ElizaD

The Night's Watch killed Jon because they believed he had betrayed them and death is the established penalty for treason; Ramsay tortured Sansa, night after night, because he enjoyed making her live in pain and fear. A clean death versus weeks or months of rape and torture by a serial killer who took pleasure in breaking people as brutally as possible? Yes, I think that what was done to Sansa (and Theon) was worse than Jon's illegal execution-style killing by people who felt that his political decisions were a violation of his oath. Weeks of what Ramsay surely made the most brutal rapes possible and intended to continue for the rest of her life, in addition to hunting other women for rape and murder, yet it's sexism when the writers give Sansa karmic justice? And she couldn't even have done it if Jon hadn't snapped out of his rage-filled beating of Ramsay and decided that Sansa had the right to kill him, which means that we'll never see him express disapproval over the method Sansa chose and which he must have known about! Ramsay fed his mother-in-law and newborn baby brother to the hounds, which established a parallel: this is as close to "a traditional form of justice" as you can get for the deeds of a creative psychopath! Execution for oathbreaking in a morally complex situation, death by hounds for an indefensible delight in torture - and if Ramsay hadn't trained those hounds to kill, it wouldn't have been an option. Seriously. Six years of contempt for the Starks' honor and compassion, cries that they need to be tougher and crueler to win respect and stay alive in this world, but Sansa can't win even when she kills Ramsay in the exact same manner he killed Walda as well as countless other women who first had to endure the terror of being hunted. Endless mockery of Stark honor, yet now that Sansa is in a position to personally arrange the death of the man who raped her countless times, oops, I guess she should start being honorable again even though viewers keep on saying that the Starks should be despised for their stupidity in being law-abiding and compassionate! Have the people judging Sansa heard about how traitors to the crown used to be executed? Anne Boleyn was lucky to get the quick chop, which was by no means the only legal option. Ramsay's death is closer to being hanged, drawn and quartered - extremely slow and painful, something that matches the enormity of the crime. The hounds were likely faster and more merciful than this realistic medieval form of execution.

Why not? Jon could kill the people who get in his way, burn the bodies, and then use the money taken from their corpses and burned castles to buy his own followers food and passage to Essos. He has no moral obligation to defend a North that chose to support Ramsay over him and only his sentimental attachment to Winterfell, plus the much-maligned Stark honor that people despise, puts him in a situation where he has to stay North and make deals with lords who wanted him dead and his sister returned to the rape room. If Jon left Westeros, it's possible that the North would be overrun but the White Walkers would still be roasted by Dany's dragons when they moved south. In that situation, Jon could either stay in Essos or gamble on Dany being willing to give the task of rebuilding the empty North to someone who knows the climate and what remains of its former human settlements (she could reward followers like Missandei with nicer lands in the south). Dany's dragons are like fiery nukes and appear to be under her control: compared to them, even the biggest of Northern armies is going to be useless against the White Walkers. Slaughtering people and burning the bodies might be a wiser move than sending them to battle and possibly allowing the Night's King to add their corpses to his undead army. IIRC, the casting calls said the lords later identified as Karstark and Umber would appear in 3 and 2 episodes, so I guess Karstark might get a Blackfish-style mention of his offscreen death. I'd prefer it if the whole house was just forgotten in season 7: I don't want to see Jon humiliate himself by asking for the forgiveness and military support of Karstark #2's heir because evil Robb executed poor blameless Karstark #1 for killing children. Seriously, the Karstarks are claiming they had the moral high ground in the alienation that followed their revenge-fueled attack on random Lannister children - if there's a Karstark #3, Jon should just tell him/her to shut up and accept that #1 was a vile, hotheaded idiot who was angry that Robb didn't let him get away with child murder, or they get a sword in the gut and wildling #4 gets their castle.

The title makes me think the episode will end with a Bran/Wall scene. I'd like it if the episode's climaxes started in the south (Dany says she's sailing to Westeros, cut to Cersei blowing up King's Landing) and then concluded the Northern plots (Jon/Sansa decide who'll rule Winterfell, cut to the Wall falling, end season).

