Blood of My Blood kicked off the second half of season six
of Game of Thrones with some big reveals and catching up lesser storylines. Overall
the episode was executed well, but after the gripping climax from last week
this episode fell flat. The episode was trying to advance storylines which haven’t
progressed much during the season. The
stories didn’t get far, and the ones that did where anticlimactic.
The biggest and best reveal of the night was North of The
Wall with Bran and Meera. We picked up right from the conclusion of last week’s
episode and saw a mysterious rider save the pair from the wights. It was a good
action scene and the fire ball chain mace was a nice touch. The reveal of the rider’s
identity solves a mystery from the first season and the first book, the fate of
Benjen Stark. We learn Benjen was attacked by the White Walkers and would have
died and turned into a wight if not for the Children of the Forrest. The
writers of the show then confirmed after the episode Benjen is the same
character as Coldhands in the books, which has long been speculated. It will be
interesting to see what powers he has in the show, and how well he can protect
Bran from White Walkers and wights, until his confrontation with the Night
King. The two scenes north of the wall had the most impact on the overall story
of the show. The other stories were anticlimactic, just more setup, or not
needed.
The story with Sam and Gilly isn’t needed for the show. Sam
making a trip to Horn Hill was pointless other than him taking his father’s
sword. The only reason Sam took Gilly to his home was to leave her there, and
he ended up leaving with her. Sam should have already been at Oldtown learning
to be a Maester. They could have easily found a way for his father to visit
him, and for Sam then to take the sword. This would have advanced the story of
his schooling and wouldn’t have wasted twenty minutes of the episode on pointless
humiliation of Sam. We know his father was horrible to him, we know Gilly loves
him. There was no point in reinforcing these aspects of the story. The scenes
were well acted, and shot well, they just weren’t needed for the show. Hopefully
now we can actually see Oldtown and how people become Maesters. This could be
another boring storyline, but I’m excited to finally see The Citadel.
I thought we were going to finally see the High Sparrow put
in his place, but he outmaneuvered everyone and manipulated poor Tommen. Margery
had a hand in his manipulation, because she didn’t see anyone coming to her
rescue. I don’t blame her for finding a way out of the walk of shame, but it
proves the High Sparrow is out for power, the same as everyone else. It was an anticlimactic
way to finish the storyline. It would have been nice to see some fighting, but
it had the effect of moving Jaime’s story forward. Jaime’s story has been a departure
from the books, and one I’ve most disappointed in. His growth in the books is phenomenal,
going from someone you loathe, to someone you want to succeed and overcome his
trails. He is now going to the Riverlands to help The Frey’s which is where he
spends his time in the books. With him and Brienne going to the same spot the
show could introduce a character from the books which has been lacking. The
story pointing to this reveal was my second favorite part of the episode.
The other storyline briefly touched on before the conclusion
was with Arya. It was good to see her make a decision, and leave the temple of
the Many Faced God. She doesn’t want to be an assassin for hire, she still
wants to be Arya Stark and take revenge on those who did her wrong. It would
have been nice to actually see the conclusion to the story tonight and have her
fight. She will surprise them when she puts Needle to use with all she has
learned. Her story wasn’t pointless, but it would have been nice to see her
reach this conclusion sooner. She has been trained the entire season to this
point, and now threw it all away. I was
hoping for her to stay in the order, but trick them into thinking she was truly
one of them.
The ending of episode was a great conclusion. It was
fantastic to see Danny riding her dragon and inspiring the Dothraki. I liked
her speech and glad they kept it in Dothraki, but what was the point? She
already has united the Dothraki.. She did this when she walked out of the fire
and everyone bowed to her. Flying Drogon down and uniting the Dothraki was how
I wanted the last season to end. I’m glad we got a Dragon moment, but it wasn’t
really needed for the show. We know what she is planning to do, and that the
Dothraki are going to follow her. It was still an amazing scene, but was still
not necessary with how they have advanced her story to this point.
This episode was my least favorite of the season. It was anticlimactic
from where the show was building from last week. The show had setup a great confrontation
in King’s Landing, and didn’t deliver. Arya’s storyline could have finished
tonight, but didn’t because a chunk of the episode was watching Sam have dinner
with his Dad. Still, even with the issues it was still an entertaining hour of television,
and most of the problems are nitpicks. A great show can’t be epic every
episode. I just wish tonight had more payoff.
What did you think of tonight’s episode? Were you letdown or
did you enjoy all the storylines showed tonight? Comment and let me know.
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