SPOILERS for Game of Thrones Episode 6.6, “Blood of My Blood.”
After last week’s ugly-cryfest over Hodor, it felt like this episode was just moving the pieces around and setting up the larger confrontations that we will presumably be having in the final four episodes. We didn’t even see Theon Greyjoy, Jon Snow, Sansa, Brienne or Tormund! Although I think we’re going to see an unexpected reunion of Jamie Lannister and Brienne, aren’t we? Poor Tormund, he’s not going to stand a chance once Brienne gets to see Jamie again. Anyway, here are some highlights from this week’s episode.
The High Sparrow Played Everybody. And it was sort of amazing. People are like “Margaery has been brainwashed!” No. She’s working an angle, trust me. She’s pretending to be brainwashed by the High Sparrow, and I believe she’s doing it to protect her brother. She basically talked King Tommen into joining the crown and the faith, so all of Cersei and Jamie’s machinations were for naught. King Tommen then sent Jamie to the Riverrun to take care of poor Walder Frey.
The Return of Walder Frey. I forgot how much I hate that guy. Well, Brynden “Blackfish” Tully (Catelyn Stark’s uncle) has taken over a large chunk of the Riverlands and Walder Frey is trying to kill the Blackfish and/or take back land. Walder Frey reminds everyone of the Red Wedding and who was actually married at the Red Wedding: Edmure Tully!! Apparently, Walder Frey has been keeping poor Edmure in chains ever since his wedding night. I feel like Tobias Menzies is in everything these days, right? Well, I’m glad to see him, even if he was wearing a sad wiglet of mistreatment.
Sam & Gilly. I know I’m supposed to be charmed by Sam and his love for Gilly, but I don’t know why we have to devote so much time to it? Ugh. Long story short, Sam’s dad is a total douche and he thinks Sam is totally soft. Gilly tried to defend Sam and ended up outing herself as a Wildling. Sam’s dad was like “we’ll educate baby Sam and Gilly can work in the kitchen.” Sam seemed okay with it at first but then he was like “NO!” and he decided to leave with Gilly and the baby in the middle of the night. And he stole his family’s Valyrian steel sword (foreshadowing!). Also, Sam’s mother & sister do seem like lovely people.
Mercy’s Brows Are On Fleek. Arya = Mercy. The Girl tried to kill for Faceless Men, who are just assassins for hire. She was given her assignment last week: kill the actress, Lady Crane, playing Cersei in the same little play. The problem is that Lady Crane is the most talented person in the cast and that Arya figured out that the younger actress, the one playing Sansa, wanted Lady Crane dead. The other problem is that Lady Crane actually seems like a nice person, and she stopped to talk to Arya-as-Mercy, who Lady Crane thought was just a fan or an acting enthusiast, which is where Lady Crane complimented Mercy’s tight brow situation. Anyway, Arya had put the poison in Lady Crane’s rum but thought better of it in the end, smacking Lady Crane’s rum and telling her that the younger actress wanted her dead.
The Waif is Coming for The Girl. The Waif is that bitchy young woman who has a hate-on for Arya. When the Waif witnessed Arya NOT killing Lady Crane, the Waif went to Jaqen H’ghar who was like “Okay, you can kill the girl but make sure she doesn’t suffer.” But Arya knows. She gets it. She will never be The Girl. She will always be Arya Stark. And so she recovered her small sword, Needle, from the hiding place and she seems to be waiting for the Waif. I hope Arya kills the crap out of the Waif.
Hot Uncle Benjen Stark Is Still Alive. Thank God a Stark man is still around somehow, even if he’s half-zombie. Meera is still shuffling Bran through the snow and ice. Bran isn’t “awake” – he’s still having visions, including visions of the Mad King ordering someone to burn everything at King’s Landing. The Wights are still coming for Bran and Meera and when Meera gets stuck, she starts to cry and she finally wakes up Bran. The ice zombies are upon them, until a mysterious man on a horse appears and saves them. It turns out that Uncle Benjen (Ned’s brother and a missing Night’s Watch man) and he’s been living north of the wall for a while, learning from the Children of the Forest and the Three-Eyed Raven. The Raven basically told Benjen to come and save Meera and Bran. I guess Benjen also has dragonglass in his heart or something? Resurrections never cease.
