully formed person at the end of the season. Melissandre, it seems, realized that she misread her prophecies. The Red Priestess is more faithful to those than she is to anything (or anyone) else, imho.
Then, of course, there is the matter of what appears to be Stannis’s death. Not quite sure I should be writing Stephen Dillane a send off yet for his stellar performance. But Brienne coming to do her duty by Renly was alarmingly cathartic. This blood magic is a boomerang; after inadvertently destroying his ambition by murdering his daughter, he’s then called to task for the fratricide that started it all. I’m also very taken with Gwendoline Christie’s cool and collected performance. Show!Brienne finally gets justice for her king. My only beef is, SHE MISSED THE BAT SIGNAL. And Sansa lit the candle JUST as Brienne was leaving; kinda annoying. :P
Final quibble about Winterfell: *sigh* We already know Ramsay is a psychopath; we don’t need him insinuating that he’s going to assault Sansa once he gets home. Hoping this character is at the end of his run soon, yup.
One main difference in Braavos is that Arya’s blindness turns out to be part of her training. Here, at least to begin with, it’s punishment for taking a face. I’m still kind of annoyed by the Faceless Men. Arya screwed up, and did the waif die in her place? I assume, underneath it all, everyone is just a skull with greyworms. But that still doesn’t confirm why one of them had to die for Arya. Maybe because it’s part of their code not to kill a person who is still “someone” (without a contract, anyway.) I do appreciate how “Jaqen” took Arya to task for not respecting the rules of the institution. It’s telling that Arya still thinks of becoming “no one” as a punishment, but for the Faceless Men it’s the greatest honor. I’m just frustrated that Arya will most likely never become a Faceless Man, but she’ll probably escape them easily, after learning a bunch of cool, new tricks. Plot armor dulls consequences.
Maisie’s performance was amazing, certainly when responding with fear to the stuff in the Hall of Faces, but most especially when killing Meryn Trant. She was cold and ruthless, and sold me on the fact that at least there’s a psychological cost to what Arya is doing. Meryn, of course, I’m not sad to see dead, but Ian Bettie has been with us since the beginning of the show, playing this appalling man. Thank you, sir!
Dorne…oh Dorne. I know the show didn’t have the time to fulfill all of Doran’s subterfuge from the books. And I know that, sooner or later, Myrcella had to die. Ties back to the flashback at the beginning of the season, and Cersei’s prophecy that she will lose all of her children. Ultimately, we have to see that pass. The moment between Jaime and Myrcella was probably a little saccharine, but it still made me feklempt. It certainly seems that Myrcella has gone to the grave; thanks to Nell Tiger Free for stepping in and playing this young woman’s love story.
But as for the women connected to the Martell family…they sucked. Maybe they all could have been scheming and arguing in a more complicated way (with Ellaria as the voice of peace that she was supposed to be) and Myrcella would unintentionally get caught in the crossfire. That’s similar to how she loses an ear in the book. It would be a truncated plot, but more meaningful than one-dimensional revenge.
As for Meereen, there would have been no way to do all of the book stuff in a season (granted, we have more than one coming up. :P) I do find myself a little…lackluster about the promise of Tyrion ruling the city, save that hopefully he will interact with Missandei and Grey Worm. But the real problem lies in the fact that there are no Meereenese left on the council. They are not real people to us. I wonder if we will get a season of Tyrion and Varys cracking wise and philosophizing on rulership, before Daenerys swoops back in to take them to Westeros. I also hope we don’t get too much love triangle whining from Daario and Jorah on the road, heh. I’m definitely predominately looking forward to Daenerys next season. Speaking of full circle, likely the Dothraki will take her to task for not acting like a traditional widow. She will no longer be an Alexander the Great figure, but a prisoner. Being forced out of Meereen might be the only viable way to get her back to Westeros. At least give her some character struggle first.