Kit Harington might get my most improved award. During seasons 1-4 I felt that he was just there, but in 5-6 the writing and acting for Jon started coming together so that he feels more like a person now and not just an actor remembering his lines. Jon doesn't get the witty quips and he's quiet and internal compared to a lot of brash fan favorites like Oberyn and Bronn, but I wouldn't want anyone else to play him now. The battle of the bastards was a great episode for Harington as an actor: he didn't get a lot of dialogue, but I felt that I knew exactly where Jon was emotionally. Lyanna Mormont doesn't have a lot to do, but they picked the perfect little actress. If Shireen was sweetness personified, Lyanna is a miniature badass with the most withering stares.

That reminds me, if Arya crosses off three names next week (Walder and the two sons), the Frey/Lannister feast could turn out to be yet another occasion when Jaime watches helplessly as someone is poisoned right in front of him. Since Arya no longer has her own supporting cast and is ending the season in the Riverlands, she should start interacting with established characters soon; even though emotionally it makes sense that she would go home to Winterfell, her skills would be more useful in the south.

Based on the 6x10 preview, I'd guess that the Sansa/Littlefinger scene in the godswood comes first, after Sansa leaves Littlefinger notices that Jon is there and they have a chat, then Jon has the forehead kiss scene with her since he's seen what a devious manipulator she's been dealing with, which leads to Sansa trusting him and publicly proclaiming her support for his kingship. If Littlefinger lives he'll try to get her to mess with Jon's plans in season 7, but season 6, at least, will end with Sansa showing signs of brain activity and choosing Jon over Littlefinger. I thought Melisandre would live long enough to see Arya again, but since Davos figured out the truth about Shireen she might join the mass departure of major cast members in 6x10.

The battle was wonderfully shot and bigger than anything else on TV, but this was the show's most depressing episode after Sansa's rape because it was a complete validation of Ramsay and the Bolton way of ruling. There were no negatives to Roose slaughtering Northerners at the Red Wedding, or to Ramsay raping and torturing for fun when he's not too busy with patricide or flaying a lord. The show's final statement on those topics is that the Bolton methods worked beautifully, they were superior to everything the Starks have done, and the Northern lords genuinely sided with Ramsay. Ramsay defeated and degraded the Starks in every possible way: he was portrayed as the moral winner of the battle for the North, and he was beaten only because of Littlefinger. Without Littlefinger, Jon loses the battle and joins Rickon in death; Sansa either kills herself or spends the rest of her life being raped. The Starks didn't win, they failed utterly, and the way things played out invited viewers to feel contempt for their stupidity, as can be seen in this thread. Ramsay, on the other hand, wasn't shown making a single mistake: everything he did was a success, and even losing his Stark bride due to his cruelty turned out to be no loss since the North doesn't want to be ruled by the Starks. Until the very last moment, the showrunners kept propping Ramsay at the cost of Jon's credibility as a leader and commander. Ramsay wasn't allowed to be wrong about anything, while Jon and Sansa couldn't be allowed to be good at anything: credit for the victory was given to Littlefinger and Littlefinger alone. The message here is that Ramsay deserved to win and there is absolutely no downside to war crimes, rape and torture since they give you the respect and obedience of your men. Six seasons, and the showrunners couldn't bring themselves to give the Starks a single triumph after all the endless misery and deaths. Jon and Sansa were given the idiot ball so that Ramsay and Littlefinger could shine. Now, whatever happens, Jon will always remember that his lords chose to support Ramsay over him when they still had a choice, and Sansa will always remember that the North abandoned her to be raped or killed. The North chose the Boltons and Ramsay defeated Jon and Sansa: they were stripped of their moral claim to Winterfell and the Northerners who now serve them will only serve because the Boltons were beaten by Littlefinger's army. Sansa feeding Ramsay to the hounds is completely worthless because he made her abandon her home and even with the help of her brother she couldn't win it back from him: he raped her in Winterfell for weeks (months?) and every day she spends there she will be living with the memories of how he broke her and the knowledge that the North condoned his actions. In every way Ramsay won before he lost due to being backstabbed by the man who betrayed Ned, while Jon and Sansa were turned into despicable idiots who are being trashed for their inability to communicate with each other, win the support of their lords, or minimize the casualties of the battle. The only upbeat moment was Tormund killing the Smalljon. It's a pity Jon won't let the wildlings slaughter a few more pro-Bolton Northern lords, maybe then the survivors would respect him as they respected Roose and Ramsay.

