Recap
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| Daario leads the Dothraki screamers |
We open to fireballs catapulted at Meereen. Tyrion attempts to update Dany but he sounds like a ninny. Dany has a plan, but it sounds an awful lot like Aerys “burn them all” plan… Tyrion suggests an alternative. They meet with the representative masters to discuss terms of surrender. The masters give terms but Dany points out it is THEIR surrender they are discussing. Drogon arrives and Dany climbs on board. Rhaegal and Viserion break out, and the Dothaki arrive at the gates to kill some Harpy… Ships burn and Grey Worm explains to the soldiers that they can serve masters who will never serve them, or go home to their families. They flee. Tyrion then explains one of the masters must die. Two push the third forward saying he is low born. He drops to a knee to plead and Grey Worm cuts the throats of the two still standing. Tyrion then tells the third to go back and tell the people what happens when the masters rebel against the Queen.
Parlay parties for the Starks and Boltons meet. Ramsay is his glib, charming, psychotic self. He thanks Jon for returning his wife and asks for surrender. Jon offers instead to settle this with single combat. Ramsay laughs, refusing, since he might lose single combat but knows his army will defeat Jon’s. Ramsay asks if they will let their brother die then pulls out Shaggy Dog’s head to prove they have him.
Back in the tent they discuss tactics. Jon uses a lot of vocabulary that Tormund has not clue about. They discuss patience and letting the Bolton Army come at them from the front, as the ditches will keep them from getting surrounded. When the others leave Sansa scolds Jon, since she is the one who knows Ramsay. She warns that he is more cruel than Jon can imagine. That Ramsay won’t fall into a trap—he lays traps. She admits they will never get Rickon back. Rickon has a better claim than Jon or Sansa, so Ramsay can’t let him live. They argue about men, Sansa insisting they should have waited for more, Jon pointing out no one else would help—this is what they have. Sansa says if Ramsay wins, she will not go back to Winterfell alive.
Tormund and Davos discuss the pending battle and the kings they believed in. Mance and Stannis are gone. Tormund invites Davos for a delicious round of fermented goat's milk, but Davos wants to walk—says it clears his head before a battle. Unfortunately, his wandering brings him to Shireen’s pyre, identified by the partially burned stag he carved for her.
Jon asks if Melisandre has advice, but all she says is “don’t lose”. He says if he falls not to bring him back. She argues that she has no choice—the Lord of Light gives her the power if he wills it.
Theon and Yara stand before Dany and Tyrion. Tyrion questions Theon pretty sharply. It goes rather poorly for the Greyjoys until Theon says it is Yara’s claim they are there for, not his. Dany and Yara bond over this and discuss what it is they want and that Euron wants to make the same offer, but with a marriage required to seal the deal—that he would kill Dany as soon as he has the Seven Kingdoms. Dany agrees to give them rule of the Iron Islands provided they are also part of Westeros and they cease the reaving, raping, and pillaging of the rest of Westeros. Yara says it is all they know, but it is a condition Dany won’t budge on. They shake on it.
Armies in the north form up, the rag tag mixed army of Jon’s and the uniform army of the Boltons, Umbers and Karstarks. There are burned crosses between them—flayed men—who knows who they are? Ramsay leads Rickon on a rope, frees him, then tells him to run. Jon rides for him as Rickon runs and Ramsay begins shooting arrows at him. One finally gets him and Jon charges as Tormund wills him not to. But then they all charge.
Battle battle battle. Jon kills oodles of people. Bodies pile up. Battle battle, GIANT ACTION! And suddenly they are surrounded by Bolton shields and spears coming at them. The Boltons push in, making the space narrower and narrower. Jon gets trampled under dead bodies and more and more people keep getting piled on him. He struggles and finally claws his way up from under. And finally the war horns sound and the Vale has arrived!!!! Littlefinger sits next to Sansa as she smirks, having saved the day. The Vale demolishes the Bolton army. Jon goes after Ramsay who flees.
Ramsay makes it back to Winterfell and shuts the gates, but they are no match for Wun Wun. He is filled with arrows but has let in Jon’s army. Ramsay shoots Wun Wun in the eye and “accepts single combat” with Jon. Jon gets a shield up to catch the arrows as he comes at Ramsay, then he bashes him good. The Stark flag is hung from Winterfell.