Dany Rides Again. While I always enjoy the appearance of dragons (DROGON!), I don’t get how that part of the story was so amazing? We’ve seen her ride Drogon before. And while Drogon has gotten bigger (what has he been eating?!) and he looks strong and healthy, I guess I just don’t understand why we’re getting the Khaleesi’s Greatest Hits these days. A few episodes ago, we saw her come out of the flames (Season 1 greatest hits), and now we see her riding Drogon (Season 5 greatest hits). And while she was on Drogon, she kept talking about ships and conquering Westeros. Girl, just ride yo’ dragons to Westeros! No, I get it. She needs her peeps. But I’m sort of bored with Dany’s storyline this season.
Next week promises lots of Riverlands drama and more of a storyline for Sansa. I hope we get to see Arya kill the Waif too.
Photos courtesy of HBO/GOT.
So with you about Sam. We really needed a whole journey and almost the entire episode just to see him steal the steel sword and then get back to it? Really?
Agree that Margery is biding her time. She’s outplayed all the players at this point. Getting rid of Jamie Lannister at the same time as getting the High Sparrow to trust her. She is going to corrupt him somehow and it. will. be. epic.
And this here–
“I hope Arya kills the crap out of the Waif.”
–is so on point.
Finally, yeah, why is Dany still showing off? All your people already believe you are the Mother of Dragons and The Girl Who Can’t Be Burnt and The Boy Who Lived and whatnot. Stop stalling, showrunners, and get on with the show!
–TheRealPinky
Pinky- Sam is going to kill another White Walker, maybe even the White King, with that Valerian Steel sword. He will become the hero his father thinks he will never be.
A big “yaaaaasssss!” to Margery’s manipulations. She is tough as anything.
Okay, so now Dany will always be “the boy who lived” in my mind. Thanks for that, Pinky.
Yeah, I’m getting bored with Dany’s storyline (or lack thereof) too. I mean, she has 3 freaking dragons and House Targaryen’s words are Fire and Blood. Come on now, live up to your words and get thee to Westeros.
That said, thank goodness Arya’s is moving along nicely. Now all she needs to do is kick some waify butt and I will be happy.
I love how it looks like The Waif’s “training” of Arya when she was blind is now going to bite her in the ass as Arya waits for her in the dark. I’m actually disappointed in that their just a bunch of assassins for hire. No balancing the universe or anything. Just killing for cash for a petty reason like jealousy. It takes away from their whole mystique.
I like Sam’s character, but his plot bores me.
I don’t know how Dany intends to put all this Dothraki back in a bottle once they’ve demolished Westeros.
I’m actually very glad it’s turned out they’re just assassins for hire. I’m tired of women sighing over a man (whom I find revolting), and painting him as a hero who’s trying to gently tell Arya she’s not cut out for that life. He’s just another killer, and I hope he meets the sharp end of Needle along with the irritating waif.
I see your point. When you put it like that, it would be awesome to see Arya take them both out.
I don’t understand the swooning either, but I think there is more to it that hired killers. Arya is letting her emotions interfere in her killing, but no more than Bitter McSociopath. She has hated Arya, without reason, since she arrived. Now we know she has even asked Jaquen to be the one to kill Arya.
What if the contract Arya was given was a test, but not how we thought. Look at the target, an actress in a play seemingly written specifically to enrage Arya, playing a sympathetic version of the woman who for all intents and purposes, ruled Arya’s life. If Arya truly had not shed her identity, she would kill this woman. Easily.
I think that she passed and Jaquen’s “It’s a shame, a girl had much potential.” comment was directed at The Waif, who he has no intention of surviving her run in with Arya.
Dany isn’t meant to rule but to conquer. Mark my words, she’s the villain, not the hero. Imagine when the Dothraki cross the Narrow Sea and starts raping and murdering. Who will bend the knee for Dany then?
THIS! Dany is basically bringing a nuclear bomb on horseback to her kingdom. What’s the plan when they’re done? They’ll be farmers? Stick them on the Iron Islands to war it out with the “we do not sow” crowd? I can’t see any way this ends well.
I thought their commitment to killing – no matter how paltry the price – was in tribute to of their Faceless God who allowed them to escape Valerian slavery and keep the faces of their kills to use in the future.