My first thought was that the young Northerners could be for a Hardhome-ish scene, either refugees arriving at Winterfell to beg for aid against the White Walkers or characters that Jon will try to rescue in an action scene that shows a castle/village under siege by undead.

Even though the ending will be the same (I believe Jaime will kill Cersei), from a character POV there's a big difference between Jaime turning away from Cersei because he's trying to become a better man and Jaime turning away only because she has become a full-blown mass murderer who burned thousands if not tens of thousands of people; the first is about Jaime's growth as a person independent of Cersei's moral state, the second takes Cersei so over the top that having a problem with it is not a sign of developing honor and conscience, it's the bare minimum expected of anyone who's not a psychopath. Book Jaime has stumbled, and I'm nowhere near as impressed by his change as many others are, but it can't all be reduced to bitterness over Lancel and the Kettleblacks. He refused sex with Cersei even before he freed Tyrion and heard about her affairs, because for the first time he was starting to feel that he needed to honor his oaths and was not happy with the man he felt himself to be; on the show, however, he ended up pushing the White Book away for reconciliation sex, making Cersei still his #1. So I disagree about the show having a better character arc because it's not actually an arc for Jaime: it's stagnation until he does a 180 turn in response to Cersei's act of supervillainy, an external rather than an internal motivation that's about an act committed by another character and not Jaime himself.

Tywin was never a good commander: he got beaten by Edmure, of all the indignities, and his two victories, the Sack and the Red Wedding, were betrayals of unarmed soldiers/ordinary citizens by supposed allies and not confrontations between two armies. Tywin was no Stannis, Robert, Blackfish or Tarly, all men who proved themselves in battle as generals or warriors: he was a man born to be the rich lord of a big army, not someone who was was actually good at any aspect of war except the behind the scenes scheming. As ridiculous as it is that a psychotic bastard with a certain low cunning has been turned into a badass shirtless warrior and ninja strategist, Show Ramsay, as portrayed, would have an excellent chance of defeating an outnumbered Tywin who doesn't even have Jon's advantages of familiarity with the terrain and actual talent for combat/military leadership. If Tywin was in Jon's current situation (outside Winterfell with a small army) he'd be even more likely than Jon to be doomed, but he'd certainly prefer not to fight Ramsay and just bribe someone to murder him by promising Winterfell as a reward, the way he got Roose to kill Robb when he couldn't defeat him in battle.

The Lannisters and the Freys will be having a feast in 6x10, and even though Jaime wants to rush back to Cersei I doubt he can abandon his men yet. I don't know what kind of teleporting logic could be used to get Arya from Braavos to Westeros and then to Riverrun after she hears about the Freys, but it's at least a possibility that Jaime and Arya will be in the same scene in 6x10, even if he never spots her since she'd be trying to stay undercover. I was never really convinced by Cleganebowl, but I thought Sandor's story would nonetheless be in the south if he resurfaced. I like this new possibility of him going North much more. Jon/Tormund, Sansa/Brienne + Arya/Sandor could be good teams in season 7. Sam/Gilly had a short plot this season. A little surprising, but better than stretching it needlessly as happens with bigger names. I expect a quick 6x10 scene that hints at what they'll do in season 7. Everything does seem to be moving extra fast so that the series can finish in 13 episodes. If Arya kills Freys in the finale, that would free her to go North and potentially make season 7 Team Stark vs. the White Walkers and Team Dany (+ Olenna, Theon/Yara, maybe the Sands) vs. Cersei and Euron. North/ice and South/fire - basically just two main plots.

"The things we do for love" actually made me think we'll get a second parallel too, in addition to Cersei/Aerys, and the speculation that Tommen jumps from a window (either to escape the fire or in despair after he sees Cersei has burned the Sept) turns out to be correct. Jaime is going to lose his son to a fall, just like Roose got stabbed and lost a wife/son the way Robb did. I hope it'll at least be clear whether Tommen's death is accidental or if Cersei feels so hopeless that she's doing a version of the planned Blackwater murder/suicide by burning the High Sparrow/Tyrells even though Tommen is with them.

