I thought it was another strong, enjoyable episode. Mostly set up for upcoming action, but very entertaining.
-Benjen returns! This is something I have been looking forward to in the books and show. I would say that HBO is trying to make him Coldhands without calling him that. Benjen tells Bran that he is a servant of the 3-eyed Raven, and that is exactly what Coldhands is. I have never liked the theory that Benjen is Coldhands, but with the explanation that Benjen gave Bran last night, it would explain a lot (why is Coldhands not human yet not wight either?, Why does he keep his face covered? Where has Benjen disappeared to?) In any case, I am happy to finally see more of Benjen and curious if he knows the details of Jon's parentage. I think @JonnyVito's theory that Bran will make it through to the south side of the wall and lead to the WW breaching it makes a lot of sense. That seems to be where Benjen will take them. I wonder if he will be able to go south of the wall (supposedly Coldhands can not).
-As an aside, I thought it was cool to see The Mad King in Bran's visions.
-"No One" is gone and Arya is back. I am not sure where that story is going, other than to say that Arya is going to stick the Waif with the pointy end. The easy answer is that it will be the final straw that gets her kicked out of the Faceless Men training and causes her to head back to Westeros. But, if that is what happens, what was the point of her ending up there in the first place? Maybe killing the Waif is what Jaquen wants her to do. Maybe after she does it, he will teach her how to change her face before sending her to Westeros on a mission? I'm not sure how it all shakes out, but it sure seems anti-climactic for her to end up back in Westeros looking for revenge against those who wronged the Starks (unless she is a super ninja assassin).
-A lot about Sam's story surprised me. I was sure that Gilly and the baby would end up staying at Horn Hill, allowing him to do his Maester training without distraction. Now, I am not sure he will do it at all. What is the point of snagging a Valyrian steel sword if he is not headed for a showdown with the WW? Also, it seems unlikely that he would be able to take the sword to the Citadel and just hang out and train without his dad showing up and taking it back. In the books, we have just started to be exposed to the events occurring at the Citadel, and it appears that they will be significant and somewhat convoluted. Perhaps HBO decided they didn't want to go there, and opted to have Sam steal the sword and run back to the Wall.
-How awesome is the actor who plays Walder Frey? As much as I am ready to see him get what's coming to him, I hope we see more of him in upcoming episodes. HBO caught me by surprise by taking their story all the way back to events that occurred in Book 4. They are about to give us Jaime trying to get control of Riverrun while the Frey's attempt to get the Blackfish to surrender the castle by threatening to hand Edmure. That is Book 4 content, and a big part of it is showing the reader another side of Jaime. HBO has made him out to be mostly a tough asshole who is infatuated with Cersei and as despicable as she is. GRRM has turned him into more of a character that the reader roots for. In the books, he has become pretty disgusted with Cersei and has become more of a smart compromiser than warrior. Maybe we will see more of that side of him turn up in the show. Brienne is also headed for Riverrun so the 2 of them are likely headed for a reunion. I think it is worth pointing out that in the books, their reunion appears to be about to lead to Jaime having a face to face with Lady Stoneheart, and Walder Frey did mention the Brotherhood Without Banners last night...Hmmm.....
-I liked the developments in KL. The High Sparrow is turning out to be way smarter and more powerful than I thought he would be. I was surprised that Tommen kicked Jaime out of the KG. That did not happen in the books. Interestingly, that frees him from his oath and allows him to marry and to become the Lord of Casterly Rock. Not sure if that will be important or not down the line. I, also, think it is interesting that HBO is not even bothering with pretending like Sir Strong is anyone other than The Mountain.
-One issue I had with the episode was Dani's speech at the end. I'm a bit tired of her making dramatic speeches. I do wonder if she is going to turn out to be the hero I thought she was going to be. Maybe she will turn out to be more like her father (insane killer) than benevolent savior.
-Looks like next week, we will be checking in on the Ironborn and seeing what Sansa/Jon are up to (among other things).
