S06.E02: Home

[Athena]

Episode Synopsis:

Bran trains with the Three-Eyed Raven. In King’s Landing, Jaime advises Tommen. Tyrion demands good news, but has to make his own. At Castle Black, the Night’s Watch stands behind Thorne. Ramsay Bolton  proposes a plan, and Balon Greyjoy entertains other proposals.

Reminder: There is open air book talk here. If you are just watching the TV show and you don't want to stumble into a potential spoiler you should leave now. Book Talk assumes you have read all the books to date. Any information from unpublished books, such as preview chapters should be in spoiler tags.

[Mya Stone]

I, for one, am grateful that the Lord of Light demands Jon to be scantily dressed. 

[WearyTraveler]

Hell yeah! He's ALIVE!!!!

(and boy, is KH pretty!)

[SeanC]

At last, people can stop pestering the cast.

GRRM silently weeps in his living room.

[Paws]

OMFG what an awesome episode!  LOVE the flashback, love the mention of Umbers, Mamderleys and  Karstarks

Love having NO Dorne

hated what happened to Walda and Baby.

 

god, that was so so so good

[RandomWatcher]

He's alive!!!

Poor Walda. I can't wait for Ramsey's brutal death

The Kingsmoot begins. 

[WatchrTina]

The Ironborn:  "What is dead may never die."

Jon Snow: "In that case I've got some interesting news for you."

[snowblossom2]

Yay!! Jon is alive.

 

i called one of the Boltons dying but thought it would have been Roose killing Ramsey. At first I couldn't tell who stabbed who

[WearyTraveler]

Just now, SeanC said:

GRRM silently weeps in his living room.

That's probably true, but if he had sat down to write sooner, or accepted some help, he might have done the reveal himself. I would have preferred to have read it in the book (where it will probably be a bit different)

[SeanC]

Just now, WearyTraveler said:

That's probably true, but if he had sat down to write sooner, or accepted some help, he might have done the reveal himself.

Oh, I agree completely, he has nobody to blame but himself.

[Eyes High]

I regret spoiling myself for the episode, because I really wish I'd seen Jon's resurrection cold.

Loved Euron. Glad they left in "I am the first storm, and the last."

Leaf reminds me of the Childlike Empress from The Neverending Story. (Yes, I'm old. Shut up.)

When I read spoilers about Tyrion's rapport with the dragons, it seemed fishy, but it seems to be an extension of Tyrion's knowledge of dragon lore in context. Tyrion's little speech to the dragons of the bit from the books about how he cried himself to sleep when he was told that the dragons were gone was surprisingly emotional. Targ or not, he's definitely going to wind up riding one of them.

Maybe Arya will have something else to do besides getting the shit beaten out of her.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Eyes High

[magdalene]

That was kind of underwhelming as resurrections go.

So Tyrion is a dragon whisperer now.

Good grief, Jaime, I wanted you to kill that pious fucker. 

[mac123x]

How lucky is Carise Van Houten, she gets to rub her hands all over Kit Harrington's chest.  Repeatedly.  "Oh, I flubbed that up, can we do another take?"

 

I thought we'd find out how Hodor became Hodorized.  That was a nice little "here's what Bran has been doing while absent last season, learning to see the past and growing another foot taller."

 

Dialog in Meereen was a little too... not good.  "If I ever have another good idea, punch me in the face".  I groaned.

 

Ramsey resolved his inheritance a lot faster than I thought he would.  Farewell, Roose and Walda and animatronic baby.

[Dust Bunny]

It would have been the best troll ever if it didn't work. 

[Brn2bwild]

Great episode.  Some scattered thoughts:

1. You tried to fool us, HBO.  You failed.

2. Did anyone think it was odd that Davos suggested Melisandre bring Jon back to life? He's always been uneasy about magic, and it wasn't as if the remaining loyal Nights Watchmen couldn't have given Jon a proper burial and made Delorus Edd the new Lord Commander.

3. I knew they'd go with the "Melisandre's resurrection doesn't seem to work at first, but actually does" angle. Actually thought they'd hold the suspense longer.

