Knuckles

I was just thrilled with this episode. When the gate swung open and Sansa was there, with Pod and Brienne...worth the 5 year wait. Agreed that Sansa and Jon had great chemistry together. And the women rocked it tonight. Sansa insistent that Jon must raise an army and fight for Winterfell, Cersei deciding to be shrewd and collaborate with Olenna, Brienne announcing that she had executed Stannis for his murder of Renly, and the mother of Dragons incinerating the Khals...sweet justice. Even Margaery had some fight left...enough to try to get Loras to his feet again. I liked the way she parried with the Sparrow. Tormund and Brienne...perfect, a man who would appreciate her fine qualities, including her fighting skill. Now that's a match. Sadly, my fave Osha is gone. But she put up a good fight, and died trying. Good on her. The High Sparrow, the dickweeds of Astaphor and Yunkai, Littlefinger, and of course Ramsay, and his pals, Karstark and Umber...all can die screaming anytime now...preferably very slowly.

I worry about Osha. Yes, she is clever and I am sure she has sized Ramsay up for what he is, but as she is one of my favorites, I am dreading her being held by the Boltons. Like Arya, I have a list of my own, and Karstark and Umber have now been added. May they die soon in great pain.

benteen, Lyanna Mormont is a tough cookie, but she's what, 10 years old? Bear Island is her stronghold and the Glovers are where, Deepwood Motte? I lent the books out so cannot recall. Do the Glovers have any real troops left? Manderley and the forces are nowhere mentioned, so I guess it is Reed and the cragnogmen...though in the books there was a split in House Karstark, again, maybe not in show reality. Poor Edd, he has what, 20 NW men left at Castle Black? Sansa is presumably heading north, so the Vale remains in Littlefingers hands. Does LF have informers at Winterfell, or any news of Ramsay's doings? The North Remembers had some coherence in the books, but on the show, Jon and the Wildlings look to be badly outnumbered by the Bolton allied forces. And again, Jon needs men on horseback...only the Vale could supply those.

Well, sometimes things go very badly wrong...remember the submarine plans they murdered to obtain, and then later found out the US government deliberately baited them with defective plans which caused the Soviet sub to sink with all hands on board? Not a good outcome. That said, I would love to see Elizabeth and Philip suffer personally for all their murders. I don't care that Philip feels badly for destroying Martha, and I am still angry with Elizabeth first driving that sober woman back to drink and then killing her...the same game plan...first destroy them, then kill them. And her betrayal of Young Hee is especially heinous. They are doing a good job grinding down their own daughter, but it is hardly enough payback. Consider the damage Philip is doing to the offscreen Kimmie. So Henry is just sailing along...be a shame if something were to happen to him. That might remind Philip and Elizabeth what murder feels like to the victim's family.

I know that Tai's back story is one that should make the viewer sympathetic to him, but I cannot wait to see this jerk voted off and sent to Ponderosa. His endless whining is irritating and infantile. I enjoyed watching him waste his advantage and his idol..because I remember the little grub following in the wake of the tattooed thugs and pouring water on the fire, all to stay on the right side of the power team. Tai had every advantage in this game...a personal story to garner sympathy votes from the jury, an extra vote advantage and immunity idol...and what do you have to show for it all? Bursting into tears and waiting for Aubry to mother you and tell you what to do next. Please. Just. Go. Enjoyed watching Aubry hustle Tai, cleverly echoing his "I'm so confused" with her own "I'm confused too" buying herself a little time to figure out her next sentence. I've seen enough of the mechanics of her game play to be put off...sure, go right ahead and tell Joe who to take on the reward challenge. Cyndey should have figured out that Joe was in the bag for Aubry with that display, anything Joe said during the meal was just reinforcement. Michele is playing an interesting game, and she may have turned Tai...who is about as steady as a windmill...and Cyndey is a tough competitor...would be happy to see either of these women win.

I apologize for my obsession with the Umbers...but if they are joining with the Bolton and Karstark armies and heading north to take on the wildlings and presumably Jon Snow, what options does Jon have? We know from the attack by Stannis that armed men on horseback can cut thru the wildling foot soldiers, and we know and Ramsay knows that Castle Black has no defenses from the south, even if Jon and Tormund were to take defensive control of Castle Black. Will he head for Howland Reed and the cragnogmen, as he advised book Stannis? Send ravens to the Vale, where Littlefinger presumably lurks? A few of the northern vassal houses have already been flayed and their garrisons either killed or absorbed by Ramsay. The Umbers were the northernmost house...who else is left to join with Jon. He needs a cavalry to take on the combined Bolton forces, I would think.

