The Game of Thrones Awards, Season 6, Episode 4: All Shows Must End
Greetings, and welcome! My name is Ben, and you have stumbled upon the ONLY Game of Thrones recap on the entire internet. Week to week I will be breaking down each episode of season 6, giving out highly prestigious awards, counting how many times Hodor says “Hodor,” and wrapping everything up with a haiku.
Season 6, Episode 4: “Book of the Stranger”
For a show with so much going on, the last few seasons of Game of Thrones have suffered from a bit of mid-season bloat—a stretch of episodes during which nothing much seemed to be happening. Last night’s installment flies in the face of this, delivering one of the most solid hours of television in the show’s recent history.
By this point, Weiss, Benioff (Thrones showrunners), and, of course, George R.R. Martin have a lot of balls in the air, so to speak. The juggling of so many storylines and characters presents many inherent challenges, but the rewards for the viewer are unparalleled in this medium. Finally seeing Sansa and Jon Snow finally embrace is initially gratifying, and only more so when you reflect on everything the two characters have been through since the last time they were on the screen together five years ago. There is something quite cathartic about seeing two of Ned’s children (we’ll climb that Tower of Joy when we come to it, internet) reunite after the chain reaction of atrocities that began with his departure for King’s Landing. This feeling is short lived, as they soon learn their little brother Rickon is being held hostage by Ramsay Bolton, but it’s a great feeling nonetheless. Their endgame for season six is starting to come into focus: they are going to unite their northern neighbors and attempt to take back Winterfell.
O, the other hand, a challenge of dealing in such disparate storylines is that sometimes when a character is out of sight for a long time, their return can fall flat on its face if it isn’t handled just right. Littlefinger is possibly the biggest schemer in Westeros, and after being offscreen for the entirety of the season, he returns to…give Robin Arryn a bird? Did it really take him this long to figure out that Ramsay is a jerk? He is one of my favorite characters, but sometimes his prowess feels a tad unearned. Still, watching him manipulate Robin was a joy. As a side note, the Lord of the Vale is still bad at sports and war stuff.
Another brother and sister reunited last night, but without the fanfare of Jon and Sansa’s embrace: Theon and Yara Greyjoy shared the screen for the first time in a few seasons, but it went a little less smoothly. Theon cried, but it wasn’t a happy crying. It was more, “I’m so ashamed I’m such a waste of space” crying. Yara read him the riot act, suspecting he had simply shown to up seize power after the death of their father. As Theon stated, all he really wants is for his sister to lead the Ironborn. All that we want, however, is to be given a reason to care about the Ironborn.
In King’s Landing, House Lannister and House Tyrell are finally forging an uneasy alliance against the Faith Militant. Cersei is about to go on trial, while Margaery and her brother are still locked up and getting dirtier (and hairier—nice beard, Ser Loras!) by the day. The stand-off that is no doubt on the horizon feels like it is going to be inherently tragic. Basically what I’m saying is, who gets to be king after Tommen is dead? I think I’ve lost track at this point.
Across the Narrow Sea, Tyrion is attempting to bargain with the very slavers that Dany has been laying waste to the last few years. He proposes giving them seven years to find an alternative to slavery, and suggests they continue with the barbaric practice until then. While Daenerys’ strategy in these cases has always felt entirely too stubborn and unrealistic, Tyrion’s seems too soft. If dragons can’t make them stop the slave trade, why would a simple agreement? I will reserve judgment for now, and just assume he has a plan.
Speaking of the Mother of Dragons, she stole the show, so to speak. Her storyline’s lack of progress has often frustrated me, but at the same time, her character is responsible for some of Thrones most memorable moments. When she walked out of the fire unburnt at the end of last night’s episode, I was both energized and discouraged. With dragons, the Unsullied, and now the Dothraki behind her, it seems we are drawing ever closer to Dany’s conquest of Westeros. From a narrative perspective, this is great news. From a fan’s perspective, it is a sad reminder that the show can’t go on forever.
Does Jaqen H’Ghar have a phrase for, “All Shows Must End”?
Quotable Quotes
“You aren’t going to serve. You’re going to die.” – Daenerys
“Slavery is a horror that should be ended at once. War is a horror that should be ended at once. I cannot do both today.” – Tyrion
Hodor Count: 0
If he doesn’t make an appearance next week I’m going to re-think this feature.
Awards!
- This week’s “Aww, We Miss You and Wish You Weren’t Murdered in Horrifying Fashion” award goes to Tywin Lannister, who wouldn’t have allowed this Faith Militant fiasco to occur on his watch.
- The “Weak Sauce of the Week” award goes to Robin Arryn, who is just as much the spoiled brat as we all remembered.
- The “Impossible Spin-off Idea of the Week” award goes to Tormund and Brienne, and all of the super awkward dates they could go on. Ladies, you should all find someone who looks at you like that.
- The first ever “It Can’t Be that Easy, Right?” award goes to Osha’s attempt to kill Ramsay. RIP. You were my favorite Wildling.
And Now, a Haiku by Tormund Giantsbane
Hey girl, how’s it going?
I like you more than raw meat
I’m not good at poems
I will be back at it next week. In the meantime, don’t hold meetings in flammable huts.