Game of Thrones Season Six in Review
Let's all take a minute to mourn the fact that Game of Thrones season six is now over. We waited so long, and it was over so quickly. Like a candle in the wind. However, you can't say that the finale wasn't satisfying. On rainy days in November when I think I can't make it until season seven, I'll think back to the season six finale and remember how satisfied I was when Arya cut Walder Frey's throat. Yup. They certainly left us satisfied.
To my mind, the theme of this season was wish fulfillment for long time fans. I feel like the showrunners just sat down and said "what would the book readers most want to see," and then put those things into the show. It was like the show was just a really, really good fan fiction. There were a few moments that fell flat for me, but otherwise I really enjoyed this season.
The Good:
Stark Sibling Reunion: Words cannot express how relieved I was that two Starks were finally, finally reunited in this season. In Game of Thrones, so many people have come so close to having the things they wanted, only to have them snatched away at the last second. I thought they were going to have Sansa arrive at the Wall just after Jon left, but they didn't, and I was SO GLAD! It was wonderful to see Jon smile again, and it was so refreshing to have Sansa surrounded by people who actually care about her (Brienne included). Plus, both Jon and Sansa got new outfits in this season, which is great because Jon has been wearing black way too long. His whole ensemble is completely last season. Doesn't he know that wolves are now the new, hot fashion accessories? As I said a few weeks ago:
The Battle of the Bastards: This I believe to be true. The Battle of the Bastards is, was, and continues to be the best episode of Game of Thrones ever. EVER! Words cannot express how wonderful it was. I clapped. I cheered. I cried. I laughed. Well, okay, I didn't laugh or cry, but the rest was true. The Battle of the Bastards was the episode that everyone was waiting to see, and it did not disappoint. It was like ordering a burrito, then finding out that it has extra guacamole. You knew it was going to be good, but it was even better than you expected. There were so many satisfying moments: when the Starks unfurled their banners from the battlements of Winterfell, when Jon pounded Ramsay's face into a bloody pulp, when the Knights of the Vale rode to the rescue when Ramsay is eaten alive by his own dogs and tear the flesh off his fingers...it's hard to decide what was best.
The Return of Sansa: I also loved that Sansa finally got to take revenge on someone; I know that a lot of people are annoyed be her plot and her as a character, but I think she really redeemed herself this season. Although I was frustrated with her for not telling Jon about the Knights of the Vale, you have to admit that she played her hand very well in this season. If it wasn't for Sansa, Jon would never have marched on Winterfell in the first place; Sansa was really the driving force behind most of the Stark action this season. Of course, her finest hour was feeding Ramsay to his own dogs, but I also enjoyed her evisceration of Littlefinger. As I said a few weeks ago:
The Lady of Bear Island: There weren't many new characters introduced in this season, which makes sense because the showrunners are trying to work towards satisfying conclusions for the characters they already have, and there's only a season or two left. However, one new character who was so satisfying and perfect in every way was the Lady of Bear Island. That's right. I'm talking about LYANNA MORMONT. Lyanna Mormont is a fantastic character. All she does is win. I'm convinced that she wins ten billion times before she even eats breakfast. I mean, she basically made Jon the King in the North by sheer will power. She was just like, "I think Jon should be the king. Anyone want to disagree? Anyone? Anyone?" As I said a few weeks ago, she may be my new favorite character:
Watch Out, The Dragons Are Coming: I'm thrilled that Dany and her dragons and her massive army is finally on its way to Westeros. I feel like Dany has been wasted as a character for the past couple of seasons. I know that it's important for her to learn how to rule and that Meereen is a good place for her to do that, but, honestly, who really cares about Meereen? Is there anyone sitting on their couch, watching the show, and thinking, "I really wish they would talk more about Meereenese politics"? Because I don't think there is. Anyway, I'm profoundly glad that she's finally moving in a useful direction.
Brienne the Beauty and Her Love Triangle: I feel like Brienne was reenacting the plot of Twilight in this season, with Tormund being Jacob, Jaime being Edward, and Brienne being Bella Swan (if Bella Swan was actually tough, interesting, likeable, useful, and carried the coolest sword on this side of Moat Cailin).Jacob Tormund is in love with Bella Brienne, but she's not in love with him because she's in love with Edward Jaime, who doesn't want to love her, but secretly does. In Twilight, Edward didn't want to be with Bella because he was afraid of killing her, in this case, Jaime doesn't want to be with Brienne because he's having sex with his twin. Dramatic, isn't it? I think Brienne should do what Bella should have done, hook up with Tormund/Jacob and have done with it. You don't need a man in your life with as many issues as Edward/Jaime has, even though Jaime is a golden-handed Hercules with gorgeous hair. However, I confess that I ship Jaime and Brienne way too hard, and I've been shipping them since season three. I know it's never going to work, but I wish it would. As I wrote a few weeks ago:
The Bad:
Jon Snow's Hair: I tried really hard to like Jon Snow's hair in this season. I really did. I told myself that the man pony tail is dashing. It's not dashing. It's stupid. I got really excited when Melisandre was cutting Jon's hair while she was bringing Jon back to life. I thought he would be resurrected with a long-awaited hair cut, but, alas, it was to no avail. Jon is a beautiful man, so I don't understand why he destroys his physical appearance with that terrible pony tail. I have a sneaking suspicion that the showrunners are trying to make him look like Ned Stark, who also had horrendous hair. Whatever they're trying to do, I'm not in favor of it.
