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scifi_rewatchHello, hello! It may be later in the year than ever before, but we are ten weeks out from the start of season seven, so I’m back to recap season six! Winter is coming…or at least it was meant to come during the production schedule. :P
I’ll also be changing the content of my reviews slightly again. We’re predominately in uncharted waters here (uncharted by the published ASOIAF books, I mean,) so instead of just doing a “changes from page to screen” section, I’ll be highlighting (possible) reveals! Remember, not all of the show will map to canon, but we should be able to find some Easter eggs.
Speaking of reveals, this episode is named for one—the red woman! I’ll get to the specific shocker under the cut, but Mel isn’t doing too well in this episode, is she? In pretty quick order she lost two savior figures—first Stannis, now Jon. Difficult to keep faith in your faith that way.
Most of the women seem to be on a down note—except for the Dornish, but they suck on the show. :P Sansa is on the run from a tyrant. Daenerys and Arya have both suffered falls from grace—from conqueror queen to slave, and from assassin-in-training to blind beggar. And Cersei’s slow downfall from last season is only bound to get worse. Poor Margaery remains in chains.
The men are suffering, too—even the Dornish—but I think it’s fair to say, in this, an episode that’s named for a woman, that female autonomy or lack thereof, is a theme this season. Now I’ll shush before I give anything inappropriate away. :P
Summary
The Wall
Davos and Jon’s Night’s Watch faithful bring his body into a locked room, as Ed travels to the wildlings for their assistance in overthrowing the traitors. The head traitor, Thorne, along with Watch management and Olly, convince the others that killing the Lord Commander had to be done because of his dangerous policies. They offer pardon for Jon’s loyal and safe passage for Davos; elsewhere, a spiritually defeated Melissandre takes off her red choker and reveals that she’s an old woman!
Winterfell
Ramsay says his goodbyes to Myranda and Roose confirms that Stannis is dead. But without Sansa, Ramsay is back to being a bastard in his father’s eyes; thank goodness Walda is probably carrying a male heir. Elsewhere, Theon and Sansa are cornered by Ramsay’s hounds but Brienne and Pod save the day; Brienne re-pledges her service to Sansa, and Sansa accepts it.
King’s Landing
A ship arrives from Dorne, but the silver lining of Cersei’s day dies when she sees Jaime with Myrcella’s body. Cersei is feeling defeated, remembering the witch’s prophecy that she will see her three children die, and Jaime recommits himself to vengeance towards their enemies. Inside the Sept dungeons, Margaery begs to see Loras; Septa Unella is pretty unresponsive, but the High Sparrow claims that she’s “started down the path to righteousness.”
Dorne
When the Martell family receives official word that Myrcella is dead, Ellaria and her daughter kill Doran and his faithful. Significantly, none of the guards make a move to help their prince; apparently they’re sick of his inaction. Aboard the Martell ship in Blackwater Bay, the other two Sand Snakes arrive to kill Trystane, leaving Dorne open for war-mongering female management.
Braavos
Still blind, Arya is made to beg for change on the streets of Braavos. The waif comes with staffs for a sparring session, and soundly kicks Arya’s ass. She then leaves with the promise of coming back the next day; Arya definitely needs to work on strengthening her hearing.
Meereen
Tyrion and Varys come across destitution and distrust on the streets of Meereen; they’re still trying to narrow down who commands their enemy, the Sons of the Harpy. Elsewhere, a Red Priest tells his flock to forget Daenerys and fight for their own freedom. Everyone is distracted when the bells start ringing; the royal fleet is afire, which puts a big dent in Dany’s Westerosi travel plans.
Dothraki territory
Daenerys is a silent, bound slave while her two captors make sexual jokes about her. When they reach camp, they bring her before Khal Moro, and the abuse continues until Dany outs herself as Drogo’s widow. But instead of being promised safe passage back to Meereen, she’ll be taken to Vaes Dothrak to live out her days with the rest of the khaleesi widows.
Possible Book Reveals
The Wall: Claimed by David Benoiff to come straight from GRRM; Melissandre is indeed a few centuries old, kept looking youthful through the use of her magic. I’d assume there could be a standoff between Jon’s faithful and his murderers, but said murderers aren’t the same people in the books.