I love Osha as well. Amazing what a really good actor or actress can do with a small part, Osha is one example, Alliser Thorne is another. And by Patient Zero, do you mean Drogon? Just trying to keep up .

On a rewatch, I think my hopes that the Umbers are playing an elaborate game are about to be dashed. This Lord Umber has no patience for any fiction that Roose was poisoned, he seems to know for a fact that Ramsay killed him, (though exactly how, I would like to know, as the Maester sent out ravens with the poisoning story). Presumably he considered what he knows of Ramsay and his flaying of Northern nobles, and his destruction of Stannis' army and decides this is an ambitious man on the make. He has no time or inclination for vassal folderol, and plenty of contempt for Lord Karstark. But, like Alliser Thorne, he sees the Wildings as his enemy and a threat on his borders. Bolton and Karstark have armies, and added to his forces, he may be able to drive the Wildlings back. He has no time for stories about zombie armies and White Walkers...the wildlings are the imminent threat and he needs to deal with them now. His father gave shelter to Osha and Rickon, but now they are more useful as gifts to entice Bolton to join forces with him against the wildlings. If he blows off any formality in meeting Ramsay, why would he hold to old oaths with the now mostly dead Starks who are of no use to him?

Howland Reed stabbing Dayne before Ned finished hm off...loved that the Tower of Joy scene showed truth to Bran, not the family fiction. And Dayne was beautifully cast...a great fighter. Can't wait for the Ned/Lyanna scene. Dany, come on, seize the moment. Remember, crisis equals opportunity...and yeah, Jorah and boyfriend are still out there looking for you. As is Drogon, and the other two babes are now unchained. You still have a chance, girlfriend. And Varys is still working, though Tyrion is remarkably useless at the moment. Varys' birds...are they telling him about Qyburn, and Frankenmonster...hard to believe he does not have his team keeping him up to date on doings in KL. Are his little birds double agents now?

So last week Ramsay was planning to head to Castle Black, and attack the undefended south side. Great idea, let him run into the willings camped south of there. Unfortunately, this week, the shifty Lord Umber tells him the wildlings are camped there...damn. Umber refusing any sign of submission to Ramsay will be remembered by the evil one, even with the gift of Osha and Rickon. Do I think it's a set up? No, the North in the D&D version now seems hopelessly fractured, with every house for itself. Handing a Stark over to Ramsay, who has been flaying northern lords, is nobody's idea of a set-up. And Umber is very clear that Ramsay offed his old man, poison be damed. Glad Jon's last act was to swing the sword...he looked heartbroken at Olly, but they deserved to answer for treason and murder. And as Jon said and now my watch is done...I heard Aemon saying, kill the boy and let the man be born. Go Jon.

Elizabeth and Philip are now Paige's handlers, less her parents. The kid is robotically going along with reporting on the Tims, while withdrawing completely into herself. She can no longer trust her parents with her thoughts or feelings, essentially she is on her own. And she knows it. So the question is, does she continue along like a mule in harness, as she is just a teenager, or does the girl who got on a bus to see her "grandmother" for herself make a break for it?

So Philip and Elizabeth are on a forced sabbatical of sorts from additional agent duties, but Paige is now working Tim and Alice, and reporting daily to her handlers, Philip and Elizabeth. It does make a lie of all of Philip's concern for Paige...when push comes to shove, his daughter is there to be used. Kudos to the actress for bringing back adolescence to me so strongly...as she fakes her way thru miniature golf outings with the Tims, pretends enjoyment and robotically reports their responses back to her parental unit. Philip and Elizabeth seem to have no notion of the damage they are doing to their daughter and any hopes they may have for their future relationship with her. This is unforgivable stuff. Gabriel's concern for Elizabeth was not that she killed, but that it was impulsive, and possibly sloppy. Yes, she is stunted, but also sociopathic. Sociopathy may be a precondition for political fanaticism. But Philip is little better...as noted above, he is still using Kimmie, and despite all his earlier protestations, using his own daughter as well. The show always tries to make Philip somewhat sympathetic, I am thinking of the scientist forcibly returned to Russia and separated from this family...Philip might feel badly, but it never stops him. He's been a killer since he was a kid, he's whacked innocents as well.(the kitchen worker) and he indulges himself in some regrets, but he's still onboard the train. Tatiana is definitely playing Oleg..couldn't tell if he is buying it, but I think not. His play is always to go along with her, but I suspect he trusts her not at all.He is just very good at this game. There is nothing in Tatiana that suggests honesty, and this play is a little too obvious...hey, I have a bro in Afghanistan as well. Will miss Gaad. Loved his work. Martha marched bravely to her doom...Gabriel's little encouraging smiles were sickening. Probably smiles at all his victims. I called Cuba for her interrogation last week...and I bet she never leaves Cuba. At least not alive.