Speaking of character struggle…King’s Landing! Which is pretty much canon, word for word. It’s rather impossible to not be taken over by Lena Headey’s performance—even if she was using a body double for the nude scenes (she was pregnant, after all). This entire segment, much like with Sansa and Myranda, is about institutionalized misogyny. Sure, the Faith Militant can dress it up as stripping nobles of their undeserved pride. But slut-shaming women is a tale as old as time. They’re not quite so anti-establishment as they think they are.
The scene worked well for me, because it showed that cruelty isn’t about whose being punished. It’s about the actions of the punishers. Cersei may be a villain, a deeply flawed and horrible character. But every person has core humanity. Stripping her of all dignity ends up being less about her faults than about society’s.
Contrasted with that, I’m not so fond of the Franken-Gregor sequence. Never have been. Zombies belong with the White Walkers, and nowhere else. :P Lena Hadey’s face almost made up for it, though, the way that she went from horrified disgrace to steely resolve. Also, I enjoyed Kevan and particularly Pycelle’s indifference to Cersei’s pain. Pretty human reactions given how she’s treated them.
Finally…the Wall. I’m very curious where Davos will end up now that Stannis’s cause seems to be lost (granted, I doubt Melissandre will tell him everything. Tensions ahead...) Will he align more closely to his book plot? But is there a reason to petition the Northern lords if his king is no more? Alas, Liam Cunningham’s face when he mentioned Shireen, though. :/
Melissandre I have more theories about, but I’ll have to wait til next season. Meanwhile, Sam and Gilly’s Citadel talks earlier episodes finally pay off as they leave. I admit, it seems a little futile…surely the Night’s Watch will be decimated by the time Sam learns enough to be a maester anyway. Maybe he’ll make it into the accelerated course study. :P
Sam leaving is the nail in the coffin—no pun intended—Jon is now all alone. (Apparently Edd is useless against backstabbing.) The Benjen bit was like a bitter twist of irony—the only good news Jon would’ve heard in ages turned out to be a lie.
I have my reservations about how/why the killing went down. If the Night’s Watch was so against Jon bringing the wildlings south, why wouldn’t they kill him before he left? Or refused to open the gates for him? In the books, it’s Jon’s sudden actions after the Pink Letter that turn the tide. At the same time, I’m annoyed at Martin for keeping readers in the dark about the specifics of that. I think we’re long past turning this narrative into a mystery show, sir. Half of your timelines are starting to overlap, with the future happening before the past.
Otherwise, it was a pretty arresting scene. From Thorne the bad guy to Olly the traumatized kid…and the sad Stark music playing over it. :/ Dammit, this better be the end of pain for the Starks! …I have my suspicions that Jon will rise from the dead in both books and show. He won’t be the same—quite human—anymore, but he will rise. But, to quote what will become a repeat refrain for me, this is all just speculation.
Kit Harrington…what can I say about your performance. I think you’ll be back next season, but in either case, Jon as the leader struggling to do the right thing was a delight to see. I appreciate how this storyline showed folks coming into conflict about the proper course of action. Even when saving all humans from the White Walkers seems like fundamentally the right thing to do, I respect that old grudges are hard to bury, especially for a young kid who lost his parents to violence. Show did decently well with this theme.
Go in peace, Jon Snow. And now his watch is ended.
One death, at the very end, is meant to be particularly arresting. It also very much marks a barrier between published canon and the unpublished wilderness, because this scene also ends book five, “A Dance With Dragons.” Still other scenes put a definitive mark on storylines that are more up in the air thus far in the novels. Next season, almost everything will be new terrain.
Shocking reveals and twists aside, I would say that most main characters had to grapple with a choice of some sort this episode. The only characters I really didn’t care about, as always, were the Dornish. They started and ended the season as the same vengeful, one-dimensional creatures. Yawn. On the opposite side of the scale, in a deftly handled canon scene, Cersei Lannister proved that a villain can also be a victim, and there’s a fine line between justice and cruelty. Probably the strongest storyline, but as always, I’m most obsessed with the fate of the Starks. :P Seems like things might be coming to a head in the north…guess we will all have to wait and see!
Summary
Winterfell
Post-Shireen sacrifice, Stannis finds melted snows, but also his horses and half of his army is gone, Selyse hangs herself, and Melissandre deserts the party. The remainder of Stannis’s troops arrive at Winterfell in time to be slaughtered by the Boltons. Sansa uses the corkscrew to escape her confines and lights the candle in the old tower, but Brienne leaves to take her vengeance on Stannis. Myranda and Theon confront Sansa, but Theon turns on Ramsay’s ally, killing her, and then he and Sansa jump from the ramparts as the Bolton soldiers arrive home.
Braavos
Meryn abuses three young girls in the brothel; one of them is Arya, wearing the face of the youngster she euthanized earlier in the season. When they are alone, Arya maims, taunts, and then viciously kills her foe. But when she returns to the House of Black and White, Jaqen chastises her for breaking the rules, and she loses her eyesight.
Dorne
Ellaria kisses Myrcella goodbye, Bronn and Tyene flirt, and then the King’s Landing party boards their boat home. Once settled, Jaime and Myrcella share a moment where the young girl comes clean about knowing that he’s her father. But before things get too cozy, she starts suffocating; it becomes clear that Ellaria, watching the ship on the dock with the Sand Snakes, has poisoned her.
Meereen
Daenerys’s companions struggle with what to do in her absence; ultimately it’s decided that Jorah and Daario will mount a rescue mission, and Tyrion will stay to rule with Missandei and Grey Worm. Later, Varys decides to make an appearance and help with Tyrion with this task as well. Somewhere far away, Drogon is nursing his wounds and Dany hunts for food when she comes across an ominous party of Dothraki riders.
King’s Landing
Cersei confesses her adulterous incest with Lancel to the High Sparrow, but denies all other charges levied against her. This means that she will still have a trial, but she’s allowed to go home after an “atonement” of walking, naked, through the streets while being pelted with filth and gendered insults. Safe inside the Keep, most of the small council is indifferent to her suffering, but Qyburn presents her with a zombie-fied Gregor Clegane to exact revenge.
The Wall
Jon allows for Sam to leave and train as a maester, taking Gilly and the baby with him to the Citadel. Davos and Jon argue about enlisting the wildlings to help Stannis; Melissandre arrives, likely to share bad news. Later, Olly lures Jon out of his quarters with a story about an Uncle Benjen sighting; instead, it’s a trap where several brothers, including Thorne and Olly, kill Jon for betraying their understanding of the Night’s Watch.
Differences from page to screen
Winterfell: Mance and his companions convince Theon to help rescue “Arya.” During the escape, the wildlings are all killed or captured; Theon and Jeyne do escape by jumping, but into a storm, not hardened snow. Jeyne, unlike Sansa, does not play an active role in these events. Myranda is not a character in the novels, and ergo she doesn’t die. So far in the published materials, the Winterfell battle hasn’t happened yet, and Brienne isn’t around to take her vengeance on Stannis. Melissandre hasn’t abandoned Stannis per se, but she is at the Wall (Davos is not.) Shireen and Selyse both still appear to be alive.
Braavos: Arya is wearing the face of an actress named Mercy when she kills Raff the Sweetling. There’s a much more explicit fornication scene involving him groping her sex (Arya in the books is also much younger.) She doesn’t monologue in the novel, either. In a separate incident, Arya kills a deserter from the Night’s Watch, and the kindly man calls her out on it. He gives her a cup of warm milk and the next day she wakes up blind. This action isn’t directly related to her using a face for her own purposes.
Dorne: Myrcella is still alive at this point, particularly because Ellaria has no intention to kill her. She and Jaime haven’t had a father/daughter moment, as it’s less likely that she knows about her true paternity anyway. Doran in the novels turns out to have a much more layered plan than simply playing ball with the Lannisters; beyond installing Nymeria at the small council and Tyene with the Faith, he also made plans for his daughter, Arianne, to wed Viserys. Once Viserys died, he sent his son (Trystane’s older brother in the books), Quentyn, to court Dany. Doran also makes preparations for Trystane’s safety on his sea journey by delaying the Kings Guardsman whom Cersei wanted to escort him and Myrcella.