4. You'd think Roose Bolton would be smarter than this.

5. On the other hand, I'm not surprised Balon Greyjoy is that stupid.

6. Why did Theon decide to up and return home again?  And somehow everyone was okay with that?  You did commit a lot of crimes, Theon.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Brn2bwild

[that one guy]

What is done may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger.

Killing Walda was stupid. Doesn't Ramsay need the alliance with Walder Frey? Bad things happen when you cross that guy.

[benteen]

Jon Snow lives!

The stuff at the Wall continues to be the strongest part.  Roose's death actually had me jump up in shock but I was annoyed by it.  Roose deserved it no doubt but it's more of the show's SUPER RAMSAY and TV Roose was never the level of Book Roose because no way any version of Ramsay could get the better of Book Roose.

Loved seeing the flashbacks at Winterfell and young Hodor was killed.  Funny they gave him the name Willas...I guess Walder would have been a little too odd.

[ihartcoffee]

OMG  what an episode! Poor Walda and baby.   Roose was an idiot for not seeing how dangerous Ramsay is. 

 

John is alive!  Holy cow! 

[SeanC]

Just now, Eyes High said:

When I read spoilers about Tyrion's rapport with the dragons, it seemed fishy, but it seems to be an extension of Tyrion's knowledge of dragon lore in context. Tyrion's little speech to the dragons of the bit from the books about how he cried himself to sleep when he was told that the dragons were gone was surprisingly emotional.

From the spoilers people were wondering if this was going to be a jackpot episode for A+J=T people, but Tyrion went out of his way this episode to make it sound like any "friends" of Mama Daenerys could do this, even using Missandei as a reference point.

Arya was traveling with “a man”, eh?  Now that’s some unnatural wordplay in the service of avoiding a longer conversation.

I don't really think this really major character beat with Davos lands all that well.  Why is he so fixated on Jon?  He's had like two scenes with him; I'm sure he likes him, but I haven't seen anything to justify why he's asking for Mel to try to bring him back from the dead.  They really should have had Davos go to Hardhome with Jon if this was the direction they were going to go.

[lmsweb]

When they kept panning to Ghost I was terrified they were going to kill off my pretend furbaby (the whole "death pays for life" thing)

[scarynikki12]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

Moving on, I love the hint of pleasure on Sansa's face when Brienne told her that Arya was not only still alive but not dressed like a lady.  Still keeping my fingers crossed for a Stark ladies reunion!

[benteen]

11 minutes ago, Mya Stone said:

I, for one, am grateful that the Lord of Light demands Jon to be scantily dressed. 

I'm surprised nobody molested his body...

I really did love the way the Balon and Euron scene was shot.  I expected Euron to have an over-the-top way of speaking I must admit.

I liked Sansa smiling when Brienne said Arya wasn't dressed like a lady.

Edited May 2, 2016 by benteen

[screamin]

I thought that was...really kinda awful.

Roose Bolton dispatched SO easily barely more than halfway through the episode, leaving Ramsey to chew the scenery, anvil-dropping Evol? Tyrion making such annoyingly tin-eared lame castration jokes that I rather hoped the dragons would crisp him? Jon resurrected without a kiss? IMO, it came off like who ever was writing the episode pretty much skimmed through the Cliff's Notes, rather than the book itself, before tossing it confidently aside and writing his own third-rate script.

With one exception - and what an exception.

With all the book plot they've thrown away in making the series, they decided to keep the freakin' KINGSMOOT? Holy hell.

[Oscirus]

This feels like a pretty pivotal episode.

Dragons released, the boltons dead, Jon Snow back to life.

Who would have guessed that Walder friggin frey would be the red Wedding participant that lived the longest.

It took a while, but that leech curse finally worked. Pity that Stannis didn't live long enough to reap the benefits.

LOL @ Tyrion making off color eunuch jokes in the presence of Grey worm.

Edited May 2, 2016 by Oscirus

[Spartan Girl]

Welcome back, Snow! Two episodes of being dead was just two too many.

Death to Ollie and Ramsey!

Edited May 2, 2016 by Spartan Girl

[CherryMalotte]

Well alrighty then!  I was sure that he was gonna come alive on the funeral pyre, but this is okay.   

Bran is going to be our wayback machine plot device this season, which is okay, we'll get a bit each episode now leading to the Tower Of Joy reveal. Though I don't know how much of a reveal that's going to be now, most people I know that aren't book readers have put that together.  

