Spoilers ahead
We are nearing ever so closer to the end of GOT and this season is highly rated and, in my opinion, one of the best seasons.
Let’s get to it then, and with every new season, we must begin with Episode one. ‘The Red Woman’ sees Sansa escape the clutches of her tormentor, Ramsay Bolton. Sansa and Theon Greyjoy (‘Reek’ as he was later forced to be known as) helped her through the harsh snow of the North. They were tracked by Bolton men and their hounds and were soon caught by their pursuers. Depending on where your allegiances lie, the arrival of Brienne of Tarth and Podrick will either be a cure or a curse. Unfortunately for the soldiers, their last day had come earlier than they imagined as the aforementioned heroes hacked them down. Brienne of Tarth swears her allegiance to Sansa Stark.
Episode two, ‘Home’, involves Ramsay Bolton once more, amidst the setting of Winterfell. After hearing news of the birth of his step brother, Ramsay stabs his father in the chest and cruelly sets his hound’s on Lady Walda Bolton. Ramsay knew that Lady Walda was pregnant and would surely have been wanting the child not to be a son, as it would mean that the boy would be ahead of him in the line of succession (despite him, born a bastard, being legitimised by Roose Bolton). Over at The Wall, Melisandre (The Red Woman) uses her magic to bring Jon Snow back to life after Davos persuades her to “try.”
‘Oathbreaker’, the third episode of this very season. It is time for the true ‘Traitors’ to be brought forward for the vile acts they committed when they stabbed their Lord Commander in the chest before a cross labelled with ‘Traitor’. They are all hung, their eyes popping out of their sockets as their necks are broken. Jon leaves the Night’s Watch and before he steps foot out of Castle Black, he hands his cloak to Edd Tollett, and saying “My watch is ended.”
‘Book of the Stranger’ is episode four. Daenery’s burns the large wooden hut in Dosh Khaleen, showing off her true power to the people. She emerges from the fire unburnt, as true Dragons cannot be burnt. The crowd on people watching as she walks out unscathed, start to bow, amongst them were Jorah Mormont and Daario Naharis. Another part to this episode involved Theon Greyjoy and his journey back to his home. A return to the Iron Islands, where he started life before being sent to live with the Starks at Winterfell.
Episode five of Season six is one of the best but also heartbreaking as we lose another beloved character. ‘The Door’ involves the death of Hodor, who for the majority of his life has only ever been able to say “Hodor”. Bran visits the past, back when Wylis could still say other words and phrases, but also Wargs into him in the future so they can escape through the tunnel where the Three Eyed Raven hides. Meera keeps shouting “Hold the door” to Hodor and young Wylis then has a seizure as “Hold the door” slowly changes to “Hodor” which he would only say until the day he died. With the unwilling sacrifice of Hodor, the others escape into the wild.
The sixth episode, ‘Blood of my Blood’, takes places over in King’s Landing. Unlike Cersei, Margaery Tyrell has chosen to link arms with the Faith in the City. Crown and Faith together as King Tommen has followed along with his wife’s choice. This decision has stopped her having to do a walk of Atonement. Margaery and the High Sparrow, dressed in the same grey clothes, appear before House Tyrell and the Lannister army who begin to threaten the Faith militant.
Episode seven, otherwise known as, ‘The Broken Man’, refers to the Hound. Sandor Clegane, which he is rarely referred to as, was last seen getting defeated by Brienne of Tarth. When we see him in this episode, he has fallen in with a group of peaceful people who are keeping out of everyone else’s way and are building a tower in the middle of nowhere. A group of three men arrive and ask for food and provisions. They are turned away by the leader as they want nothing to do with the war of the world. Every member of the company, aside from The Hound, is slain beneath the tower. The men decided to hang the leader of this group, the one who dared to deny them.
‘No One’ is the title to the eighth episode of this very season. Lady Crane, one of the actors who appears in a theatre production, a recreation of the series (playing Cersei) is stabbed and killed by the Waif. The actor had done her best to look after Arya once before so this was a cruel way for her to die. She chases Arya through the streets and is led into a dark, unlit, building and gathers up her sword, Needle. She slices the candle, diminishing the flame and then killing the Waif (not shown on screen but it seems a fitting place for her to be killed).
Now, this episode coming up is an absolute classic of an episode. Fantastic from start to ending, especially with the death of one horrendously despicable character. ‘Battle of the Bastards’ is episode nine. Jon Snow vs Ramsay Bolton. Rickon Stark, who has a very limited part in the TV Show is set free by Ramsay, and Jon realises that he is going to start shooting arrows at his stepbrother. Unfortunately, Ramsay wins his game and yet another member of the Stark family is killed. A huge and insane fight happens with the coward of the fight award going to Ramsay, who hid far away with his archers. The Bolton army circles around the gang led by Jon, blocking off every single exit as a mosh pit is born through their struggle to get free. Jon is suddenly lost at the bottom of the scramble, but then the Knights of the Vale crash through the circle, ending the fight. Jon and Ramsay go head-to-head in a one vs one which was only going to have one winner. As the hounds are about to be set on Ramsay, Sansa remarks: “You haven’t fed them in seven days, you said it yourself.”
‘The Winds of Winter’ was a very packed episode, quite fitting being the last of this season. People are gathered in the Great Sept of Baelor for the trial of Cersei Lannister and Loras Tyrell. The latter opts to confess to all sins and is welcomed into the Faith of the Seven. They carve a seven pointed star into the centre of his forehead, it looks excruciating. One of the audience in the Sept is increasingly becoming more anxious as Cersei still does not show. Margaery is urging everyone to leave as she fears something dreadful is about to happen. She was absolutely spot on. After chasing a child through the tunnel containing the wildfire, the servant of the Faith is stabbed and attempts to blow out the flame before he and the rest are engulfed in a blaze of green. Tommen falls from the Tower as green destruction flies through the air. The words of Ned Stark “Winter is coming” finally came true as the Citadel sent a white raven to Winterfell. Arya gets her revenge on Walder Frey by serving him his sons in a pie she baked. “My name is Arya Stark, I want you to know that. The last you’re ever going to see is a Stark smiling down at you as you die.”
What a season! It was last October that I shared my thoughts on the episodes within Season Five. It was about time that you read through them for this season. You won’t have to wait as long for the penultimate season however.
RGE.
Pen to paper 