Meereen: Drogon does carry Dany to his island lair and shows little interest in her. Dany is suffering from the fire, symptoms ranging from baldness to malnourishment and fever. She eats strange berries and decides that she is not meant to bring peace, but fire and blood. Drogon assists Dany for the first time in evading/killing/eating a Dothraki scout. They are then come across by Khal Jhaqo (killed in the first season of the show) and his khalasar. Hizdahr briefly rules in Meereen, removing Dany’s advisers and attempting to make peace with the Yunkai. Selmy is ultimately able to arrest him on suspicion that he was involved in the attempt to poison Dany. He takes over rulership as Hand of the Queen, and starts his own council among the Meereenese. He attempts for the release of Yunkai hostages, including Daario, involving lots more backstory and plot (like Quentyn’s journey to Meereen) that don’t appear on the show. Selmy dispatches Dany’s bloodriders (her Dothraki companions that have been with her since the beginning) to find her. Jorah and Tyrion are able to align with the Second Sons, not affiliated with Daario in the books. Tyrion specifically wants their help to win Casterly Rock for himself. Varys is in King’s Landing, having never left , but he doesn’t re-appear until the “Dance of Dragons” epilogue. Then, he kills Kevan and Pycelle in order to herald in a (presumably fake) Targaryen contender for the throne.
King’s Landing: In the book Cersei admits to having relations with many men, but only after Robert’s death. The High Sparrow doesn’t see this as treason since she is a widow. He also takes the time to mention that Stannis worships a false god, so he likely wouldn’t support his claim to the throne. The walk of shame is very similar, except that it’s explicit in the book that Cersei intends not to break down (she fails at this). Her body is completely shorn of all hair. Ser Robert Strong, Qyburn’s creation, has his skin completely covered, and has taken a vow of silence.
The Wall: Jon wants Sam to accompany Aemon, who later dies on the road, Gilly, and a baby who is actually not hers, to the Citadel. Sam actually wants to stay, but among Jon’s plans (including saving said baby from Melissandre’s fires,) he wants to distance himself from his boyhood friends. Much later, Jon receives a letter from Ramsay (so the letter is signed, anyway), saying that Stannis is dead and demanding the return of “Arya” and Theon (who have yet to make it to the Wall, if they ever do.) Jon decides to confront Ramsay, with the help of the wildlings. There is some planning/reasoning involved that the readership is not privy to. Later Jon tries to break up a fight between a giant and some men; there, the brothers stab him to death for betraying the Watch. Presumably their reason is that he has decided to get involved in Westerosi politics. Neither Thorne or Olly are involved, because Thorne is off ranging and Olly doesn’t exist in the books. Jon’s final word is “Ghost,” and with his ability to warg (both he and Arya have some capacity in the books) there’s some question that maybe his consciousness now resides in his wolf. But this is not confirmed.
Thoughts
Looking back on the end of the published material vs the end of season five, there’s a lot to unpack. The Winterfell castle stuff is, broadly, the most canonical. The main difference is that in swapping Sansa for Jeyne, the story arc has been predominately about the female victim. Like I wrote earlier, I have my qualms about the rape scene. But the aftermath proved that this wasn’t just about shock value; Sansa’s character continued to move forward. I hope, though am not convinced, that in the coming seasons Sansa might address the rapes as demanding a specific response beyond just any ol’ violence; I particularly hope it alters her relationship to Littlefinger. There’s a lot that can go right and wrong next season. But for now, she’s refused to be reduced to Ramsay’s pain receptor/breeding machine (Myranda’s comments were such nauseating systematic misogyny), and stands up for herself this hour. I’m ok with Theon taking the reigns on the specifics of the escape (Sansa got herself out of her locked tower, after all.) It does, perhaps, seem a little sudden, which is why I actually appreciate that it was Myranda and not Ramsay whom he challenged. That character was a little too one dimensional for my tastes, but thank you, Charlotte Hope, for your part in all this!
