The characters are back for a new season and the game of thrones intensifies! Spoilers ahead!
And so it begins. Game of Thrones premiered with “Red Woman", its first episode of season six. As per tradition, it swept over Westeros and Essos to give us an overview of what’s happening with each character since we last saw them.
We begin with the camera looking over Castle Black just before dawn, training down to focus on the very dead body of Jon Snow as Ghost howls in the background. Ser Davos discovers the body and has it taken back to a room. In the hall, Ser Aliser Thorne is seen informing the Night's Watch of Snow's death with the justification, "He thrust a terrible choice upon us and we made it”. This soon turns into a stand-off over Snow’s dead body that the preview clips have shown us. We’ll come back to that in a bit.
HBO.com
At Winterfell, Ramsay Bolton mourns the death of his lover Myranda, a display you can have very little pity for, given the cruel nature of both the characters. But the Bolton has little time for this. A reckoning is coming as his father Roose informs him. Ramsay, unlike the rest of the key players in the show, is playing the game of heirs. He broke the heir to the Iron Islands, Theon Greyjoy, into Reek. He proceeded to do the same to the heir of Winterfell, Sansa Stark, on whom his claim to the North depends. While he needs Sansa for the North, he also needs his stepmother to not bear an heir to his father, a son with a better claim. Ramsay's fate depends very heavily on managing these heirs, one he's struggling to do because...
HBO.com
Brienne of Tarth to the rescue! She finally gets a Stark. This is worth a sigh of relief because that woman had been wandering Westeros for long enough in hopes of being able to keep her word to Catelyn Tully. Frankly, this character needed a win. Brienne has now pledged her sword to Sansa. Hopefully, this is the beginning of better arcs for both Sansa and Brienne. No matter how much they wave the label "strong" in our faces, it means nothing if the characters have little to do with this strength but wait helplessly. Any novelty there may have been wears off and the strength then just becomes an empty promise.
For all those who thought Theon would be the first, of the presumably several deaths this season, that honour goes to Dorne's royalty. If, like me, you thought the introduction of the Sand Snakes was a disappointment last season, then prepare for worse. Ellaria and the Snakes take down Prince Doran, his Captain Areo Hotah and Prince Trystane. There was a flicker of hope when Doran chokes on blood and say, "My son". Sadly, the son he was referring to is not Quentyn. One of the better reveals in the book Dance of the Dragons was Doran's part in the Targaryen Restoration and his secret plan to bring Daenerys back to Westeros with the help of his son Quentyn. More than the cutting down of this storyline, it's Doran's death that is disappointing, a character whose weak physique belied his sharp mind. The problem with Ellaria and the Sand Snakes is that in a story based heavily on political strategy and carefully calculated moves, they are motivated solely by revenge. This would have been interesting had that revenge been exacted with cunning. Myrcella’s death was an example of that. (For more, see weddings red and purple.) Stabbing the fearsome Hotah from behind just comes across as unconvincing. Fingers crossed that the Snakes have something better up their sleeve.
HBO.com
From here we move to Essos, where a blind Arya's training has begun in Braavos. As part of this, we see her begging on the streets interrupted by a terribly one-sided fight with The Waif, a co-alcolyte at the House of Black and White. You'll remember her from the caning she gave Arya last season. For book readers, the surprises in this storyline will probably come after she gets her sight back.
In Mereen, Varys and Tyrion take a walk through the deserted streets and come across a red priest exhorting the freed slaves of the city to fight for their salvation as they wait for the Mother of Dragons to return, a development the Lannister deems troubling. That train of thought is soon cut short by seeing Mereen's port on fire. A work of the Harpies?
Speaking of the Mother of dragons, Daenerys, as seen in last season, has been captured by Khal Moro's riders. She's mocked and humiliated till it is learnt that she's Khal Drogo's widow, at which point they accord her due respect and plans are made to take her to Vaes Dothrak to join the dosh khaleen, a group of widowed khaleesis. Can’t wait for when Dany adds Smasher of Patriarchy to that growing list of titles.
(Game of Thrones, HBO and related service marks are the property of Home Box office, Inc. All rights reserved)
Meanwhile, Jorah (the Explorer) and Daario Nahario are on track to finding their queen after her ring is found at the spot where the Dothraki surrounded her. The only problem is the greyscale slowly creeping up Jorah's arm that he must pause in every scene to look at as mournful music plays in the background. Subtlety would have been a nice touch here.
The least eventful of all were the happenings at King's Landing. A captive Margaery gives the first inkling of her imminent conversion to the Faith. But the episode belongs to Lena Heady who magnificently portrays a Cersei whose joy upon her daughter Myrcella's return turns to grief over her death in a span of a few expressions. The death reconciles the incestous Lannister twins to working together again as Jaime vows to seize all that was taken from them.
HBO.com
Back at Castle Black, while Davos and Thorne’s men stand-off over Snow’s body, we see a defeated Melisandre back in her room taking off her red gem choker to climb into bed to sleep. Except, the Melisandre going to sleep is a wrinkled old woman. Surprise, surprise! Sort of.
Game of Throne’s demand on viewers’ attention is reliant on the reveals about characters—their motives, their past, or even just their heritage— and on the element of surprise, usually provided by the deaths of a main character (stop pretending to be dead, Jon Snow). When there is little to pad the narrative in between, the show quickly becomes a dull watch. This is disappointing because it’s set in such a richly detailed universe.
But, it's just the first episode. We still have Bran to look forward to.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Game of Thrones Season 6, Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 1, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Cersei Lanniser, Tyrion Lannister, J")
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}