Winterfell: I suppose that it’s quite possible that the Boltons will win the fight against Stannis and his men, though Stannis’s circumstances are just so different in the books. For example, at the beginning of The Winds of Winter, he has charge over Theon and “Arya.” Roose’s reaction to their disappearance might be to threaten Ramsay with the birth of a new heir, but in A Dance with Dragons, he told Theon that he didn’t expect Ramsay to let said children live. I still kinda think Roose is letting Ramsay dig his own grave, for shits and giggles. :P Brienne might find (and save) Sansa—it’s still her goal—but it’ll likely be much different, seeing as their stories have diverged from canon.
King’s Landing: Myrcella will likely die, as per the witch’s prophecy. Jaime and Cersei’s relationship is much more antagonistic at this point, and is not likely to change quickly. Margaery will almost definitely be a miserable guest in the dungeons, at least for a little while longer.
Dorne: Really, there’s not much to be said here. Maybe Doran, Trystane and their faithful will die in some fashion, even by treason, but certainly not by the hand of Ellaria and the Sand Snakes. If they come to rule Dorne, it won’t be this way. Tl;dr—I’d guess that nothing here is canon.
Braavos: In the published books, Arya has already gone blind, worn the face of a blind beggar girl, and practiced fighting without sight. No new stuff in this storyline so far!
Dothraki territory: The Dothraki did come across Daenerys in the grass sea, but Drogon’s canonical presence might mean that they don’t take her prisoner. I still think it’s possible that they might, and she could very likely be transferred to the khaleesi widows in Vaes Dothrak.
Meereen: Tyrion isn’t de-facto ruling Meereen (Varys is in Westeros), at the end of A Dance of Dragons, he could be in the midst of building up a power base from within the Second Sons, which may or may not help Dany out. Dany doesn’t have control of the Meereneese fleet in the books, so she’s already grounded. The city is a pretty tense place, with warring factions and threats from the outside.
Thoughts
Vulnerability always gets me; what a powerful final scene. And so different and intriguing for that character, who has always been so cocksure of her visions and path. Taking off that choker was a wonderful visual interpretation of her internal conflict.
Otherwise, I enjoy Davos as the down-to-earth fella who can guide Jon’s faithful with his street smarts. Thorne’s essentially paranoid anti-immigration “Watch first” speech is even harder to stomach this year than it was last, and I’ll leave the contemporary US politics at that. But can’t say this coup isn’t based on real human emotions.
I rather appreciated the sadder moment for Ramsay—because usually he really is just a raging psycho—and it’s “feed her to the dogs” end is kinda foreshadowing. :P /zips lips. Speaking of foreshadowing, Roose is all up in that with his threats. Had to eyeroll a little with his “I’d reward the man” (who killed Stannis) line.
But enough of the Boltons, because SANSA, SANSA, SANSA!!! Quite the different role for her, to have to physically run from immediate danger, and Sophie played it beautifully. My emotions were on high voltage; I already felt feklempt just by Theon hugging Sansa, but then Brienne came, and *wibble!* This is really the one moment in the episode where we see a woman take on the mantle of leadership (I’m not counting Ellaria, cos she sucks.) We also see a rare, but strong, female bond. Sansa’s leadership is in assuming part in a medieval relationship that is usually reserved for the lord (sometimes lady) of the house. Although she stumbles over the words, you can hear her tone gaining clarity; Sansa is moving into a new phase. It’s enough to make me forget Brienne’s convenient appearance and the strange disappearance of the hounds. :P
Cersei is slowly losing power, and I love her grief about it. I’ll always come down on the side of show villain, because I think Lena Headey kept her a villain while making her a person, too. The fact that she understands that she’s mean and bitter doesn’t give her a pass for acting on it. But right now, she’s just a mourning mother. And I’m cool with Jaime reverting to his season one “us against the world” self, because I think that’s only natural, given his grief and reunion with his sister/lover. The question is whether he will continue to evolve throughout the season *zips lips* :P
The only good thing to say about Dorne is that I believe David and Dan realized what a mistake they made last season, so they tried to sideline that arc as much as possible this one. The men have to die so that the vengeful women will be in place for plot developments way down the line. Meanwhile, Ellaria’s “weak is meat and strong do eat” speech made me roll my eyes, but nothing made me as scornful as Tystane’s death. Specifically that the two bitch sisters turned it into a catty competition. I mean, who is that eager to kill his/her own cousin? Joffrey? Ramsay? These poor actresses deserve better roles.