Doesn't Ramsay need the alliance with Walder Frey?

Ramsay has sadly miscalculated, he may be a cunning ruthless killer but he's not far thinking.  The Karstarks may not be on Team Stark any further but once word gets around what he did to daddy and step mom and baby, and it always gets around no matter what lies you tell, he'll be on his own.

[maraleia]

I love that this season they are killing off all the horrible older men in charge to make way for the next generation. Down with the patriarchy!!!

[that one guy]

1 hour ago, Brn2bwild said:

6. Why did Theon decide to up and return home again?  And somehow everyone was okay with that?  You did commit a lot of crimes, Theon

Home is the place where, when you go there, they have to take you in. His sister came to rescue him, so he knows she'll take him in. And Sansa knows he's not wrong when he says that Jon will behead him as soon as he shows his face at the wall. He would have taken her anyway if there were on other options, but now that she has Brienne and Pod, she doesn't need him anymore. Jon actually knows about Bran and Rickon, but Theon is a child murderer all the same, and Roderick Cassel trained Jon to fight.  

[Avaleigh]

A small point but I wish that Tyrion had spoken to the dragons in High Valyrian. I'm just thinking of Dany commanding Drogon with dracarys. Stuff like that.

I actually felt a wave of emotion during the scene with Sansa and Theon where he told her that he bascially doesn't think that he deserves forgiveness. I also like that he doesn't think that he's off of the hook because the boys he killed weren't Bran and Rickon. He knows that it was the lowest thing that he could have done either way. 

Great episode. 

[Rickster]

On 2 May 2016 at 3:02 AM, mac123x said:

Dialog in Meereen was a little too... not good.  "If I ever have another good idea, punch me in the face".  I groaned.

Yup. That plus last week (the Sand Snakes), indicates a shakey attempt to modernize the dialogue in a way that doesn't work. Odd that they would do this so far into the run

[FemmyV]

Wow, that was awesome and terrible, and was totally worth going spoiler-free!

Bran - there's a welcome return, everything about it, including Max Von Sydow & Lyanna. And Hodor had a name. I wonder what traumatized him so that he can't say anything much, but I expect we'll know by the end of the season. Meera's growing up.

 

Ramsey is just so so awful. Boy passed into cartoon at least 5 episodes ago. I feel like I should be cheering, that two people behind the Red Wedding are now gone, but jebus, poor Walda.

 

I wonder why Brienne left out the little detail that Arya was with the Hound?

 

Iron Islands: I was sort of happy that side trip was left out last season. As of now, I can only hope it's not as bad as Dorne. Still, it is good to see Asha (or whatever they're calling her) back.

 

King's Landing: Tommen, look buddy ... your days are numbered, trust me. Find your spine while you can.

 

Braavos: A girl needs to move her story along.

 

Mereen: Congratulations, Tyrion, you didn't get fried. Now what?

 

Castle Black: Well, that was unexpected! Hooray, Jon's back. Sort of, at least. I just wonder if he's really all there.

Edited May 2, 2016 by FemmyV

[Winnief]

Ok, last week's episode, (except for Brienne/Sansa and the last shot of Mel) was pretty underwhelming, but THIS was an episode!

Wun Wun how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways!

Already liking the flashbacks Bran's seeing....ah for the days when the Starks were happy.

So long Balon-don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.  Did like Yara/Asha calling out how stupid the whole Northern invasion really was.

Cersei's best friend is a Frankenstein monster.  Color me shocked.

Sansa learns that Arya is alive and still a tomboy...and awwww she really does miss her.

Farewell Roose.  You were such a magnificent bastard, as opposed to Ramsay who's just a Repellent Bastard.  And I feel so sorry for Walda.

Yep, we're setting up Tyrion as a dragon rider.  Just love how Dinklage's face shows such *awe* whenever he's around the dragons.

 

Yay!  We don't have to wait anymore for Jon's resurrection!  We can just deal with the awesome aftermath.

 

And best of all...

 

NO DORNE!!!  Funny how much better the show is without it...

[bmoore4026]

<runs around in a circle>

JON SNOW IS BACK!!!!!

JON SNOW IS BACK!!!!!

