GAME OF THRONES Season 6 Episode 02
Episode Title: “Home”
Writer: Dave Hill
Director: Jeremy Podeswa
There are spoilers ahead for last night’s episode of Game of Thrones, but don’t pretend that you didn’t know that!
“What is dead may never die” was the rallying cry last night, and the sacred words of the Iron Born. That really applies to a certain star of this show who spent all summer claiming up and down that his character was dead…as if that meant that he was done with the show. I commend Kit Harington for his commitment to the bit. But of course, Jon Snow was always going to come back from the dead.
The staging of that event in the closing seconds of this episode was well played, however, it was extremely predictable. Almost every Game of Thrones fan guessed that Melisandre (Carice van Houten) would be the one to bring Jon back to life, and it played out exactly as predicted. In and of itself, that’s disappointing. I was hoping that Game of Thrones’ showrunners, Dan Weiss, and David Benioff had something more clever in mind for Lord Commander Snow’s return from the grave. And maybe they will in coming weeks. At this moment, it was an underwhelming return.
Van Houten’s performance as Melisandre was compelling, as she is more interesting now that she has doubts about her faith and we know what she really looks like. The surprising thing there is that Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) was the one to spur her towards bringing Jon back. Davos may hate Melisandre, but he’s become a believer in her power if not a believer in her faith. Cunningham had his usual great performance, and it was particularly fun to see Davos take up Jon’s sword immediately after apologizing to his allies about his fighting skills.
“Home” also featured a few shock value deaths, but only the Boltons registered as we’ve spent several seasons with them. Remember, it was Roose Bolton’s (Michael McElhatton) men who mistreated Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau); while Roose himself betrayed and murdered Robb Stark (Richard Madden). Roose’s death was inevitable, but it was a surprise to see Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) murder his own father this soon in the season. The show seems to be elevating Ramsay’s status as the lead villain, which was further accomplished when he fed his step-mother and his baby half brother to his dogs. Ramsay’s death is also inevitable, but at least it’s something for the audience to look forward to.
This episode was less successful with the way it dispatched Balon Greyjoy (Patrick Malahide), a character who has barely appeared in the last four seasons. It happened just as it seemed we might get a reunion between Theon (Alfie Allen) and his father. I’ve deliberately avoided reading the novels until after Game of Thrones is finished, so the sudden appearance of Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) meant nothing to me. Apparently, Euron is in the books, and Balon’s suspicious death was suspected to be his handiwork. “Home” made that overt, and yet it’s hard to care at all about this plotline or Yara’s (Gemma Whelan) attempt to become the new ruler.
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The only Greyjoy to have a great turn in this episode was Theon, who accepted responsibility for the sins he committed against the Stark family even as Sansa (Sophie Turner) forgave him. That was very powerful, but it seems unlikely that other Stark family members or loyalists will be as forgiving. I’m intrigued to see where the former “Reek” is going now in terms of his character arc. I’m less enthused to see his return to the Iron Islands without getting a reunion with his father.
Across the Narrow Sea in Meereen, Peter Dinklage once again proved that he’s incapable of a bad performance as Tyrion. Even when acting against CGI dragons, Dinklage’s monologue about Tyrion’s childhood desire for a dragon was very compelling. And Daenerys’ dragons actually let him close enough to free them, which only made it funnier when he realized what a horrible idea it was moments after he had done it. Another interesting tidbit here is word that Daenerys’ empire has crumbled in her absence. Both Astapor and Yunkai have fallen to their previous ruling class, and there’s really not much keeping Daenerys in Essos now, is there? Too bad she’s tied up in plot that seems designed to further stall her return to Westeros.
Over in Braavos, Blind Arya (Maisie Williams) was once again beaten up by the Waif (Faye Marsay) before Jaqen (Tom Wlaschiha)…or someone with Jaquen’s face tried to tempt her with the promise of food, shelter, and her vision, all of which she declined. That was a little rushed, but I’m already over beggar Arya. So, I’m glad the show is getting back to the kickass Arya sooner rather than later.
The plotline in King’s Landing this week wasn’t quite as compelling. As much as I like Jonathan Pryce as the High Sparrow, I want the Faith Militant story to come to an end. This episode took some baby steps towards that conclusion when King Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) asked Cersei (Lena Headey) to help toughen him up. But I don’t have much patience with this story.
Finally, “Home” offered the return of Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright) after missing the entirety of season 5. Bran’s vision of the past was quite interesting, as he saw his father, Ned as a child with his brother and sister as well as a younger Hodor (Kristian Nairn) who could actually talk when he was a kid! The question now, is what turned “Wyllis” into the Hodor we know today?
“Home” was another solid episode of Game of Thrones, but not…shall we say, a home run. However, there’s more than enough here to make it a difficult six days as we wait to see where the story will go next.
