Game of Thrones
Season 6, Episode 4
– Recap –
(SPOILER ALERT: This recap contains details about last night’s episode of “Game of Thrones”. If you haven’t watched it yet, you may want to stop reading!)
by Kyla Brewer
The Recap Sequence
Love them or hate them, there’s nothing like a family reunion, and “Game of Thrones’” fourth episode of season 6 kicked off with a doozy last night. Fans cried a collective “yes!” as Sansa (Sophie Turner, “The Thirteenth Tale”) and Jon (Kit Harington, “Pompeii,” 2014) were reunited at Castle Black. The reunion was that much sweeter when Sansa showed her true Stark colours and insisted she and Jon return to Winterfell to take back their home from Ramsay (Iwan Rheon, “Misfits”), aka the new “Lord of the North.” Her turn from damsel in distress to instigator made her one of many strong females in the action-packed episode, undoubtedly the best of the season so far.
After dodging his questions about what happened to Shireen Baratheon (Kerry Ingram, “Les Misérables,” 2012), Melisandre (Clarice van Houten, “Valkyrie,” 2008) informed Davos (Liam Cunningham, “The Numbers Station,” 2013) she’s now loyal to Jon, believing he’s the “prince that was promised.” In the same scene, Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” 2015) made her contempt to the Red Woman crystal clear.
In the Vale of Arryn, Littlefinger (Aiden Gillen, “The Dark Knight Rises,” 2012) finally made his first appearance of the season when he showed up to convince a weak-willed (and weak-minded) young Robin Arryn (Lino Facioli, “The Boy in the Mirror,” 2014) to pledge his troops to ride north to Winterfell, presumably to rescue Sansa from Bolton. Those of us who know Petyr Baelish, however, suspect he may have ulterior motives, as usual.
Meanwhile, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage, “The Station Agent,” 2003) – far from the hedonistic imp who once whored and drank his way around King’s Landing – aimed to make peace with Meereen’s enemies by offering them seven years to abolish slavery in the communities Daenerys (Emilia Clarke, “Terminator Genisys,” 2015) had liberated. Well, all except Meereen, to which slavery would never return. Not surprisingly, his wheelings and dealings outraged Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson, “Adulthood,” 2008), Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel, “Furious 7,” 2015), and the people of Meereen (not to mention millions of fans!), but here’s hoping he has something else up his sleeve.
Daario (Michiel Huisman, “Treme”) discovered Jorah (Iain Glen, “Resident Evil: Apocalypse,” 2004) has been infected with Greyscale as they planned to sneak into the holy city of Vaes Dothrak to find Daenerys.
In King’s Landing, High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce, “Brazil,” 1985) regaled Margaery (Natalie Dormer, “The Tudors”) with tales of his previous godless lifestyle and the emptiness of material possessions before allowing her to see a broken Loras (Finn Jones, “Sleeping Beauty,” 2014). Seeing right through High Sparrow’s sob story about a bad trip, Margaery begged her brother to be strong.
A clever Cersei (Lena Headey, “300,” 2007) finally realized she must work with Olenna (Diana Rigg, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” 1969), not against her, and proposed the Tyrells bring in their forces to overthrow Sparrow and rescue Margaery. That way, Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman, “Man Up,” 2015) won’t break his word not to interfere – his knights will merely stand aside as the Tyrell soldiers free the queen.
When Theon (Alfie Allen, “Soulboy,” 2010) arrived in the Iron Islands, Yara (Gemma Whelan, “Gulliver’s Travels,” 2010) assumed he was there to claim the throne. Instead, he conceded that she should be the one to rule and offered to help her.
Viewers were likely hopeful wildling Osha (Natalia Tena, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix,” 2007) would prove her mettle as she eyed a knife on the table next to the new Lord Bolton, but the bastard was on to her from the start. Sadly, that’s the last we’ll see of Osha unless she comes back as a White Walker.
Back at Castle Black, Jon received a nasty letter from Bolton who claimed to have Rickon (Art Parkinson, “Dracula Untold,” 2014) in the dungeon. More determined than ever to retake Winterfell, Sansa urged Jon to unite the people of the North against the monster she was forced to marry.
In the end, Daenerys once again proved why she is the most badass character on the show when she boldly stood before the Dosh Khaleen and told them she should be their ruler. When they scoffed at her, she set fire to their seriously flammable hut (what was in that dirt floor? gasoline?), and effectively murdered all of the male Dothraki leaders in one fell swoop. As she emerged naked from the flames, the remaining Dothraki bowed before her.
With any luck, that big bonfire will attract the attention of some dragons. Don’t miss next week’s “Game of Thrones,” airing Sunday, May 22, on HBO.
The Recap Sequence 