After we were subjected to an emotional rollercoaster last week, it was only natural for this week’s Game of Thrones title to take a more withdrawn, anticipatory nature to serve as a contrast to the emotional burden that Hodor’s holding of the door had on us. Sunday’s episode, Blood of my Blood, was indeed just that, an information-based episode that served to not only build up anticipation for the rest of the season, but also to present us with invaluable information about the common elements and linkages between different parts of the Westerosi map. In doing so, the episode relied on bringing back several background characters that could nonetheless have an enormous impact on the show’s future such as Benjen Stark, Edmure Tulley, and the delightfully obnoxious Walder Frey. Further, the show also managed to shed considerable light on the current thought processes of many of our beloved characters such as Arya, Jaime, and Sam. While Blood of my Blood might’ve been noticeably tame and lacking in the show’s usual shocking, thrilling pace, it made up for it by good ol’ fashioned storytelling. In short, the episode gave us much of what we needed to know, rather than what we felt like we wanted to know.
Beyond the Wall, Bran and Meera’s escape after Hodor’s death allowed us to gain insight on one of the show’s more polarizing and unexplained absences, that of Benjen Stark. Despite not having seen Benjen since Season One, the fact that the show continued to reference him throughout the years meant that his return was always inevitable, especially if you contrast his absence with that of Gendry Baratheon for instance. Indeed, his return was just as significant as we had speculated throughout the years, not only for his predictably timely saving of Bran, but primarily for providing us with a method through which the seemingly indestructible white walker army could be defeated. In other words, Benjen’s return to form after apparently turning into a white walker briefly means that there is still hope out there against an army that appeared to increase in number whenever its leader had pleased. Dragon glass now stands as the only viable option for the living against the dead, as using it will not only kill the walkers, but could also bring other similarly reborn soldiers unto the human side of the conflict. Much like us humans in the real world, the “children” showed a willingness to come up with a way to counter the dire consequences of their creation. Since we don’t know the exact available amount of dragon glass or how it’s even created to begin with, though, only time will tell which side is going to be victorious in what has thus far been a fairly cold war. As for Bran’s immediate future, our best guess is that his uncle will take him back to the Wall for protection and recuperation until it’s time for the imminent clash with the walkers. It would be interesting to see how a crippled three-eyed raven reacts to these quarters.
After all, confined quarters and roles aren’t for everyone; Bran’s own sister couldn’t even stand them, no matter how hard she tried. We’re not going to lie; we love that Arya has finally decided to leave the House of Black and White and regain back what she really is. A girl is not an assassin; a girl has a greater purpose. While we’re likely to miss Jaqen if Arya does indeed remain firm in her decision to leave the realm of the Many Faced God, such action is likely to be a huge net positive for her storyline’s direction. Put simply, Arya Stark is one of the show’s most lovable characters. If she finally returns to Westeros, we’ll have one more character to root for, rather than a character stuck in purgatory as is the case with Tyrion and Varys down in Meereen. Thankfully, the signs for that are promising. For the second time in a row, Arya failed to comply to orders and kill the person that Jaqen had ordered her to. After losing her eyesight the first time and promised of her death at the next similar failure, she surely recognizes by now that Bravos isn’t safe for her anymore. One can only hope that Arya manages to find a safe passage to Westeros before her revenge-seeking, former trainer, Waif, could get to her. In these circumstances, surely a return back to her homeland will be safer than a stay in Bravos.
Lest we forget, most of the dangers that encountered Arya at Westeros were borne out of a Lannister desire to apprehend her. Nowadays, though, the Lannisters clearly have some bigger fish to fry. As Blood of my Blood showed us, the King’s Landing leadership is now firmly split into two distinct groups, one that wants to destroy the Faith Militants, and one that seeks peace with them. The fact that both King Tommen and Queen Margery have seemingly chosen to go for the latter route surely spells trouble for the old guard in their goal to maintain their grip on the Iron Throne. As Lady Olenna again so succinctly described the situation, seducing Tommen and Margery into seeking unison between religion and the realm was a huge victory for the High Sparrow. In addition, with Jaime relieved of his Kings Guard duties and Cersei awaiting an otherwise tantalizing trial, the table is now truly set for the High Sparrow to influence procedures all across the realm. Nevertheless, as Cersei and Jaime’s meeting at the Red Keep showed, you can never underestimate the political power and experience that Tywin’s children are going to have on procedures. Similar to the High Sparrow, they both truly believe in an ‘us versus them’ mentality; Thus, after all the humiliation that they went through, you could rest assured that they will see no option but to fight for what they believe is truly theirs as soon as Jaime comes back from Riverrun.
In this foray, Lannister forces combined with those led by Walder Frey seem poised to soundly defeat the Tully army, and retake Riverrun. With all the related conflicts at the heart of Westeros, however, this battle is likely to be a mere footnote in what is looking like a fully-fledged civil war at this rate, all the while, the white walked army prepares to march towards the Wall in earnest. In the midst of all these conflicts, Blood of my Blood’s introduction of Sam’s family in Horn Hill is likely to influence proceedings somewhat. The Tarleys are an evidently powerful and rich house. Their introduction at this late stage of the show likely means that they will either play a role in said Westerosi civil war, or that they were merely shown to bring about another of the extremely limited Valyrian steel swords to the equation, a metal that, besides dragon glass, is the only proven tool capable of vanquishing white walkers. In both cases, the adorable couple of Sam and Gilley is likely to be dragged onto the ongoing dangers. In that scope, their courageous petulance against the repugnant Randyll Tulley will likely be the sweet calm before what promises to be a fairly ugly storm.
In many ways, Blood of my Blood was just that, a shimmer of dawn just before the inevitable dusk. The realm is fractured to its core. The system and wheels for progress all look as broken as they’ve ever been. In the midst of these strident winds of change, we were once again reminded that staying true to one’s character remains the best option available for many of the show’s characters. This week, Arya remained as boisterous as she always was; Daenerys smilarly remained smug and confident, while Cersei and Jaime continued to believe that the world is their enemy. The more things change, the more they really remain the same. After all, the only constants in an ever-changing world are the people which the world revolves around.
In one sentence: An old fashioned, information-based episode that caught us up on the differing obstacles that many of the show’s most important characters are facing.
Episode score: 70%