UK TV review: Game of Thrones Season 6, Episode 6
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8Paul Greenwood | On 31, May 2016
Warning: This contains spoilers.
So what have we had up to the halfway point in this sixth season of Game of Thrones?
A resurrection, a lot of sitting around, some manoeuvring and then, as the entire planet has been reminding us for the past week, Hodor held the door. This bought Bran and Meera a nominal head start, but the undead were closing in on them and Bran really needed to start showing some skills. Now, as we tip over into the second half, he basically has a box-set of Seasons 1 to 5 playing in his head instead. Walkers, dragons, his parents’ murders, most of the running time of Hardhome – he can see it all. And someone who seems to know this, for reasons that will surely be forthcoming, is his long-lost uncle, Benjen.
It was clearly a night for actors who could have been forgiven for forgetting they were in Game of Thrones, because, as well as Benjen’s return, we welcomed back Walder Frey. Not seen since that most unfortunate of wedding receptions, he popped up to remind us of the battles to come for Riverrun, Winterfell and the rest.
Speaking of great houses, we got to see Sam’s, and it’s probably the biggest and grandest we’ve ever encountered in Game of Thrones. Back to see his family for the first time since being sent to the Wall, it looked like we were being set up for him standing up to his father, given how he’s grown in recent times. But this proved off the mark, as the episode settled down to a slower pace.
As part of that, we perhaps got more time spent with the group of actors than we strictly needed, unless Lady Crane is to become a recurring character of note. Arya had been tasked with assassinating her, but decided against it at the last minute, perhaps saving herself from an irredeemable path in the process. But having spent all this time training to be without a face, it’s becoming unclear what she actually wants. A girl has a plan, though, deliciously set up as she retrieved Needle and hid it under her pillow to await Waif, only to leave us dangling for at least another episode.
Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, it was shaping up to be a day of reckoning for someone, be it Margaery or the High Sparrow. Fingers were crossed that it would be the latter because, let’s face it, this isn’t really a world where reflecting on your sins and the atonement thereof plays much of a role. Disappointingly, both sides lived to fight another day, but not before we got smashing crowd-work, as the lavish CGI opened up King’s Landing on a scale rarely seen. We also got something that hasn’t always been present until recently (Bronn and Tyrion notwithstanding): a light dusting of humour, served to us this week as Jaime’s impatience at Mace Tyrell’s entirely redundant and time-wasting Braveheart speech.
But then, out of nowhere, it suddenly became Dany’s episode. After much time noodling over the fate of her peoples, she finally got round to doing what we’ve been waiting five long years for her to do: make plans to jump on a ferry and see how things are going in Westeros. Recalling Drogo’s thunderous proclamations that he would conquer the world (before he died from a cut, anyway), it made for a rousing finale.
Four to go and Season 6 starting to brew very nicely indeed – time to start chewing those fingernails.
Game of Thrones Season 1 to 6 are available on Sky Box Sets. Don’t have Sky? You can also stream it on NOW, as part of a £7.99 monthly subscription. The show is also available on DVD, Blu-ray and pay-per-view VOD. For more, click here.
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