S05.E10: Mother's Mercy

[Meredith Quill]

Episode Synopsis:

 

Dany is surrounded by strangers. Cersei seeks forgiveness. Jon is challenged.


Reminder: This is for discussion of the TV show only, no book talk allowed - including saying "but it's different in the books". Any spoiler from outside the books (i.e. next weeks preview) should be in spoiler tags.

[Macbeth]

Well the speculation was true:

 

Welcome back Benjen Stark.

 

Well what can I say - I suck at speculation.  Edited well after the episode was shown.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Macbeth

[HumblePi]

Wow

 

much to be said, but for now.....

 

Edited June 15, 2015 by HumblePi

[revbfc]

Well the speculation was true:

Welcome back Benjen Stark.

Guess not. :(

[Thinbalina]

I hate this show! Noooo Jon!

[cynic]

If anyone needs me, I'll just be off slitting my wrists.

Coudn't we have even a bit of happiness? Is there anyone even left to root for? Could this show be any more depressing?

[bluvelvet]

Damn...just damn!!

 

[Quickbeam]

I guess no one gets out of this alive!

Edited June 15, 2015 by Quickbeam

[RandomWatcher]

If Mel doesn't revive Jon next season, there's bound to be riots. And that was a nice moment between Myrcella and Jamie. Well it was a nice moment before the kiss of death set in.

[Popples]

OH HELL NO! When the White Walkers come to call, I hope they take out Thorne and that little bastard Olly! I'm so fucking outraged. NOT PRETTY JON SNOW!

 

When Davos learned of Shireen's death, he looked like a sad panda.

 

Franken-Mountain looked terrifiying.

[crookedjackson44]

Wow ... so last week the show borrowed heavily from Agamemnon, and this week it took from Julius Caesar.  I didn't think Stannis would die, so soon.

[Neurochick]

Awesome episode. Dorne, oh shit.

[AimingforYoko]

I would totally buy Jon's death, if not for Melisandre arriving just before. Still, it was hard to watch.

As was Cersei's atonement walk, Lena Headey just killed it.

In other news:

Brienne got her man

Arya went full O-Ren Ishii on Trant, but paid the price.

Looks like Dorne will be on Frankenmountain's list.

The Dothraki! I wonder how they feel about the Queen of Dragons.

Edited June 15, 2015 by AimingforYoko

[midge]

Eh.  Hello Mountain.  Or Zombie mountain  or whatever.   What was the point of the Dorne storyline?   Who were those people on horseback? Northern Dothraki?  

 

Lena Headley gave an amazing performance.

 

Are we sure Stannis died?   They show everything else, so I find it odd that they cut away.  And Brienne missing thee signal by 2 seconds was totally cliche and irritating.    

 

I'm convinced that Melisandre will revive Jon so the only thing I really have a question for for next year is what did Theon and Sansa do.    I don't believe they were deliberately jumping to their deaths so what were they doing?

Edited June 15, 2015 by midge

[dramachick]

Oh, for goodness sake.

 

How long must the Starks suffer?

 

This is now getting too ridiculous.

 

They really need to start winding this story up.

[dizzyd]

OMG, that was so much WOW.  Stannis, Cersei, Myrcella, Arya, Sansa, and Jon (he better not be dead, he better have some magic that overrides that assassination). 

[bluvelvet]

What did I learn from this show..

Shireen's death was for NOTHING!

Innocents always die..

Mel is full of sh*t!

Other thoughts,

If Stannis is indeed dead, it was too merciful. I wanted him to live a suffer and know that he killed his sweet innocent girl for NOTHING!

Ellaria is now on my hate list, not that I was attached to Myrcella but to kill an innocent girl to avenge a man who died in a fair fight. I hope Prince Doran makes good on his threat. However as soon as she kissed Myrcella I KNEW that her lipstick was poison.

The only highlight was Sansa getting the hell out of Winterfell and Myranda's very well deserved death.

The men of the NW's will rue the day they killed Jon Snow..Why didn't Jon tell them what he saw at hardhome.

Edited June 15, 2015 by bluvelvet

[Chrissytd]

I am upset.

 

At least Brienne got to be the one to kill Stannis.

 

How long must the Starks suffer?

Till eternity?

Edited June 15, 2015 by Chrissytd

[Morrigan2575]

Wow, that's like 5 cliffhangers.

Still.don't care about Dany but I'm all for Tyrion/Varys taking over Mereen, that should be fun.

I'm guessing the Red Witch is at the Wall so she can conveniently resurrect Jon Snow. I really want someone to kill her, hopefully Davos does it after her finds out what really happened to Shireen.

As odd as it sounds I'm back on Team Stannis. He suffered huge blows for his actions. If he actually survives Brianne's justice he might make a good ruler after all.

Don't care about Arya going blind but at least she got some revenge.

Hopefully Reek/Sansa survived although I have no idea how that would be possible.

Sad for Marcella that really sucks, I hope the Sand Snakes pay for their stupidity. Starting a war like that.