Braavos was much more satisfying. I know I’m in the minority here, but I far prefer vulnerable Arya to badass Arya. Obviously she’s still in training, which will continue throughout the rest of the season, but for now, Arya is facing real, shitty consequences for her actions last season.
Speaking of characters who shouldn’t be perfect all the time, I appreciate how Tyrion can’t speak good Valyrian, and oh yeah, this city isn’t easy to rule. :P At least he’ll have a challenge. I liked the palpable tension on the streets, and the priest’s understandable message to his people. That one was pretty benign; others are growing more hostile towards Daenerys. Poor Daenerys, now without a chance to get back to Westeros…
…and also a slave to the Dothraki. The sexual comments were basically the low point for treatment of women this episode; no actual assault, though one was attempted. It’s interesting how Dany’s attempt to identify herself by her own autonomy—eg as a conqueror for the last few seasons—didn’t get her any of the respect as identifying herself as Drogo’s widow did. Patriarchy *rolls eyes* Unfortunately, this also means that the Dothraki see her as the property of the Dhosh Khaleen, the khaleesi widows. A slight complication in her plot! Dany wants to get back home!
Or maybe not wants to, as Jorah and Daario argue, but feels compelled to take back her mantel of leadership. Her two boy toys picked up her trail quickly enough, but in the meantime they had to whine a little bit about their love lives. Eh. At least it was a little deeper than the Dothraki conversation about their culture. I know that was supposed to be funny—Khal Moro asking a rhetorical question and his bloodriders not realizing it was rhetorical—but man, Dothraki culture sounds one dimensionally aggressive. All you want to do is conquer shit? Meh. At least Dany has a humanitarian end in mind.
I’ll also be changing the content of my reviews slightly again. We’re predominately in uncharted waters here (uncharted by the published ASOIAF books, I mean,) so instead of just doing a “changes from page to screen” section, I’ll be highlighting (possible) reveals! Remember, not all of the show will map to canon, but we should be able to find some Easter eggs.
Speaking of reveals, this episode is named for one—the red woman! I’ll get to the specific shocker under the cut, but Mel isn’t doing too well in this episode, is she? In pretty quick order she lost two savior figures—first Stannis, now Jon. Difficult to keep faith in your faith that way.
Most of the women seem to be on a down note—except for the Dornish, but they suck on the show. :P Sansa is on the run from a tyrant. Daenerys and Arya have both suffered falls from grace—from conqueror queen to slave, and from assassin-in-training to blind beggar. And Cersei’s slow downfall from last season is only bound to get worse. Poor Margaery remains in chains.
The men are suffering, too—even the Dornish—but I think it’s fair to say, in this, an episode that’s named for a woman, that female autonomy or lack thereof, is a theme this season. Now I’ll shush before I give anything inappropriate away. :P
Summary
The Wall
Davos and Jon’s Night’s Watch faithful bring his body into a locked room, as Ed travels to the wildlings for their assistance in overthrowing the traitors. The head traitor, Thorne, along with Watch management and Olly, convince the others that killing the Lord Commander had to be done because of his dangerous policies. They offer pardon for Jon’s loyal and safe passage for Davos; elsewhere, a spiritually defeated Melissandre takes off her red choker and reveals that she’s an old woman!
Winterfell
Ramsay says his goodbyes to Myranda and Roose confirms that Stannis is dead. But without Sansa, Ramsay is back to being a bastard in his father’s eyes; thank goodness Walda is probably carrying a male heir. Elsewhere, Theon and Sansa are cornered by Ramsay’s hounds but Brienne and Pod save the day; Brienne re-pledges her service to Sansa, and Sansa accepts it.
