Game of Thrones: Season 6: Episode 6: Blood of my Blood

Overall I gave this 4 out of 5 stars.

The Good:

Aerys mad king flashbacks! If those are coming they are going to be difficult to watch. It looks like there was a white walker giant with a special weapon in one of the flashbacks that was as high as the front entrance to a building in back of it. It could have been the perspective of the shot. It was very quick short footage and hard to tell.

I felt a great bonding moment between Sam and Gilly. What he has told her about his background is confirmed by their mutual experience going back to his homeland. He helped her when Craster treated her like dirt and then she stood up for him in front of his father at Horn Hill. The falling apart of his plans with Gilly made him look accidently passive aggressively defiant in his dealings with his father when he found out Gilly was a Wildling and little Sam was a bastard Tarly. Nicely done. Samwell taking off with Gilly and Little Sam makes sense. I wouldn’t be surprised if he seeks out Jon now.

What Dan and Dave are calling in the about episode ‘Cold Hands Benjen’. I wasn’t expecting this, however I was expecting the Wights to be relentless and not stop at the back door of the great Weirwood tree. Wow! I have been wondering what happened to him since Season One. It appears he’s alive due to the magic of the children (which brings up questions: see the unknown.)
I loved the blood of my blood nods with Benjen and Bran; Dany and the Dothraki; Samwell and Little Sam; and the Tarlys and Little Sam.

Arya is in a bad position and I loved her decision. It ratchets up my concern for her. I honestly thought she was going to kill Lady Crane. Now she has Needle she must be either going back to her old ways with her list or going freelance. (See the unknown)

Dany on Drogon and her speech to the Dothraki were remarkable, however I couldn’t help feeling that these things were inevitable to the story and expected this to occur at some point like the battle of the White Walkers versus all of Westeros. It’s a story cadence point.

The Holy alliance between the Crown and the Faith was to be expected. It reminded me of the Roman Empire embracing Christianity. Tommen’s answering to the Gods cements the inevitable that Cersei and Jaime will have to go against their own son. If he is outed as an illegitimate king that would have a pretty devastating effect on the reputation to the Faith Militant. They would have to execute him and put a legitimate replacement on the throne. Who would that be?

The Bad:

I thought the weakest plot line was the Frey’s losing Riverrun to Blackfish. All we got for an explanation was dialog mirroring what I was thinking in my head the moment I saw Walder Frey. How the heck did they let that happen if the occupants at Riverrun can hold out against a siege for a year?

I would have thought Arya would have dropped dead after not killing Lady Crane because she drank the poisoned water to get her sight back claiming she was no one. This makes me question the process we have been shown about becoming a Faceless person. It’s vague again.

The Unknown:

Obviously Sam can’t go to the Citadel now (especially wielding Heartsbane). His father will go looking for him there. Where are they going to go now? Will he seek out Jon and Sansa? Could he end up being Maester of Winterfell (in the long run)?

Is Benjen still Benjen now or is he something else? What kind of powers does Benjen possess? He could see the origin of the white walkers. Can he see other visions as well? Does he have a special connection with the Three Eyed Raven and now Bran? Will he stick with Bran from here on out? Will Benjen take them south of the wall? He does mention Bran will be there to confront the Night’s King when he enters the realms of man waiting for him. Can Benjen go south of the wall or does the Children’s magic stop at the Wall? Can he help Bran control his powers?

How did Blackfish take Riverrun? Especially if it could be held for a year under siege.

Is Jaime now the Lord of Casterly Rock or is that still Ser Kevan? Would Ser Kevan support Tommen over Jaime and Cersei? That’s an odd position to be in.

If Arya kills the waif will the Faceless men continuously hunt her down? Will she go back to Westeros? What’s the extent of her powers? Can she wear faces or just pretend to be other people?

Is Cersei proposing to Jaime to take King’s Landing against Tommen to eliminate the High Sparrow? If that’s the case, then Roberto’s theory about Cersei being the one that kills her last surviving child might be what fulfills the witch’s golden shroud prophesy.

Is Margaery just playing Tommen and the High Sparrow to save herself or is she truly converted? I had a hard time telling if she was being true to Tommen about how the High Sparrow helping her or if she was just persuading Tommen to join in a union with him. Is the key to turning Tommen back to Cersei and Jaime through Margaery?

What’s the consequence to Walder Frey’s sons if they cannot bring down Blackfish? What are his plans with Edmure if Blackfish doesn’t give up Riverrun?