-Benjen returns! This is something I have been looking forward to in the books and show. I would say that HBO is trying to make him Coldhands without calling him that. Benjen tells Bran that he is a servant of the 3-eyed Raven, and that is exactly what Coldhands is. I have never liked the theory that Benjen is Coldhands, but with the explanation that Benjen gave Bran last night, it would explain a lot (why is Coldhands not human yet not wight either?, Why does he keep his face covered? Where has Benjen disappeared to?) In any case, I am happy to finally see more of Benjen and curious if he knows the details of Jon's parentage. I think @JonnyVito's theory that Bran will make it through to the south side of the wall and lead to the WW breaching it makes a lot of sense. That seems to be where Benjen will take them. I wonder if he will be able to go south of the wall (supposedly Coldhands can not).
-As an aside, I thought it was cool to see The Mad King in Bran's visions.
-"No One" is gone and Arya is back. I am not sure where that story is going, other than to say that Arya is going to stick the Waif with the pointy end. The easy answer is that it will be the final straw that gets her kicked out of the Faceless Men training and causes her to head back to Westeros. But, if that is what happens, what was the point of her ending up there in the first place? Maybe killing the Waif is what Jaquen wants her to do. Maybe after she does it, he will teach her how to change her face before sending her to Westeros on a mission? I'm not sure how it all shakes out, but it sure seems anti-climactic for her to end up back in Westeros looking for revenge against those who wronged the Starks (unless she is a super ninja assassin).
-A lot about Sam's story surprised me. I was sure that Gilly and the baby would end up staying at Horn Hill, allowing him to do his Maester training without distraction. Now, I am not sure he will do it at all. What is the point of snagging a Valyrian steel sword if he is not headed for a showdown with the WW? Also, it seems unlikely that he would be able to take the sword to the Citadel and just hang out and train without his dad showing up and taking it back. In the books, we have just started to be exposed to the events occurring at the Citadel, and it appears that they will be significant and somewhat convoluted. Perhaps HBO decided they didn't want to go there, and opted to have Sam steal the sword and run back to the Wall.
-How awesome is the actor who plays Walder Frey? As much as I am ready to see him get what's coming to him, I hope we see more of him in upcoming episodes. HBO caught me by surprise by taking their story all the way back to events that occurred in Book 4. They are about to give us Jaime trying to get control of Riverrun while the Frey's attempt to get the Blackfish to surrender the castle by threatening to hand Edmure. That is Book 4 content, and a big part of it is showing the reader another side of Jaime. HBO has made him out to be mostly a tough asshole who is infatuated with Cersei and as despicable as she is. GRRM has turned him into more of a character that the reader roots for. In the books, he has become pretty disgusted with Cersei and has become more of a smart compromiser than warrior. Maybe we will see more of that side of him turn up in the show. Brienne is also headed for Riverrun so the 2 of them are likely headed for a reunion. I think it is worth pointing out that in the books, their reunion appears to be about to lead to Jaime having a face to face with Lady Stoneheart, and Walder Frey did mention the Brotherhood Without Banners last night...Hmmm.....
-I liked the developments in KL. The High Sparrow is turning out to be way smarter and more powerful than I thought he would be. I was surprised that Tommen kicked Jaime out of the KG. That did not happen in the books. Interestingly, that frees him from his oath and allows him to marry and to become the Lord of Casterly Rock. Not sure if that will be important or not down the line. I, also, think it is interesting that HBO is not even bothering with pretending like Sir Strong is anyone other than The Mountain.
-One issue I had with the episode was Dani's speech at the end. I'm a bit tired of her making dramatic speeches. I do wonder if she is going to turn out to be the hero I thought she was going to be. Maybe she will turn out to be more like her father (insane killer) than benevolent savior.
-Looks like next week, we will be checking in on the Ironborn and seeing what Sansa/Jon are up to (among other things).