Arya's Entire Plot Line: As you may or may not have noticed, I have not been in favor of Arya's plot for the past two seasons. That's because the Faceless Men are boring. My theory is that there's only so much cryptic, double-talk a character can do before they become boring to the audience. It's okay to be a mysterious character -- like Varyas -- but, if you only talk in riddles, people are eventually going to stop trying to figure them out. I feel like the Arya's entire plot this season was people asking her who she was. Are you no one? Are you someone? Are you a balloon animal? You can file the responses to all those questions under "I don't care." Plus, I was really annoyed that Arya got stabbed like six times in the stomach, then went skipping around the city. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Lancel Lannister is stabbed once and has to crawl slowly across the floor. Fail. At least Arya is finally back in Westeros. I hope she has a better plot next season.
Iron Islands = Snore: Stop trying to make the Iron Islands happen. It's not going to happen! Literally no one cares about the Iron Islands, not even the Iron Islanders. I don't care who sits on the Salt Throne. I don't care who wears the Driftwood Crown. It's nice of Yara to volunteer to help Dany out, but if she wasn't connected to Dany, I wouldn't care about her either. And, may I add that Theon was only significant when he was helping Sansa to escape. The rest of the Iron Islanders are 1000% irrelevant.
Who Actually Cares About Meereen Anyway: Meereen and the Iron Islands have a similar problem. I don't care about either of them. The political machinations of trying to ally with the slavers, getting rid of the Sons of the Harpy, and generally getting the Meereenese to play nice are extraordinarily boring. The Meereen plot is so boring, it almost made Tyrion an irrelevant character. Thank goodness that they're all on the boat to Westeros now.
The Wars to Come (Things I'm Looking Forward To):
The Song of Ice and Fire?: Will Jon and Dany finally meet next season? I don't know, but I hope they do.
The Return of Gendry: Hear me now, quote me later. Gendry is coming back. Maybe it won't be next season, but, before the end of the show, he'll be back, and he'll have an important role to play. Maybe he'll unite with Arya now that she's back in Westeros?
Avengers Starks Assemble: The Stark family is coming back together. Slowly but surely, they're reuniting. This season, Sansa and Jon got back together. Arya is now back in Westeros and Bran is heading south, so, could all four be reunited? You bet. I would love to see all the remaining Starks greeting Dany in Winterfell, just like they greeted Robert in season one.
The Wars to Come: Brace yourself, battle is coming. This season set up two big battles: the battle between the White Walkers and the humans and the battle between Dany and Cersei. I'm not sure if we'll get to see both next season, but they're coming, and I'm excited.
Valar dohaeris
To my mind, the theme of this season was wish fulfillment for long time fans. I feel like the showrunners just sat down and said "what would the book readers most want to see," and then put those things into the show. It was like the show was just a really, really good fan fiction. There were a few moments that fell flat for me, but otherwise I really enjoyed this season.
