'Game of Thrones' S6E08: The good, bad and amazing in Westeros this week

SPOILER ALERT This question is for all the Game of Thrones fans in India, especially those who have to wait day/days to watch the latest episode and are invariably flooded with spoilers while trying to get through a normal Monday morning – When was the last time Game of Thrones was actually, literally spoiled for you? A plot twist, gruesome, devastating or otherwise, you unwittingly spotted on the internet that severely affected your viewing of the episode. [caption id=“attachment_2833446” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] ‘No One’ was gripping, well-written and wonderfully-acted. Screengrab[/caption] For me, it was ‘Hold the Door’, where Hodor’s very unexpected end had me well and truly shocked, the only thing in the entire season six so far that was a gut-punch. This was three weeks ago; we have had three episodes since and not a single one of them has matched up to the sheer shock value. Which means that for the last three episodes, the ‘internet hasn’t been broken.’ And for a show like Game of Thrones, which could possibly be the pictorial depiction of ‘breaking the internet’, this is saying a lot. Of course, this does not mean that the last three episodes have been deficient in drama, even if no *major* character was killed. There have been plenty of dramatic dialogues and tense confrontations and war of words. But Game of Thrones is famed for its combination of both visible and verbal action, and this season largely feels focused only on the oral aspect. The physical drama has been few and far apart and all one can recall are the sharp dialogues, and not the sword wielding. Coming back to the eighth episode, ‘No One’ was gripping, well-written and wonderfully-acted. It took the narrative ahead, unraveled and established intriguing plot lines and was overall a steady, if not slow, episode. Here’s a quick recap of the good, the bad and the amazing in Westeros this week– via GIPHY Braavos Good: Arya, who was left bleeding at the end of the last episode by the Waif, is patched up by Lady Crane, the actress she refused to kill. Bad: The Waif finds them, kills the Lady and chases Arya through the city, leaving her bleeding again. Amazing: Arya lays a bloody trap, finally uses Needle and cuts the Waif. But wait, she brandishes her sword on Jaqen H’ghar, claims that a girl is not ‘No One’, but Arya Stark of Winterfell, and walks away. Unexpectedly, this leaves the faceless, third-person talking assassin leader with a mysterious smile on his face, making us wonder ‘Who is a man?’ King’s Landing Good: The Mountain zombie is finally doing more than grunting and saves Cersei when the Faith Militant come calling, by ripping a man’s jaw apart. Yes, here is the violence she chose in the season promos. Bad: The King has discontinued Trial by Combat so the Mountain won’t be much of a help to Cersei against the High Sparrow Amazing: Lena Headey’s increasingly emotive performance as a crumbling Cersei Lannister. For all her bravado, she is all alone and defeated, a feeling her character is not used to. Maybe it’s time for her retribution, or more retribution after last season’s ‘Walk of Shame’. It will be interesting to see where her story arc goes from here. Meereen Good: Daenerys is back in Meereen with Drogon. Bad: Meereen is under heavy attack from the Masters who want the slaves back. Amazing: Tyrion Lannister! Peter Dinklage is a rare actor and has shone in whatever little screen time he has got this season. His poignant scene with a departing Varys and light-hearted scene with Grey Worm and Missandei were just another example of his immense talent. Tyrion’s comment about being ‘The most famous dwarf in the world’ is not so far from the truth for Dinklage. via GIPHY Riverrun Good: Brienne and Jaime meet at Riverrun and don’t fight each other. In fact, the meeting gives two great scenes – the loaded with chemistry conversation between the two Knights with a complicated relationship and the playful interaction between Pod and Bronn which gives lends the charged moment needed comic relief. Bad: Blackfish is dead, (Oh look, a relatively major character death) the Lannisters and Freys have Riverrun, and Brienne has escaped without garnering any military support, thanks to Jaime Lannister’s diabolical manipulation of Edmure Tully and the Tully Army’s utter stupidity. Oh and the major Riverrun battle that the showmaker set up , that didn’t happen. For all of Brienne and Jaime’s intense encounter, it all ended within an episode and without a fight. Amazing: Jaime Lannister. In his exceedingly well done soliloquy to Edmure Tully, Jaime talks about the ’things we do for love’. If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s what’s he said before pushing Bran off the tower and basically starting the game of thrones. Jaime’s character arc has been one of the most interesting in the series – from outright evil, to an honourable friend to a broken man - and to see him on the edge, divided and switching between his deep companionship with Brienne and his mad passion for Cersei, makes for excellent television. Note: There seems to be a pattern here. The Lannisters always play their roles very, very well. Riverlands Good: The Hound is back to being a beast and reunited with Beric Dondarrion and the Brotherhood without Banners, after their initial encounter in season three which saw death and Resurrection. He is even making jokes and referencing his famous ‘chicken’ line. Bad: He has no intention of joining them and is basically aimless and seems unlikely to go to Westeros and without a Trial By Combat, where is the promised Cleganebowl ? Amazing: In response to the cold winds of the coming ‘Winter’ Dondarrion is planning a trip North. Finally, we may see some of the living vs dead action, the fire and ice battle, with Lord of the Light followers batting the White Walkers, of whom we haven’t seen much this season. This brings me back to the big question – why has Game of Thrones’ sixth season not had several suddenly startling storylines to shock us the way it used to? We knew (or hoped) Jon Snow would be resurrected, we conjectured that Sansa would find him, we read in the books he marched against Ramsay Bolton, we figured that a girl will always be Arya Stark and return home, (Okay, I concede Rickon’s capture was a surprise here) we anticipated the downfall of the Lannister ego, we predicted the return of Theon Greyjoy, we have seen Daenerys gather a massive army on the back of her dragon before, we even had fan theories about Coldhands and The Hound confirmed, and we have barely seen the White Walkers, the Tower of Joy or anything about the oncoming Winter. But having said that, we have the ninth episode coming up, which has traditionally been the most power-packed episode every season (Baelor, Blackwater, Rains of Castermere, Watchers on the Wall, Dance of Dragons) This one is called ‘Battle of the Bastards’ and there is absolutely no doubt about who the two titular bastards are or that we will witness actual, physical action backed by intense emotions and potentially a major death. The thought itself is enough to whet our appetite for next week. Till then, here’s the teaser: