WARNING: Spoilers ahead
Season six of “Game of Thrones” is not wasting any time moving the chess pieces forward.
Episode 2, “Home,” opened with Bran, who hasn’t aged a day since season four! As a viewer, I can let this slide: in my fan theory, he’s been eating his Wheaties. Anyway, we saw a glimpse into the past, which was a clever trick by the writers, as we learned after the episode, that they were not big fans of flashbacks (don’t listen to them, J.J. Abrams, “Lost”) but they were able to show us young Ned and Lyanna Stark through Bran’s emotional encounter. I’m very excited to learn more about Lyanna (Ned Stark’s sister). Will the fan theory of her being Jon Snow’s mother and his possible Targaryen father come true? Time will tell.
I never thought there’d be someone hated more than Joffrey, but Ramsay has sure overtaken him as the craziest, sick and rash character in the “GoT” universe. He fed his crazy mistress’ body to his hounds (although call this practical, they’re in the middle of snowy winter, they need food right?) Once Ramsay got news that he had a healthy baby brother, all hell broke loose in his crazy mind! His father Roose Bolton had to have seen this coming, unless he was too arrogant to think his crazy son wouldn’t ax him if backed into a corner. Foolish thinking! And RIP to his stepmom and baby brother. Hey, he wanted to be the only child. Can we blame him?
The most heartwarming moment of the episode came from Cersei herself. Tommen is manning up and realizing that he needs to be more king-like if he’s going to rule Westeros, and who other than to help guide him along the way? Cersei has been calm these past two episodes, almost like the eye-of-the-storm calm. The revenge she is going to take upon her captors is definitely going to be worth waiting for. But for now, she is a mother helping her son during a difficult time.
One of the highlights of “Home” was Tyrion. Fun fact: need to sober up? Step into a chamber with two chained dragons. “Don’t eat the help,” Tyrion replied, as he unchained both Rhaegal and Viserion. Question: Can they get out of that tiny chamber? “If I ever have an idea like that again, punch me in the face,” Tyrion tells Varys. I think we’ve all uttered those words before in other situations.
I’ll briefly mention Theon or AKA Reek and Sansa, because there wasn’t much going on there. Theon leaves her in the capable hands of Brienne to go back to the Iron Islands. Oh yeah by the way, his father, Balon Greyjoy was thrown off the shakiest bridge ever (I’d hate crossing that every night to go to bed) during a storm by his long lost brother, Euron Greyjoy. So Sansa will inevitably make it to Castle Black to mourn her dead brother…oh wait…
Finally, the moment we we’ve been waiting for: the fate of Jon Snow. I must say, Davos, giving his “hey you need to try your whole magic thing to bring back Jon Snow,” speech to Melisandre was a bit funny. Like “hey, come on you haven’t even tried!” So Melisandre, looking very grim and depressed because her Lord of Light isn’t what she thought, gives her best effort to bring back Jon Snow. Did it work?
After everyone gives up hope and leaves the room like a sad episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Ghost, fast asleep (I guess the whole ritual thing, was kind of boring), suddenly wakes up, sensing his master’s return!
Unlike “The Walking Dead” writers, who waited three episodes or an eternity (that’s what it felt like) to show the fate of Glen, “Game of Thrones” writers waited one episode to reveal that Jon Snow is NOT dead.
This was not a big surprise, and the buildup was lackluster. The writers definitely wouldn’t have let Jon Snow just die in the hands of Melisandre’s failed attempt. Nonetheless, I am excited to have Jon Snow back, or see which Jon Snow replica we get back.
‘Til next week!
Follow Catherine @things_catloves and @ShuffleOnline on Twitter.
Catherine grew up watching action flicks at a very young age which led to her love of film. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelors in Radio-TV-Film in 2012. Always the adventurer, Catherine traveled and lived in Sydney, Australia for a year where she took a selfie with Brad Pitt. She runs Shuffle with passion, lots of caffeine and tacos. When she’s not editing or writing you can find her crafting and planning her next adventure.