The Good:
Stark Sibling Reunion: Words cannot express how relieved I was that two Starks were finally, finally reunited in this season. In Game of Thrones, so many people have come so close to having the things they wanted, only to have them snatched away at the last second. I thought they were going to have Sansa arrive at the Wall just after Jon left, but they didn't, and I was SO GLAD! It was wonderful to see Jon smile again, and it was so refreshing to have Sansa surrounded by people who actually care about her (Brienne included). Plus, both Jon and Sansa got new outfits in this season, which is great because Jon has been wearing black way too long. His whole ensemble is completely last season. Doesn't he know that wolves are now the new, hot fashion accessories? As I said a few weeks ago:
I love that Sansa and Jon are back together again, and I love their little interaction over clothing. Jon was clearly touched that Sansa made him a cape like the one their father used to wear, and I thought it was a very sweet gesture. Plus, Sansa is getting pretty handy at designing clothes. If the whole "Wardeness of The North" thing doesn't work out, she has a promising career as a designer of wolf themed clothing.Anyway, as I was saying, I'm really glad that Team Stark is getting back together. It's like they were a really popular boy band that broke up, and then, out of the blue, they released an album together. Even though this plot diverges from the books wildly, for me, it was as if *NSYNC reunited and released another song as good as "Bye, Bye, Bye" (maybe it could be called "Hi, Hi, Hi"). Obviously, there's some tension in the Jon/Sansa relationship, but they have a lot of cute moments and interactions, and I love that they're back in Winterfell. I mean, we've been waiting for the Starks to get back to Winterfell for approximately three and a half seasons. The moment they unfurl the Stark banner on the Winterfell battlements, I think I literally clapped. I have so much Stark pride. #TeamStark
The Battle of the Bastards: This I believe to be true. The Battle of the Bastards is, was, and continues to be the best episode of Game of Thrones ever. EVER! Words cannot express how wonderful it was. I clapped. I cheered. I cried. I laughed. Well, okay, I didn't laugh or cry, but the rest was true. The Battle of the Bastards was the episode that everyone was waiting to see, and it did not disappoint. It was like ordering a burrito, then finding out that it has extra guacamole. You knew it was going to be good, but it was even better than you expected. There were so many satisfying moments: when the Starks unfurled their banners from the battlements of Winterfell, when Jon pounded Ramsay's face into a bloody pulp, when the Knights of the Vale rode to the rescue when Ramsay is eaten alive by his own dogs and tear the flesh off his fingers...it's hard to decide what was best.
The Return of Sansa: I also loved that Sansa finally got to take revenge on someone; I know that a lot of people are annoyed be her plot and her as a character, but I think she really redeemed herself this season. Although I was frustrated with her for not telling Jon about the Knights of the Vale, you have to admit that she played her hand very well in this season. If it wasn't for Sansa, Jon would never have marched on Winterfell in the first place; Sansa was really the driving force behind most of the Stark action this season. Of course, her finest hour was feeding Ramsay to his own dogs, but I also enjoyed her evisceration of Littlefinger. As I said a few weeks ago:
Every season, Sansa gets a little tougher and a little stronger (remember how annoying she was in season one?) and this season is no exception. I loved seeing her tear Littlefinger to pieces and making him confront all the pain he caused her. In previous seasons, she would have taken his help without question, but I don't trust Littlefinger and I'm glad Sansa doesn't either.Come and See: Talking about Ramsay Bolton, I would like to give the bastard of the Dreadfort a shout out for being the best letter-writer of this season. He may have died a horrible, bloody death this season, but you have to give him credit. No one strikes fear into your heart like Ramsay Bolton. As I said a few weeks ago:
But seriously, let's all take a minute to appreciate how disturbing that letter was. You just don't get that sort of imagination from Joffrey or the White Walkers.But, in all seriousness, "come and see" is a great line, and, if you don't think I'll use it in my real life, you don't know me at all.
The Lady of Bear Island: There weren't many new characters introduced in this season, which makes sense because the showrunners are trying to work towards satisfying conclusions for the characters they already have, and there's only a season or two left. However, one new character who was so satisfying and perfect in every way was the Lady of Bear Island. That's right. I'm talking about LYANNA MORMONT. Lyanna Mormont is a fantastic character. All she does is win. I'm convinced that she wins ten billion times before she even eats breakfast. I mean, she basically made Jon the King in the North by sheer will power. She was just like, "I think Jon should be the king. Anyone want to disagree? Anyone? Anyone?" As I said a few weeks ago, she may be my new favorite character:
I have a new favorite character, and her name is Lyanna Mormont. She may be small, but she has got some serious SASS. She's rather like her House and her army: small, but proud. Plus, she's right up there with Ramsay Bolton for greatest letter writers ever. Readers of the books will remember Lyanna Mormont's awesome letter in A Dance with Dragons (I think it was in the show too): "Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is STARK." Bam! How about that loyalty. I loved her line: "House Mormont has kept faith with House Stark for 1,000 years. We will not break faith today." Okay, so House Mormont is officially the new best house ever, who's with me?The Tower of Joy: This is it book readers, this is what you came to season six for. We finally have confirmation that R + L = J is fact. FINALLY! We've waited too long. I mean, I don't think that this revelation comes as a surprise to many people, but it's certainly gratifying to know that we were right all along. And, by "we," I mean the thousands of fans and loyal book readers who have carried the fervent belief that Jon Snow was more than a by-blow of Ned Stark's ill-spent youth in their hearts for far too long.
Watch Out, The Dragons Are Coming: I'm thrilled that Dany and her dragons and her massive army is finally on its way to Westeros. I feel like Dany has been wasted as a character for the past couple of seasons. I know that it's important for her to learn how to rule and that Meereen is a good place for her to do that, but, honestly, who really cares about Meereen? Is there anyone sitting on their couch, watching the show, and thinking, "I really wish they would talk more about Meereenese politics"? Because I don't think there is. Anyway, I'm profoundly glad that she's finally moving in a useful direction.