Lena H killed it, great acting on that walk but now I fear for Kings Landing. Between the walk and Marcella's death she's going to go batshit crazy.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Morrigan2575

[AimingforYoko]

How long must the Starks suffer?

Hey, it wasn't that great an ep for the Lannisters either.

[MrsRafaelBarba]

What kind of fuckery is this?!

They gave Jon the Julius Cesar treatment, Olly's emo ass would deliver the death below.

[rungirl911]

How is Theon/Reek the "hero" of this episode?

[revbfc]

I really dug Theon & Sansa's "Thelma & Louise" bit.

Edited June 15, 2015 by revbfc

[Macbeth]

Well we will always have Tyrion and Varys.

 

I squealed with joy when Varys showed up.

 

But I am in a state of shock right now, so fuck it.

[Lillith]

Young girls really have the worst luck of anyone on this show. Don't the "Sands" realize they'll likely be executed? They'll figure out pretty quickly who did it.

 

Lena Headey rocked her scene, I just kept thinking of the "shorn women" at the end of WWII who collaborated (or were accused of it), those films always upset me as a kid, but Cersei deserved it at least. 

 

Even with the well deserved death and her punishment, I was still kind of bored by Ayra's storyline.  I guess we'll see if Brienne went through with the execution and what's up with Sansa and Reek, I hope those two crazy kids make it!

 

And poor hapless Jon Snow. 

 

It should have been amazing but I felt it was a lackluster, down end to a meh season.

 

[MartinKSmith]

Fair play to Lena Headey. 

 

The ending was a shock, but as others have said, Melisandre showing up just before surely means it's a given that she'll bring him back next season?

 

Loved the little scene between Tyrion and Varys - Varys may be my favourite character in the show.

 

I assume Theon and Sansa were jumping into a snow bank, Assassin's Creed style? - Cause all I could think while watching was "that'd never fucking work".

 

Awesome seeing Arya doing her thing in the whore house, perhaps even more awesome seeing the many faces at work later.

[annsterg]

That was...a very exciting episode.

 

I refuse to believe that Jon is all the way dead.

[calliope1975]

I'm not sure there's a reason for me to come back next season. I'm still Team White Walkers. Nothing in this episode changed my mind. I'm sure, as others have speculated, that the Red Witch showed up to conveniently bring Jon Snow back. JS and Kit are one of the few bright spots so I'm hoping he'll be around some more. 

 

I kept waiting for a great scene with Myrcella to show why they recast the actress, but it never happened. I just felt the episode was poorly paced. Cersei's walk went on way too long. Other scenes seemed too short.

 

Ah well, until next year, when I forget how disappointed I was with this season.

[Neurochick]

Ellaria, okay that wasn't cool but the Lannisters have fucked over so many innocents and never gave a shit, karma is a bitch and sometimes it's unfair.

[Stardancer Supreme]

Well. 

 

I KNEW that Ellaria wouldn't let Myrcella go peacefully home.  Damn. Now what about Trystane?  Are they going to turn around and go back to Dorne or sail to King's Landing with Myrcella's body?

 

The walk of shame was brutal, yo.  I felt a little cheated since I wanted to know what happened to Tommen. 

 

Dothraki!  Since they didn't immediately take her head off, I guess they may have recognized Dany as a former Khaleesi.  I did laugh when Drogon shook her off when she tried to make him take her back to Meereen.  "Get off me, Mom. I'm taking a nap."

[gibasi]

Well, I had not considered that Melisandre would resurrect Jon Snow so thanks for that ray of hope!

[catrox14]

So pissed off about Jon. :(.  He was the last person I was rooting for. I'm not even sure I root for Tyrion all that much anymore. I hope Jon is resurrected as a White Walker and gets vengeance on the lot of them. 

[fellini]

I think this show is going to lose viewers by getting rid of important characters.

[Popples]

 

  And Brienne missing thee signal by 2 seconds was totally cliche and irritating.    

 

 

I thought Pod would see it when he went back for his axe.

[phoenix780]

I hadn't even thought about resurrection, even though it's apparently a major plot point.  If the red witch is going to bring back anyone...wouldn't it be Stannis (assuming he's dead)?  Can she do both?  I'm kind of OK with them clearing the decks, though.  They have last year's plot about the magical tree to revisit at some point, right?  And then there's the other Stark kid out there somewhere.  Maybe it's time to move ahead.  

 

Cersei's walk...OK.  They gave me dragons and zombies, so fine.  I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to be seeing a change in her character, like maybe she'll regret sending Margery and Loras there, or whether it was to explain her turning extra hardcore next year.  Speaking of them- are they all wrapped up?  Is there more? 

 

I loved Sansa refusing to back down.  It was also fun to see Dany once again end a season surrounded by people.  She's been relatively lucky thus far, I assume this will be her mounted army to go alongside the Unsullied foot soldiers.  

 

The whole Dorne saga...why didn't they just poison her to begin with?  Though in a way this works out better for them, right, because the prince is out of the city.

 

I guess I have more questions than answers at this point.  Here's hoping the wait doesn't feel too long (and, side note, farewell to HBO Now until then- I've no need to pay that much and then get a commercial before my show). 