I just assumed that tribute/sacrifice was why they killed: because they didn’t want to anger him/her and become someone again.
Arya was never moved by that history, just the ability to get tp her enemies. She had a strong identity and history as a Stark that it’s too hard to subsume – and deep down she doesn’t want to but… I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if she’d killed those people first. Would she want to become no one?
That waif bitch better whatch it; she thinks killing Arya will be easy peasy and she’s in for a ride. Like Kaiser said, I really hope Arya kills the sh!t out of the waif.
I’m wondering about Bran’s visions and that insistence on the bit of the Mad King yelling to burn them all and it got me to think, what if the Mad King in the middle of his madness was talking about the white walkers when asking to burn them all? Perhaps it doesn’t make sense but that’s the thought that came to my mind.
It really was a transitioning chapter but it’s find. I liked it.
THIS! I mentioned this last night to a few friends as well. I think the Mad King WAS talking about the Whitewalkers, except that at that point in the story, none of the people believed they were around anymore so they probably thought he was just talking about humans.
The only way it would make sense to me is if the mad king was having visions of the WWs but confused them with reality. But I’m sticking with him just being a violent bastard. He raped and used Dany’s mother horribly, and that cruelty was deliberate. And by the end, he was sexually aroused by watching people burn.
Nah the Targaryen’s are mad because of inbreeding. I think he was just a sick f*cker.
‘Burn them all’ clearly refers to the caches of wildfire he had put around King’s Landing. He wanted to burn the city so that the rebels wouldn’t have it – “Let him be king over charred bones and cooked meat. Let him be the king of ashes.”
He also believed that if he burned in the fire along with King’s Landing he’d emerge as a dragon.
He was crazy, and had no inkling of the danger in the North. Some people are making a case for his mind being addled by Bloodraven ala Hodor, but it’s well-established that Targs are either great or mad so I think it’s most likely he’s just a crazy bastard who got off on watching people burn.
Oh the Waif is in for it. Arts trained with Sirio. She trained with the Hound. The reason she had so much trouble with the Waif was because she was trying to be something she’s not. She was trying to kill Arya Stark. But now she accepts who she is. And Arya Stark is BADASS.
This episode actually dragged for me, Sam was slow and frightened as always, Dany was shouting and all look at my dragon. Ayra not doing as she was told like since we first saw her in season 1.
The Mad king bit was what led to Jaime killing him, he was going to burn all of Kings Landing in the books, burn them all was him telling the green fire makers (I can’t remember their names) to put jars of it in flea bottom and all around town and then to burn the lot. Was the Mad king mad though because Bran was whispering to him in his visions?
Watchersonthewall.com has the vision in slo-mo if you want to see the details. I am confused as hell by it, but that is why I love this show!!!!
I don’t think so. Aerys descent into madness took years. Also, the memory is off. He screamed burn them all when Jaime stabbed him in the back, which is why Jaime then cut his throat.
Yaaaaas, torture-murder the Waif! Her death will almost be as satisfying as Joffrey’s death.
The last scene was so out of place. That should’ve happened last episode and have this episode end with Benjen.
Speaking of Benjen, I like how he is now a Coldhands-like character.
Sam’s father is terrifying, but I still see him as uncle Jeffery in Bridget Jones’s Diary, lol. But now Sam has a valaryian sword, so that’s one more in a fight against the walkers.
Ugh, Tommen. It’s so not going to end well for you.
LOL Mace.
Waif vs. Needle. Get hype.
Agreed. That scene with BenJen gave me goosebumps!
nope it won’t end well for Tommen, all Cercei’s children will die
No wait SPOILER SPOILER!
Tommen is weak, he has it coming. Margaery is pretty awesome.
It’s not a spoiler if it hasn’t happened in the books yet, lol.
Joffrey would have had the Sparrow beheaded and put up on a spike by now….and honestly that would be the right decision. Tommen bless his heart, has too good of a heart and is very innocent.
BenJen!
Drogon!
Tobias Menzies!
Hodor forever!
Jamie is going to the Riverlands. Brienne is going to the Riverlands. Last seen in or heading for the Riverlands: Catelyn, the Hound, Hot Pie, Gendry and Nymeria.
I’ll take the Hound and Nymeria for a thousand, Alex!