Brienne the Beauty and Her Love Triangle: I feel like Brienne was reenacting the plot of Twilight in this season, with Tormund being Jacob, Jaime being Edward, and Brienne being Bella Swan (if Bella Swan was actually tough, interesting, likeable, useful, and carried the coolest sword on this side of Moat Cailin).
If you don't ship Jaime and Brienne, are you even watching Game of Thrones? I guess Brienne has a bit of a love triangle going on this season. What do you do when a smoldering Wilding with a ginger beard is really into you, but your old lover -- you know, the sultry blonde with one hand and a devil-may-care charm -- comes back into your life? Someone should write a fan-fic about it! JK, they probably already have. But seriously, it was so satisfying to see Jaime and Brienne back together. Even when Brienne was telling Jaime that she might kill him, I was just screaming at my laptop, "WHY DON'T YOU KISS HIM ALREADY??? KISS HIM AND TELL HIM YOU LOVE HIM!!!" Then, when Jaime was telling Brienne that Oathkeeper was hers to keep, I was like, "Brienne, why don't you understand that he's giving you his heart! HIS HEART!" This is what I want Jaime to do: I want him to ride North after Brienne with his army. Then, I want him to fulfill his oath to Catelyn Stark and help Sansa retake Winterfell. Then, I want Jaime and Brienne to get married (maybe Tormund can be the best man or something), move to Lannisport, and have tall, blonde babies that are good at sword fighting. Is that too much to ask????
The Bad:
Jon Snow's Hair: I tried really hard to like Jon Snow's hair in this season. I really did. I told myself that the man pony tail is dashing. It's not dashing. It's stupid. I got really excited when Melisandre was cutting Jon's hair while she was bringing Jon back to life. I thought he would be resurrected with a long-awaited hair cut, but, alas, it was to no avail. Jon is a beautiful man, so I don't understand why he destroys his physical appearance with that terrible pony tail. I have a sneaking suspicion that the showrunners are trying to make him look like Ned Stark, who also had horrendous hair. Whatever they're trying to do, I'm not in favor of it.
Arya's Entire Plot Line: As you may or may not have noticed, I have not been in favor of Arya's plot for the past two seasons. That's because the Faceless Men are boring. My theory is that there's only so much cryptic, double-talk a character can do before they become boring to the audience. It's okay to be a mysterious character -- like Varyas -- but, if you only talk in riddles, people are eventually going to stop trying to figure them out. I feel like the Arya's entire plot this season was people asking her who she was. Are you no one? Are you someone? Are you a balloon animal? You can file the responses to all those questions under "I don't care." Plus, I was really annoyed that Arya got stabbed like six times in the stomach, then went skipping around the city. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Lancel Lannister is stabbed once and has to crawl slowly across the floor. Fail. At least Arya is finally back in Westeros. I hope she has a better plot next season.
Iron Islands = Snore: Stop trying to make the Iron Islands happen. It's not going to happen! Literally no one cares about the Iron Islands, not even the Iron Islanders. I don't care who sits on the Salt Throne. I don't care who wears the Driftwood Crown. It's nice of Yara to volunteer to help Dany out, but if she wasn't connected to Dany, I wouldn't care about her either. And, may I add that Theon was only significant when he was helping Sansa to escape. The rest of the Iron Islanders are 1000% irrelevant.
Who Actually Cares About Meereen Anyway: Meereen and the Iron Islands have a similar problem. I don't care about either of them. The political machinations of trying to ally with the slavers, getting rid of the Sons of the Harpy, and generally getting the Meereenese to play nice are extraordinarily boring. The Meereen plot is so boring, it almost made Tyrion an irrelevant character. Thank goodness that they're all on the boat to Westeros now.
The Wars to Come (Things I'm Looking Forward To):
The Song of Ice and Fire?: Will Jon and Dany finally meet next season? I don't know, but I hope they do.
The Return of Gendry: Hear me now, quote me later. Gendry is coming back. Maybe it won't be next season, but, before the end of the show, he'll be back, and he'll have an important role to play. Maybe he'll unite with Arya now that she's back in Westeros?
Avengers Starks Assemble: The Stark family is coming back together. Slowly but surely, they're reuniting. This season, Sansa and Jon got back together. Arya is now back in Westeros and Bran is heading south, so, could all four be reunited? You bet. I would love to see all the remaining Starks greeting Dany in Winterfell, just like they greeted Robert in season one.
The Wars to Come: Brace yourself, battle is coming. This season set up two big battles: the battle between the White Walkers and the humans and the battle between Dany and Cersei. I'm not sure if we'll get to see both next season, but they're coming, and I'm excited.
Valar dohaeris
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