GAME OF THRONES (S8E05) : "The Bells"

Summary
The episode contains the final resolution of the fight between Daenerys and Cersei for control of the Iron Throne and the leadership of the Seven Kingdoms. "The Bells" is the penultimate episode of the series and so a number of important characters meet their ends. The ones that come to mind are: Jaime Lannister, Cersei Lannister, Euron Greyjoy, Sandor Clegane, Gregor Clegane, Maester Qyburn, and Lord Varys.

The most prominent deaths of the episode are of the Lannister twins, Cersei and Jaime. Many, many viewers were very disappointed that the most villainous character in the story (Cersei) was killed not by another character, but by falling rocks. It was an interesting detail that Cersei's death did follow the prophecy that "the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you." The valonqar is the younger sibling, which everyone (including Cersei) took to mean Tyrion, but in the end it was Jaime who had his hands around Cersei's throat as they were both crushed to death. Of course, ultimately it was Dany who killed them, by raking the Red Keep with so much fire that it collapsed, but it was a hollow death, since we didn't get to see any direct or indirect interaction between the two central characters.

The Lannisters' death came after Jaime had killed Euron Greyjoy, whose Iron Fleet had been completely destroyed by Drogon's fire. (Some people who watched the show were very annoyed that one episode after Rhaegal was killed by Qyburn's ballistas that suddenly the flying spears were completely unable to prevent Dany and her remaining dragon from dominating the airspace of King's Landing.) Regardless, the hand-to-hand combat between Euron and Jaime and the fact that they both were able to land fatal blows on each other was an important scene.

Meanwhile Dany was incredibly effective on Drogon, as she basically destroyed both the Iron Fleet and the Golden Company by herself, breaching the walls of King's Landing to allow her remaining troops (Dothraki and Unsullied led by Grey Worm and assembled forces of the North led by Jon Snow) to enter the city.

It's the scenes inside the city which make the episode so harrowing. Once they get inside and the defending Lannister forces realize that Dany can basically kill anyone from the sky they reluctantly surrender their weapons, but once the bells start to ring out and Dany continues her devastating fiery pillage of the city that animates Grey Worm who throws his spear directly at an unarmed Lannister killing him, that sets off the sack of King's Landing and the murder and rape of thousands of innocents. Jon slowly realizes that his attacking forces are committing horrible acts against the defensive forces and tries (unsuccessfully) to prevent the worst of the war crimes, going as far to kill a soldier from the North as he is attempting to rape a woman.

For much of the episode we (the audience) is following Arya, who tries to escape King's Landing while the two armies are battling each other and Dany is dropping dragon fire from the sky indiscriminately. Arya experiences the destruction of King's Landing from the perspective of the women and children of the city and it is terrifying, confusing and amazing. After all the important deaths (mentioned earlier) in the final scene of the episode we see Arya covered in grey ash with multiple injuries and improbably she finds a white horse nearby ready to be soothed and she uses it to ride out of the city to safety. How will she use the fact that she is alive and everyone on her kill list is dead? Only one episode left to find out!

Highlights
The highlights of this episode were:

• The best line of the episode is Lord Varys' heartfelt "I hope I deserved it. Truly, I do. I hope I'm wrong. " This is what he says right before he is executed by Drogon on Daenerys' command after Tyrion confesses to her that Varys doubts that she is the best person to sit on the Iron Throne.
• Another important quote in the episode was also done by Varys: "They say that every time a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin and the world holds its breath." The implication is that 50% of Targaryen's may be insane, which is problematic when Targaryens have been in the ruling class of the Seven Kingdoms.
• The direction by Miguel Sapochnik (who also directed the more controversial "The Long Night") was absolutely stunning.
• The aerial shots of King's Landing as the town was being devastated by Dany and her dragon were incredible. It's even more amazing that instead of filing in Dubrovnik as usual, the producers created a brand new set in Dublin just so they could destroy it!
• Cleganebowl!

Lowlights
The only lowlight of the episode was that we didn't get to see the face of Daenerys as she decimated King's Landing, thus we were provided any insight into her thought processes for killing so many people and destroying so much property after the bells rang out and (presumably) the city had surrendered. This result shocked a lot of people (not me) so hopefully we do get some kind of explanation in the series finale.

