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| She runs well for someone who has been gut stabbed. |
It is the first season that we are really beyond the books, but at times we are also stuck back in book 3 and sometimes in book 5. And there are times when the season just seems to go where it wants with little care for what came before...
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| She chose violence... we all appreciate that. |
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| 4 out of 5 stars |
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| Oh goody... Brienne is going to assume the role of the Blackfish. |
We'll cover each one individually.
So, we're going to go at this review a bit differently. Instead of my usualy discussion of the events in a location, I'm just going to talk about what occurs for a character or two at once.
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| The most famous dwarf... in the world. (Read in Clarkson's voice). |
SPOILERS AHEAD!
- Arya's story advances (a tiny bit), but the title kinda gives that away.
The waif continues her chase, following Arya to the house of the lead actress (the one in the awful play). Arya was helped by the actress, sewn up, fed, etc... but the Waif found her and killed her - giving her to the many faced god as Arya was supposed to do. Then the waif continues to pursue Arya. Arya's wounds reopen, but she gets back to her room where she sequestered her sword, Needle. In one of the best scenes in the episode Arya assumes a water dancer pose, slices the candle and the room goes dark. We do not see it on screen... but you know the Waif was quickly and easily dispatched. Arya brings the waif's face back to the Hall of Faces and is found by No One (Jaqen H'ghar) who says that she is now No One. Arya rejects this saying that she is Arya of House Stark.
So... what the hell happened?
Is she a faceless assassin? Did she reject it, and in doing so actually become one? Or is she completely out?
This scene is really rather vague at the end, and we're left wondering - what is Arya now?
We do not know the rules of the House of Black and White, in part because we do not have the full story from the books and partly because even if we did, the chances are the show could not spend that much time in exposition over such rules.
Next up is...
- The idiocy in King's Landing gets even more idiotic.
The opener here is great. The Undead Mountain that Guards gets to rip the head off of a member of the Faith Militant. For me this scene was only one-upped by Arya slicing the candle. I am actually, and I hate this, rooting for Cersei to finally wipe out the Faith. I'm not sure she is competent enough... and the vile High Sparrow is certainly well versed in politics as he continues to manipulate Tommen (Stupidest of his name, jack-wad of the Andals and the First Men, Moron of the... whatever...). The High Sparrow, using his mindless mouthpeice, King Tommen, has eliminated the idea of Trial by Combat - removing an ancient tradition that was going to get in his way. Well that throws a wrench in Cercei's plans...
There are times when I wonder if she's not going to be the one to kill Tommen, not intentionally, but by her own hand. The King is so inexplicably stupid. He may actually be a worse king than Joffery. Which is impressive. The only competent child that Cersei let live after birth was Myrcella who is of course dead (a combination of a lot of people doing very stupid things again... Oberyn, Jamie, The Sand Snakes, etc...)
Still the Mountain that Guards ripping a Faith Militant's head off was awesome. More of this please!
Oh, and what is Qyburn talking about with his little birds, the rumor? I may need to watch the early part of the season again to remember this... Hopefully whatever it is will help bring the High Sparrow down.
- The Hound gets some revenge, and his story is heading in a direction that I have no clue about...
The Hound finds some of the men who killed the people building a Sept. He goes all woodcutter on them. Axe removes the head, Axe goes through the sternum, Axe opens the neck, Axe splits the crotch and then the skull. Axe is happy! Later he gets even more bonus revenge... thanks to the graciousness of Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr.
And the hound ends up joining them and marching north?
You can color me confused. I'm at a loss here... I have no idea what is happening anymore. We've never met Lady Stoneheart, but signs were pointing to her maybe, just maybe, appearing at the end of the season. Now I'm not certain, despite the signs from Brienne's plot (you'll see how that gets up-ended later). With Dondarrion still alive... I doubt we'll see Stoneheart.
- "I once walked into a brothel with a honeycomb and jackass..."
What has Tyrion been up to? In short, loosing a city.
Seriously. He says goodbye to Varys who is off on a secret mission (if you read the books you know what he is going to do - provided the show does not cut that out). Then Tyrion is drinking and joking with Greyworm and Missandei when the Yunkai show up with a massive massive fleet and begin bombarding Meereen. However Daenerys arrives as the city is under siege by landing her dragon on the pyramid's roof (off screen of course). She then walks in and says nothing... that will be next episode.
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| 'Mother's home. What. The. F*CK. did you do to my city?!' |
Best bit from these scenes? Bronn and Pod. Bron picks on Pod whilst trying to teach Pod to move on from being a squire. For the longest time it looked like Jamie was once again going to have some of his best book scenes removed. They were not completely... but there is still that change in his character that rankles. In the books he's begun to no longer love Cersei. He's moving past her idiotic selfishness. Not in the show. This rankles.
At the same time, since in the books Brienne is no where near here... she dealing with Lady Stoneheart instead, Brienne is assuming the role the Blackfish had in the books. The Blackfish originally escaped the first siege of Riverrun, but nope... here he dies. (I did say spoilers earlier). Now his role is Brienne's. She has to go north and help Sansa. Which honestly she might do in the books anyways... but we may never know (I don't expect the next book until 2017 at the earliest). Maybe just maybe the Blackfish lives since he dies off screen... but I doubt it. He was being all stubborn and/or foolish (his own words, "I haven't had a sword fight in years, I expect I'll make a damn fool of myself").
That was almost everything that happened in the episode, if not everything.
See? Tiny steps. Tiny tiny steps... and nothing really at all in the North. Nothing with Bran, nor Jon, nor Sansa. Nothing with Theon, nothing with Yara, nothing even with Ramsay. But perhaps we are moving forward, slowly slowly forward. I really hope more happens in the next episode...
Although quite a number of people ended up taking the long dirt nap in this episode...
Death Count for season six episode eight, No One:
- Ser Bryndon Tully, the Black Fish - off screen to some Lannister / Frey scrubs.
- Lem Lemoncloak (the guy in yellow, hanged by the Hound).
- Four of the Brotherhood without Banners (axes to death by the Hound).
- Two more of the Brotherhood (via hanging next to Lem).
- Lady Crane (the actress, killed by the Waif).
- The Waif (stuck with the pointy end in the dark by Arya, now the waif's face is in the Hall).
- A Faith Militant (head torn off by the Mountain that Guards).
Previous Game of Thrones reviews:
Season 6:
- The Red Woman (Ep1)
- Home (Ep2)
- Oathbreaker (Ep3) - No Review
- Book of the Stranger (Ep4)
- The Door (Ep5)
- Blood of My Blood (Ep6)
- The Broken Man (Ep7)
Season 5:
- The Wars to Come (Ep1)
- The House of Black and White (Ep2)
- High Sparrow (Ep3)
- Sons of the Harpy (Ep4)
- Kill the Boy (Ep5)
- Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken (Ep6)
- The Gift (Ep7)
- Hardhome (Ep8)
- The Dance of Dragons (Ep9)
- Mother's Mercy (Ep10)
Season 4:
- Two Swords (Ep1)
- The Lion and the Rose (Ep2)
- Breaker of Chains (Ep3)
- Oathkeeper (Ep4)
- The First of His Name (Ep5)
- The Laws of Gods and Men (Ep6)
- Mockingbird (Ep7)
- The Mountain and the Viper (Ep8)
- The Watchers on the Wall (Ep9)
- The Children (Ep10)
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