Now that the stories for (nearly) all the major characters in Game of Thrones have their starting points, it’s time for the show to finally go somewhere this season. In this this week’s “Oathbreaker” we’re not disappointed as nearly all our beloved and hated characters once again make their appearances to further their plot lines. “Oathbreaker” is directed by Daniel Sackheim who has also directed another upcoming episode for the current season.
Making a return to season six is another favourite character of mine: Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) whose bumbling character is reminiscent of Kip from the Lightbringer series of books. Shy, clumsy, cowardly, yet a person who you’d want by your side for no other reason than him being a great friend. Sam’s return to Game of Thrones sees him seasick in the dingy confines of a ship somewhere on the Narrow Sea (that was a lot of alliteration there). To remind people, Sam was sent by Jon Snow to Old Town, specifically to The Citadel, the place where you learn to become a maester which is what Jon tasked his friend to do. Accompanying him on this voyage is Gilly (Hannah Murray) and their baby son. While the scene doesn’t go anywhere (Sam spends a lot of time puking into a bucket) we do learn that Gilly will be sent to Hornhill, Sam’s home, to stay with his family. Sam’s family is something of a prickly issue, his father after all did banish him to the Wall.
Meanwhile in Braavos, Arya Stark is still blind but she’s no longer a beggar. In a list of possible outcomes for members of the Stark family, this is quite a splendid one. We’re predictably shown a variety of scenes where Arya (once again) has the life beaten out of her with a stick, whilst also learning some poison making by the looks of it. In what seems to be a remarkably short amount of time, she masters her senses (making Matt Murdock proud) and as a result is given back her sight by Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha). Perhaps the actual assassin training will happen now?
“Who are you? No one”
Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) is seen once again in the Dothraki city of Vaes Dothrak and she’s inducted into the widows-only group of the Dosh Khaleen, all former wives of deceased Khals. Not much happens in Dany’s segment of the episode, other than giving us an ominous foreboding of the next episode; Dany is told that she will be put on trial and could face severe punishment for not coming to Vaes Dothrak after she burned her hubby Khal Drogo. I’m hoping this spell of misfortune will be a wakeup call for Daenerys, she’s become far too reliant on saying her name, followed by all her titles, in the hopes that it’ll get her somewhere. The Dothraki respect actions, not words and it’s time for Dany to show them who’s boss. That is unless her escape will be brought about by Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman) and Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen), both of whom don’t appear this episode. Drogon is also absent; I’m guessing the VFX team have something special lined up for his reappearance.
“I remember you eating the stallion’s heart”
In Meereen we see Varys (Conleth HIll) flex his abilities at subterfuge as he talks to a woman who had helped the Sons of the Harpy kill soldiers in Dany’s army. While Varys is all smiles there’s no doubt in his tone that he would turn nasty if he was pushed but he does abhor doing so, preferring to “make people happy”. His knack at knowing what it is a that person holds dear is almost surreal; it’s clear why he’s named the Master of Whispers. However through all the subliminal threats he makes to Vala (Meena Rayan) he does offer her safe passage from the city along with a sack of coins which makes him one of the better guys this show has ever seen. Conleth Hill is fantastic at personifying George R.R Martin’s character, encompassing the layer of warmth that hides his darker personality beneath his skin. Varys end game is after all unknown.
Meanwhile as Varys goes about convincing Vala to divulge details about the Sons of the Harpy, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) is trying to engage in small talk with Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), a humorous segment that of course results in a drinking game. It’s hilarious seeing Tyrion attempt small talk as both Missandei and Grey Worm view him with curiosity and never understand his blend of humour. While I would have liked to see the game played out, Varys returns with information that the Sons of the Harpy are being funded by the rulers of the three previous cities that Dany had conquered. While Grey Worm and Missandei advocate war, luckily Tyrion is in charge and he takes the cautious path, which in this case is asking Varys to send his little “birds” with a message to the rulers of the three cities. Also, no mention of the dragons he freed?
“Let’s play a game”
The scene segues to Varys’ other little birds in King’s Landing who have been taken in by Qyburn (Anton Lesser), the new Master of Whispers. Qyburn, like Varys, takes keen interest in these children, even ominously saying to one boy that his abusive father is no longer a threat to him. Cersei (Lena Headey), Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Ser Robert Strong enter Qyburn’s little dungeon where Jaime enquires into what exactly Qyburn did to the Mountain to reanimate him. They go on to state that they want to set up a trial by combat against the High Sparrow. It’s a brief look at Jaime’s humourous side, something we hadn’t been treated to yet this season. Unfortunately Jaime’s comical side pales in comparison to Cersei’s harsh demeanour as she orders Qyburn to spread his spies throughout the Seven Kingdoms. Authoritarian rule it is.
In order to seek justice for her imprisonment by the Faith, she and Jaime visit the small council, with Gregor (his identity is no longer a secret) in tow. Alas, her uncle Kevan Lannister (Ian Gelder), the current Hand to the King, does not take well to the intrusion. Also discomfited by their appearance is the Master of Coin, Mace Tyrell (Roger Ashton-Griffiths), and Grand Maester Pycelle (Julian Glover) who has an unfortunate case of flatulence upon seeing Gregor in all his menacing demeanour. Unsurprised, however, and as calculative as ever is Lady Olenna (Diana Rigg) who instantly tosses aside Cersei’s claim that they should address her grievances, stating that Margaery is the queen and thus is far more important. The friction is palpable and we’re given information about the status of Dorne as everyone seems to know that the Martells have been overthrown by the Sand Snakes; hopefully this will be the last we hear and see of that terribly written arc. Unfortunately before any headway can be made, the meeting is broken up as Kevan and the rest of the small council depart, with Gregor giving a menacing look towards Pycelle as he shuffles past.