Grade: 10/10

GAME OF THRONES (S8E04) : "The Last of the Starks"

Summary
This episode begins with a funeral for all the dead who fell in the previous epic episode "The Long Night." We see all the survivors, looking sombre, about to set alight the pyres of their friends, lovers, brothers, sons, fathers, etc. However, afterwards, we see a huge feast occurring in the great hall of Winterfell, with everyone  (except Arya, who is called "the hero of Winterfell" in her absense) drinking and eating and making merry. Everyone in attendance is happy except for Dany, who notices how people seem to gravitate around her nephew/lover Jon Snow, even though an objective analysis would show that he did not acquit himself with much impact in last night's battle between the living and the dead. You can see the realization on her face that she could very well lose her claim to the Iron Throne to this guy. So she calls out Gendry Rivers, gets him to confirm in front of everyone that he is indeed Robert Barratheon's "bastard son" and declares that he is now Gendry Barratheon, Lord of Storm's End (the Barratheon homestead). It's a nice moment and everyone in the hall applauds the new Lord's good fortune. Lord Gendry, continues his search for Arya, who he finds alone, practicing her archery marksmanship. Being the silly dude he is, Gendry gets on one knee and asks Lady Arya Stark to marry him. She lets him down easy. "You will make a great Lord and you deserve to have the love of a great Lady. But I am not a lady. I never was, and I don't intend to be." Although we see the end of one couple in this episode we also see the consummation of the relationship between Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth, two episodes after he knighted her in "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms."

The title of this week's episode is "The Last of the Starks," presumably because of the scene with Jon, Sansa, Arya and Bran (the four surviving Stark children) meeting in the Weirwood, where Jon defies Dany (as everyone knew he would) and reveals the secret that only 4 people in the world know: his real name is Aegon Targaryen, so in fact he is not their adopted brother, he is their cousin (the son of their father's sister Lyanna Stark). Before he tells them he makes them swear not to reveal what he is about to say and then he tells Bran "tell them everything." Curiously, the reveal happens off-screen, as does the second reveal when Sansa tells Tyrion, who has come to try and convince the Lady of Winterfell to trust in his judgment that the Dragon Queen will be a just ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. "What if there were someone else?" Sansa asks him.

This cuts to the first of two pivotal scenes where Tyrion and Varys debate who should be the ruler of Seven Kingdoms that would benefit the most number of people. Tyrion, as one would expect from the Hand of the Queen, makes his case for Daenerys, while Varys, who having reached the inner corridors of power without ceding his connection to the common folk, wonders aloud if it wouldn't be better to have someone sit on the Iron Throne who has to be convinced to do it, instead of someone who believes it is their (her!) birthright. It's an interesting philosophical question which has echoes of modern day politics.

However this is a brief respite from the mayhem of the rapidly approaching battle for the Iron Throne. Many of our heroes set off by ship and Dany and her dragons are flying above them. Suddenly they are ambushed by Euron's fleet of ships and we see huge flying spears whizzing through the air, barely missing Dany on Drogon and connecting with Rhaegal in the wing. Two more spears come by and they catch the dragon in the throat, and he falls into the ocean, suddenly dead. Could Drogon and Dany be next? Happily they survive but it means that Dany is now down to one dragon. The new weapons by Qyburn not only can take dragons out of the sky, they can blast ships from several hundred feet away as well. Tyrion and Grey Worm barely survive and it turns out that Missandei is captured by Euron's company.

The inevitable showdown between Dany, Varys, Grey Worm, Tyrion outside of the walls of King's Landing as they watch Cersei, Qyburn, Euron, and a captured Missandei occurs at the very end of the episode. Even though it was very clear there was no way she would survive the situation, it was still shocking to see Mountain chop her head off as her lover watched. The look on Dany's face as she stormed away from the scene where one of her closest confidants was murdered as she mourns the death of one of her children was enough for us to know that the penultimate episode of the season (and show) next week will be the epic battle for the Iron Throne we have been waiting for since the show debuted in 2011.

