Game of Thrones episode 6.05: “The Door”
Jun. 9th, 2017 01:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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scifi_rewatchIf 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.
Summary
The Wall
Sansa receives a raven from Littlefinger; when meeting him in Moles Town with Brienne, she attempts to cut ties with him for betraying her. But later, when she and her allies are discussing battle tactics, she gives up his info about the Blackfish building an army but doesn’t tell Jon how she came by it. She sends Brienne to treat with her uncle, gives her brother a new wolfskin cloak, and joins him to rally the northern houses to their cause.
Braavos
Arya’s tense sparring session with the waif is cut short by Jaqen giving her a “second chance” option to prove that she’s no one by killing an actress, Lady Crane. Arya goes to see Lady Crane and her colleagues perform a medievalesque parody of the first few seasons of Game of Thrones. Later, she spies on the actors and finds that she likes Lady Crane; Jaqen reminds her that good people die every day and it’s not her job to ask questions.
Pyke
The Kingsmoot begins; Yara, with Theon’s backing, makes her claim to rebuild the fleet. But they’re interrupted by the arrival of their Uncle Euron who campaigns, with misogynistic undertones, to ally with Daenerys. Euron wins the popular vote; Yara, Theon and their faithful flee on ships.
Road to Meereen/Meereen
Daenerys, upon learning of Jorah’s grayscale, orders him to go find a cure and then join her to re-take Westeros. As she and her Dothraki leave Vaes Dothrak, Tyrion invites a priestess of R’hllor to help spread their message that Daenerys is responsible for the city’s new security. The priestess calls Dany “the one who was promised,” and appears to be psychic, which freaks out Tyrion as well as the religiously distrustful Varys.
Beyond the Wall
The Three Eyed Raven takes Bran to the distant past to witness the creation of the White Walkers; the Children of the Forest did it, when they were at war with men. Later, when the Three Eyed Raven is asleep, Bran goes into the visions alone and gets touched by the Night King! This means that the magic of the cave is broken and the Night King is coming for him; while Bran is in a deep coma, people (and his direwolf, Summer!) fight and die to get him to safety and we learn the tragic story of Hodor’s name.
Possible Book Reveals
The Wall—A Dance with Dragons ends with Jon holding a mysterious council to discuss moving against Ramsay, but few of the people in attendance on the show are near him in the books. In the Vale, Sansa’s claim to the north is still in the idea stages. If she distrusts Littlefinger she’s still very much playing the game that he’s laid out for her, particularly with regards to Harry the Heir. Brienne is looking for Sansa, not the Blackfish; although the Blackfish appears to be building up a resistance in Riverrun (he never left to attend the Red Wedding), there’s no indication that the Tullys have the capacity to go north right now.
Braavos—Faceless Men backstory is loosely accurate, and apparently a theatre troop, featuring Lady Crane, is putting on a Game of Thrones parody in The Winds of Winter. But Arya’s most recent assignment, at the end of the published material, is to train as a mummur/actress, not kill any of them. If Arya succeeds as a Faceless Man in the books, she will likely be sent out to poison people, though always in disguise.
Pyke—The Kingsmoot already happened; Theon was not there (and could possibly stake a claim in later novels) but Asha and other contestants lost to Euron. The ironborn were particularly drawn to his assertion that he has a magical horn in his possession. Technically speaking, the “crowning” ceremony involves a primitive CPR; people don’t have to resuscitate themselves. Asha escapes with a much lesser loyal contingent, and technically kinslaying is still seen as a crime on the islands.
Road to Meereen/Meereen—I’m assuming that it’s likely that Daenerys will ultimately leave Vaes Dothrak as a conqueror with at least some of the Dothraki behind her, but I’m not quite as confident about this reveal as I am about others! :P The High Priest of R’hllor is a different person, and although he does preach in favor of Dany, he’s never been to Meereen and it’s not implied that priests would help rulers spread propaganda. We’ve seen how well that works in King’s Landing. :P
Beyond the Wall—major, major reveals; the children of the forest created the Others in the war against men, and Bran played a pivotal role in Hodor’s mental deterioration and assumed name. The latter one is confirmed as a spoiler with the former one being incredibly likely, in the opinion of several fans. The specifics of the “hold the door” sequence might be different, but it seems like the end result will be the same. I’ve struggled with whether or not I believe Summer will die, and I’m starting to think that it will have to in order for Bran to divorce himself from his human identity and become something greater. Bloodraven’s ultimate death isn’t surprising, either; still debating whether the show is right in saying that Bran won’t take over for him.
