By the old gods and the new, it has almost been an entire year since we were clamouring around the television at the uncertainty of Jon Snow’s fate. Some of us lost sleep as we stayed up all night, wondering endlessly as to who might take the Iron Throne. Whether you did or not, we’re sure you’re just as thrilled as we are by what we can expect in season six of Game of Thrones.
Welcome, to ‘Winter is Blogging‘ – the go-to place for THN’s review, analysis and discussion of each and every new episode to hit our screens this summer. You’re invited to discuss, share and like as you follow us through this series!
Writers: David Benioff, D. B Wiess
Directors: Jeremy Podeswa
Cast: Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage, Sophie Turner, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gwendoline Christie, et al.
Synopsis: The fate of Jon Snow is revealed; Daenerys meets a strong man; Cersei sees her daughter again.
Now, if you’re reading this, it’s probably due to shock, awe or maybe even horror in response to the first episode of the year, and if you weren’t impressed by at least some of it, well… you know nothing. Let’s start by breaking the episode down. For ease of access, the episode is broken down chronologically, and by location.
We open to the cold, bittered grounds of Castle Black, and there he is – after much speculation, Jon Snow seemingly dead. His lifeless body is taken from his namesake by his remaining loyal brothers and our favourite knight – who shares his title with a vegetable – inside. Lady Melisandre is shocked when she sees Jon on the table, having previously seen him in the flames, fighting at Winterfell. Yet, just like Ser Davos and the Red Woman, we’ve all marinated in our concerns and the thick lather of cliffhangers that season five ended on, and for us especially, the possible resurrection of the dark lock’d, brooding heart-throb. At this moment, scores of fans are undoubtedly tweeting their concerns; “He’s going to turn into a white walker!” or “Burn him. Kill it with fire!” or even “Why doesn’t the Red Woman bring him back to life?” To those people I say this: put down your phone, you mummer’s farce.
But their apprehensions are shared, nonetheless. This same anxious toil coils over the face of Ser Alliser as he negotiates with Ser Davos for the last remaining band of Snow’s loyal brethren to lay down arms, though not before rallying the rest of the Night’s Watch to his side. We get the impression that Alliser wants to burn Snow’s body before he has a chance to come back from the dead and claim his righteous retribution, but show-runners David Benioff and DB Weiss (who wrote this episode) are drip-feeding us, so of course, we won’t find out his fate until further down the line. Davos – having plenty of experience dealing with men like Alliser in the past – suggests a radical idea and with it, Edd goes to seek aid, presumably from the Wildlings.
We dive straight into the events following on from Myranda’s death as Ramsay Bolton mourns over her. This is perhaps one of the few instances we see him showing some modicum of sadness, though in true Ramsay fashion, he is oddly glib, as if giving him a reason to declare a war on all things good; one he would be all too happy to start. Perhaps to appease the old gods in some sort of perverse cosmic irony, Ramsay insists that she be fed to the dogs instead of being given an actual funeral. I can’t help but feel this is a nod to Guy Ritchie‘s Snatch (feed ’em to the pigs, Errol), just me? Moving on, then.
Ol’ daddy dearest, Roose Bolton goes on to warn Ramsay (the ‘class of Westeros’ ‘most likely to torture someone,’ winner’) that he will have to eventually deal with the Lannisters, and reminds him of his incompetence after Sansa escaped. Not so glib now, are we Ramsay? Meanwhile, in the snow-torn forests even further north, Sansa and Theon are being hunted down by a band of Bolton soldiers, when Brienne and Podrick enter in spectacular fashion, slaying Bolton’s men and rescuing them. Finally, six seasons in, Brienne can finally do the job she pledged to do and look out for (at least one of) the rather unfortunate Stark sisters.
Moving away from the frostbitten north, it’s beach day at the residence of the Lannister family. The sun is shining, and Jaime brings home souvenirs for Cersei from his time in Dorne. Except, the only thing Jaime is bringing home is Myrcella after the toxic encounter she had with the Sand Snakes last season. Perhaps one of the most emotionally hard-hitting aspects of this episode is watching Cersei, a woman who has always had power over her life in one way or another, slip into a state of uncertainty and self-doubt as she recounts the prophecies given to her as a child. Here, we watch as she submits to the notion of fate, a mother in free-fall, losing control. In response, we see Jaime – who looks oddly like Prince Charming from Shrek, anyone ever notice? – vow, in an ominous speech to take revenge against all those who have taken from them.