Highlights
The highlights of this episode were:

• The best line of the episode (and maybe the season so far!) is Tyrion's response to Varys as they debate who they think really would be the best ruler of the Seven Kingdoms: "I don't think a cock is a true qualification." 
• The second best line is probably Jaime's "I've never slept with a Knight before." Of course Brienne's response is "I've never slept with anyone before."
• Most valuable player of the episode is Tyrion, who risks his life by trying to speak directly with his sister, Queen Cersei, to attempt to reach some human compassion at her core in order to try and avoid the bloodshed and horror he knows will result if the two Queens of the Realm battle for supremacy. He fails (of course), but the attempt was valiant. I was quite surprised he survived the effort. A close second would probably be Qyburn, who of course designed the new weapons which were used to devastating effect by Euron's navy to not only kill half of Dany's surviving dragons, but also obliterated a significant fraction of her existing naval power as well.
• The love scene between Jaime and Brienne was great, because it was a payoff for a relationship that has been in existence for several seasons. However the sight of Brienne in tears, dressed only in a nightgown, begging Jaime not to give in to his "bad" side and return to his evil sister/lover was heartbreaking. 

Lowlights
The primary lowlight was the fact that Rhaegal was taken out of the game so abruptly and brutally. There's no question that 6 episodes is simply not enough time to wrap up a story as complex and complicated  as George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.

Grade: 9/10.

GAME OF THRONES (S8E01): "Winterfell"

After a nearly two year hiatus, HBO's Game of Thrones returned with the first episode of the eighth season on Sunday April 14th. This is the final season and will consist of only six episodes. As expected after such a long gap between episodes, ratings were extremely high. The episode (S8E01) is titled "Winterfell" and like a lot of first episodes in previous seasons, it includes a lot of place-setting and character check-ins. However, this first episode of the last season was notable for its mirroring of the first episode of the first season in various aspects.

Here, for completeness are the first episodes of the seven previous seasons of the show

• Season 1: "Winter is Coming" (Characters are introduced; Jaime Lannister pushes Bran Stark out a tower window)
• Season 2: "The North Remembers" (Stannis Barratheon is introduced as another claimant to the Iron Throne while Robb Stark vows revenge for his father's murder by Joffrey)
• Season 3: "Valar Dohaeris" (The title means "all men must serve" and comes after the Season 2 finale of Valar Morghulis which means "all men must die.")
• Season 4: "Two Swords" (Tywin Lannister melts down a Valyrian steel sword to make two swords, 1 for Jaime and 1 for Joffrey)
• Season 5: "The Wars to Come" (Jon Snow, Lord Commander of the Night'sWatch, kills Mance Ryder of the Wildings)
• Season 6: "The Red Woman" (Melissandre is revealed to be more than just a priestess of R'hllor)
• Season 7: "Dragonstone" (Daenerys finally makes it to Westeros, arriving at Dragonstone the ancestral home of House Targaryen kings)

Summary
The episode finds a way to check-in on almost every important surviving character in the series, with almost everyone either located at Winterfell or King's Landing.  In the North we see an insanely long line of soldiers walking past a crowd of skeptical northerners (and a bemused Arya) that includes Grey Worm and  Missandei, Jon and Dany and many, many Unsullied warriors. This, of course, mirrors one of the very first scenes in Episode 1, Season 1 when a young Bran and Arya Stark witnessed the procession of King Robert Barratheon and the Kingsguard on the way into Winterfell to try and convince their father to serve as Hand of the King. We see Gendry and The Hound in the procession as well.

When we get to the interior of Winterfell we see Bran, Sansa, Davos, Varys, Tyrion among other familiars. The first meeting between Sansa and Dany is tense, although the Lady of Winterfell does her duty by saying "Winterfell is yours, your Grace" but she doesn't look like she means it or enjoys it. Another tense meeting between siblings that occurs is between Yara and Theon, who after Euron goes to King's Landing to (successfully) woo Queen Cersei Lannister leaves his ship unprotected and vulnerable to a sneak attack by Theon to rescue his sister, who promptly heads him in the nose and knocks him to the ground when she sees him. (Presumably for running away and leaving her with their psychopathic uncle after he attacked their ship last time we saw them.) There's no physical violence when Sansa and Jon (or when Sansa and Tyrion) meet in the episode, but Sansa has developed the skill of using her words as dangerous weapons and does so to memorable effect in both meetings.

Later, we see the reunion we have been waiting for a long time, Arya and Jon (in the Weirwood, no less) and he realizes that she still has the sword he gave her so many years ago (Needle). "Have you used it much?" he asks, revealing how little he knows about the deadly assassin his sibling has become since he last saw her. We also see a reunion between Arya and Gendry (who is busy working the forges of Winterfell to create deadly weapons out of dragonglass that Dany brought with her from Dragonstone).