Loving this. Hiddleston is terrific as is Laurie.

On a rematch tonight, what struck me was how good an actress Sophie Turner has become. Her face was so mobile, so full of feeling in her scenes with Theon, who also did wonderful work. I am so used to seeing her game face that to see real emotion was a revelation. Loved Torment's look of disgust when the Red Woman's magic did not work...the look he shot at Davos was priceless. Hey Roose, Ramsay sends his regards. And the long look that Roose gave Ramsay moments before Ramsay stabbed him, almost as if he were trying to assess just how far gone Ramsay truly was...at first I thought it was merely a stare-down, but I think Roose had a premonition of how unreachable Ramsay had become. Karstark was in on the action, he showed nothing...more fool him. Still claiming that the Umbers, the Karstarks and the Manderleys are with Ramsay...not so sure about that. So we have mad dog Ramsay and an off-hand prophecy...that he will be taken out back and fed to the pigs. We can hope.

Presumably Ramsay will gather his forces and head for the wall to retrieve Sansa and Theon. He may know Jon is the Lord Commander, but not that the Wildlings, in their thousands, are camped south of the Wall. Be a surprise to him to run into them.

Now that was an episode that kept me glued tot he couch..except for Ramsay unleashing the hounds on Walda and child...I had to turn off the sound and look away. Yes, I am weak like that. Tormund and Wun Wun to the rescue...and the NW collapsed so quickly...with Edd leading the charge. Was at first disappointed that they were left alive and taken to the ice cells...but what fun when they see Jon alive. That should scare the crap out of them. As I loathe religious fanatics, especially a hypocrite who would criticize Jaime for bringing a sword to the sept, while his sparrows are waiting, armed with crossbows, I want HS very dead, but not before he too has been exposed and humiliated. I knew Roose has misjudged Ramsay last week, with his remark that the new baby would displace him. I will miss that sexy voice, but Roose had betrayal and a knife to the heart coming. Karmic payback. So the show has the Manderleys and the Karstarks with the Boltons? Really, and for how long? Sansa and Theon's scenes are wonderful, as is Brienne. And Lyanna. And Hodor speaks. Can't wait for next week.

True, I do love Cosima almost as much as Helena. If you need mayhem, Helena is your girl. Cosima's face processing that Donnie and Alison killed Leakie and buried him in their garage, and are now busy digging him up...priceless. Cosima needs a love interest, or at least a friend to hang out...is Krystal still around? And Felix with his newly found drunken sister with the floating accents...this does not seem like a positive development.

Really wonderful to have Helena back...she and Donnie made a lovely couple as the police tried to question them. Agree with slf, once Alison commits, she is there for the whole ride. Digging up Leakie was almost as amusing as watching Donnie and Alison bury him. Show did a nice detour into the seriously macabre with that rotting head. And Cosima trying to feign patience with Donnie's ramblings...how I do love the sistras. Well, except for Rachel. Rotting corpses and extreme dental work...enough to make anyone gag.