Logically speaking, it seems quite plausible that the Theon/Sansa leap could result in death, or at least significant injuries. But I’m going to call on the power of plot armor for this one. It’s just a little too nihilistic for Sansa and Theon to finally break free of Ramsay, only to find cold oblivion at the bottom of the castle. My verdict: the god of death passed them by.
Some people have criticized Stannis’s willingness to go into a fight where he was so clearly outmatched. I suppose, in keeping with how he’s been characterized on the show, he is stubborn to a fault. Obviously there’s a sense of poetic justice to Stannis’s final stand. He embraced monstrous acts in service of his goals, and in response his troops abandoned him. His wife, wracked with guilt, hanged herself. Kudos to Tara Fitzgerald for making Selyse a more fully formed person at the end of the season. Melissandre, it seems, realized that she misread her prophecies. The Red Priestess is more faithful to those than she is to anything (or anyone) else, imho.
Then, of course, there is the matter of what appears to be Stannis’s death. Not quite sure I should be writing Stephen Dillane a send off yet for his stellar performance. But Brienne coming to do her duty by Renly was alarmingly cathartic. This blood magic is a boomerang; after inadvertently destroying his ambition by murdering his daughter, he’s then called to task for the fratricide that started it all. I’m also very taken with Gwendoline Christie’s cool and collected performance. Show!Brienne finally gets justice for her king. My only beef is, SHE MISSED THE BAT SIGNAL. And Sansa lit the candle JUST as Brienne was leaving; kinda annoying. :P
Final quibble about Winterfell: *sigh* We already know Ramsay is a psychopath; we don’t need him insinuating that he’s going to assault Sansa once he gets home. Hoping this character is at the end of his run soon, yup.
One main difference in Braavos is that Arya’s blindness turns out to be part of her training. Here, at least to begin with, it’s punishment for taking a face. I’m still kind of annoyed by the Faceless Men. Arya screwed up, and did the waif die in her place? I assume, underneath it all, everyone is just a skull with greyworms. But that still doesn’t confirm why one of them had to die for Arya. Maybe because it’s part of their code not to kill a person who is still “someone” (without a contract, anyway.) I do appreciate how “Jaqen” took Arya to task for not respecting the rules of the institution. It’s telling that Arya still thinks of becoming “no one” as a punishment, but for the Faceless Men it’s the greatest honor. I’m just frustrated that Arya will most likely never become a Faceless Man, but she’ll probably escape them easily, after learning a bunch of cool, new tricks. Plot armor dulls consequences.
Maisie’s performance was amazing, certainly when responding with fear to the stuff in the Hall of Faces, but most especially when killing Meryn Trant. She was cold and ruthless, and sold me on the fact that at least there’s a psychological cost to what Arya is doing. Meryn, of course, I’m not sad to see dead, but Ian Bettie has been with us since the beginning of the show, playing this appalling man. Thank you, sir!
Dorne…oh Dorne. I know the show didn’t have the time to fulfill all of Doran’s subterfuge from the books. And I know that, sooner or later, Myrcella had to die. Ties back to the flashback at the beginning of the season, and Cersei’s prophecy that she will lose all of her children. Ultimately, we have to see that pass. The moment between Jaime and Myrcella was probably a little saccharine, but it still made me feklempt. It certainly seems that Myrcella has gone to the grave; thanks to Nell Tiger Free for stepping in and playing this young woman’s love story.
But as for the women connected to the Martell family…they sucked. Maybe they all could have been scheming and arguing in a more complicated way (with Ellaria as the voice of peace that she was supposed to be) and Myrcella would unintentionally get caught in the crossfire. That’s similar to how she loses an ear in the book. It would be a truncated plot, but more meaningful than one-dimensional revenge.