Probably the most important scene of the episode was between Sam and Jon (occurring in the crypts of Winterfell). After Sam has discovered that Dany (and her dragons) were responsible for the death of his hated father (and his dickish brother) he asks Jon if he knew that Dany had killed them and would he have done the same thing. (Interestingly, Jon doesn't really answer either question clearly, although his body language seems to indciate that he might have known about the incident). It's in this context that Sam reveals to Jon that the truth that fans have been waiting decades for. Jon Snow isnot a bastard, he is the true heir to the Iron Throne, since he is the son of Lyanna Stark and Prince Rhaegar Targaryen (who were married at the time). Jon's real name is Aegon Targaryen VI and as the eldest son of the eldest son of King Aegon Targaryen (the Mad King) he has a better claim to the throne than Daenerys as the youngest (female) child of the King. This also means that Dany is also Jon's aunt, which should make their next intimate conversation very interesting!

In the final scene of the episode we see a stranger disembark from a horse in Winterfell and take off his head covering to reveal Jaime Lannister, and then pan out to see Bran Stark sitting in his wheelchair looking straight at him was a great surprise. And then when we see Jaime realize who it is he is looking at (the kid he cruelly threw out of a tower window after discovering he had seem he and his sister together) is a great way to end episode 1. Only 5 episodes left!

Highlights
The highlights of this episode were:

• The best line of the episode is probably Dany's slightly annoyed response to Sansa's question "What do dragons eat?" which was "Anything they want." 
• The second best line is probably Dany's "We're here to discuss your surrender, not ours."
• Most valuable player of the episode is Drogon, the largest of Dany's dragons. The look he gives Jon when Dany is trying to encourage him to "keep [her] warm" is a definite highlight of the episode. I also liked the Dany and Jon ride dragons interlude, although I can also see how some fans of the show might have gotten impatient.
• Reunions between Arya and Jon, Arya and Gendry, Jon and Sam, Tyrion and Sansa and Theon and Yara. 

Lowlights
The only lowlight of the episode was that we didn't actually see any white walkers or the zombie dragon Viserion.

Grade: 8/10.

GOT Season 7: Watch 2nd Trailer For Game of Thrones #WinterIsHere

The second trailer for Season 7 of HBO's Game of Thrones dropped this week. New episodes will be available for illegal downloading viewing starting July 16, 2017.

GAME OF THRONES: Official #GOTS7 Trailer Released, Immediately Goes Viral

The first official full trailer for the upcoming penultimate season of Game of Thrones has been released and immediately set records for viewership of a tailer for a television show, garnering well over 60 million views in 24 hours.. (Previously a teaser trailer had been released.)

Season 7 of the hit show will premiere on July 16th and there will only be 7 episodes, instead of the usual 10 and Season 8, the final season, will consist of only 6 episodes.

GAME OF THRONES: Season 7 Full Trailer Released #GOTS7

The trailer for Season 7 of HBO's Game of Thrones has been released; new shows begin airing on July 16. It has already been announced that the final two seasons will have fewer than the 10 episodes the first six had, with Season 7 coming in at seven episodes and Season 8 will have just 6 episodes.

2016 EMMYS: MadProfessah's Predictions

The 68th Annual Primetime Emmy awards are being held this weekend. Here are the most prominent nominations and my predictions for who will win. Last year, Veep won Best Comedy Series and Game of Thrones won Best Drama Series. The HBO series leads this year's Emmy nominations with 23.

Outstanding Comedy Series

• Veep (HBO)
• Transparent (Amazon)
• Silicon Valley (HBO)
• Modern Family (ABC)
• Master of None (Netflix)
• Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
• Black-ish (ABC)

SHOULD WIN: Modern Family

WILL WIN: Veep.

Outstanding Drama Series

• The Americans (FX)
• Game of Thrones (HBO)
• House of Cards (Netflix)
• Downton Abbey (PBS)
• Better Call Saul (AMC)
• Mr. Robot (USA)
• Homeland (Showtime)

SHOULD WIN: : Game of Thrones.
WILL WIN: Game of Thrones.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

• Kyle Chandler (Bloodline)
• Rami Malek (Mr. Robot)
• Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)
• Matthew Rhys (The Americans)
• Liev Schreiber (Ray Donovan)
• Kevin Spacey (House of Cards)

SHOULD WIN: Rami Malek. 