JON SNOW IS BACK!!!!!

JON SNOW IS BACK!!!!!

JON SNOW IS BACK!!!!!

Fuck up them traitors, Jon Snow!  Fuck 'em up!  'cause it ain't over 'til the fat lady and her newborn get eaten by dogs.

Also, GO WILDLINGS!!!

Edited May 2, 2016 by bmoore4026

[stillshimpy]

Huh.  Least surprising resurrection scene ever, but I also thought "if any of those fuckers tries to sacrifice Ghost, I will pitch a fit, get up, have another one and then throw shit for good measure".  Luckily this proved unnecessary although I did actually leave the room and stare across the street where a stranger was passing by underneath a lamppost as Ramsay had an infant and a helpless woman ripped apart.  

Yeah, too bad, Roose.  Only the most predictable thing ever.  He learned it from watching you [/1980s drug commercial revisited] 

I could have stayed with Bran's stuff all episode though.  

Also I'm quietly ticking off life seconds for poor, extremely likable Davos, what with freaking Ramsay Bolton headed there way.  

Seven Kingdoms Animal Protection needs to put his rabid ass down. 

Also, poor man's Ewan McGregor threw Balon to his death.  Hey Euron/Ewan, pity you couldn't have done the story a solid and stepped off after him.  

Edited May 2, 2016 by stillshimpy

[that one guy]

Quote

And Hodor had a name. I wonder what traumatized him so that he can't say anything much, but I expect we'll know by the end of the season. Meera's growing up.

It's a real condition, called Broca's aphasia, that is caused by damage to certain areas of the frontal lobe of the brain. Usually it's caused by a stroke, but during this scene I was afraid they were going to show the stable boy get kicked in the head by a horse.

[HumblePi]

NOOOOOOOO!  JUST NOOOOO!   Damn that red witch!.  I did not want to see Jon Snow alive again, but I KNEW they'd do it for his fans.  Such a disappointment, but how marvelous that a woman could bring back a man from the dead when he's been dead for a long time.  And all this time I was singing the song from the Wizard of Oz; "He's not only merely dead, he's really most sincerely dead". 

[stillshimpy]

Ramsay has sadly miscalculated, he may be a cunning ruthless killer but he's not far thinking.  The Karstarks may not be on Team Stark any further but once word gets around what he did to daddy and step mom and baby, and it always gets around no matter what lies you tell, he'll be on his own.

Right?  Didn't Ramsay get the memo on how Walder reacts to broken marriage contracts? He paid Roose good gold for that too, so he'll be double-duty pissed.  He's a hiring a band as I speak. 

[bmoore4026]

Oh, and another thing: Whose bright idea was it to build a rope bridge between two cliff castles in an area prone to bad rainstorms?  Yes, rope would have lasted longer than wood, but that wouldn't make it safer, would it?

[areca]

A small point but I wish that Tyrion had spoken to the dragons in High Valyrian. I'm just thinking of Dany commanding Drogon with dracarys. Stuff like that.

I'm not a major Dinklage fan - sometimes he's a little too William Shatneresque for me - but if I was him, I'd be ready to KILL the goddamn writers this season.  They've turned him into a nigh monosyllabic, lowbrow humour delivering comic relief character and it SUCKS.  I'm *very* tired of the modern turns of phrase.  It's really taking me out of the story.

[Winnief]

My guess is the show's going to connect Hodor's brain damage to the horror that befell the Starks during the time of the Mad King.  JMHO. 

[FemmyV]

1 minute ago, bmoore4026 said:

Oh, and another thing: Whose bright idea was it to build a rope bridge between two cliff castles in an area prone to bad rainstorms?  Yes, rope would have lasted longer than wood, but that wouldn't make it safer, would it?

They have yet to find something to do with the Iron the islands are named for.

[Oscirus]

Quote

A small point but I wish that Tyrion had spoken to the dragons in High Valyrian. I'm just thinking of Dany commanding Drogon with dracarys. Stuff like that.

They did set the dragons up as intelligent and they set up Tyrion as being terrible in Valerian so it made sense he'd address the dragons in the common tongue

[stillshimpy]

My guess is the show's going to connect Hodor's brain damage to the horror that befell the Starks during the time of the Mad King

Well he was a stable boy, I'm assuming there's a head kicking coming his way.  Poor Hodor and poor Meera while we're at it.  At least Bran has root vision, she only gets to stare at the frozen tundra and wait for the Army of the Dead.  Girl needs Dish at the very least. 