As for Meereen, there would have been no way to do all of the book stuff in a season (granted, we have more than one coming up. :P) I do find myself a little…lackluster about the promise of Tyrion ruling the city, save that hopefully he will interact with Missandei and Grey Worm. But the real problem lies in the fact that there are no Meereenese left on the council. They are not real people to us. I wonder if we will get a season of Tyrion and Varys cracking wise and philosophizing on rulership, before Daenerys swoops back in to take them to Westeros. I also hope we don’t get too much love triangle whining from Daario and Jorah on the road, heh. I’m definitely predominately looking forward to Daenerys next season. Speaking of full circle, likely the Dothraki will take her to task for not acting like a traditional widow. She will no longer be an Alexander the Great figure, but a prisoner. Being forced out of Meereen might be the only viable way to get her back to Westeros. At least give her some character struggle first.
Speaking of character struggle…King’s Landing! Which is pretty much canon, word for word. It’s rather impossible to not be taken over by Lena Headey’s performance—even if she was using a body double for the nude scenes (she was pregnant, after all). This entire segment, much like with Sansa and Myranda, is about institutionalized misogyny. Sure, the Faith Militant can dress it up as stripping nobles of their undeserved pride. But slut-shaming women is a tale as old as time. They’re not quite so anti-establishment as they think they are.
The scene worked well for me, because it showed that cruelty isn’t about whose being punished. It’s about the actions of the punishers. Cersei may be a villain, a deeply flawed and horrible character. But every person has core humanity. Stripping her of all dignity ends up being less about her faults than about society’s.
Contrasted with that, I’m not so fond of the Franken-Gregor sequence. Never have been. Zombies belong with the White Walkers, and nowhere else. :P Lena Hadey’s face almost made up for it, though, the way that she went from horrified disgrace to steely resolve. Also, I enjoyed Kevan and particularly Pycelle’s indifference to Cersei’s pain. Pretty human reactions given how she’s treated them.
Finally…the Wall. I’m very curious where Davos will end up now that Stannis’s cause seems to be lost (granted, I doubt Melissandre will tell him everything. Tensions ahead...) Will he align more closely to his book plot? But is there a reason to petition the Northern lords if his king is no more? Alas, Liam Cunningham’s face when he mentioned Shireen, though. :/
Melissandre I have more theories about, but I’ll have to wait til next season. Meanwhile, Sam and Gilly’s Citadel talks earlier episodes finally pay off as they leave. I admit, it seems a little futile…surely the Night’s Watch will be decimated by the time Sam learns enough to be a maester anyway. Maybe he’ll make it into the accelerated course study. :P
Sam leaving is the nail in the coffin—no pun intended—Jon is now all alone. (Apparently Edd is useless against backstabbing.) The Benjen bit was like a bitter twist of irony—the only good news Jon would’ve heard in ages turned out to be a lie.
I have my reservations about how/why the killing went down. If the Night’s Watch was so against Jon bringing the wildlings south, why wouldn’t they kill him before he left? Or refused to open the gates for him? In the books, it’s Jon’s sudden actions after the Pink Letter that turn the tide. At the same time, I’m annoyed at Martin for keeping readers in the dark about the specifics of that. I think we’re long past turning this narrative into a mystery show, sir. Half of your timelines are starting to overlap, with the future happening before the past.
Otherwise, it was a pretty arresting scene. From Thorne the bad guy to Olly the traumatized kid…and the sad Stark music playing over it. :/ Dammit, this better be the end of pain for the Starks! …I have my suspicions that Jon will rise from the dead in both books and show. He won’t be the same—quite human—anymore, but he will rise. But, to quote what will become a repeat refrain for me, this is all just speculation.
Kit Harrington…what can I say about your performance. I think you’ll be back next season, but in either case, Jon as the leader struggling to do the right thing was a delight to see. I appreciate how this storyline showed folks coming into conflict about the proper course of action. Even when saving all humans from the White Walkers seems like fundamentally the right thing to do, I respect that old grudges are hard to bury, especially for a young kid who lost his parents to violence. Show did decently well with this theme.
Go in peace, Jon Snow. And now his watch is ended.
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