WILL WIN: Kevin Spacey.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

• Viola Davis (How to Get Away With Murder)
• Claire Danes (Homeland)
• Taraji P. Henson (Empire)
• Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black)
• Keri Russell (The Americans)
• Robin Wright (House of Cards)

SHOULD WIN: Tatiana Maslany or Viola Davis. 
WILL WIN: Keri Russell.

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

• Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)
• Aziz Ansari (Master of None)
• Will Forte (The Last Man on Earth)
• William H. Macy (Shameless)
• Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley)
• Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent)

SHOULD WIN: Thomas Middleditch.
WILL WIN: Jeffrey Tambor.

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

• Ellie Kemper (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep)
• Laurie Metcalf (Getting On)
• Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish)
• Amy Schumer (Inside Amy Schumer)
• Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie)

SHOULD WIN: Tracee Ellis Ross.
WILL WIN: Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

And Now His Watch Is Rewarded! Game of Thrones Gets 23 Emmy Noms!

Woo hoo! It seems like just yesterday that Game of Thrones finished what was probably it's best season yet on Sunday June 26th with the blockbuster (most watched episode of the show) Season 6 finale "The Winds of Winter." Today comes word that last year's winner of the Emmy for Outstanding Drama series (and the most nominated show of 2015) is again the most nominated show this year, with 23 nominations.

Interestingly, the actors playing Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), and Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) were all nominated. So was Max von Sydow (for playing the Three Eye Raven).

Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series

• “The Door” (Jack Bender)
• “Battle of the Bastards” (Miguel Sapochnik)

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series

• Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister)
• Kit Harington (Jon Snow)

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

• Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen)
• Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister)
• Maisie Williams (Arya Stark)

Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series

• “Battle of the Bastards” (D.B. Weiss and David Benioff)

Outstanding Drama Series

• Game of Thrones

These nine just represent the Emmy nominations presented at the Primetime Emmy Award ceremony on September 18th on ABC. The show also got another 14 Creative Arts Emmy Nominations. See the full list at Winter Is Coming.

GAME OF THRONES: (S6E10) "The Winds of Winter"

Episode 10 of Season 6 (S6E10) of HBO's Game Of Thrones is titled "The Winds of Winter." This is also the title of the sixth (still unreleased) book in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy opus A Song Of Ice and Fire on which the entire television series is based.  However, based upon what we know about how the producers have adapted the story that has appeared in the first five books, not everything we see on screen is necessarily what happens in the books. The season 6 finale

Summary
How to summarize what happens in this episode? Mass murder! Basically, Cersei demonstrates that she will do anything to win the game of thrones, and as you see from the picture at the top of this post, she ends up sitting on the Iron Throne, crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, Cersei of House Lannister, First of Her Name. One can't help notice the contrast between Cersei's storyline in the Season 6 finale from what it was in the Season 5 finale (S5E10: "Mother's Mercy"), where she was publicly humiliated by being forced to walk naked from the Sept of Baelor to the Red Keep as part of her atonement for her "sins" in order to regain her release from captivity under the High Septon's control and torture by Septa Unella. Cersei's revenge and rage is blazingly hot, incredibly destructive and very, very deadly.

Here is the list of important characters Cersei kills by using wildfire to blow up the Great Sept of Baelor:

• Ser Kevan Lannister (her uncle, the Hand of the King)
• Lord Mace Tyrell (Master of Coin)
• Ser Loras Tyrell (her fiance)
• Queen Margaery Barratheon (Loras Tyrell's sister)
• The High Sparrow (leader of the Faith of the Seven, a.k.a. The High Septon)
• Lancel Lannister (her cousin and former lover)
• countless other nameless nobles and prominent citizens of King's Landing, who thought they would be attending the trial of the former Regent, Queen Mother and wife of King Robert Barratheon

And just for good measure, she also has Grand Maester Pycelle killed (by the "little spiders" i.e. orphan children who run amok in King's Landing). However, the implications of these murderous actions cause her sole remaining child, King Tommen Barratheon, to commit suicide by diving off a ledge high up in the Red Keep!