Linda posits theories on westeros.org where the generalities of this part of the episode happen in the books, but without Bran having to leave the tree. That’s still what I’m struggling with most—my belief that Bran will live out his life in that tree! :P
Thoughts
I’ve blathered a lot of my “beyond the wall” theories above—suffice to say about the children of the forest, even making magical weapons of destruction always comes back to bite you in the ass. :P The cinematography was striking, and it’s also a reveal about why the White Walkers make those freakish spiral patterns with dead body parts. They mimic the children’s ritual imagery.
But obviously the crux of this subplot is the ending. I remember my depressed confusion when watching that scene, and set to such beautiful music—I didn’t know if I felt more sorry for Hodor dying in the present, or for witnessing how his life had been stolen from him all this time; all of these decades he was basically a slave to this one moment. I realize that mentally challenged people can lead good lives, but as a reminder, his life was stolen from him, because Bran meddled with powers that were way beyond his understanding. Man, do I love the look of guilt on Issac’s face during that scene; I think for a moment, the fandom hated him even more than they did Olly. :/ I’m grateful that Bran has the chance to be flawed and real as a character…and very nervous about the foreshadowing regarding being touched by the Night King. Major victory for the Walkers…
In less important news, it was nice to see that blast of the past of Ned being sent off to the Vale by his peacefulish father. :P
Speaking of blasts to the past…what about the Essos play about Westeros? Seemed in keeping with real medieval humor. I was kind of surprised that they gave Bianca, the Sansa actress, of course, a hard time for over-acting, because isn’t that was everybody was doing? With the obvious exception of the Lady Crane, who brought a human thoughtfulness to Cersei that the character didn’t deserve. :P Of course, the entire plot was hammed up to make Ned the greedy buffoon, Tyrion the evil mastermind and Joffrey and Cersei into victims. Was kind of sad to witness Arya witnessing her tragic family history turned into mockery. Of course, that might be part of the reason why Jaqen sent her there…she’s supposed to be no one. She’s also certainly not supposed to be feeling empathy for Lady Crane; she’s supposed to kill her without question. But as has always been obvious, Arya is still “someone,” and in this case that means she still has empathy. Certainly a relief, given all that she’s been through.
And just to get it in there, the showrunners trolled us with a straight up “penis wart” shot because of all the complaints about copious female nudity with no counterpart. Not really the same as being constantly objectified, guys, but there’s a mark for you. :P
Sansa’s emotions go on a rollercoaster ride this episode. She certainly doesn’t trust Littlefinger personally, and intends to take back the north with Jon. The showrunners posit that the only reason she didn’t kill the man was because maybe she could use him later—that seems a little too calculating. Sansa has never killed a man before, despite seeing constant assurance that powerful people can hurt and kill on a whim. Surely she’d at least have to work up to that step.
It was certainly invigorating to have her lay the blame for her traumas at his feet. I get it, book readers, canon Littlefinger would never be so clueless about Ramsay. But maybe it’s nice that he can make mistakes on the show, particularly since he’s so open with his machinations. Would get too Gary Stuish if he didn’t make a mistake. Anywho, I don’t know who wrote Sansa’s rape speech, but it was chilling. I hope it added some perspective for rape in real life. It’s certainly affected Sansa’s life.
Sansa’s behavior at the war council meeting was also interesting. She was a bit short with Davos—in part, I believe, because she’s still a little too idealistic about northern loyalty, and maybe in part because Brienne obviously doesn’t like him. For my part, I say keep being you, Davos. :P As for not telling Jon the truth about the Blackfish information, I get it. She’s not coming to the table as a full “Stark” here. She’s keeping some cards off the table because that’s how she’s survived so far. That’s what “playing the game” often is. But if we were all a little more honest—no Stark can ever always live up to being a Stark. Look at where Bran’s actions have led him. Even Ned, a few episodes and 20 years back, couldn’t find the means to beat Arthur Dayne honorably but he killed him regardless. Meh, my Sansa defenses are out, lol. Well, at least she’s sewing again—much better costumes than The Dark Swan item from season four, too. :D
So to end this segment on a lighter note—Tormund is still majorly face-flirting and Brienne seems a bit flustered. :P Poor girl, I feel you. And poor Ed, kinda defacto being in charge of the Night’s Watch! Kinda worried about that institution right now; their numbers seem rather small.
