Quick Recap:
- the return of a Stark
- the most awkward dinner party ever
- The High Sparrow beats team Lannister-Tyrell for like the millionth time
- Arya Stark- not fit to be an assassin?
Thoughts:
The show is really starting to come full circle, connecting old and forgotten plotlines with the current action. How many of us were expecting a triumphant return from Benjen Stark? Fair, we never saw his death, but we were sure he was no more. The Starks, long left for dead, seem poised to make a major resurgence. Bran is now the Three-Eyed Raven and is re-united with Benjen, Jon and Sansa are trying to take back the North, the Blackfish has seized Riverrun, and maybe Arya is on her way back to Westeros?
The Blackfish’s sudden emergence as a major figure connects back to Season 3 and the Red Wedding. He was a relatively minor character who avoided the clutches of Walder Frey (what a terrible guy) who has now united the Tully forces and seized Riverrun. Both Jaime and Brienne are headed his way, as is the show’s focus. Just like Benjen, he emerges as a potential ally for the surviving Starks.
Poor Sam. We’ve seen a lot of really terrible, mean, petty characters on Game of Thrones, and in a few minutes of screen-time his father landed himself alongside Walder Frey, Ramsey Bolton, and King Joffrey as one of the worst of the worst.
I couldn’t help but thinking that that the dinner party was a sort of Meet the Parents: Wildling Style. I love Gilly, but her acting skills need work. She kept up her charade for literally all of two minutes. I mean come on. I could pass myself off as a young, undead Ned Stark for longer than it took Gilly to slip up and talk about her life North of the wall. It certainly didn’t help that she couldn’t use a fork.
Jaime and Cersei shared that nice moment after the death of Myrcella where they promised to destroy all their enemies and for a second I thought there was going to be a Lannister resurgence. But with King Tommen and Queen Margaery converting to whatever the High Sparrow is selling, it seems that Jaime and Cersei’s reign of dominance is really coming to an end. With Dany getting ready to invade, the Blackfish on the move, and Littlefinger starting to flex his muscles, it seems that King’s Landing is ripe for the picking.
Arya might be my favorite character on the show. After she met Jaqen, I kept wishing for her to go to Braavos and learn the secrets of the Many-Faced God. When my wish came true, it never felt right. Arya isn’t a killer, and she can’t just forget that she is a Stark. She has a rough road ahead that seems to include having to avoid being killed by The Waif, but hopefully we will see her in Westeros soon, using her newfound skills hopefully in conjunction with Jon and Sansa.
Again, all I can say about Daenarys is just how cool she is. After her speech I was pretty much ready to join her army. After a few seasons of Daenarys the ruler, I really forgot how exciting Daenarys the conqueror is. I have a feeling we are going to see a lot more of this new Dany and I for one won’t complain.
Predictions:
-We are going to see Dany in Westeros soon. The next few episodes will see her find a way to build her fleet and maybe she will board those ships on the finale?
-Arya has never beaten the Waif in combat before. She is going to have to if she wants to survive, and I don’t think she’s going to die anytime soon.
-What’s next for Cersei? She’s slowly being squeezed out, but I don’t see her leaving power quietly.
-All of the plotlines are going to start coming together. That means the show is going to have to revisit the change of power in Dorne really soon.