Jon is alive! So is Rickon! A battle is brewing in the North. Daenerys is a captive in Vaes Dothrak. Jamie and Cersei face open revolt. Arya is “No One.” And we have all the theories, all the speculations, and all the hopes/dreams for this season of Game of Thrones.
Join us as we discuss the third episode season 6, titled “Oathbreaker”:
Jon was dead, and now he’s not. How do you think this experience will change him?
CHLOE
Well there’s already more nudity, so his second life is looking pretty good so far. In all seriousness, I’m thrilled to have Jon Snow back among the living, but concerned about how his return will change him. We’ve seen it both ways: Daenerys paid the ultimate price for saving Drogo, but Beric Dondarrion has come back again and again with very few visible consequences. I think this second chance will change Jon’s mission – as we’ve already seen, with his mic drop-worthy “my watch has ended” – but the man himself? I hope resurrection won’t take too much of a toll, but a major personality change – more vengeful tendencies or maybe even dedication to the Lord of Light – would certainly shake things up.
CARYN
I really didn’t expect Jon to be so normal, almost as if he just took a nap and then arose to make jokes with Tormund and Edd again. I do think he will take Davos’ words to heart and go out and make more mistakes. He didn’t come back for nothing, and he knows that, his purpose is greater than the Night’s Watch, his purpose is to start fighting for what is right, to try and make changes in Westeros in whatever capacity he can.
LIZZIE
Well, I think it already has changed him. Not completely, he’s still Jon, but he’s let go of the ideals of honor and duty, or, at least, of the rigid ideas of what those duties entail, the same ideals House Stark has lived and died by. Let’s just say death has made Jon a pragmatic, which, really, is what you need to be to survive in Westeros. And hey, if death has also made realize life is short and you need to seize opportunities when they present themselves to you, then that’s a good thing.
The Tower of Joy. So close, and yet so far. Do you subscribe to the R+L = J theory? What do you think will be waiting for Bran when he finally makes it up those stairs?
CHLOE
5 more minutes! That’s all I ask! I’ve been on-board with the R+L = J theory for quite some time, but the closer this moment seems to get, the more I wonder if the showrunners are going to hit us with a major game-changer. What if Lyanna is indeed in labor but the baby is a girl? What if it’s twins? I feel like I’m overthinking it, because all the hints are there, but this is Game of Thrones. I think that whatever happens – whatever is waiting for Bran at the top of those stairs – it will be a moment we won’t soon forget.
CARYN
(I don’t know how much I’m allowed to guess/spoil here but I’ll try) I do subscribe to the R + L = J theory, and I think it’s highly probable that what we find in the tower (when Bran eventually levels up) will be the answer to many questions that we have had on the show. I’m not a huge fan of the theory mainly because I would love to be shocked by the show, but I think more than likely that Ned was intending to get to his sister, and that Bran will be the ones to show it to us.
LIZZIE
Theory? Is this a theory? I’ve been kind of assuming it’s actual fact for the past few years. Like, everyone I know suscribes to this theory. The show has dropped anvil sized hints to suggest that Jon’s origins are not as simple as what Ned Stark once told us. The only drawback to so many years between books is that GRR Martin left people with plenty of time to speculate, and when you do that, people sometimes figure out your twists. At this point, this is not a twist, not for me. I think it’s pretty clear that what’s waiting at the top of the Tower of Joy is the answer to Jon’s origin.
Jaime and Cersei seem to be at odds with absolutely everyone in King’s Landing. Where do you think this storyline is going, and who has the upper hand?
CHLOE
It’s satisfying to see the Lannister twins back at it again with the teamwork and swagger, but the game has changed. They aren’t on top anymore, and they’re struggling to hold onto power that is rapidly slipping through their fingers. They aren’t without their advantages – namely Qyburn and Frankenmountain – but they have their work cut out for them if they’re going to regain the foothold they once had. I think they will continue to work every angle to exact revenge and protect their family… but I think at least where Cersei is concerned, picking their battles is going to be critical. You can’t go after everyone who may have said something about the Walk of Shame – this is King’s Landing, and there are bigger fish to fry. As for who has the upper hand, it’s still a power struggle at this point. Cersei and Jaime may not be at their best, but Tommen and the Small Council aren’t exactly power players right now. It’s anyone’s game.
CARYN
I think right now because of Cersei’s trial and the fact that Jaime literally just arrived from Dorne, most of the power falls in the hands of Kevan Lannister and the Small Council, but with the set up of Qyburn’s little birds and Ser Gregor going out to do Cersei’s bidding, I think the Lannisters will take control once again, I’m just not sure if Jaime will be there for that, that he won’t be sent out on assignment again.
