He’s back, and what a return it is!
The great thing about Jon’s resurrection is that the writers keep you guessing until the very last second. Melisandre does the ritual: she chants, she cuts Jon’s hair etc… and yet nothing happens. Gradually, everyone leaves the room including Davos, and finally Melisandre after she has lost complete faith in her abilities. And then in one glorious moment, Ghost wakes up and looks to the side as Jon gasps for breath. It’s a pulse-pounding sequence, and it’s impeccably well constructed. This is how you generate tension even when the outcome is pretty darn obvious. Impressive wouldn’t you say?
After sitting out season five, Bran is back (and noticeably much older looking). Thanks to the Three-Eyed Raven, he begins to embark on some time traveling adventures. It’s a ridiculously compelling subplot because we get to see young versions of Ned Stark, Uncle Benjen, Lyanna Stark, and even (z surprisingly normal) Hodor. I’m definitely looking forward to more of these shenanigans because if utilized correctly, they can allow Bran to unlock an insightful new look into this show’s complex world.
If you thought Joffrey was the sickest villain Game of Thrones ever had, Ramsay Bolton sure made a case for his own psychosis this week. Not only did he shockingly murder his own father (my jaw dropped because this came out of nowhere), but he also fed Walda and her newborn baby to the hounds. It’s an enormously twisted and sickening turn of events, and yet it makes perfect sense given everything we’ve seen of Ramsay thus far.
Bits & Beheadings
– Loved the child of the forest telling Meera that Brandon needs her.
– Most epic moment of the hour: the Giant hilariously smashing the archer against the wall. And I love the fact that Edd went and brought the Wildlings after what happened to Jon. That’s loyalty!
– The moment the traitorous Ser Alliser dies a slow death, I’ll be a very happy man.
– Cheerworthy scene: The Mountain causally smashing a peasant’s face in against a wall after he talks ill of Cersei in public. There’s a particularly funny touch with the sound of the man’s piss on the Mountain’s armor.
– I kind of really wanted Cersei to let The Mountain kill all the guards who stopped her from going to Myrcella’s funeral.
– It’s a welcome relief to see Tommen so in tune with how useless he was in season five, particularly in how he couldn’t save his mother.
– I can’t express how happy I was to see Jaime stand up to the High Septon and threaten to butcher him. Naturally the faith militant appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the vengeful Lannister.
– Cersei asks Tommen what color Myrcella was buried in. This is yet another nod to the witch’s prophecy since she predicted Myrcella would be sheathed in gold.
– How amusing was it to see Tyrion visit the dragons and talk to them? Peter Dinklage knocked this scene out of the park. Can he please ride one of the creatures in the future?
– Not too much momentum with Arya: she got beat up by the Waif some more (this is getting old), because Jaqen promised her eyes back.
– Loved Brienne telling Sansa about Arya and The Hound.
– Reek’s going home now, and we got our first glimpse of Yara and her father for the first time in three seasons. Sadly Balon was killed by his younger brother Euron in a pretty odd bridge sequence. Where were all the guards exactly?
– It’s interesting that TWO House leaders were murdered in cold blood this week. Out with the old and in with the new I guess?
– How exactly was Daddy Greyjoy’s body retrieved from the ocean in that storm?
– Melisandre mentions meeting someone who practiced resurrection. She’s referring to Thoros, a fellow red priest, who resurrected Beric multiple times in season three.
– Interesting to note: the line that a Young Ned tells Benjen (“Keep your shield up, or I’ll ring your head like a bell”) is the same one that Jon told Olly in season five.
– Note that the Three-Eyed Raven has been recast. He’s now played by Max Von Sydow and he’s a better fit in my eyes.
Kings & Quips
Septon: You would spill blood in this holy place?
Jaime: Oh, the gods won’t mind. They’ve spilled more blood than the rest of us combined.
Septon: Every one of us is poor and powerless. And yet together, we can overthrow an empire.
Tyrion: If I lost my cock, I’d drink all the time. Meaning no offense. He makes dwarf jokes, I make eunuch jokes.
Varys: I do not make dwarf jokes.
Tyrion: You think them.
Tyrion: I’m friends with your mother. I’m here to help. Don’t eat the help. (chuckles nervously) When I was a child, an uncle asked what gift I wanted for my name day. I begged him for one of you. “It wouldn’t even have to be a big dragon,” I told him. “It could be little like me.” Everyone laughed like it was the funniest thing they had ever heard. Then my father told me the last dragon had died a century ago. I cried myself to sleep that night. But here you are.
Walda: Please. Ramsay. He’s your brother.
Ramsay: (releasing the hounds) I prefer being an only child.
Davos: I saw you drink poison that should have killed you. I saw you give birth to a demon made of shadows.
Melisandre: Everything I believed, the great victory I saw in the flames, all of it was a lie. You were right all along. The Lord never spoke to me.
Davos: Fuck him, then. Fuck all of them. I’m not a devout man, obviously. Seven gods, drowned gods, tree gods, it’s all the same. I’m not asking the Lord of Light for help. I’m asking the woman who showed me that miracles exist.
Conclusion
With a very satisfying ending, Home is an incredibly effective episode.
Nad Rating
B+