I know the showrunners have said they don't care about the viewer reaction, but I'll still dream that if Brienne and Tormund are fated to survive the series, they'll respond to the love by throwing the shippers a bone and giving them a couple of scenes of actual dialogue and mutual respect for Stark loyalty/mad fighting prowess so that we can imagine them getting together some time after the final episode. Overall, what a nothing episode. I'm disappointed by the Riverlands, but even that's mild compared to some of the show's more ragingly hideous choices. And usually there's at least one plot in the episode with stuff that I enjoy, but this time even characters I like were meh.

So Cersei will only blow up the Sept and the fire won't spread? I was so fond of the idea that when Dany arrives KL will be a ruin, showing how useless the game has become now that the realm is in danger, but this makes it sound like Cersei either clings to power as queen regnant or a thriving city throws a parade to celebrate Dany. It's more likely to be Dany; Cersei's going to kill off so many characters from her supporting cast that it could be tough to find four survivors. I don't think there's going to be any shades of gray in Dany's conquest, as some have speculated. She's going to continue to be a speech-making heroine who gets delivered everything she wants with hardly any effort. This reveal makes it sound like the city rewards her for bringing a horde of barbarian/Ironborn rapists to KL with a massive parade and she will have to do absolutely nothing to earn anyone's respect or dismiss fears of the Mad King's daughter: adoration will automatically be given to her and no mistakes from the past will be allowed to haunt her rule or make Tyrion's job as Hand tougher (the last time he was in KL he killed his father after he was convicted of regicide, but who cares).

The North isn't looking any better: in both the North and KL, the lords are snakes who like being ruled by a sadistic psychopath. If the lords only support Jon after he's won the battle, that'll completely miss the point of the Northern storyline in ADWD. Instead of being an uplifting moment of Stark loyalty and a rejection of Roose's treacherous part in the Red Wedding/Ramsay's psychotic nature and abuse of his "Stark" bride, it'll just be a bunch of despicable, lying opportunists who were perfectly fine with Lord Ramsay having to come up with with excuses for why they really like Jon after their #1 choice has been executed and they're scrambling to save their own lives and lands. This season has actually managed to make Sansa's season 5 rape plot even more useless: not only was it idiotic planning by her and Littlefinger, turns out it was completely unnecessary for the Boltons to risk Cersei's wrath since no one even cares that Ramsay had the extra legitimacy of a Stark bride and then lost her: the Northern majority accepts Ramsay's leadership without Sansa Bolton and with Jon actively seeking their support. Weeks of rape and torture - and no Northern lord gives a damn that Ramsay treated Ned's little girl so badly. It's a shame Jon is too committed to his duty to get on a ship to Essos and tell these worthless assholes to look to Ramsay to lead them against the Night's King since they hate the Starks so much. The North was perhaps the most widely loved plotline from ADWD, and it was reduced to Sansa's rape and Theon's escape as subplots on Everybody Loves Ramsay. I've been looking forward to the plot since season 2 (especially after Alfie's acting surprised me so positively), so this has been a huge disappointment, even bigger than Dorne since that didn't have such stellar material and hell yeah! moments to ruin.

But their victories won't have been earned if this plot consists of the Starks being rejected by the majority of lords who prefer the house that arranged the slaughter of unarmed Northern soldiers from practically all the houses at the Red Wedding, Jon losing to Ramsay with his outnumbered army, and Littlefinger saving the day after he gets the letter where Sansa admits she must come crawling back to him. That's the depressing thing about this plot on the show: the tide won't turn, most of the North is choosing the Boltons, and Jon/Sansa are going to lose to the Boltons if they don't get the help of the man who betrayed Ned. This will be Littlefinger's victory and Jon/Sansa's defeat since it's being shown that the Starks can't hope to retake Winterfell without the Vale army that can override the wishes of the pro-Bolton majority through sheer force alone. Roose got Northern lords killed at the Red Wedding, Ramsay kills for sport, and it's working for them: the Boltons aren't being set up to be beaten by their own evil or the memory of Ned's years of good rulership or the skills of Jon/Sansa, but by Littlefinger's huge army. After all these years I wanted a Stark victory, and instead I'm getting a rejection of their claim to Winterfell and a Littlefinger victory. When so many Northern lords hate the Starks, I don't know why Roose bothered with the Sansa marriage when he could have earned more points by inviting lords to watch Ramsay torture her to death and then offering his son's hand to one of their daughters. Jon should just take his followers, send warnings to the remaining houses that aren't yet openly pro-Bolton, and abandon the North to the White Walkers: let the Northern lords get what they want and face them under Ramsay's leadership, Jon is wasting his second life by risking it for these pro-serial killing/patricide assholes. That's why I liked the Jaime/Blackfish and Cersei/Olenna scenes. The Blackfish might die and Olenna could end up being the last of her family, but their fates are less depressing because at least they got to go down fighting and tell their enemies how despicable they are instead of looking like passive idiots who only deserve our contempt and have nothing going for them except their name (and even that is Snow/Bolton rather than Stark, thanks to Jon's bastard birth and Sansa's raging stupidity).