I think a major Tully bombshell is coming.
Hot Pie is the Prince that was promised – flinging his hot pies at White Walkers with their secret valyrian crusts and fiery chili seasoning.
Lol! Perfect.
Haha! That is just too good!
And he befriends Nymeria and she switches allegiance to him; thereby uniting fire and ice.
Oh look, another episode ending with Dany saying something inspiring but about to likely follow it up with fuck all. Sam and Gilly? Their whole story could’ve been told in half the amount of time it has taken so far. Time that could be dedicated to other, more interesting, characters. What’s happened to the Sand Snakes by the way? Not that I care about them, it’s just that it looked like they were about to do something big at the start of the season but they’ve since done…fuck all. It feels like there’s a lot of fuck all this season – pardon my swearing, I’m just so frustrated with the pace of this show at the moment!
Speaking of the Sand Snakes…
Just a thought, but do you think there’s a chance that they’ll be fighting with Jon, Sansa & co. to overthrow Cersei/ Tommen & co.?
Personally, I’m fine with the pacing of the show. I still find the filler episodes (like this one) interesting.
Where is Bronn? He disappeared when they got to King’s landing? 🙁
Jaime mentioned Bronn last night. I was hoping they’d show him, but maybe he’ll go to Riverrun wuth Jaime.
When did he mention Bronn? I missed that!
Last night’s episode was kind of a bore for me except for Uncle Benjen/Cold Hands? I mean we know he’s no longer “alive” in the normal, human sense since he had a sword to the belly, said he was about to turn, but the Children then plunged the Dragonglass through his heart, but he’s not exactly a Whitewalker either Sooooo, what is he? (It’s a little different than what happened to Jon, no?) Also isn’t it a coincidence that he also happens to be a Stark? Seems the Children and Blood Raven love to help Starks in particular. There is a theory the Nights King is a Stark. I think it’s because the Starks, like the Targaryen’s are a special, magical lot.
Also Arya! I knew she couldn’t be “no one”. When she fetched needle I was like Yaaasss! Too bad the Many Faced God crew is on some Blood in Blood out ish and she can’t leave by her own free will. But it’s so weird to me how Jaqen Hagar was even put in her path in the first place. He was a prisoner captured and being taken to the Wall. How does a Faceless Assassin get caught anyway?
The Sam/Gilly segment was too long. Just glad he took the Valyrian Greatsword with him. Those are in short supply and needed to fight the Whitewalkers.
And now Jaime is going to the Riverlands to confront the Tully’s. Who else is headed to the Riverlands to look for the Tully’s? Oh yeah, Brienne of Tarth! Yay reunion will be complicated being that they are now on opposite sides.
There is also a theory that Meera is Jon’s twin, so also a Stark. Theory goes that Lyanna had 2 children in the Tower of Joy. Ned took the boy ((Jon) and Howland Reed took Meera to raise as his own.
Was NC-W actually playing Jaime in the flashback? Jaime would have been a) much younger, younger than ToJ!Ned, and b) he had long hair in S1. Nitpick, yes, but hope they actually have a younger actor if we see more flashback scenes
Why does the Waif hate Arya so much? She’s been smacking her around since Day 1. Is it just because she wants Jaqen’s attention? Also there are only two faceless men in all of Braavos? Again, nitpicks, but still noticeable.
Lady Stoneheart is definitely going to happen now. I always thought it would happen really late in the show’s run.
This was kind of a boring episode but I think this was needed. It seemed more of a summary episode because they brought back so many old characters from the first few seasons. I forgot about Benjen, Blackfish, and Edmure Tully so it was good to get summary. I think Margaery is playing the Sparrow. She was such a fighter when she spoke to her brother I doubt she just fell apart. I don’t know why Dany was in this episode. She didn’t do anything.
Dany NEVER does anything!!! I’m so bored with her! Always have been and especially in the tv show since I think the actress is crap. She always has the same facial expression!
I wish the spice merchant from Qarth was still around so he could talk smack to Dany whenever she goes on and on about her birthright and her dragons. I always go to the bathroom during her scenes.
Totally agree. Emilia Clarke’s facial expression (singular) just ruins it for me, along with the on-the-nose inspirational speeches and nothing really actually happening.