[Avaleigh]

1 minute ago, Winnief said:

My guess is the show's going to connect Hodor's brain damage to the horror that befell the Starks during the time of the Mad King.  JMHO. 

Right now, I'm reconsidering the theory that Hodor has something to do with the Great Other. I very much got the impression that he was saying 'Hodor' happened to him. Hodor is somebody/something big IMO and that's why he keeps repeating it. 

[MadMouse]

Sansa and Theon's scene once again steals the episode. Alfie Allen's face when he says Robb's name, really heartbreaking.

Could they have at least given Bloodraven an eye patch or something? And him just sitting in the roots looks terrible.

Willas? Hodor is a secret Tyrell? Young Lyanna is what I pictured so kudos on that.

Ramsay's betrayal would have had more weight had we gotten any mention of Domeric or Roose's speech about what to do when one son kills another. At this point its just another layer of his Valyrian steel plot armor.  If they turn the Umbers and Manderly's into Bolton loyalists I swear that might get me to stop watching.

More fuel for Tyrion is a secret Targ. Bleh

Can we please get Jaime into the Riverlands and back on his redemption arc.

Hey its Balon, Asha.. Yara and Euron. Isn't this story three years too late at this point? And way to butcher one of the best speeches in the series. Still needs Volcano arm Vic.

Davos is all aboard the Mel train? I guess he's desperate and its not like she burned a child he loved like his own or anything. Tormund throwing daggers at Thorne, could have used a Har in there. Loved the the random NW got the Ser Patrick treatment. Oh and that Jon guy came back.

[benteen]

3 minutes ago, stillshimpy said:

 

Right?  Didn't Ramsay get the memo on how Walder reacts to broken marriage contracts? He paid Roose good gold for that too, so he'll be double-duty pissed.  He's a hiring a band as I speak. 

In fairness, Ramsay is stupid enough to do something like that, regardless of the consequences.  But Book or TV Ramsay would never be able to outwit Book Roose.  The actor playing Roose always did a very good job but Roose's characterization was often sacrificed for the sake of SUPER RAMSAY!

[Winnief]

Was the rope bridge smart?!?  No it was not.

Is it out of character for the Iron Born to do things that are not smart?  No it is not.

[CherryMalotte]

 He's a hiring a band as I speak

They'd better know The Rains Of Castamere.  Front, back, and sideways.

[benteen]

I did love that Thorne couldn't quite call Edd a traitor since that is the pot calling the kettle black.

[RedheadZombie]

When Alliser and the bad guys were trying to break into Jon's room, and then the pounding noise ...... well, apparently I'm five.  I actually had to stand up because I couldn't sit still from excitement.  Loved seeing the Wildlings loyalty to Jon and his comrades. 

I'm slightly disappointed that we didn't see Thorne killed.  I'm not out for vengeance against Ollie, because I've always understood his motivation.  But I was really hoping to see Ghost put an end to Thorne.

I thought Ramsay would kill Roose, but I didn''t expect it in that moment.  Unlike his father, Ramsay at least had the courage to look his victim in the face as he killed him.  I was horrified by Walda and baby's deaths.  I kind of ff'd, then rewound to watch.  It felt like Ramsay was feeling something about what he was doing.  Sort of like when he sat at Myranda's bedside. 

Everything about Sansa's and Theon's scenes moved me.  She's so forgiving (as am I).  This is where I hoped Theon's character was going, although I feared he would die this season by sacrificing himself for Sansa. 

For the first time, I'm interested in the Iron Islands.

Loved Tyrion's interaction with the dragons, but hate seeing his continued mocking of Varys.  It seems so unnecessary.  Hopefully Dany's two littlest boys will not immediately hunt children.

Jon's resurrection:  I was standing up and kind of dancing in place with anticipation.  I couldn't totally geek out and alert the rest of the household.  I'm glad he will be alive when Sansa gets there (I'm assuming).

Edited May 2, 2016 by RedheadZombie
Tyrion and Theon are two different people