I know the younger queen could be Dany, but that's not a satisfying answer IMO. It's looking like Cersei will have lost all three of her children and burned King's Landing before Dany even arrives on the same continent, so what will there be left to take from her? She'll have no heirs, no claim to the throne, and will either be living in KL's ruins or fleeing to Casterly Rock. Dany won't have been responsible for the tears that have drowned Cersei or for taking what she loves, her children and her power: at most, she can deliver the final blow by ordering Cersei executed and giving the Rock to Tyrion. And Show Tyrion has been stripped of all his desire for revenge, so I can't see him making a big deal of wanting Cersei dead the way Book Tyrion does. I think Cersei dies in the 6x10 massacre (less likely) or is killed by Jaime who'll keep on loving her until he hears about KL burning.

The 6x07 preview shows Jaime in what appears to be Tywin's armor rather than the more generic Lannister armor he wore in season 1. It could be that they're just reusing fancy armor, but it feels a little ominous to see Jaime become Tywin. I've hated Jaime's hair since season 4. It looks too modern, like they're so terrified of the Prince Charming comparisons that they chose to give him extra short hair, but with an artistically arranged mess over his forehead. My favorite costume touch was the Margaery/Cersei contrast in season 3. After an iffy season 2, Margaery found a version of her style that really worked for her with the curls, the pale flowing fabric and the youthful, cleavage-y outfits that revealed a lot more than KL ladies used to do without becoming too obviously sexy. In response, Cersei clearly seemed to go for a darker, more imposing power-dressing look, compared to the kimono-ish stuff and occasional paler colors she used to wear. Her gowns became like Margaery's season 2 cone dress done right, stiff, rich and armor-like. I hope Arya gets at least one truly fabulous outfit before the series ends; something in the spirit of the stuff Dany wears, practical yet expensive and clearly not something a random kid would wear.

Considering the pace of the TWOW preview chapters, the showrunners may have eliminated half the material by using Littlefinger's teleporter: there may be a couple of character-building scenes on the way to wherever, but character A will meet character B. Even Dorne, as bad as the execution was, had a basically solid one-season structure of road trip chats that said something about a main character, other characters knowing about the situation he was coming to deal with and having their own responses to it, Jaime making his move, Doran putting an end to this phase of the conflict, and Ellaria making her final move in a way that had major consequences: now Myrcella is dead and peace is out of the question. Meanwhile, Arianne is... going to meet someone and do something. Some day. IMO, GRRM isn't prepared to kill his darlings (travelogues and worldbuilding) now that he's so big that the editor can't get him to remove a few words are winds, but the showrunners have a different approach where big deaths and shocking twists are their darlings, and that helps them move faster once characters are in a decent enough position to be sent to their next big plot (so Dany/Tyrion and Jon/Sansa have already met on the show, for example, as I expect they will do in late TWOW).

I've been trying to find the Riverlands spoilers again, without any luck. Does anyone remember exactly what was said about the Blackfish? Did he sound like a Stannis or a Sandor - someone who is clearly set to die a few seconds later, it just happens offscreen, or someone who is simply believed dead in the confusion but could possibly return next season (as I'm hoping: even if Arya gets Nymeria's pack, she should need a bit of help getting them inside Riverrun for a Frey massacre)? I can't remember there being any spoilers about the trailer scene of Littlefinger in the Winterfell godswood. It's probably a scene with Sansa, either at the beginning of 6x10 as he tries to talk her into claiming power or at the end as setup for her season 7 plot. I guess there's still a small chance that she develops a brain and orders his head cut off if she feels she's now got the support of Royce and the Vale army.

