Game of Thrones 6.1: “The Red Woman”

Warning: This post is packed with spoilers and a lot of pure speculation.

Anyone who knows me in real life knows I am a Game of Thrones superfan. So they won’t be surprised that as I recover from these various medical issues and get back in the habit of writing daily, I’ll spend five minutes tossing off a blog post about it. Especially since the HBO show’s storylines have at last moved beyond the books and into unmapped, Here Be Dragons territory. So I present my thoughts on the episode.

Jon Snow: Still Dead  I wasn’t expecting him to be resurrected in the first episode. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t make us wait until episode five or later. I did notice that although Ghost howled to be set free, we viewers were spared the usual do-si-do they apparently teach screenwriters in film school: animal companion rushes to dead human’s side. Tries to rouse him with increasingly pitiful sounds and actions. Whines to grieving human, who intones, “How can I make you understand? He’s gone.”

But Ghost didn’t sniff and paw uncomprehendingly at Jon’s body, because Jon “warged” at the last second and shifted his soul/consciousness into Ghost. (Making the direwolf’s name prophetic, we see what you did there, GRRM.) So fear not, I have no doubt Jon’s body will be resurrected and his soul will then be returned, so he won’t be a bleak revenant like Beric Dondarrion or an outright monster, like the blue-eyed wights.

Daenerys Meets Her Future Cavalry So, the Dothraki respect strength above all else. We know Drogon is on the loose and we saw in the preview that Tyrion says “Dragons don’t do well in captivity” before apparently setting the other two free. I predict that when Dany arrives at the Dothraki’s most sacred place, the Mother of Mountains, and three dragons turn up to humble the horse lords, the general Dothraki attitude toward Khal Drogo’s widow will be transformed. Giving her three dragons, an army of fine foot soldiers, and a cavalry. All she’ll need to complete her conquest of Westeros is a fleet.

Jaime Lannister: Back Under the Spell of that Wicked Woman All I can do is sigh. No. Brienne. Brienne is the right one for you, Jaime. I really hope he wakes up to this fact.

Sansa Stark Bolton Has New Allies Thank goodness. Theon really stepped up and proved himself, in my opinion, worthy of trust. When he tried to divert the searchers, he risked the thing he fears most–being sent back to Ramsay for punishment. And Sansa finally allowed Brienne to swear fealty. Remember when Roose Bolton warned Ramsay about how hard it would be to overcome a Lannister Army? If a Lannister Army goes north, Jaime will be at its head. If Brienne can get him to fight for Sansa (to fulfill his part of the oath to Catelyn) then Sansa will regain Winterfell and the Bolton lands, too.

In fact … and here’s where I’ll go off the rails a little. But Theon is still heir to the Iron Islands, and on a map of Westeros, you’ll see the proximity of those islands make them an ongoing threat to Winterfell. If Ramsay dies and Sansa is carrying his child, she can claim Stark and Bolton lands. If she then marries Theon, she will be the most powerful ruler the North has seen in a long time. Of course, with the Others mobilizing and the army of the dead walking, real estate values up north are plummeting.

The Red Woman Okay, so she’s old. Yet when she wears the ruby at her throat, she looks and seems young. Somebody steal that ruby and pass it under Jon’s nose like smelling salts!

That’s enough out of my re: GoT for one week. Back to work on my novel!

 

Filed under: Emma Jameson, game of thrones Tagged: brienne of tarth, Daenerys Targaryen, game of thrones, Game of Thrones Season 6, George R.R. Martin, GoT, GRRM, hbo, jaime lannister, Jon Snow, Sansa Stark, The Red Woman, Theon Greyjoy