Now everyone can relax about Jon Snow. Well, you
can try to relax after that scene with Ramsay
Bolton and the baby, but let’s process this one
thing at a time.
Bran is back. He’s still deep in the North,
in the cave underneath the Weirwood tree
(though noticeably more pubescent). He’s well
into his training with the three-eyed raven. He’s
traveled back in time with him to the Winterfell
of his father. He’s watching a young
Ned training in the yard, sparring with
Bran’s uncle Benjen. His aunt Lyanna comes
cantering in on a horse. Bran admits he doesn’t
know much about her, but the party line in
Westeros is that she was kidnapped and raped
by Rhaegar Targaryen, which, since she was
betrothed to Robert Baratheon, started the war
of Robert’s Rebellion. But that history has yet to
be revealed. Hodor is there, but his name is
Wylis, and he can talk. “If he ever learned to
fight, he’d be unstoppable,” Benjen says. It
sounds like a line that would get played in a
foreboding pre-episode flashback, right before
the episode that Hodor starts kicking serious ass.
Leaf, one of the Children of the Forest, tries to
encourage Meera, telling her Bran will need her
when he eventually leaves the cave. The
Children of the Forest — the oldest residents of
Westeros — pre-date the First Men. It was they
who planted the Weirwood trees, they who
carved the faces in their trunks; the same faces
through which Bran had see, when using his
power. Their role will undoubtedly grow larger,
as the impending “war” ensues.
Cersei has pretty much fucked up every big
decision she’s had since the start of the show;
her machinations have resulted in all manner of
failure. But back in King’s Landing, things may
be looking up — her son, the king, is wracked
with guilt and shame, begging his mother for
guidance. And Ser Robert strong has begun to
give a glimpse of the fear his presence yields, a
result of his monstrous strength — which he
exhibits by smashing a drunken braggart’s head
against the wall, punishment for the crime of
besmirching Cersei’s name. The first of
undoubtedly many enemies he plans to smite in
her name.
Speaking with Tommen, it’s clear that she still
feels less than happy; despite having her son,
the king, now under her control, she still
believes that witch’s prophecy. She expects to
lose him, too. But for now, she’s gonna do some
smiting.
In the sept, after a chat with his son
Tommen, Jamie crosses verbal swords with the
High Sparrow, basically daring him to come
after him for his own sins. He threatens to spill
his blood right there in the sept, but High
Sparrow flexes his own muscle, surrounding
Jamie with his thug monks. A stalemate, for
now. But with the High Sparrow wielding an
army of peasants, it’s clear he’s not going away
without a fight. When he says “Together, we can
overthrow an empire,” his goals are laid
transparent.
In Winterfell, the consequences of Ramsay’s
actions are coming to bear—the best Bolton
hunters are found slain, and Roose is doing his
best to explain to Ramsay just how politics work.
But all Ramsay can see is the threat that Roose’s
wife Walda Frey and her impending baby poses
to his legitimacy. The second he hears that the
new heir has been born, his dad, Walda, and
the baby are not long for this world. With the
support of the Karstarks, Ramsay seizes control
of the House of Bolton, Winterfell, and the
North. His hold on the latter is quite precarious
— everyone hates him and his house. Ramsay’s
cleverness and guerilla tactics may be his
downfall — he plans to attack Castle Black with
the banners he still holds (the Umbers, the
Manderlys and the stout Karstarks, who haven’t
forgiven the Starks for killing their patriarch
seasons ago), kill Jon Snow, and eliminate any
remaining Stark bloodline to solidify his hold on
the North. We’re not sure he’s ready to face
giants, however. Nor the Lord of Light.
Balon Greyjoy, king of the Iron Islands, is the
only remaining king from the five that went to
war (The War of the Five Kings). He’s also only
one left of the three people targeted by the
leeches Melisandre threw on a fire, filled with
Gendry’s blood (Robb Stark and Joffrey
Baratheon were the other two). It was clear that
he’s not long for this world, even before his
brother Euron Greyjoy returns to Pyke, the
capital of the Iron Islands.
Who the hell is Euron? He’s one of the more
adventurous seafarers from Pyke, and his ship
Silence is known around the world—He cut out
the tongues of his entire crew. “I don’t mock the
Drowned God, i am the Drowned God,” he says,
right before he throws his brother Balon off of a
rope bridge, killing him.
It the aftermath, his daughter Yara foolishly
starts acting like she’s going to succeed her
father, but that’s not how it works in the Iron
Islands—they hold a Kingsmoot. We haven’t yet
told said what it is, but being of the Iron
Islands, you can be sure it will be violent and
brutal.
On the road to Castle Black, Brienne, Podrick,
Sansa and Theon seem to be relatively safe.
Comfortable in the knowledge that Brienne can
protect her better than he ever could, Theon
finally says goodbye. Sansa wants him to come
along, take the black, and live… but he has sins
larger than ones for which he can atone. He
doesn’t want to be forgiven. He’s returning
home, to deal with all that remains there. Might
he join the Kingsmoot?
In Mereen, Tyrion gets still more bad news; the
masters have retaken both Yunkai and Astapoor,
and no one fears Daenerys because: a) she’s
disappeared, and Bb her dragons are chained
up. Tyrion is gonna fix that. He takes his fill of
wine, and heads down into the dungeon to treat
with Viserion and Rhaegal. He tells a cute story
about one of his early “name days” on which
he wished for a little dragon: “It doesn’t even
have to be a big dragon, it can be little — like
me,” he remembers saying. Then he unchains
the dragons. What hath he wrought? Will they
save Danerys from the Khalasar? Will they help
her take control of it?
In Braavos, Arya, still blind, is swatted around a
bit more by the waif and her staff, and visited
by Jaqen H’gar shortly thereafter. He tests her
resolve by offering her a meal, a roof, and the
use of her eyes in return for speaking her
name. But she knows the answer to this pop
quiz is “a girl has no name”. When she passes,
he leads her off, on to the next phase of her
training.
But here’s the bit everyone’s been waiting for all
summer: the return of Jon Snow. Just as Alister
Thorne is about to break down the door to
murder Jon Snow’s supporters, Dolorous Edd
comes storming back with the wildlings.
Tormund slices up one guy, and a giant
squashes a jumpy archer against the wall. No
one left has much will to fight, and the mutiny is
quickly squashed, the conspirators jailed.
Now that Jon’s corpse is safe, it’s time for The
Red Woman to get busy with the
resurrection. Thoros of Myr has set the
precedent, raising Beric Dondarrion from the
dead, time after time. Like Melisandre, when he
does his first resurrection, he’s been in doubt,
and has lost his faith. Melisandre feels that what
she saw in the fire was wrong; what’s more
likely is that she hasn’t been interpreting the
visions properly. Davos gives her a pep talk, and
gets her to give it the old college try. “I’m not
asking the Lord of Light for help,” he says. “I’m
asking the woman that showed me miracles
exist.” She does the ritual, but doesn’t believe,
and therefore, neither does anyone else. Only
once everybody but Ghost has left the room does
Jon Snow wake up, resurrected.
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