In general, season 3 was my favorite for eye candy. Catelyn Best: Saying goodbye to Ned in 1x03. Worst: 3x07, the plainest version of her simple dresses and questionable collars/necklines. Catelyn never really got a costume that stood out. Cersei Best: Sansa's wedding in 3x08, my favorite example of the style Cersei developed after Margaery's arrival. Worst: Jaime's return in 3x10: I know she's in her own room, but that's something she'd never wear in public and it doesn't look quite right for her casual, private wear either. Daenerys Best: 4x06, a nice combination of her regular blue and white colors that's a little more regal than usual. Worst: 2x01, an ugly mix of the Dothraki elements. Margaery Best: Sansa's wedding, the look that says KL Margaery to me. Worst: prison gown. Margaery has my favorite style, even when she's in that gloriously weird cone dress or going over the top for her weddings, so I can't say I dislike anything she's worn of her own free will. Sansa Best: Tourney dress in 1x04, simple yet with beautiful details that stand out and Sophie doesn't end up being overwhelmed by a ton of fabric that does her no favors, as often happens. My other favorite is the Ramsay wedding dress; it's sad that we got out first look at genuinely rich, beautiful Northern clothing that can equal the power-dressing of Southern ladies in such a context. Worst: 5x10 escape, a mix of her bad KL looks and that strange Northern neckline.

Was it in the episode thread that I saw someone post that the old costume designer is coming back in season 7? Is that a rumor? I'm looking forward to getting a better look at the direwolf dress Sansa created with what were called her Project Runway winner skills, as well as Margaery's pious fashion statements (hopefully she'll get more than one new dress). Even though Sansa's sewing hasn't really gotten a lot of attention before this, compared to cooler stuff like swordfighting, I would love to possess her talent in the real world. I was so glad to see Gilly in something different that I didn't mind the Ren Faireness. On her the costume looked out of place like she just wasn't familiar with how to wear finery and make it look good, which was appropriate. Dany has had some nice looks, but the rest of Essos hasn't been as good as the Westerosi regions. Poor Arya with the Braavosi hairstyle.

About the Northern houses in the next episode, I think Manderly should choose the Starks (even though his banners weren't spotted) because the casting call says "Fletcher" shifts allegiances and if he gives a pro-Stark speech that turns pro-Bolton that'll be extremely strange. Glover will probably be the one who says no. Cerwyn should choose the Starks, or else the message will be that Ramsay was right to flay the former Lord Cerwyn and doesn't have to face any consequences for being a mad dog like Roose warned since the son is too afraid to be loyal to the Starks or seek revenge. If Manderly, Glover and Cerwyn all choose the Boltons (leaving Jon and Sansa with a couple of minor houses like Mormont), that would give Ramsay not just the two big armies of Karstark and Umber but the genuine support of the Northern majority. That would mean that the North doesn't remember and the Starks have lost their moral claim to Winterfell since the rule of a psychopath like Ramsay is considered a better option than Ned's children. I hope that Jon/Sansa end up getting the support of the majority, but they just don't have enough soldiers left (so Sansa writes to Littlefinger for help). Looks like someone (Glover?) might challenge Sansa Lannister Bolton's right to the Stark name.

I loved Jaime vs. the Blackfish in the books, but Show Jaime has become such a mess that seeing him wrecked has the potential to be even more satisfying. I hope Show Blackfish gets some of his book dialogue and isn't just a dull stoic badass. I don't think Benjen will turn out to be Coldhands in the books, it's a Victarion/Yara-style change. Still glad to see him again, even though it probably leads to Benjen being confirmed 100% dead after he dies protecting Bran and Meera. With his own supporting cast decimated, Bran has to end up interacting with other storylines in season 7.

Loved the Sam scenes this week. A bit of sweetness with the women of the family and perfect casting for the asshole dad. I really liked Benjen's actor, so I'm glad he was able to come back. I'm afraid this might lead to another onscreen Stark death, though. Walder Frey is another perfect villain. He's such fun to watch as he insults his useless family. Completely fed up with Dany. Everyone else on this show suffers before winning a little and then suffering again, but Dany has just become Cersei's smug entitlement with extra dragons and minus the setbacks/humanizing moments.