It’s funny, because even though not that much happens in Dany’s story in the books I still really enjoy it because of Ser Barristan’s POV. I guess there’s a lot more intrigue and plot elements in the book to keep me entertained.
The Waif doesn’t know what’s coming to her, that’s for sure. Arya will destroy her. Also, does anyone else think Bran and Meera might happen at some point?
It looked that way in the show but I’m starting to suspect that they’re cousins…
Maisie Williams looked like she was cosplaying Frida Khalo.
Definitely.
Thought that the whole time!
I loved Bran’s visions, and I’m hoping an analysis video pops up. It made sense (though heartbreaking) that Bran would see his family’s deaths. And perhaps it made sense that Bran saw historic events like the mad king’s death, but how interesting that he saw Dany’s rebirth with her dragons. Was he shown that because she’s one of the prophesied, or because she’s the threat? Also, did we see Ned’s bloody hand next to Lyanna’s as she died? I need more.
I was shocked that Edmure was not recast. Surely that means he will immediately be killed. I wonder if he even got his wedding night before being tossed in the dudgeon.
I always love Dany and her dragons, but this one didn’t work out as well. It did seem out of place, but they usually like to close episodes with those moments, right? It was hard to focus because all I could think of was – so this is why they’re killing off the direwolves. The only significance of the scene, in my opinion, is Dany is now able to control where Drogon takes her versus being at the mercy of his whims. I hope we’re not going to watch the slow trek back to Mereen. Maybe Dany will do a quick drive by with Drogon for a tete a tete with Tyrion before the meet up with Yara and Theon.
I posted this up thread … Watchersonthewall.com has an analysis.
Very dissapointing episode. They left the bar so high with The Door, I didn’t expect much. But it was so boring.
I actually liked Sam’s part the most. Mostly because of Gilly. She’s one of my favorite characters, I think there’s a lot of unexplored depth in her.
I was actually dissapointed in Arya. The Faceless Men were the most interesting part of her plot. And I always liked The Waif, because it was good seeing someone put Arya in her place. She’s badass and all, but I always felt there was a special snowflake aspect to her. And what’s up with everyone understimating the Waif?! While Arya was just roaming around Westeros, the Waif was actually killing people for a living. As far as we know, she could be as good as Jaqen if not better. And that girl is one hell of an actress.
The Frey vs. Tully plotline felt so shoved down. Next episode seems to revolve heavily around it. I’m not a book reader, but I can tell the writers are not guiding themselves by the books anymore. The nuanced writing of the early seasons is gone. I’m afraid episodes like The Door or Home will become more the exception than the norm =/.
I’m not so sure the waif is a faceless man. I think she probably just trains the ….students or whatever they should be called 🙂 She’s a fighter for sure but Arya might have killed more people than her. And the waif underestimates her.
The Frey v Tully thing and Jamie’s involvement with it factors heavily in the book – far too much so – and I had thought/hoped that they were cutting it out completely although they haven’t caught up with Jamie’s storyline from the books yet.
Love Gilly! She said exactly what we all think about Sam. She is also very smart & loyal like Sam. A good match. The Wildings have quickly become my favorite group. Think they’re actually good people (esp. in GOT world) that just want to be left alone and move as winter comes.
I wouldn’t say they’re good people. Gilly was forcibly married to and raped by her father. Thenns are cannibals. Wildlings raid southern homes and steal their women and kill the men, rape the women they abduct and force them to be their wives. They shun children who are sick or different (like wargs) and leave them to die.
They’ve got a lot of fucked up practices. There are a lot of wildlings who are good people, but as a whole? Not so much.
I agree this episode was some parts dragging and a whole lot boring. I loved the Uncle Benjen reveal, though. And I love that the Starks are slowly reuniting. Jon + Sansa, Benjen + Bran. It seems Arya is on her way to Westeros soon!
“I am the mother of dragons ” … and scene. I think i got it GoT.
Exactly. That repetitive Dany ending torpedoed the episode. Maybe if it had been at the beginning but as the apparent climax? No. I tuned out. Arya rejecting No One and embracing her Stark, and the return of Uncle Benjen were both bigger emotional moments but they were anti climactic because of the way the episode was structured. Very disappointing after last week.
Do Sam & Gilly play a larger role in the Starks getting back Winterfell? Right now their story line appears to be filler.