King’s Landing
A ship arrives from Dorne, but the silver lining of Cersei’s day dies when she sees Jaime with Myrcella’s body. Cersei is feeling defeated, remembering the witch’s prophecy that she will see her three children die, and Jaime recommits himself to vengeance towards their enemies. Inside the Sept dungeons, Margaery begs to see Loras; Septa Unella is pretty unresponsive, but the High Sparrow claims that she’s “started down the path to righteousness.”
Dorne
When the Martell family receives official word that Myrcella is dead, Ellaria and her daughter kill Doran and his faithful. Significantly, none of the guards make a move to help their prince; apparently they’re sick of his inaction. Aboard the Martell ship in Blackwater Bay, the other two Sand Snakes arrive to kill Trystane, leaving Dorne open for war-mongering female management.
Braavos
Still blind, Arya is made to beg for change on the streets of Braavos. The waif comes with staffs for a sparring session, and soundly kicks Arya’s ass. She then leaves with the promise of coming back the next day; Arya definitely needs to work on strengthening her hearing.
Meereen
Tyrion and Varys come across destitution and distrust on the streets of Meereen; they’re still trying to narrow down who commands their enemy, the Sons of the Harpy. Elsewhere, a Red Priest tells his flock to forget Daenerys and fight for their own freedom. Everyone is distracted when the bells start ringing; the royal fleet is afire, which puts a big dent in Dany’s Westerosi travel plans.
Dothraki territory
Daenerys is a silent, bound slave while her two captors make sexual jokes about her. When they reach camp, they bring her before Khal Moro, and the abuse continues until Dany outs herself as Drogo’s widow. But instead of being promised safe passage back to Meereen, she’ll be taken to Vaes Dothrak to live out her days with the rest of the khaleesi widows.
Possible Book Reveals
The Wall: Claimed by David Benoiff to come straight from GRRM; Melissandre is indeed a few centuries old, kept looking youthful through the use of her magic. I’d assume there could be a standoff between Jon’s faithful and his murderers, but said murderers aren’t the same people in the books.
Winterfell: I suppose that it’s quite possible that the Boltons will win the fight against Stannis and his men, though Stannis’s circumstances are just so different in the books. For example, at the beginning of The Winds of Winter, he has charge over Theon and “Arya.” Roose’s reaction to their disappearance might be to threaten Ramsay with the birth of a new heir, but in A Dance with Dragons, he told Theon that he didn’t expect Ramsay to let said children live. I still kinda think Roose is letting Ramsay dig his own grave, for shits and giggles. :P Brienne might find (and save) Sansa—it’s still her goal—but it’ll likely be much different, seeing as their stories have diverged from canon.
King’s Landing: Myrcella will likely die, as per the witch’s prophecy. Jaime and Cersei’s relationship is much more antagonistic at this point, and is not likely to change quickly. Margaery will almost definitely be a miserable guest in the dungeons, at least for a little while longer.
Dorne: Really, there’s not much to be said here. Maybe Doran, Trystane and their faithful will die in some fashion, even by treason, but certainly not by the hand of Ellaria and the Sand Snakes. If they come to rule Dorne, it won’t be this way. Tl;dr—I’d guess that nothing here is canon.
Braavos: In the published books, Arya has already gone blind, worn the face of a blind beggar girl, and practiced fighting without sight. No new stuff in this storyline so far!
Dothraki territory: The Dothraki did come across Daenerys in the grass sea, but Drogon’s canonical presence might mean that they don’t take her prisoner. I still think it’s possible that they might, and she could very likely be transferred to the khaleesi widows in Vaes Dothrak.
Meereen: Tyrion isn’t de-facto ruling Meereen (Varys is in Westeros), at the end of A Dance of Dragons, he could be in the midst of building up a power base from within the Second Sons, which may or may not help Dany out. Dany doesn’t have control of the Meereneese fleet in the books, so she’s already grounded. The city is a pretty tense place, with warring factions and threats from the outside.
Thoughts
Vulnerability always gets me; what a powerful final scene. And so different and intriguing for that character, who has always been so cocksure of her visions and path. Taking off that choker was a wonderful visual interpretation of her internal conflict.
