"That's more like it, Game of Thrones," is all you could say watching last night's episode "Book of the Stranger."
It was fully a song of fire and ice, with advancements in Jon Snow's and Daenerys Targaryen's plot lines as well as ladies seizing control throughout the rest of the episode.
It wasn't all sunshine and roses, though, as Rickon Stark is now seriously at the mercy of the psychopathic young Lord Bolton due Osha's death at the end of Ramsay's blade.
She just wasn't quick enough with that blade.
But on the upside, Jon Snow and Sansa Stark reunited with the badass Lady Brienne and Pod to back them up should make for a solid unit to hatch a plot or coup to overtake Winterfell.
In case you didn't know, that was the first time we see them interact with each other on screen in this whole series. To be fair, she was a mama's girl, and Snow is anything but (you might also remember Arya gettin' the sh*t whacked out of her for naming Jon a full sibling when he's not really-- or is he? WHO TF KNOWS?!).
For the times where we don't do a full-fledged recap like what you're about to read, keep up with us every Friday with our Netflix & Chill guides.
But Winter is here. For the most part this was as an "Attaboy!" episode, but nevertheless, here's what we learned last night.
Just another notch in the Ramsay Bolton Championship Belt
RIP Osha. We missed you, and then right when we thought we had you back, you get taken from us once more.
On the other hand, Osha seems like a fair sacrifice to place Rickon in a readily rescuable position by Jon and Sansa, in some way, as part of the ambition to retake their home.
[anad]
That's more like it GoT, give us a simple thing to hope for! Or don't. We know what happens when we hope for things.
Flammable Khalassar
Now, Dany's takeover of Vaes Dothrak is interesting because it sort of places her back where she was before: in control of a hoard of Dothrakis.
Except now she has full grown dragons (somewhere) and the diplomatic nightmare of Slaver's Bay to handle.
Nevertheless, Daenerys' dragon blood has come in handy once again and mystified everyone. It's effective and tried and true with Dothrakis, so good job, Dany! That's more like it, GoT!
She's good at burning down the system as we've seen in Vaes Dothrak and Meereen, but how good is she at rebuilding it?
Tyrion is better than the memes he produces
Okay, so last week the internet got a little too crazy (yeesh, calm down kids) with the whole "conversations in elegant rooms" bit. Of course, the first week they got a little crazy with the whole "I drink and I say things" whatever he said bit.
So right now, Tyrion's little more than a bit.
[anad2]
Except for this week. Dany's fight-fire-with-the-unburnt approach to politics might need the smooth diplomats like Tyrion Lannister and Lord Varys to balance the terror. But even the compromises put forth with the Masters of Slaver's Bay don't seem fair to the slaves still underfoot for seven years.
Not sure how she'll react.
Family reunions are dope
There's legit reason to celebrate over in Westeros where Jon Snow and Sansa Stark (Bolton, right?) are reunited and joking with each other about being nasty to one another as children.
Cute. That's more like it, GoT. Get cute with it! Like Dire Wolves! They're cute! Even Rickon's... f*ck.
But simply put, you wait for these reunions. You hope they happen. When they do, it's magical. Except when Jon's bein' cranky about getting stabbed and not wanting to fight. Like really, dawg? After all that you've seen? After what you know happens at the end of your life (nothing special)?
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Ramsay's 'bout to get smashed
Ramsay Bolton's ambition poses a big problem for Jon and Sansa's security in the future, but they, too, are ambitious, and right now it seems like unstoppable force vs. an immovable object-- bound to smash into each other in the most entertaining ways.
[anad]
Seriously though, someone's got to kill him.
We found Little Finger
The return of Little Finger is bound to play some role there, having convinced his young Lord to send troops to aid his cousin Sansa in her plight. Pro tip: placating the needs of demented, moon-door hungry children is easy. Just get an exotic bird.
That's more like it GoT, have family help each other instead of rape each other for once.
Romance or nah?
Can we address the best possible potential relationship Game of Thrones has offered up yet?
Tormund made eyes at Lady Brienne, and the two of the together would be the most fierce fighting force and also a giant Northern match made in heaven. Can that please happen? Like, pretty please?
[anad2]
Also worth noting: Tormund apparently f*cked a bear back in the day. You may or may not remember Ygritte saying something to the effect of, "Nah dawg, you never f*cked a bear." You may also remember that Brienne did not fare well against a bear back in the day...
Tormund & Red Lady hath been warned
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Brienne got even more awesome this episode, stuffing the Red Lady for her role in murdering Renly Baratheon, saying, "Just because it's in the past doesn't mean I forget or forgive." By now she's rescued Sansa and reunited her with Jon, executed Stannis Baratheon (editor's note: PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. PICS OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. PICS OR IT DIDN'T...), and held her promise to Kat.
That's more like it, GoT, give the underdog a chance this episode!
"Book of the Stranger" is some kind of rallying cry for everything. We want everyone to fight now. Little Finger mentioned the wars to come, but the pieces are finally moving in ways that seem to suggest the final battles, winter actually arriving and what not.
Who knows? Game of Thrones is fantastic at stringing us along in hopes of things. But maybe if our aspirations for Jon and Sansa, our aspirations for Dany, our hopes for Tyrion and Varys' diplomacy, and everything else are so simply defined, we feel them stronger.
That's more like it, GoT, don't confuse us with our own hopes! Just wait to stab them in the heart later! We can wait.
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