Just a few streets away however, in the homely prison of the Faith Militant, Queen Margaery is still very much in captivity. She begs for information about her brother Loras as well as her husband, from the High Sparrow. It’s here that things get awkwardly metaphysical as Margaery posits that none of us are ever free from sin. That’s a great topic for a philosophy thesis, Marg, you should look into that. Though, on a serious note, I for one hope things start looking up for Margaery, her eloquent witticisms do nothing but add to the show.
Things start off quietly in the sun-soaked, lavish life of the Dornish, where Doran Martell laments over his late brother, Oberyn and his adventures, whilst he rules. First world problems, Doran? And then, out of absolutely no-where, we dive full-force into the heart-breaking, matriarchal coup that’s puts Doran out of the job, as both he and Aero Hotah are murdered by Ellaria and Tyene. If that wasn’t enough – Trystane, on his ship bound for King’s Landing, is cornered by Obara and Nymeria and brutally murdered too. Now, this is something I think we all knew was coming, I just really didn’t expect it half-way through the first episode of the season. Begs to differ that we’re undoubtedly seeing the initial seeds being planted for a war between the Lannisters and the now Sand Snake-governed Dorne.
We don’t see much of Meereen in this episode, so we’ll place this – and the events that happen in Meereen – under the Dothraki Sea category, as they’re directly linked. Picking up where we left off last season, the Khaleesi has flown the nest, and is being held prisoner by Khal Moro and his Dothraki horde. Daenerys, staying silent as she is threatened and berated by her captors, speaks up and shocks when they discover she speaks their tongue. The tables soon turn, and they learn that she is widowed to Khal Drogo. It’s here that we’re reminded of how much she has lost; a husband, a child, and now – with the knowledge that she might not be able to return – her people. As such, we start to see what the now-fiery Meereen is fated for in her absence, and whether it can survive without her. Daario and Jorah continue their search for Daenerys, and are in hot pursuit, despite Jorah’s ever worsening greyscale, which I’m sure most of us forgot about – if not momentarily.
Oh, and the hilarity award goes to Tyrion for telling a woman that he wants to eat her baby, before Varus promptly corrects his poor Valyrian.
The penultimate segment of the show sees Arya on the back streets of Braavos, begging for coin. We’re reminded here, that she had become blind last season and we see how she struggles to adapt, when the Waif – Jaqen H’ghar’s teacher’s pet – arrives and provides Ayra with a brutal pummelling. Horribly defeated, Ayra must rest that evening knowing that the Waif will return tomorrow to beat her once more. Here’s hoping Arya turns into Matt Murdock a la Daredevil.
Finally:
The show comes to a close as we return, but only for a moment, to the Wall. Here, we are presented with the Red Woman, arguably the true star of the episode, sullen as she struggles to come to terms with her beliefs; a woman at war over everything she has done in the name of the Lord of Light, murder and magic alike. Her doubts bubble to the surface and as she undresses for the night ahead, we see a side of Melisandre that we’ve never seen before; a perfect visual metaphor. Has she succumbed to her doubts? We can only presume to find out later in the series. Perhaps more importantly, this episode is prominently about loss, Melisandre has lost her faith, her king, her god, perhaps rightfully so, Cersei has lost the daughter that she loved, the one pure thing to come from her life, on top of the son already gone, and Daenerys, as aforementioned, has lost greatly. With so much loss, it’s only fair to assume that through juxtaposition within the narrative, we’ll see these powerful women gain, or regain things they have lost, or yet to find, and with that in mind, it pay prove to be a very interesting season indeed.
Overall, “The Red Woman” is a sombre, strong opening episode, unabashed by the pressures of addressing cliffhangers. It re-grounds us, rather efficiently, in the reality of the circumstances our favourite (and not so favourite characters) face whilst drip-feeding us the new, the dark, and the poignant. So enjoy the seven sleeps between this episode and the next but remember, the night is dark and full of terrors. Until next time.
Game Of Thrones airs on HBO in North America, and Sky Atlantic in the UK and Ireland.