Otherwise, I enjoy Davos as the down-to-earth fella who can guide Jon’s faithful with his street smarts. Thorne’s essentially paranoid anti-immigration “Watch first” speech is even harder to stomach this year than it was last, and I’ll leave the contemporary US politics at that. But can’t say this coup isn’t based on real human emotions.
I rather appreciated the sadder moment for Ramsay—because usually he really is just a raging psycho—and it’s “feed her to the dogs” end is kinda foreshadowing. :P /zips lips. Speaking of foreshadowing, Roose is all up in that with his threats. Had to eyeroll a little with his “I’d reward the man” (who killed Stannis) line.
But enough of the Boltons, because SANSA, SANSA, SANSA!!! Quite the different role for her, to have to physically run from immediate danger, and Sophie played it beautifully. My emotions were on high voltage; I already felt feklempt just by Theon hugging Sansa, but then Brienne came, and *wibble!* This is really the one moment in the episode where we see a woman take on the mantle of leadership (I’m not counting Ellaria, cos she sucks.) We also see a rare, but strong, female bond. Sansa’s leadership is in assuming part in a medieval relationship that is usually reserved for the lord (sometimes lady) of the house. Although she stumbles over the words, you can hear her tone gaining clarity; Sansa is moving into a new phase. It’s enough to make me forget Brienne’s convenient appearance and the strange disappearance of the hounds. :P
Cersei is slowly losing power, and I love her grief about it. I’ll always come down on the side of show villain, because I think Lena Headey kept her a villain while making her a person, too. The fact that she understands that she’s mean and bitter doesn’t give her a pass for acting on it. But right now, she’s just a mourning mother. And I’m cool with Jaime reverting to his season one “us against the world” self, because I think that’s only natural, given his grief and reunion with his sister/lover. The question is whether he will continue to evolve throughout the season *zips lips* :P
The only good thing to say about Dorne is that I believe David and Dan realized what a mistake they made last season, so they tried to sideline that arc as much as possible this one. The men have to die so that the vengeful women will be in place for plot developments way down the line. Meanwhile, Ellaria’s “weak is meat and strong do eat” speech made me roll my eyes, but nothing made me as scornful as Tystane’s death. Specifically that the two bitch sisters turned it into a catty competition. I mean, who is that eager to kill his/her own cousin? Joffrey? Ramsay? These poor actresses deserve better roles.
Braavos was much more satisfying. I know I’m in the minority here, but I far prefer vulnerable Arya to badass Arya. Obviously she’s still in training, which will continue throughout the rest of the season, but for now, Arya is facing real, shitty consequences for her actions last season.
Speaking of characters who shouldn’t be perfect all the time, I appreciate how Tyrion can’t speak good Valyrian, and oh yeah, this city isn’t easy to rule. :P At least he’ll have a challenge. I liked the palpable tension on the streets, and the priest’s understandable message to his people. That one was pretty benign; others are growing more hostile towards Daenerys. Poor Daenerys, now without a chance to get back to Westeros…
…and also a slave to the Dothraki. The sexual comments were basically the low point for treatment of women this episode; no actual assault, though one was attempted. It’s interesting how Dany’s attempt to identify herself by her own autonomy—eg as a conqueror for the last few seasons—didn’t get her any of the respect as identifying herself as Drogo’s widow did. Patriarchy *rolls eyes* Unfortunately, this also means that the Dothraki see her as the property of the Dhosh Khaleen, the khaleesi widows. A slight complication in her plot! Dany wants to get back home!
Or maybe not wants to, as Jorah and Daario argue, but feels compelled to take back her mantel of leadership. Her two boy toys picked up her trail quickly enough, but in the meantime they had to whine a little bit about their love lives. Eh. At least it was a little deeper than the Dothraki conversation about their culture. I know that was supposed to be funny—Khal Moro asking a rhetorical question and his bloodriders not realizing it was rhetorical—but man, Dothraki culture sounds one dimensionally aggressive. All you want to do is conquer shit? Meh. At least Dany has a humanitarian end in mind.