Davos throws Melisandre shade, Jon tells the men to bury Rickon in the crypts next to Ned, Sansa asks where Ramsay is.
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| So satisfying |
She goes to see him. He claims she can’t kill him because he is part of her. She says his words, his house, his name and all memory of him will disappear. The dog kennels begin to ease open… Seems he shouldn’t have let the information about starving his dogs out… he claims they are loyal. She claims they are starving. She has the right of it. They eat him and she smiles.
Review
Loved how things went down in Meereen—the dragons burning ships, the Dothraki killing Harpies. The meeting with the masters was great—I particularly loved how the decision as to which to kill went.
I wanted to ring Ramsay’s neck, but that is normal. So smug. But also so typically Ramsay. There was also a bit of an echo here—this offer to end this with single combat is what Jaime did to Robb back in season 2. Now Robb and Ramsay have very few things in common, and it isn’t clear how much Jaime and Jon have in common, but it does seem like a smart choice, when the leader with the bigger army is offered this choice by someone who is rumored to be a superior fighter, that letting the battle happen is smarter. I liked Sansa’s contribution at the end—telling Ramsay he would die.
It was funny watching Tormund not knowing the battle terms in a way, but at the same time really brought out how different the wildlings are in their training—I worried that miscommunication might come into play since the training is so different.
Sansa and Jon’s argument seemed realistic to me. Both were right and both were wrong, as is so often the case. Sansa DOES know Ramsay better, and while Ramsay is only a pink little man and not a white walker, he is also more cunning than anything Jon has faced. Jon, however, is right, at least given the information he has, that their army is not going to grow. Best get on with it, as their situation is rougher than that of people sitting comfy in a castle.
Really loved Tormund and Davos and their discussion of kings. I liked Davos recognizing Stannis as his own worst enemy and liked the bit of ironic foreshadowing of Jon not being a king… because of course he is who has a right to it…
Tyrion dressing down Theon was sure a mixed bag of emotion… remember what a dick Theon was? He totally deserved that, but he’s been through so much and changed so much that it was still hard to watch him have to take it. I adored the Dany/Yara interaction… two queens seeing common cause.
As hard as this Rickon scene was to watch and as totally gripped as I was, this also reminded me of the Holy Grail and running at that castle when the castle just never seems to get any closer. Also… Rickon… arrows… bob, weave, roll. Make yourself a more difficult target, dammit… make sure if you get hit, it is somewhere less lethal. Guard the heart and head, man… But seriously—so sad. And Jon totally fell into Ramsay’s trap—completely… Because Ramsay did it just right—the lethal arrow when hope was so close--by design, I believe--he wanted Jon to hope first, as that would have maximum impact.
Battle questions
* Why do none of Jon’s men have shields? They seem handy in defense of arrows.
* Where is Ghost? (though I guess he probably would have died—too obvious a target in the open like this—so maybe this was better)
* Notice Jon in the fray and Ramsay sitting back behind the battle lines not actually doing a damn thing, though his battle commands are pretty effective. Did you notice the arrows were strategically fired to build up that wall of bodies?
* Why did nobody sneak around behind the lines and murder Ramsay? (Ghost even)
* Why does nobody roll under those spears to cut off Bolton feet?
* Why does no one sneak between spears and then pull shields down from the top… a coordinated effort at this would have helped a lot.
Man, it was good of the Vale to show up. Such a relief. And dammit Sansa deserved that damn smirk. She called it—they needed more men and she delivered. And of course Ramsay, having done nothing but command and shooting arrows at Rickon, never in a speck of danger, flees. The coward. And thank goodness for Wun Wun. Though that also was the very saddest moment for me, Wun Wun dying after how much he had helped. Also loved Jon getting the better of Ramsay, but I was very glad Sansa got to deliver the final blow. Erm… bite…
I found this episode really satisfying. I loved this end for Meereen, probably compounded by being glad to be at the end of Meereen. And I didn't want Rickon or Wun Wun to die, but I sort of expected those. I am just really glad it wasn't Tormund or Davos. A lot of people are saying best episode of the season or ever, and I am not quite there. I tend to like but not love battles. I like the interpersonal stuff more, so episode 4 with the Jon/Sansa reunion or The Door are probably my favorites of the season, but this was still very good.
So what did all of you think?
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