Game of Thrones: Season 6 Episode 1 – Review/Recap

"The Red Woman"

Spoilers Ahead

The long winter is over and Game of Thrones has returned. Once again fans will be glued to their TV’s to soak in the misery, mystery and murder emanating from Westeros and I’m no different.

After the bomb shell of a cliffhanger season five left us on, many were speculating as to the fate of the honourable Jon Snow. Would it be addressed? If so how long would we have to wait? Well we got some answers but a lot is still up to interpretation.

 

Castle Black

Castle_BlackThe first episode of season six opened up with a long sweeping shot of Castle Black and immediately focused down on to the cold, pale corpse of Jon Snow. If you’re like me you probably had a mixture of emotions at this point. Happiness at the fact they went straight to the meat of the story but also sadness at the thought of Jon being betrayed by the people he trusted. The shot didn’t last long before Jon Snow was discovered by Davos and quickly moved to a nearby room, his body surrounded by a few of the Nights Watch who were still loyal to their friend and commander. Shortly thereafter Melisandre joined them in mourning and upon looking at Jon’s body muttered the words,

“I saw him in the flames, fighting at Winterfell.”

These words gain significance as Melisandre has seen events in the flames before that have come true, so is this more evidence Jon Snow isn’t done with this world yet?

Upon retrieving Ghost from the kennels Davos hints to Edd that the Wildlings Jon saved from Hardhome might also be able to help them in their predicament. Edd leaves and heads out to get help before Ser Alliser tries to take and destroy Jon Snows corpse.

The biggest surprise of all from the opening at Castle Black was that Ser Alliser Thorne actually admitted to killing Jon to the rest of the Nights Watch. I half expected him to try and blame someone else. At first the crows seemed angry but after a rousing speech about loyalty and self preservation he seemed to win the trust of all the remaining Nights Watch. But that has to be expected considering the majority of them are murderers, rapists, thieves and general scumbags. Talking of scumbags we got a brief glimpse of Olly again and his face looked as punch-able as ever.

 

Ramsay/Roose 

GoT.Michael-McElhatton-as-Roose-Bolton-and-Iwan-Rheon-as-Ramsay-BoltonWe join Ramsay seemingly mourning over the body of his long time friend/girlfriend Myranda, shockingly, showing actual human emotion. Of course that lasts for the whole of about 30 seconds before Ramsay tells the Maester to forgo the traditional burial or pyre in favour of chopping her up and feeding her to the hounds “it’s good meat” after all. That’s the Ramsay we all know and love.

Roose, the ever loving father, berates Ramsay about ‘playing his games’ with Sansa and Theon which led to them escaping. Ramsay assures Roose he will find them and that he has hounds chasing them down as they speak. Roose then goes on to tell him he had better find Sansa as she is the key to the north and if they don’t have her they wont control the northern armies. On top of that Ramsay wont be able to produce an heir. Which lets be honest that’s probably a good thing. We don’t need Ramsay 2.0.

 

Sansa/Theon/Brienne/Podrick

sansabrienneAfter surviving the jump off Winterfell’s wall last season, Sansa and Theon are chased by a pack of hounds as they try to escape. They make their way across a river and for a second think they have escaped Ramsay’s soldiers. Of course they haven’t and are quickly tracked down taking shelter under a tree. Theon tries to do the brave thing and tells the chasing soldiers that Sansa died but they don’t believe him and find her a few feet away.

Just as it looks as though our two base jumping friends have been recaptured, Brienne comes charging through the woods and dispatches the Bolton soldiers with the help of Pod and Theon. Brienne then drops down to one knee and offers her services to Sansa once again. This time she accepts.

Lets just hope Brienne can actually keep this one alive. Third times the charm…right?

 

Cersei/Jaime

got-jaime-cersei1280jpg-a29919_1280wBack from a rather terrible trip to Dorne, Jaime sails into kings landing with the body of Myrcella much to the absolute despair of a recovering, short haired, Cersei. Not only has she created an internet full of memes…shame! ..but now her second child has died and the witches prophecy of three golden shrouds for her three children is coming true.

Does this mean King Tommen is next on the chopping block?

Seeing Cersei’s despair Jaime vows revenge on those who have dared cross the Lannisters.

 

Margaery

MArgeYup, she is still in that cell and refusing to confess. I don’t blame the girl, she’s been locked up for telling a little lie. If that happened in the real world I would be doing 25 to life…. I so didn’t eat that last cake. Hopefully grandmother Tyrell gets that army together and gets her out soon. However all Margaery seems to care about at this point is seeing her brother Loras. The High Sparrow wants that confession first though and I have a sneaking suspicion he’ll be waiting a while yet.

I’m looking forward to seeing what happens when she gets out and if Tommen is still king when she does. Whatever the outcome I’m sure revenge will be the first thing on her mind.

 

Prince Doran/Trystane/Sand Snakes

SandsOver in the Dorne we got our first character death and I for one didn’t see it coming, although I had a sneaking suspicion the poop was going to hit the fan when Prince Doran got the message announcing the death of Myrcella. As he read the note one of the Sand Snakes stabbed his trusted bodyguard in the back. Doran looked on in shock and Oberyns revenge seeking lover, Ellaria Sand, pounced on the opportunity sticking a blade deep into Doran’s chest. As he bled out she claimed to have killed him in the name of Oberyn; I’m pretty sure Oberyn wouldn’t of wanted his brother murdered. She also claims she no longer wants Dorne ruled by ‘weak men’. I’m guessing that includes men who want peace for their people.

If you had Prince Doran to die first in your dead-pool..congratulations.

Poor Trystane. After reaching kings landing Trystane is immediately met by two more Sand Snakes (who somehow got on the boat after being on the dock when it left last season.) They threaten his life and proceed to offer him a choice of fighting one of them. He chooses his match and prepares to fight her. As he steps forward he receives a spear to the back of the head by the other Sand Snake, oh those cheeky Sand Snakes. Well at least it was quick.

Fun fact: That’s the second spear through the back of the head we have seen on Game of Thrones.

 

Tyrion/Varys

Hbo_promo_varys_tyrionWe join the dynamic duo walking the streets of Meereen trying to get a feel for what the people of the city are thinking. With recent events involving fighting pits and Harpys that probably wasn’t the wisest decision.

After a mix up of words about a baby sandwich Tyrion and Varys see that their fleet, or more precisely Daenerys’ fleet, is on fire trapping them in Meereen with those pesky Sons of Harpy. I’ll be honest though, if this keeps Tyrion and Varys together I’ll be happy. Their jabs at one another are incredibly funny and the dialogue between the two characters makes me feel much more intelligent than I actually am. Long may the bromance continue. As for the fleet on fire, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea trapping the Unsullied in Meereen. If you want an invading force to leave then it may be an idea to leave them their ships.

 

Jorah/Daario

jorahThe lover and the wannabe lover of Daenerys are hot on her trail after her rather spectacular flight out of Meereen. As they search the landscape looking for signs of her, they see a large circle trampled into the grass. Immediately Jorah recognises it and knows it was made by a Dothraki hoard. As he moves to the center of the trampled ground he finds Daenerys’ ring that she dropped. Jorah knows immediately where to find her.

Fingers crossed Jorah’s Greyscale doesn’t get any worse before he see’s her again. You can’t help but feel bad for Captain Friend Zone, unrequited love or Greyscale, I cant decide which is worse.

 

Daenerys

dannyOnce again a prisoner of the Dothraki, Daenerys is presented to Khal Moro as a slave. She speaks to him in Dothraki explaining who she is but the Khal responds with a laugh explaining she is the queen of nothing there. With that plan failing she quickly tells him that she was the wife of Khal Drogo, instantly he shows respect but Daenerys isn’t going free. He tells her that she is going to Vaes Dothrak, a place where all Khal widows go. I’m guessing at this point she must of been thinking, where is that damn dragon when you need him?

Whether we see Vaes Dothrak this season is a question I’m sure we all have. I’m hoping she is rescued soon by either Jorah or Drogon because we’ve already waited 5 seasons to see her go west.

 

Arya

aryaBlind, homeless and hungry, Arya is on the streets begging for money when all of a sudden the older female student of Jaqen H’ghar turns up and proceeds to beat the living daylights out of her with a stick. The beating only finishes when Arya is on the floor bleeding. The Faceless Girl looks at Arya and tells her “see you tomorrow”.

I’m guessing this will be Arya’s so called training to put her on the road of becoming some bad ass assassin. Let’s just hope she has some sort of Daredevil power because the people of Bravos aren’t going to help her judging on the zero help she got with this last ass whooping. I’m rooting for you Arya Stark.

 

Davos/Jon Snow

over-jon-s-dead-body-a-new-clip-from-game-of-thrones-shows-davos-protecting-jon-snow-s-925353We return to the castle with Davos, Ghost and the few loyal Crows still locked in the room with Jon’s corpse. Ser Alliser Thorne offers to allow Davos to travel south with Melisandre if he comes out of the room. Davos ask for time to think about it to which Alliser gives him until nightfall. Being the wise man he is, Davos knows it’s a trap and that they just want to come in and slaughter them all. With time running out Davos explains to the men in the room that they still have hope in the ‘red woman’. The men don’t seem too impressed but Davos explains,

“you haven’t seen her do what I’ve seen her do”.

Demon shadow baby anyone?

 

Melisandre

melisandre-1920Yes we finally got to that part, the part that made many watchers cover their eyes or even gouge them out.

Melisandre does her usual trick of getting naked but this time she takes off her necklace as well as her clothes. As the camera pans from the necklace she places on the table back to her, we see she is now an old, wrinkly, naked lady. This has led many to believe her necklace gives her a glamour that in turn gives her a youthful appearance. While possible, it’s been pointed out that there have been scenes in the past where she is not wearing her necklace and she is still the young beautiful Melisandre.

So what does it all mean? Is it a continuity error? Did she just give years of her life so that Jon could live? Is the Earth flat? Hopefully they answer some of these questions in the next episode.

So with the screen going black and the music playing we were treated to 9 deaths, a major ‘what the hell’ moment and another week of questions as to whether Jon Snow is ‘dead’ dead.

Noticeably absent from the episode was young Bran the super warg. Hopefully we get plenty of him and Hodor in the upcoming episodes and some sort of explanation as to who the Three Eyed Raven is and what part he has to play in the coming long winter. Speaking of long winters, we had no White Walkers this time round either. Then again, winter has been coming for 6 years we can wait a few more weeks.

Overall I enjoyed the season opener. The more I think about it the more i like it but I’m sure we have plenty more crazy twists and turns to come. My only gripe with the episode was the Daenerys story-line, hopefully we don’t have to go through another whole season of her being held captive by the Dothraki. We’ve seen it once, let the girl ride her dragons and be a bad ass.

Hopefully next episode we get more backstory about what’s going on with old lady Melisandre. Let’s also get that Jon Snow question finally answered.

Until then, speculate, theorise and pray Jon Snow returns.

Valar Morghulis

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Writer and Podcast Editor Kevin Tarne was born as an insult to nature. The seventh son of a seventh son, Kevin is the world’s last audio Wizard and wields his unreliable PC to fight evil and edit podcasts. Kevin is responsible for the unprecedented quality of the podcasts audio.
    One Comment
  • Ross Miller
    28 April 2016 at 6:32 pm
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    great read kev 🙂

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