So, while Cersei gets her revenge on all her enemies (by incinerating them) and gaining her greatest prize (the Iron Throne), she also suffers her greatest loss (the death of Tommen).

But, wait there's more!

We get important forward movement in multiple story lines in this season finale:

• Sam and Gilly (finally) make it to the Citadel, and we get to see Westeros' largest library (which is awesome!)
• Arya reveals her presence in Westeros and her ability to use the magic of the Nameless Assassins to get close to and murder the odious Walder Frey, finally consummating the revenge of the Stark clan for the Red Wedding of (S3E09) "The Rains of Castermere."
• The Red Witch, Lady Melissandre, is banished from the North for her role in the horrific murder of Shireen Barratheon (by burning her alive) in S5E09 "The Dance of Dragons."
• Tyrion Lannister is named the Hand of the Queen right before Danerys Stormborn sets off for Westeros with her armies consisting of the Unsullied and Dothraki hordes, supplemented by ships from the Tyrells and the Martells
• We see Lord Varys cement an alliance in Dorne between House Martell (represented by Ellaria Sand) and House Tyrell (as represented by the Queen of Thorns, Olenna Tyrell) to combine forces to battle the Lannisters for "vengenace and justice"
• Jon Snow is declared King of the North after Lady Lyanna Mormont gives a brilliant speech in his favor
• We see Brandon Stark learn that Lyanna Stark is Jon Snow's mother (so Jon is definitely a Stark, but the question of who his father is, is not answered, and whether, Jon is in fact a bastard or not)
• Last but not least, we see Jon and Sansa hanging out, and she tells him that it is official, "Winter has come."

Highlights
The highlights of this episode were:

• The entire opening 25-minute sequence (which has limited dialogue, and a very effective score by Ramin Djiwadi, including a new piece called "The Light of the Seven") set in King's Landing is one of the most impressive moments in the entire television series.
• The best line of the episode (and perhaps the season) goes to Cersei "I do things because they feel good... I drink because it feels good. I killed my husband because  it felt good to be rid of him. I f*** my brother because it feels good to feel him inside me. I lie about f****ing my brother, because it feels good to keep our son safe from hateful hypocrites. I killed your High Sparrow, and all his little sparrows,....because it felt good to watch them burn. It felt good to watch them burn. It felt good to imagine their shock and their pain, No thought has even given me greater joy." 
• Another great line is Lyanna Mormont's "I don't care if he's a bastard. Ned Stark's blood runs through his veins. He's my king from this day, until his last day!"
• The two last shots, showing Cersei on the Iron Throne and then the huge armada of ships on their way to Westeros, including three fully grown dragons, is thrilling, and Djiwadi's music is astonishing.

Lowlights
No lowlights. A near-perfect episode. Probably the best of the first 60 of the show.

Grade: 10/10.

GAME OF THRONES (S6E07): "The Broken Man"

Episode 4 of Season 6 (S6E07) of HBO's Game Of Thrones is titled "The Broken Man." Sometimes the titles of episodes are difficult to interpret but here it is clear that the "broken man" of the title is Gregor Clegane, also known as The Hound. The other prominent broken man in this episode is, of course, Theon Greyjoy. In addition to stories involving both these broken men, the plot advances nicely in King's Landing, in the Riverlands and in Braavos in this episode

Summary
This is one of the rare Game of Thrones episodes with what is known as a "cold open"--the action begins without seeing the title credits first. We see a very large axe, and then we see a very large man using that axe to chop wood and immediately recognize the man as Gregor Clegane, last seen being left to die by Arya Stark in (S4E07) "Mockingbird" after losing a battle with Brienne of Tarth. The Hound lives! Interestingly, he explains to the Septon who saved his life that what brought him back from the brink of death was "hate" and that he was bested by a woman (whether he means Arya or Brienne is not clear). There are multiple scenes with Clegane and after the Brotherhood with Banners massacres the entire group of people that were following the septon (and the septon himself) it is significant that the only thing he grabs as he departs is his axe. It's doubtful he will be using it to only chop wood.

The other broken man is Theon, who is still recovering from his abuse and torture as Ramsay Snow's plaything Reek. He and his sister Yara have stolen away with the fastest ships of the Ironborn. Yara is tired of the person her brother has become and basically bullies him into making a decision to "get over" his losses and fully support her and the Ironborn in their search for Daenerys Stormborn before their Uncle Euron or "to end it." Theon chooses life, but it is not clear to me that he is enthusiastic about it.