Pyke! Well, I loved the Yara/Theon stuff, even the pause when you weren’t quite sure whether Theon would back his sister or use the patriarchy to his advantage. He sold her story good, but Euron kind of is more Ironborn with his “I take what is mine” mentality. (Also, he’s a dude…with a cock.) He still annoys the heck out of me, although at least this time he didn’t call himself the storm. No, instead, he declared the uber villain line: “where are my niece and nephew? Let’s go kill them!” I almost wanted to laugh at the melodrama, but I’m an aunt, so I wanted to kill him instead. If he ever does offer himself to Daenerys, I imagine that she’ll burn him with fire. :P
At the moment, though, Daenerys has come down from her godlike perch to be emotional about Jorah’s grayscale. I guess the disease is kind of a useful way for the characters to put the past behind them. :P Not sure they ever will in the books. But on the show, Dany wants Jorah as her left hand man to conquer Westeros. In the meantime, I suppose this grayscale cure hunt will give Jorah something to do, but it’s bound to be annoying to spend too much time on that. Maybe he’ll just come back cured in the final season, hee.
The Meereen stuff is also very clever. Like Littlefinger and Sansa haggling with armies and birthright narratives, Tyrion is playing politics by inviting a priestess to spread the propaganda about Dany being responsible for the recent city peace. For once, the big wild card is Varys, who despises all religion. Was pretty funny hearing Tyrion attempt to smooth things over as Varys attacked this woman, the High Priestess. She’s played by an Israeli actress, Ania Buckstein, so I was already kinda drawn to her. :P Her psychic stuff kind of plays in to priestess powers, but as we know from Melissandre and as this woman herself admits, people make mistakes in their visions. Still, it’s intriguing to have Dany be placed as another “one who was promised,” to counter Jon’s claim. Personally, I imagine that they will both be major players in “the wars to come;” maybe they can share the title. :P The High Priestess’s fanaticism with burning nonbelievers and etc might become a problem later, but we don’t actually see her for the rest of the season. Feels almost like an unfinished thread, but this show often picks up the pieces much later, like with how this episode explained the Walker spiral patterns that we’ve been seeing for years.
So maybe the High Priestess will come back, and maybe she won’t. If she does and if she’s a problem, we’ll have the intriguing situation of Tyrion being played similarly to how Cersei was played by the High Sparrow. When you give fanatics a seat at the table, the power might get away from you. Perhaps that’s something for both Lannister siblings to learn.
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.
Summary
The Wall
Sansa receives a raven from Littlefinger; when meeting him in Moles Town with Brienne, she attempts to cut ties with him for betraying her. But later, when she and her allies are discussing battle tactics, she gives up his info about the Blackfish building an army but doesn’t tell Jon how she came by it. She sends Brienne to treat with her uncle, gives her brother a new wolfskin cloak, and joins him to rally the northern houses to their cause.
Braavos
Arya’s tense sparring session with the waif is cut short by Jaqen giving her a “second chance” option to prove that she’s no one by killing an actress, Lady Crane. Arya goes to see Lady Crane and her colleagues perform a medievalesque parody of the first few seasons of Game of Thrones. Later, she spies on the actors and finds that she likes Lady Crane; Jaqen reminds her that good people die every day and it’s not her job to ask questions.
Pyke
The Kingsmoot begins; Yara, with Theon’s backing, makes her claim to rebuild the fleet. But they’re interrupted by the arrival of their Uncle Euron who campaigns, with misogynistic undertones, to ally with Daenerys. Euron wins the popular vote; Yara, Theon and their faithful flee on ships.
Road to Meereen/Meereen
Daenerys, upon learning of Jorah’s grayscale, orders him to go find a cure and then join her to re-take Westeros. As she and her Dothraki leave Vaes Dothrak, Tyrion invites a priestess of R’hllor to help spread their message that Daenerys is responsible for the city’s new security. The priestess calls Dany “the one who was promised,” and appears to be psychic, which freaks out Tyrion as well as the religiously distrustful Varys.
Beyond the Wall
The Three Eyed Raven takes Bran to the distant past to witness the creation of the White Walkers; the Children of the Forest did it, when they were at war with men. Later, when the Three Eyed Raven is asleep, Bran goes into the visions alone and gets touched by the Night King! This means that the magic of the cave is broken and the Night King is coming for him; while Bran is in a deep coma, people (and his direwolf, Summer!) fight and die to get him to safety and we learn the tragic story of Hodor’s name.
