GAME OF THRONES Season 6 Episode 04
Episode Title: “Book of the Stranger”
Writers: David Benioff & D. B. Weiss
Director: Daniel Sackheim
Previously on Game of Thrones:
There are spoilers ahead for last night’s episode of Game of Thrones, but don’t pretend that you didn’t know that!
Until last night, I hadn’t realized that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) never shared any scenes Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) before this episode. That made their reunion at Castle Black very compelling, even if Sansa was apologizing for treating Jon badly…which is something that the audience has never seen. Sansa and Jon also found themselves in opposite positions: Jon wants to escape his life of fighting, while Sansa wants to embrace her Stark heritage and take back their home by force. That’s a good turn for Sansa, but I wonder how long we’ll have to deal with mopey Jon Snow. I’m not enjoying Jon’s post-death depression.
Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) was at the center of several great scenes at Castle Black, but by far the funniest was the sudden romantic interest in her from Tormund (Kristofer Hivju), who stared at her with obvious desire during their meal. The hilarious thing is that Tormund never actually said a word to her, it was all in his eyes; which made Brienne uncomfortable. She was much more assertive when she told Davos (Liam Cunningham) and Melisandre (Carice Van Houten) that she killed their leader, Stannis and she’s still holding a grudge over their part in Renly’s murder.
But the biggest turn is the new alliance against Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon). After Ramsay’s threats and the reveal that he has their brother, Rickon (Art Parkinson), Jon and Sansa have the support of the Wildlings, Brienne, and potentially the other Northern houses. They may even have Melisandre on their side, since she thinks that Jon is “the prince who was promised.” I was less enthused by Ramsay’s single scene, as he brutally murdered Osha (Natalia Tena). Why bring Osha back just to murder her an episode later? She was only in two scenes, for under 10 minutes this season! What a waste of a good character.
Potentially, Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen) and his army of the Vale may also move against the Boltons, but we all know what a snake Littlefinger is. Even when confronted with his obvious treachery of Sansa, Littlefinger nearly got his accuser, Yohn Royce (Rupert Vansittart) killed by turning the accusation around at him. It was also quite funny to see that for all of the training that Lord Robin Arryn (Lino Facioli) has received, he still can’t shoot a bow and arrow properly.
I have to admit that I was curious to see how Loras Tyrell (Finn Jones) was holding up under torture from the Faith Militant and the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce). For the first time since last season, we finally saw Loras and he’s not looking so good. He’s obviously near the breaking point, and that would be bad for his sister, Margaery (Natalie Dormer). She’s held up pretty well, but she’s either been humbled or Margaery is very good at pretending to be receptive to the High Sparrow’s sermons.
Also: Go Inside ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6 Episode 3
Either way, the plight of the Tyrell siblings has finally led to the unlikely alliance of the Lannisters and the Tyrells. Forget for a moment that this is all the fault of Cersei (Lena Headey), who put the idea of arming the Faith Militant into the head of King Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman). Rest assured that Lady Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) has not forgotten. However, Cersei and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) told Lady Olenna that Margaery was about to break and that was enough to win her over. That may have been a lie, but considering the status that Cersei lost on her walk of shame, it would also destroy Margaery if it was true.
The interlude at the Iron Islands was unexpectedly powerful, as Yara (Gemma Whelan) was not quick to forgive Theon (Alfie Allen) after he returned home. I love that the show’s didn’t forget that Theon had the chance to escape with Yara years ago, but didn’t take it because he was too scared of Ramsey. Theon may never recover his former arrogant swagger, but he’s no longer the Reek of old. He even pledges his support to Yara for her claim to their father’s throne. Who knows? Perhaps they will align with the Starks if Yara takes control, which was actually the entire reason that Theon came back in season 2 before he betrayed the family that raised him.
Even the political moves of Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) couldn’t save the Meereen sequences this week. There were some interesting scenes as Tyrion abused the trust of Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), but I’m really over the Sons of the Harpy storyline. It was played out last season, and it’s just limping along this season.
Fortunately, the Dothraki plotline is over, as Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) is no longer their prisoner. Instead, she’s going to be their new leader after a magnificent sequence in which she burned the Khals alive and emerged naked from the flames. It’s an old trick for Daenerys, but it always works. Between the Unsullied, the Second Sons, and the Dothraki, Daenerys has more than enough warriors to reclaim the Iron Throne of Westeros…if the show will ever get her there!
And that’s the thing. It may have only taken four episodes to reunite Daenerys with Jorah (Iain Glen) and Daario (Michiel Huisman), that’s still nearly half of the season. Considering that the show is supposedly near its endgame, it’s still taking its sweet time wrapping up Daenerys’ time in Essos before bringing her across the Narrow Sea. “Book of the Stranger” had a lot of forward momentum, but this particular plotline has been frustratingly slow.
I think that convergence is the thing that Game of Thrones fans are dying to see after six seasons. We saw a lot of it in this week’s episode, which made it feel like a big moment in the series’ lifespan. But if the show’s writers resort to more obvious stall tactics in the back half of this season then that goodwill is going to go away very quickly.