That woman Tatiana has been spooky from the get-go...and she has been careful to not let Oleg into her confidence. To Arkady, she is polite but not deferential in her refusals to give him any idea of what she is up to. Suggests to me that she has powerful backers in the Soviet Union and that both Oleg and Arkady recognize that and are careful around her. Oleg is a little better at the game, since he always agrees with her, and never lets her see any hesitation. And no, Martha is never going to make it to Russia, at least not alive. The KGB had a cozy relationship with Cuba, no need to bring Martha to Moscow, they can hold her and debrief her in Havana. She has the ability to id too many valuable agents...Philip, Elizabeth, Gabriel, and she knows what they have asked her to steal from the FBI...all too valuable to risk on an amateur trapped in a honeypot operation. Thanks to the poster above, I had not considered her parents, but I suspect they will be having an accident soon. They might ask too many questions about where is Martha...or even list her with the police as a missing person. Philip really destroyed a living human being. And his weapon of choice...to use her loneliness against her.. I really hope he faces karmic payback for his cruelty. Given how easily he and Elizabeth have killed in the past, there is something more cruel about this slow flaying of Martha. And all his possible regrets add up to nothing...he returns to his wife and children. As for Elizabeth, that punch carried the full weight of a jealous wife...as well as an angry political fanatic.

A poster a while back asked about the snow under Jon's body appearing burned. I rewatched and Davos definitely was intrigued by something in the snow but I could not tell what. Jon's blood looked dark and frozen, which seems ordinary enough. Anyone know?

What I am looking forward to most...Ramsay and Roose turning on one another. Yeah, Walda and baby Roose are probably goners in this match-up, at least if Ramsay wins. I am thinking as a victorious commander who defeated Stannis, the Bolton forces will side with Ramsay. Plus, they have seen what Ramsay does to recalcitrant noble families who decline to pay their taxes. The prospect of being flayed tends to focus the mind. Roose seems to feel pretty secure, despite the loss of both Sansa and Theon, secure enough to threaten Ramsay with total loss, all delivered in Roose's smooth, sexy voice. He seems confident that the Bolton forces will all be at his command. I think it was a major error on Roose's part.

As Brienne rode to the rescue of Sansa and Reek/Theon, with an assist from Podrick, whacking all the Bolton soldiers, what happened to the hungry dogs? Did they magically disappear, see a rabbit that looked better fed than Sansa? Those dogs were accustomed to human flesh, and tearing apart the various girls that Ramsay used for his hunts...while the fighting was going on and Sansa cowered under the tree roots...whither the hounds??

How I love Roose Bolton's voice...such smooth sexy menace. But I do think Ramsay is not going to be displaced by any baby of Walda's. Nor do I think Roose's threat to Ramsay was a good move. Your boy has moved beyond your control now Roose...the army fights with him as commander. Love to see the Boltons take each other apart. And Theon/Reek is now on a redemption arc, I assume. The other Northern lords know he invaded Winterfell and betrayed the Starks, and he's got to be on their list. Sansa may speak for him, though, and keep him alive. Can't see the Greyjoys taking him back after the Moat Cailin betrayal. Though Alliser might welcome him to the NW, since he betrayed the Starks...however Alliser might not be around that much longer if Tormund arrives any time soon.

Davos, how I missed you. And Edd, still loyal. I am waiting for the wrath of Tormund. A fight between Alliiser and Tormund would be epic. And my hopes are that Ghost makes a meal of Olly. Watching the Red Woman unravel, as all her certainties prove to be false is interesting. Once invulnerable, now ancient and frail, I am reminded of when she met Thoros of the Brotherhood, and how amazed she was that he could bring back Beric from the dead. Something else that is beyond her powers. I am almost rooting for Cersei to take out the High Sparrow, since his sanctimonious act is working on my last nerve...then I remember that this means I am rooting for Cersei and the Mountain. Well, so be it. But I bet Tommen buys the farm, and Cersei knows that too. Prince Doran never got a decent scene, nor did Areo Hotah...and the snakes remain a lame bunch of mean girls. A cage match between Ellaria and Cersei would liven things up. And Roose threatening Ramsay...for once, I think Roose has misjudged the situation. And it bites him in the ass...and bites Walda too. A thwarted Ramsay is an ever more vicious Ramsay.

I rematched this episode last night, and I found it and the previous episode really disturbing. The idea that Jason and Scot are just using intimidation as game play seems off to me....I think this is how these two operate and have always operated. That they found each other on Survivor and teamed up, is no surprise. Like recognizes like. Scot is an athlete who has been recognized for his size and ability all his life...and has been rewarded and probably protected from the consequences of his behavior by his school and his teams, because he is valuable player. Jason is a bounty hunter, which, while legal, operates just outside any oversight by more responsible civil authorities. Besides revealing themselves as just nasty assholes, they move to physical intimidation and destruction easily....and this on national television. Makes you wonder what they do or have done when there are no cameras or production teams to restrain them. Frightening, actually.