The other important events in the episode were: Jaime and the Blackfish meeting in the Riverlands as the Lannisters take over the siege of Riverrun from the incompetent Freys; Arya books passage to Westeros (with two hefty bags of coin) and then gets stabbed repeatedly in the stomach by the Waif; the High Sparrow urges Margaery Tyrell to convince her grandmother to join the Faith of the Seven; Margaery meets with Olenna and sneaks a piece of paper with House Tyrell's sigil on it as she urges her grandmother to leave King's Landing; Cersei Lannister and Olenna Tyrell have another exquisite war of words; Sansa, Jon and Ser Davos have limited success in convincing Northerners to join them in their attempt to recover Winterfell.

Highlights
The highlights of this episode were:

• For the umpteenth time Lady Olenna Tyrell (i.e. The Queen of Thorns) has the best line of the episode when she tell Cersei "I think you are the most horrible person I have ever met" and "You’ve lost, Cersei—it’s the only joy I can find in all this misery." 
• A close second-best line was delivered by the pacifist septon who says "Violence is a disease" and that you don't cure it by spreading it.
• The discovery (or confirmation) that Yara Greyjoy is a lesbian (or at the very least likes to have sex with women)
• The entire scene with Lyanna Mormont of Bear Island was a highlight, with the child actor (Bella Ramsey) completely stealing the scene from three important characters (Jon Snow, Sansa Stark and Ser Davos Seaworth)
• Confirmation that Margaery's religious conversion is not as real as the High Sparrow seems to believe (although it is doubt that someone so sharp as he will truly fall for her deception) was great to see.

Lowlights
The parts of the episode I could have done without:

•  Arya's stabbing seemed totally unsurprising to me. Surely someone who knows that assassins can wear any face should have been more cautious when an unknown old lady approached her on the street.

Grade: 8/10.

Game of Thrones (S6E01): "The Red Woman"

Episode 1 of Season 6 (S6E01) of HBO's Game Of Thrones is titled "The Red Woman." This is the first episode after the traumatic (and deadly) events of "Mother's Mercy" (S5E10) that concluded the Emmy-winning 5th season. This episode is also significant because it is the first one where book readers like yours truly really have no fracking idea what is going to happen on the show because the plot of the series has now moved past the plot of the books written by George R.R. Martin.

Summary
Unsurprisingly, the episode begins with a shot of Jon Snow's corpse, confirming what everyone has been saying since last June, that Jon Snow is dead. Interestingly, Castle Black seems eerily quiet, except for a baleful keening (presumably of Jon's direwolf Ghost). We get to see Ghost soon afterwards, along with Jon's closest friends at the Night's Watch, who help Ser Davos take Jon's body to safekeeping inside. Melissandre, the titular Red Woman, stops by and seems shaken by Jon's body, since she says that she had seen him fighting at Winterfell in the flames. (Although after what happened to Stannis and his Army at Winterfell despite the horrific burning of Stannis' young daughter at the stake in (S5E09) "The Dance of the Dragon" episode why would anyone listen to a word this witch says?)

One of the strengths and weaknesses of Game of Thrones is its expansive cast, which animates the internecine plot and complicated storylines. In "The Red Woman" we get updates on all our favorite characters. We see Sansa and Theon survived their jump from the ramparts of Winterfell and are now being chased through a beautiful frozen landscape. Eventually they are overtaken by Ramsay Bolton's men but just when things are looking really bad Brienne and her squire Podrick show up to save the day!

Things are not so happy for other characters we care about. Arya is still blind and is now begging (not very effectively) on the streets of Braavos and being bullied (or trained?) by another girl from the House of Black and White.

Jaime Lannister returns to Kings Landing bringing the body of his daughter Myrcella to Cersei, who takes the news rather calmly. The reason for this is that she believes the fortune told to her years ago by a witch who said she would have three children and that she would see them all die. (Look out King Tommen!) Jaime embraces his sister/lover and bitterly promises to get revenge on everyone who has harmed the Lannisters. ("F*** prophecy. F*** fate. F*** everyone who is not us.")

