Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 2 review: Jon Snow's fate is finally revealed

Hey guys, this is one of those episodes where I need you to think carefully and decide whether you should continue reading this post. I know it’s a Monday and there’s a few more hours to go before you get your dose of Game of Thrones, but this a damn good episode filled with twists and turns that the show is best known for. So you have two choices— a) spoilers, of course, and b) no spoilers. People choosing option B-

STOP RIGHT NOW. LEAVE. SHUT DOWN YOUR COMPUTER , CUT THAT INTERNET CONNECTION AND PLUG YOUR EARS WITH COTTON. LEAVE. BOOK A TICKET (TO MARS, IF YOU CAN), GET ON THAT TRAIN/PLANE/ROCKET AND TAKE OFF.  NO JOKE. DO WHATEVER YOU CAN BECAUSE IT IS HIGHLY LIKELY THIS SPOILER WILL FIND YOU BEFORE YOU GET TO THE EPISODE. OK? ALL CLEAR?

People who chose option A. Hello.

OH MY F***ING GOD. DID YOU SEE WHAT I SAW?!

I’m not one usually one for hyperbole, but we’ve all waited for this moment long enough to collectively lose our sanity. Jon Snow. Melisandre. Back from the dead. *deep breaths*

Let’s start from the beginning.

This episode is packed with several great moments. We begin with Bran clutching a weirwood root which takes him through a vision of Winterfell, except it’s the Winterfell of Ned Stark’s childhood. With a young Ned, Benjen and Lyanna, this scene sows the seeds for a Tower of Joy flashback/vision (later in the season) that’ll unveil several secrets of the Stark family, including the moment that started Robert’s Rebellion and brought down the Targaryen dynasty. The scene reveals just enough to leave us wanting more. I’m as frustrated as Bran right now for letting the Three-Eyed Raven cut this short. The other revelation in this scene is young Willas, the stable boy— Hodor before he became Hodor. Kristian Nairn is wonderful as he wistfully looks away when asked about why he stopped talking. Perhaps, this is another mystery this season will solve.

At King’s Landing, we’re dealing with a contrite and forgiving Cersei. You would almost think she’s been completely knocked down since her walk of shame had it not been for Ser Robert Strong's (Gregor Clegane in another life) quiet and forbidding presence by her side. Cersei’s mourning juxtaposed against the brutal strength of the medieval Frankenstein teases several delicious possibilities. This is definitely the calm before the storm. As she reconciles with her son after he keeps her away from Myrcella’s funeral, her twin Jaime is beginning his own war with the Faith. But like the Queen Regent, the High Sparrow’s military strength shadows him, indicating that the ultimate battle in the kingdom’s capital will be between the two of them.

To no one's surprise, Ramsay brings us the first gut-wrenching moment of the episode. We all agree he is psychotic but the show insists on drumming this in further. Ramsay will stop at nothing to be ‘Lord’ Bolton and keep the North. Despite the crazed look in his eye, it does comes as a shock when Ramsay stabs Roose after congratulating him on the birth of his son. Unleashing his hounds on Walda and her newborn—his brother—was plain gruesome. In all this, Harald Karstark is Ramsay’s new ally. The Karstarks have an axe to grind with the Starks after Robb beheaded their Lord Rickard. With Roose and family murdered and no Sansa, the North will rise. We’ll see whether this “new blood” —the Karstarks, Umbers, Manderleys and Ramasay— will hold them off.

The only bit unconvincing about this scene is how Roose did not see this coming. He knows Ramsay's obsession with being the heir and is a more quiet and cunning version of his son. So, it makes you wonder how he found himself him in this position without a plan.

At Pyke, after a season’s break, we come back to find that the Greyjoys' rebellion is also flailing. Having lost their strongholds in the mainland, Balon and Yara are still fighting over Theon. As promised, a storm comes in the form of Euron. The two Greyjoy brothers stand on a bridge swaying in the rain and exchange what passes for pleasantries on the Iron Islands, before Balon meets his intended end. Unlike the books, the show makes no bones about this being straight out murder. We’re heading for a kingsmoot! Euron vs Yara. 

We also a get a quick glimpse of the other Greyjoy brother, Aeron.

There's a civil war going on in Mereen and a bigger war brewing along Slaver's Bay with the masters taking back control of Yunkai and Astapor. But what is Tyrion's biggest concern? Dragons. Projected as the most well-read person in the books, Tyrion knows about 'how to train a dragon' better than anyone else around. Lesson number one? No captivity. There's no question about who will untie the cat's bell here. Tyrion fondly recalls that he's wanted one since he was a child while taking the chains off two fearsome dragons. Though frightened to death, he manages to walk away unscathed. Can't wait for their next meeting.

At Braavos, Arya is one step closer to becoming No One. After her daily dose of thrashing at the hands of The Waif, Jaqen H’ghar appears to take her Some Where. Where? A woman does not know.

Meanwhile, the other Stark sister finds out Arya is still alive. This makes Sansa the only Stark to know about Arya, Bran and Rickon. In line with the episode’s theme, Theon breaks away from the group to go home. Sansa and gang will head to Castle Black. This would have been futile were it not for...

A certain turn of events at Castle Black. The Davos-Thorne standoff is brought to a halt by the wildlings with help from Dolorous Edd and Wun-Wun the giant. Watch out for Aliser Thorne's face after he's done bashing one of Night's Watch's men. Davos uses this reprieve to convince Melisandre to try and bring Snow back from the dead. The unlikely alliance of these two characters is one of the best scenes in this episode. One should despise Melisandre, who convinced Stannis to burn his daughter Shireen to appease the Lord of Light in season five. Davos should hate her, given he was Stannis’ most loyal man and loved Shireen almost like his own daughter. Yet, here you see him tell Melisandre that she taught him to believe in miracles and coax her into bringing Jon Snow back. As a woman whose faith in her god and her own abilities is broken, Carice van Houten manages to make you forget the ruthless priestess she was and sympathise with her self-doubt and complete lack of conviction.

The result— JON SNOW COMING BACK FROM THE DEAD. Whoopie-di-doo! I’ll let you watch the scene and enjoy it for yourself. Honestly, I’ve not been fond of this character from the beginning. What later made Jon Snow compelling to me is the mystery behind his heritage, his divided loyalties between the wildlings and the Night’s Watch, and his place in the grand scheme of the ultimate battle between Ice and Fire. Then he died and absence made the heart grow fonder. This is the kind of morbidity the show inspires, but that warrants a separate post.

So, does this mean Jon Snow is Azor Ahai reborn? Is he undead now? What about R+L=J? So many questions. For now, rejoice! We have the rest of the week to worry about the complications.