[annsterg]

Oh boy...that septa prison guard should leave the city now. FrankenMountain will come for her very soon.

[HumblePi]

How is Theon/Reek the "hero" of this episode?

Theon saved Sansa from the deadly arrow by throwing the evil miss-what's-her-name over the edge to her death. Could testicles really regenerate back in those mythical days?  If so, Theon grew a set and now he and Sansa jumped and possibly landed in water. Don't most of those old castles have a moat filled with water surrounding them?

[revbfc]

That was...a very exciting episode.

I refuse to believe that Jon is all the way dead.

As we all know, there's a big difference between "all dead" and "mostly dead."

http://youtu.be/X90qKQAMh8A

[MrsRafaelBarba]

Dorne is the biggest s/l fail of the series.

Bronn might have some antidote left, did he keep the vial?

If so, Mycella can be saved.

Edited June 15, 2015 by MrsRafaelBarba

[bmoore4026]

God...........DAMN!

Way to get me excited about next season, show.

Arya going blind

Sansa jumping from the battlements

Daenerys getting captured by Dothraki, who for some reason were circling her (with great horse choreography) like they were B-Western American Indians and she was the helpless damsel tied to the stake.

And Jon became a human pincushion. And may be dead.

FUCK ME!

And props to the actress playing the mother superior. Having to say "shame" three times and then ring a bell must have been monotonous as hell and require a whole lot of concentration, especially with a bunch of extras screaming shit in your general vicinity.

At least Stannis is dead....probably. Downside is the Wicked Witch of Westeros is still alive.

I'm hoping that one lady and her three daughters get their own spin-off. They're spunky.

Edited June 19, 2015 by bmoore4026

[HumblePi]

Eh.  Hello Mountain.  Or Zombie mountain  or whatever.   What was the point of the Dorne storyline?   Who were those people on horseback? Northern Dothraki?  

 

Lena Headley gave an amazing performance.

 

Are we sure Stannis died?   They show everything else, so I find it odd that they cut away.  And Brienne missing thee signal by 2 seconds was totally cliche and irritating.    

 

I'm convinced that Melisandre will revive Jon so the only thing I really have a question for for next year is what did Theon and Sansa do.    I don't believe they were deliberately jumping to their deaths so what were they doing?

Sansa isn't the suicide type of woman. She's a Stark and they die standing up. I think they landed in a water filled moat.

[beeble]

The Stannic-Bolton battle took what, like 10 or 15 minutes? Sansa was in the tower when she saw Stannis' troops, and before she could say boo, it was over. Literally, she couldn't get out of the tower before it was over. You'd think that everyone would be running around willy-nilly, and that would be the perfect chance to escape. 

 

Yes, Sansa's candle and Brienne's turned back was cliched. But it only hammered home just how steep Sansa's learning curve has been. After fleeing Joffrey she could have taken refuge with Brienne when given the chance, only to stay and trust LittleFinger. Seriously, Sansa? And now you are trusting Theon? All I can hope is that Reek/Theon makes a nice pillow for her to land on.

 

I predict that Tyrion will turn Mereen into the Vegas of Westeros.  

 

Mr. Beeble spoiled the Jon Snow tragedy so he's on double-secret probation.

 

What was  important about Dany's ring that made her drop it?

Edited June 15, 2015 by beeble

[annsterg]

 

 

The whole Dorne saga...why didn't they just poison her to begin with?  Though in a way this works out better for them, right, because the prince is out of the city.

 

I cannot believe that they were so shortsighted as to leave the heir to Dorne in the hands of what is bound to be outraged Lannisters. Unless he brought a whole contingent of Dornish guards with him and they are able to take over the ship?

[missy jo]

Welp, that was the most literal slut-shaming I've ever seen!

This show reads like the sadistic porn fantasies of a bunch of man-children who've never gotten laid.

Edited June 15, 2015 by Mya Stone

[areca]

Lena H killed it, great acting on that walk but now I fear for Kings Landing. Between the walk and Marcella's death she's going to go batshit crazy.

 

The swamp lady said Tommen was going to bite it too, so....yeah...things are about to from bad to worse for Cersei...

[bbolto]

♪ Everyone's screwed ♫

Hey, maybe they can rebuild civilization from Meereen! Everywhere else is gonna turn on each other and eat shit but I got a lotta faith in team Grey Worm/ Tyrion/ Varys, as long as the Dothraki keep Dany away from the gates!

[HumblePi]

As we all know, there's a big difference between "all dead" and "mostly dead."

http://youtu.be/X90qKQAMh8A

"they're not only merely dead, they're really most sincerely dead"

[MrsRafaelBarba]

The aerial shot of the Stannis/Bolton battle, reminded me of the trailer for the final Twilight

film.

[Whitley Trillbert]

Honestly, that walk of shame is one of the bravest things I've seen an actor do. That went on forever.

[revbfc]

"they're not only merely dead, they're really most sincerely dead"

He's getting better!

http://youtu.be/Sh8mNjeuyV4