Queen Margaery is still locked up in the Sept of Baelor, being tortured watched by  Septa Unella. The High Sparrow himself visits and encourages her to confess. Margaery says that she has done nothing wrong, she has nothing to confess (you go, girl, deny everything!) but she does agree that everyone sins. The Sparrow nods approvingly, saying she is making progress but has "many miles to go yet" and tells her nothing about the fate of her brother Ser Loras. (This is not a good sign for the fate of the show's primary openly gay character, in my humble opinion.)

The less said about the Dorne sub-plot the better. The Sand Snakes kill three (very important) dudes.

Back at Castle Black, we see Ser Allister make his case to the men of the Watch why even though he was "loyal" to the Lord Commander, he was instrumental in assassinating him, because Jon Snow was intent on destroying the Night's Watch as it had been for centuries and turning it into something else. He offers amnesty and safe passage to Davos and Jon's friends if they abandon Jon's body and come out of the Lord Commander's office. Davos wisely doesn't trust Allister's word, and sends one of Jon's friends to get support from people who Jon had helped (presumably the Wildlings?)

On Essos, we see our favorite odd couple, the eunuch Varys and the dwarf Tyrion, walking through a curiously empty Mereen, talking about life, the universe and everything. They pass by walls with anti-Mhysa graffiti and then see huge billowing smoke and people running away. Interestingly, they hurry towards the commotion and see that Dany's fleet of ships is entirely on fire. There's no way that the Mother of Dragons is going to invade Westeros from the sea any longer.

Speaking of Khaleesi, we follow another odd couple, Daario and Ser Jorah who are trying to track down where Dany flew off on Drogon by following the trail of charred corpses of animals. We don't know how much time has passed since S5E10 but they are starting to worry about what's taking her so long to come back, and wonder if she even has the ability right now to do so, i.e. is she being held against her will. Jorah finally confesses that he, like Daario, loves Dany, but unlike Daario he hasn't shared her bed. (Which is a good thing, because Jorah's case of Stoneman's disease appears to be slowly growing worse, although in its current stage it just looks like a somewhat decorative tattoo.)

Finally we get to see Dany herself, in the middle of a stunningly huge Dothraki camp, a pale, blonde woman in a sea of brown-skinned people, mostly walking on foot or riding horses. She is strikingly different from anyone else there and so the Dothraki men are thinking unclean thoughts and speculating out loud about her physical attributes, unaware that the object of their gaze understands Dothraki despite her foreign appearance. Happily, they take her to the tent of their leader, Khal Moro, who laughs in her face when she declares in flawless Dothraki that she is "Queen of Mereen, Daenerys Stormborn, First of her Name, et cetera, et cetera." The women in the tent take one look at Dany and say "cut off her head" but Khal Moro is intrigued and wants to have this new prize for himself. Dany tells her that he is not the first Khal she has met, and informs him that she is Khal Drogo's widow. "It is forbidden to lay with the widow of a Khal" (which at least calms the fears that the show is going to go direct more sexual violence in Dany's direction). However, instead of raising her status and perhaps getting her a ticket back to Mereen this mean that as the widow of a Khal, she is supposed to go to Vaes Dothrak to live out her days with the other khal's widows. Uh-oh!

Highlights
The highlights of this episode were:

• The reveal at the end that Melissandre is really a centuries-old crone was pretty electrifying.
• Seeing Ghost nuzzling on Snow's corpse and growling to defend it against Ser Allister's men was a highlight.
• The enormity of the Dothraki camp, and the number of extras (I presume digitally included) still gives the show a scale nothing else on television has.
• The best line on the show was probably Lord Ramsay Snow Bolton leaving his longtime lover's corpse and saying "She's still good meat. Feed her to the hounds!"
• The second best lines were the comic relief of Khal Moro debating with his underlings exactly where on the list of the best things in life "Seeing a beautiful woman naked for the first time" should be: second, first or just top five?
• Podrick feeding Sansa her lines in the oath of service as Brienne pledged her service to her lady was awesome.

Lowlights
The parts of the episode I could have done without:

•  Dorne. Really? Did they have to kill off Prince Doran, his son Trystane and the fearsome warrior Areo Hotah in 90 seconds. The entire adaptation of the Dorne subplot from the books was just laughably bad on the show, demonstrating that Benioff and Weiss (the showrunners) don't get everything right.

Grade: 9/10.