I think Arya will kill the Waif but it won’t be easy. Being in the dark seems like an advantage but the Waif was probably trained as a blind girl too.
In the books, which really haven’t gone any farther than the show has on the Sam and Gilly line, it is heavily hinted at that Sam will be the one to discover how to defeat the White Walkers and that he’s going to get involved in some sort of scheme at the Citadel. Gilly’s storyline is quite a bit different as she was forced by Jon to leave her baby at the Wall and take Mance Raydar’s newborn to safe him from Melisandre sacrificing him for king’s blood.
Am I the only one who liked the dinner scene with Sam and his father? I was really nervous the old man would pull some Ramsay Bolton stunt and off the Wildling and the baby. The suspense held up really well there. Question: Will he go a hunting after the two and try to get back his sword?
Dany is boring. I get it. She has dragons and lots and lots of wild men. And makes speeches.
The waif needs to be sorted. But I wonder, she doesn’t live up to the requirements of being no-one. If she was, she wouldn’t hate Arya so much. Where does she come from? Is there a history beyond the facts that she is having the hots for the big guy?
Margery is a player, but possibly overplaying her hand. I hate the sparrows. With a vengeance.
I agree about your waif theory. Maybe she failed and agreed to be a servant as long as they didn’t kill her?
I was wondering if I was the only one who liked the Sam story too. I enjoyed the entire thing and was glad he and Gilly didn’t separate.
Dany is working my last nerve, personally. The last scene seemed random and tacked on so had to pretend it was an epilogue. They rely so much on her skills being entirely congenital that even without the white saviourism I can’t root for her. Has she even proven herself tactically or politically? Or is it simpler to get everyone killed in a pointless conquest that she won’t be able manage – outside of nuking everyone – once she gets it?
What happens to the ‘freed’ cities once she, her armies, and her dragons aren’t there? She could barely hold them before.
Still wondering if the TER is actually a future version of Bran and that’s the big ending: that the future has already happened and just keeps repeating, and unable to stop it because it’s paradoxical.
And can’t Walder Frey run afoul of Ramsay Bolton, or some other accommodating sociopath (although given his brides of ever-diminishing ages, Arya will probably pose as one and kill him at this rate).
Baylon Greyjoy and Walder Frey are the same character. Just sayin’.
Yaaaaasssss! We are kindred spirits! When Walder Frey popped up on the screen, I thought: “Wait ain’t this old dude fall off a bridge this season?”
I’m not really getting the entire Bran Stark story and feel completely stupid… and all these theories are not helping me at all
Did anyone else totally forget that the Tully guy is the bad guy in Outlander? Also the nice guy Frank.. but still…I totally forgot he was in GOT too since we haven’t seen him in YEARS!
And he was in the Night Manager. Boy gets around.
He is a wonderful actor!
He said in an interview that they had to squeeze him in because he’s so busy now but that he really wanted to do it because he’s a GoT fan. I have a feeling he won’t be round for long, though and they’re tying up some Tully lose ends.
Replying to my own post to add, I loved the write-up! Don’t agree about “The Khaleesi” since I love any scenes with her and the dragons but agree with everything else!!!!!!!
Also, that new young bride of Walder Frey? EWWWW
In the preview for next week, looks like we get some Tormund and Wilding scenes! I’m fangirling Tormund and love when it actually gets to speak 🙂
Non book reader here, but…..Why all these people fighting over that measly iron throne???? The King now can’t even control his own wife and Mother from being persecuted. He seems to have NO power whatsoever. So why on earth anyone want that dang thing? Being the King of Westeros doesn’t seem like it holds that much power OR respect imho
I couldn’t agree more! hahaha
We’ve seen in the past that in the right hands the IT commands power and respect. There have been some great kings who have done great things.
It just so happens that we’ve never seen a great king sit the IT in the show’s run. They’ve all been awful kings. If they hadn’t sucked, the War of the Five Kings never would have happened.
I happen to think there won’t be any IT at the end of the story. I’d prefer that to King Jon Snow or Queen Mother of Dragons. I don’t believe GRRM would ever do something that obvious and feel-good.
I’ll bet that dragon is full of farmer’s kids.
Kidding aside, I’ve enjoyed the Sam and Gilly story.