GAME OF THRONES Season 6 Episode 07
Episode Title: “The Broken Man”
Writer: Bryan Cogman
Director: Mark Mylod
Previously on Game of Thrones:
Episode 6.06 “Blood of my Blood”
There are spoilers ahead for last night’s episode of Game of Thrones, but don’t pretend that you didn’t know that!
Somehow, I managed to not get spoiled about the return of Sandor Clegane, the man otherwise known as the Hound. But with Rory McCann’s name back in the opening credits sequence, the Game of Thrones team had little choice but to run a rarely used cold open scene. And unlike a certain former Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, the Hound didn’t return by supernatural means!
It was somewhat awkward for Brother Ray to recount how he found the Hound on the verge of death and helped him regain his health. But when said exposition is coming from Ian McShane, then there’s a lot that can be easily forgiven. That was another welcome surprise, even though McShane’s casting had been announced last year. He’s such a gifted performer that it was disappointing to see that Brother Ray won’t be sticking around longer. But it’s kind of hard to come back from a hanging without followers of the Lord of Light to resurrect you…especially when it was the followers who did the killing!
If the Hound was going to return, I would have guessed that the Brotherhood Without Banners would have recruited him. Instead, the Brotherhood has apparently gone and made an enemy out of Sandor Clegane, and that’s just a bad move on their part. As much as I would have liked Brother Ray to stick around, there is an advantage to speeding up the Hound’s return to the series. Instead of waiting around for multiple episodes to see what would make him return to his violent ways, we skipped right ahead to the end of that arc.
Meanwhile in Braavos, Arya came out on the wrong end of a one-sided fight with the Waif that was shockingly violent. Let’s be honest, no one expects Arya to simply die at this point. She’s far too popular and important. But she took the kind of stab wounds that finished her brother and her sister-in-law at the Red Wedding, and it was a genuinely gasp-worthy moment. That also gave the scene a new level of suspense as the badly wounded Arya tried to spot any of the Faceless Men in the crowd. You’d think that Arya would have put up a better fight, but her predicament is undeniably compelling.
Speaking of the Red Wedding, two of the survivors were back this week: Edmure and his uncle, Blackfish Tully. Let’s just say that it’s going to be awkward when and if they ever speak again, considering that the Blackfish was willing to call the Frey bluff and let Edmure die if he was wrong. There was never much love between the Tully men in their previous appearances on this show. Edmure may have have his personality flaws, but the whole Red Wedding thing was definitely not his fault.
Compared to the Freys, Jaime Lannister was practically heroic…and he even brought Bronn for the first time this season. Jaime may not play the Game of Thrones well, but he knows how to run a siege. And there was a certain joy to see him slapping around the Frey brothers and taking over their pathetic siege. Of course Bronn is always hilarious, but rarely more so than when he indicated how tired he is of hearing about Lannisters and their debts. Jaime is still in a tough spot here. The Blackfish wasn’t exactly cowed by the Lannister army, and the real battle is back in King’s Landing. And Brienne of Tarth was last seen heading to the Riverlands, which means her reunion with Jaime may be around the corner.
Related: ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 7 Will Be Shortened
Back in King’s Landing, Margaery finally indicated that her conversion to the Faith is largely for show, but she may have badly miscalculated her plan. Because while she’s faking it, her husband, King Tommen is a more genuine convert. And the High Sparrow is already looking to take down Margaery’s grandmother, Lady Olenna. Hopefully this isn’t the last we see of Olenna we see for a while. Her dressing down of Cersei was long overdue, and she was completely right. This entire situation is Cersei’s fault, and she has no one to blame but herself. Now, Cersei doesn’t even have allies or the support of her family. However, she does have the undead Mountain…
The rest of the episode was largely a setup for the Battle of the Bastards, as Jon, Sansa, and Davos looked for support in their quest to retake Winterfell. The Wildlings fell in line pretty quickly, but there wasn’t much success getting the other Northern houses on board. It’s refreshing that the massive losses suffered under Robb Stark’s command haven’t been forgotten. And there was a particularly biting moment when Lyanna Mormont reminded Sansa that she married both a Lannister and a Bolton. Harsh.
Lyanna was mentioned last season, but seen for the first time as a very young girl played by Bella Ramsey. Where does Game of Thrones find these kids? This show has some of the best young performers, and Ramsey was impressive in her brief scene. She’s definitely a Mormont! And she’s even related to Jorah, who sat out of this week’s episode along with almost everyone else on Team Daenerys. Have there been two episodes in a row without Tyrion before?
There was a potential development for Daenerys despite her absence. Yara and Theon are apparently going to steal their uncle’s plan and form an alliance with her. That would give Daenerys the ships she needs right at the time that her army is at its height. But I’d be willing to bet that the triumphant scene of Daenerys crossing the narrow sea will be saved for the season finale. This show is a little bit predictable when it comes to her story. Although if Yara tries to romance Daenerys to seal the deal, that would be a surprise. And at least Theon wouldn’t be the only man without a dick in a room with the Unsullied and Lord Varys.
Even on Team Stark, there’s apparently some tension between Jon and Sansa. Everyone is looking to Jon for leadership, but Sansa is the only one who realizes that it will be suicide to attack the Boltons without more support. The implication of Sansa’s message by raven is that she’s going to approach Littlefinger and the Knights of the Vale for help. But what’s that going to cost her? Another arranged marriage? Come to think of it, Arya was engaged to one of Walder Frey’s sons back in season 1, but she probably doesn’t have to worry about that after the Red Wedding. And she’s got bigger problems before she returns to Westeros.
This was a solid outing for the show, with a handful of truly thrilling moments. It seems like the season has barely started, and we’re already down to the final three episodes. I’m not looking forward to shortened seasons of Game of Thrones after this year, but the story itself is hitting its marks at every turn. It’s coming together at just the right time.