Possible Book Reveals
The Wall—A Dance with Dragons ends with Jon holding a mysterious council to discuss moving against Ramsay, but few of the people in attendance on the show are near him in the books. In the Vale, Sansa’s claim to the north is still in the idea stages. If she distrusts Littlefinger she’s still very much playing the game that he’s laid out for her, particularly with regards to Harry the Heir. Brienne is looking for Sansa, not the Blackfish; although the Blackfish appears to be building up a resistance in Riverrun (he never left to attend the Red Wedding), there’s no indication that the Tullys have the capacity to go north right now.
Braavos—Faceless Men backstory is loosely accurate, and apparently a theatre troop, featuring Lady Crane, is putting on a Game of Thrones parody in The Winds of Winter. But Arya’s most recent assignment, at the end of the published material, is to train as a mummur/actress, not kill any of them. If Arya succeeds as a Faceless Man in the books, she will likely be sent out to poison people, though always in disguise.
Pyke—The Kingsmoot already happened; Theon was not there (and could possibly stake a claim in later novels) but Asha and other contestants lost to Euron. The ironborn were particularly drawn to his assertion that he has a magical horn in his possession. Technically speaking, the “crowning” ceremony involves a primitive CPR; people don’t have to resuscitate themselves. Asha escapes with a much lesser loyal contingent, and technically kinslaying is still seen as a crime on the islands.
Road to Meereen/Meereen—I’m assuming that it’s likely that Daenerys will ultimately leave Vaes Dothrak as a conqueror with at least some of the Dothraki behind her, but I’m not quite as confident about this reveal as I am about others! :P The High Priest of R’hllor is a different person, and although he does preach in favor of Dany, he’s never been to Meereen and it’s not implied that priests would help rulers spread propaganda. We’ve seen how well that works in King’s Landing. :P
Beyond the Wall—major, major reveals; the children of the forest created the Others in the war against men, and Bran played a pivotal role in Hodor’s mental deterioration and assumed name. The latter one is confirmed as a spoiler with the former one being incredibly likely, in the opinion of several fans. The specifics of the “hold the door” sequence might be different, but it seems like the end result will be the same. I’ve struggled with whether or not I believe Summer will die, and I’m starting to think that it will have to in order for Bran to divorce himself from his human identity and become something greater. Bloodraven’s ultimate death isn’t surprising, either; still debating whether the show is right in saying that Bran won’t take over for him.
Linda posits theories on westeros.org where the generalities of this part of the episode happen in the books, but without Bran having to leave the tree. That’s still what I’m struggling with most—my belief that Bran will live out his life in that tree! :P
Thoughts
I’ve blathered a lot of my “beyond the wall” theories above—suffice to say about the children of the forest, even making magical weapons of destruction always comes back to bite you in the ass. :P The cinematography was striking, and it’s also a reveal about why the White Walkers make those freakish spiral patterns with dead body parts. They mimic the children’s ritual imagery.
But obviously the crux of this subplot is the ending. I remember my depressed confusion when watching that scene, and set to such beautiful music—I didn’t know if I felt more sorry for Hodor dying in the present, or for witnessing how his life had been stolen from him all this time; all of these decades he was basically a slave to this one moment. I realize that mentally challenged people can lead good lives, but as a reminder, his life was stolen from him, because Bran meddled with powers that were way beyond his understanding. Man, do I love the look of guilt on Issac’s face during that scene; I think for a moment, the fandom hated him even more than they did Olly. :/ I’m grateful that Bran has the chance to be flawed and real as a character…and very nervous about the foreshadowing regarding being touched by the Night King. Major victory for the Walkers…
In less important news, it was nice to see that blast of the past of Ned being sent off to the Vale by his peacefulish father. :P
Speaking of blasts to the past…what about the Essos play about Westeros? Seemed in keeping with real medieval humor. I was kind of surprised that they gave Bianca, the Sansa actress, of course, a hard time for over-acting, because isn’t that was everybody was doing? With the obvious exception of the Lady Crane, who brought a human thoughtfulness to Cersei that the character didn’t deserve. :P Of course, the entire plot was hammed up to make Ned the greedy buffoon, Tyrion the evil mastermind and Joffrey and Cersei into victims. Was kind of sad to witness Arya witnessing her tragic family history turned into mockery. Of course, that might be part of the reason why Jaqen sent her there…she’s supposed to be no one. She’s also certainly not supposed to be feeling empathy for Lady Crane; she’s supposed to kill her without question. But as has always been obvious, Arya is still “someone,” and in this case that means she still has empathy. Certainly a relief, given all that she’s been through.