“Maester Pycelle, would you sanction that statement?”
Meanwhile, the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) has a visit from King Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) and while the conversion starts on a heated level it soon mellows down as the High Sparrow states that the Gods work through mysterious ways and that Cersei in some way did in fact deserve the walk of shame and that she was touched by the Gods by doing so. It’s a scene that really goes nowhere, except to perhaps give the High Sparrow an unlikely ally; Tommen himself.
To the North, in Winterfell, Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) is attempting to solidify his control as Warden of the North after stabbing his father last episode. Luckily he has Harald Karstark (Paul Rattray) by his side which is fortunate as their first guest is Smalljon Umber, who is quick to show that he doesn’t respect Ramsay (a dangerous gambit surely!) and has no intention of bowing down before him. I like Smalljon, his give-no-crap attitude is something Ramsay needs a slap of the face with. Plus he’s quick and smart and instantly calls out Ramsay on killing his father, something the later vehemently denies. Alas my fondness for Littlejon quickly evaporates as he brings in Osha (Natalia Tena) and Rickon Stark (Art Parkinson) as a bargaining chip to elicit the help of Ramsay against the Wildlings which now live south of the wall. The last time we saw the two was back in season 3 as they were heading to the Last Hearth (the Umber stronghold), in an attempt to keep one Stark heir alive. Alas, it seems that if one Stark escapes the clutches of Ramsay, another must take their place. To solidify his claim that this is indeed Rickon, Littlejon brings in the severed head of Shaggydog, Rickon’s direwolf.
“I like fighting Wildlings”
Now I’d love to think that it isn’t actually the head of Shaggydog and just that of some wolf and that Littlejon is still fiercely loyal to the Starks and that this is part of some elaborate plot twist, but that may as well be a fantasy. “Out of the frying pan and into the fire” should be the motto of House Stark.
At Castle Black, a naked Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) is revitalised to the shock of both him, Ser Davos (Liam Cunningham) and the glee of tumblr fandoms everywhere. Melisandre is quick to make an entrance as well and it seems that bringing Jon Snow back also revitalised her faith in the Lord of Light. While she doesn’t explicitly say it, it seems she now views Jon as Azor Azhai reborn, much to the discomfit of Ser Davos. The two quickly find out that Jon remembers his death but nothing after it. Furthermore Jon now believes he is unfit for command, considering he was killed by his own men, however Ser Davos tosses that aside and tells him to go fail again aka “show everyone who’s boss”. Thus as the crescendo rises Jon greets the crowd that is a mixture of both brothers of the Night’s Watch and Wildlings. He stops by Tormund (Kristofer Hivju) only to be joked at and hugged by him, before continuing on to embrace and share a moment of humour with Dolorous Edd (Ben Crompton). Honestly, considering that their main enemy is the undead, I’m surprised he’s taken back with open arms and so quickly too.
“My watch has ended”
Alas moments of humour don’t happen for long at Castle Black as we next see Jon attending the execution of the mutineers who killed him. It’s a sobering moment as Ser Alliser Thorne (Owen Teale) refuses to admit that what he did was wrong and with little Olly (Brenock O’Connor) not saying a word. I can understand where Thorne is coming from, he believes he killed Jon for the good of the Night’s Watch, but Olly ultimately just wanted to hurt Jon for forgiving the Wildlings. There’s a split second where Jon hesitates before we he executes the traitors, their skin quickly turning purple. And so their watch ended. And so does Jon’s apparently, who abdicates his position to Dolorous Edd stating that his watch has ended. So where does this leave Jon’s character? He killed the oathbreakers this episode is named after, or is he the oathbreaker for abdicating and leaving the Night’s Watch? Technically the wording of the oath states that a person’s death frees them from the oath. While this is a grey area I’m quite excited as to what Jon will do now; there’s no doubt that Melisandre will probably follow him as she views him as the saviour, though I doubt Ser Davos will leave Castle Black. On the other hand, no one is more equipped to fight the White Walkers other than Jon.
No one, except the small possibility of Brandon Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) who’s spending his days North of the wall travelling through time and space with the Three-Eyed Raven (Max Von Sydow). While his time in real world doesn’t yield much, other than hinting that he won’t be with his Yoda-like mentor for long, his trips to the past are far more juicier in content and intrigue. I called it when the trailer for season 6 dropped but this episode’s throwback thursday vibe gave us a look at the fabled fight at the Tower of Joy. In the books Ned Stark along with 6 companions face off against 3 Kingsguard who are still loyal to the Mad King (even though the Mad King has long been dead). While the books never showcase the fight all we know is that only Ned and Howland Reed (one of his companions) walk away alive. As a result it’s a fight that fans have been wanting to see in the show for years. We weren’t disappointed.
Of course there are some minor differences, it’s young Ned (Robert Aramayo) and only five companions and it’s only two Kingsguard, though they’re wearing Targaryen armor as opposed to the gold armor they wear in the show.
“And now it begins. No, now it ends”
It’s an exciting fight, with swords flying all around and Ser Arthur Dayne (Luke Roberts) taking centre stage with his dual wielding kick-assery. Alas while Ser Arthur Dayne and his friend (who I assume to be Ser Oswell Whent) seem to be good guys who are just blindly loyal to the (also deceased) Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, they’re ultimately cut down, with Dayne stabbed in the back before being killed by Ned. A woman’s cry, who we can assume to be Lyanna, forces Ned to rush to the tower before we’re brought back to the present. It makes sense that this scene was shown and I couldn’t stop myself gushing with joy when watching it. It seems that the certain lineage of a certain character in the show is finally going to be revealed.