LIZZIE
I don’t think this is a battle that they’re destined to win – I just don’t see a clear path to losing it, not yet. For now, they’ve still got a tenuous hold on power. But something’s gotta give. The Lannisters have been on top for too long. It’s time for the tables to turn. That’s the Game of Thrones way, isn’t it?
Arya is now “No One” – or at least, that’s what the show wants us to believe. Is Arya Stark truly gone for good, and what do you think her first task as “No One” will be?
CHLOE
I don’t think the Arya Stark we know and love is gone for good. Like Needle, she’s just buried away for a little while, until the moment is right for her to resurface. She is “No One” for all intents and purposes now, and her training will teach her important lessons – like how to stay alive and be a total badass. I do wonder what her first official task would be – something with a personal touch (such as getting near someone on Arya’s list without being allowed to kill them, or one of her siblings without being allowed to reveal herself) would be a true test. But it may be something more mundane (killing a random?) to start out with. In any case, I’m glad that her blind days are behind her – and I can’t wait to see what comes next.
CARYN
I don’t think Arya will ever be able to totally leave ‘Arya Stark’ behind – she still has that list of people to kill that they kindly reminded us about this episode. I do know that we have an acting troupe passing through Braavos showing the events of Season 1, so that might triggers a memory which snaps her back to being Arya and on her quest for vengeance. I think one of her targets as No One will be someone on her list – Walder Frey or Ser Gregor Clegane.
LIZZIE
I think the Arya that we know might go missing for a while, but she’s still there. Self-preservation, however, indicates that Arya has to be someone else to survive, and if there’s one thing Arya has always excelled at, it’s surviving. So it’ll be “No One,” at least for the foreseeable future. And if she really is “No One,” then she can’t really go for someone on her list, can she?
We saw Lord Umber present Ramsay Bolton with Rickon Stark, Osha, and the severed head of Shaggydog. Do you think everything is as it seems or does the fact that Lord Umber refused to kneel strike you as odd? Is this a good development or a bad one?
CHLOE
I have to say that Shaggydog’s death gave me more feelings than much of the on-screen carnage – time to bring back #DirewolfFeelings. And for people who haven’t been on the show in a while, Rickon and Osha really got a bad lot resurfacing in Winterfell under Ramsay’s control. I’m hoping against hope that the animal in question is not actually Shaggydog and that this is all a conspiracy to overthrow Ramsay’s rule from within. But that thought only came to me when I started obsessively reading theories after the episode – my thoughts while it was airing were more like, “No, please, oh god, no, how dare you.”
CARYN
I was 100% ready to believe that the Umbers were playing Ramsay, until they pulled out Shaggydog’s head, that was brutal. I think this is a bad development, because once again, Ramsay has a Stark available to use and play with. But I do think this will be the trigger (and the betrayal) that will cause Jon Snow to act against Ramsay and fight for Winterfell and the Starks.
LIZZIE
This is where reading the books and having that knowledge is a drawback – I just can’t believe the Umbers would do this. Not the Umbers. I also can’t believe that a Northern family is having so much trouble with the wildlings that they’d be willing to align themselves with the Boltons? And if so, why bring Osha? Why not kill her? He’s, after all, sick of the wildlings! That’s all without going into the whole I don’t need to kneel thing. Nope, this is not as straightforward as it seems. It can’t be.
Jon is done with the Night’s Watch. Where do you think he’s going now? Will he meet up with Sansa? Or is a reunion with Rickon in the cards first?
CHLOE
The fact that Jon left doesn’t surprise me, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon. I’m excited for the mobility and potential that his watch ending gives him, but I hope that this timeline doesn’t cause another near miss for a Stark reunion. Sansa and Rickon are both nearby, and I don’t think my heart can take another tragedy in this family. I don’t know where Jon is headed, but I don’t think he can be going far right now. He can’t hope to take on Winterfell without backup, and where else would he go right now? I think news of Sansa and/or Rickon will reach him, and perhaps he will coordinate with the Wildlings (SO here for the Tormund/Jon bromance) to join the fight at Winterfell… making Melisandre’s vision a reality.
CARYN
All I want and need is for a Jon and Sansa reunion, and if the show does not give it to me this Sunday I’m going to be very very upset. I cannot handle another Stark Almost. But as I said above I think Jon will get a message from Ramsey saying that he has Rickon and his main aim will be to get Rickon back and end Ramsay Bolton. And I’m 100% onboard with this plan.
LIZZIE
He’s going to get Winterfell back, that’s for sure. Not directly, though, I don’t think, because he’s a smart man and he knows he’d get killed. I hope he runs into Sansa first, but I happen to agree with Caryn that it makes more sense for him to hear about Rickon than it is for him to just run into Sansa. Or maybe that’s just the cynic in my speaking. At some point something has to go right for the Starks. Right? Right?
Agree? Disagree? Have any more pressing questions you want answered? Sound off in the comments below.
Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.