And just to get it in there, the showrunners trolled us with a straight up “penis wart” shot because of all the complaints about copious female nudity with no counterpart. Not really the same as being constantly objectified, guys, but there’s a mark for you. :P
Sansa’s emotions go on a rollercoaster ride this episode. She certainly doesn’t trust Littlefinger personally, and intends to take back the north with Jon. The showrunners posit that the only reason she didn’t kill the man was because maybe she could use him later—that seems a little too calculating. Sansa has never killed a man before, despite seeing constant assurance that powerful people can hurt and kill on a whim. Surely she’d at least have to work up to that step.
It was certainly invigorating to have her lay the blame for her traumas at his feet. I get it, book readers, canon Littlefinger would never be so clueless about Ramsay. But maybe it’s nice that he can make mistakes on the show, particularly since he’s so open with his machinations. Would get too Gary Stuish if he didn’t make a mistake. Anywho, I don’t know who wrote Sansa’s rape speech, but it was chilling. I hope it added some perspective for rape in real life. It’s certainly affected Sansa’s life.
Sansa’s behavior at the war council meeting was also interesting. She was a bit short with Davos—in part, I believe, because she’s still a little too idealistic about northern loyalty, and maybe in part because Brienne obviously doesn’t like him. For my part, I say keep being you, Davos. :P As for not telling Jon the truth about the Blackfish information, I get it. She’s not coming to the table as a full “Stark” here. She’s keeping some cards off the table because that’s how she’s survived so far. That’s what “playing the game” often is. But if we were all a little more honest—no Stark can ever always live up to being a Stark. Look at where Bran’s actions have led him. Even Ned, a few episodes and 20 years back, couldn’t find the means to beat Arthur Dayne honorably but he killed him regardless. Meh, my Sansa defenses are out, lol. Well, at least she’s sewing again—much better costumes than The Dark Swan item from season four, too. :D
So to end this segment on a lighter note—Tormund is still majorly face-flirting and Brienne seems a bit flustered. :P Poor girl, I feel you. And poor Ed, kinda defacto being in charge of the Night’s Watch! Kinda worried about that institution right now; their numbers seem rather small.
Pyke! Well, I loved the Yara/Theon stuff, even the pause when you weren’t quite sure whether Theon would back his sister or use the patriarchy to his advantage. He sold her story good, but Euron kind of is more Ironborn with his “I take what is mine” mentality. (Also, he’s a dude…with a cock.) He still annoys the heck out of me, although at least this time he didn’t call himself the storm. No, instead, he declared the uber villain line: “where are my niece and nephew? Let’s go kill them!” I almost wanted to laugh at the melodrama, but I’m an aunt, so I wanted to kill him instead. If he ever does offer himself to Daenerys, I imagine that she’ll burn him with fire. :P
At the moment, though, Daenerys has come down from her godlike perch to be emotional about Jorah’s grayscale. I guess the disease is kind of a useful way for the characters to put the past behind them. :P Not sure they ever will in the books. But on the show, Dany wants Jorah as her left hand man to conquer Westeros. In the meantime, I suppose this grayscale cure hunt will give Jorah something to do, but it’s bound to be annoying to spend too much time on that. Maybe he’ll just come back cured in the final season, hee.
The Meereen stuff is also very clever. Like Littlefinger and Sansa haggling with armies and birthright narratives, Tyrion is playing politics by inviting a priestess to spread the propaganda about Dany being responsible for the recent city peace. For once, the big wild card is Varys, who despises all religion. Was pretty funny hearing Tyrion attempt to smooth things over as Varys attacked this woman, the High Priestess. She’s played by an Israeli actress, Ania Buckstein, so I was already kinda drawn to her. :P Her psychic stuff kind of plays in to priestess powers, but as we know from Melissandre and as this woman herself admits, people make mistakes in their visions. Still, it’s intriguing to have Dany be placed as another “one who was promised,” to counter Jon’s claim. Personally, I imagine that they will both be major players in “the wars to come;” maybe they can share the title. :P The High Priestess’s fanaticism with burning nonbelievers and etc might become a problem later, but we don’t actually see her for the rest of the season. Feels almost like an unfinished thread, but this show often picks up the pieces much later, like with how this episode explained the Walker spiral patterns that we’ve been seeing for years.
So maybe the High Priestess will come back, and maybe she won’t. If she does and if she’s a problem, we’ll have the intriguing situation of Tyrion being played similarly to how Cersei was played by the High Sparrow. When you give fanatics a seat at the table, the power might get away from you. Perhaps that’s something for both Lannister siblings to learn.
