Small Council: What did you think of “The Broken Man?”

What did we like about “The Broken Man,” the seventh episode of Game of Thrones Season 6? What didn’t we like? Tell us your opinions, and vote it our poll!

DAN: Like “Blood of My Blood,” “The Broken Man” was a transitional episode, but it was an interesting transition. It threw us little curveballs throughout, starting with the cold open, something the show rarely uses. (It was used here so fans wouldn’t see Rory McCann’s name in the credits.) The scenes with the Hound were strange and dreamlike. They felt divorced from the rest of the show, and not just because they didn’t feature any of the characters we’ve been spending time with lately. The tone was vastly different from what we’re used to, as Ian McShane’s Brother Ray nurtured his followers in a verdant valley untouched by war (until episode’s end, at least). A bunch of us have made this comment already, but if you watched these scenes in isolation, it would be like watching a pilot for a whole new show; Have Axe — Will Travel or something.

Meanwhile, back on Game of Thrones, my favorite scenes were the ones in the North. Each of the stops on Team Stark’s pledge drive had value, although the one with little Lyanna Mormont was far and away the most entertaining. Where this show keeps finding these excellent child actors, I have no idea. Still, together, theses scenes accomplished something that the show passed over last season: they gave weight and shape to the conflict in the North. This isn’t just a fight between the Boltons and the wildlings; the North is made up of many tribes, and we need to get to know at least some of them if the coming battle is going to resonate.

In scenes I was afraid I wouldn’t like but ended up enjoying, the writers achieved a deft balance with Theon and Yara in Volantis. First of all, while it annoys me that the producers altered Yara’s sexuality for seemingly no reason, their follow-through was excellent. Her interest in women was depicted as no big deal, just a detail layered on top of an already-established character. That’s an improvement over the characterizations of Renly and Loras, who too often came across as gay characters rather than characters who were gay. And Yara’s pep talk to Theon was close to fascinating, an odd mix of sisterly affection and no-nonsense tough love that somehow made sense on screen. These episodes are making me wish Yara had played a bigger role in past seasons.

And in scenes I thought I was going to like but didn’t, Arya’s close encounter with the business end of the Waif’s knife was muddled. People have a lot of opinions about what exactly happened there, and whether Arya was really Arya. I think the competing viewpoints are proof enough that, whatever the writers were going for with this scene, they failed.

I didn’t even touch on the well-done scenes in King’s Landing and at Riverrun. “The Broken Man” runneth over. What did you guys think?

COREY: As Dan said, this was another transitional episode, an episode that moved the story along, but excluding the Hound’s return, had very little shock value. The Hound’s scenes did feel like they were taking place on a show with a different tone—I mean, when was the last time you saw that many people smiling on Game of Thrones? Not that it was a bad scene, mind you, but it did feel slightly out of place. That being said, the Hound has always been one of my favorite characters, so it is great to have him back. Have Axe, Will Travel?  #WouldWatch

The scene between Olenna Tyrell and Cersei Lannister was especially good, and as always, I wonder what Diana Rigg has on the show’s writers, since they consistently give her some of the best dialogue. In a battle of wits, Cersei is completely outdone, something I am going to assume the High Sparrow recognizes as well. I think we are all just collectively holding our breath until Cersei reaches her limit and unleashes FrankenMountain in a fit of unbridled rage.

I also quite enjoyed the recruiting run headed by Jon and Sansa, because it showed us the effects that Robb Stark’s failed war had on the region. We’ve been told repeatedly about how loyal the Northern houses are, but Robb’s war put that loyalty to the test. The stops at Bear Island and Deepwood Motte gave the viewers a chance to see the fatigue that loyalty has placed on those serving the Starks, and now the Boltons. Loyalty is important to the Northerners, but it has led to all kinds of pain and grief, something we are just now getting a sense of. It’s an interesting viewpoint: our heroes’ quest might be just, but it takes a toll on those serving them. As Mr. Spock might say, “Fascinating.”

Last, it seems we are all in agreement that whatever it was show producers were going for in the Arya sequence, it appears that they failed. It felt like a dream sequence to me, or at the least as if Arya was attempting to lure the Waif in. But either way, it didn’t work for me.

RAZOR: I hope you’ve all enjoyed your brief respite from all the murder and mayhem that usually fills an hour of Game of Thrones. Sure, the hippies that Sandor Clegane was living with totally got slaughtered, but did we really care about them? The only real death I was sad about from “The Broken Man” was Ian McShane’s, and that’s because if I could make a bronze statue of him, I would bow down and worship every day…I guess I may get my chance on American Gods when he portrays Mr. Wednesday.

I loved everything about “The Broken Man.” I’m doing bullet points, so poo on the rest of my council members:

• I loved the cold open that revealed Sandor Clegane was alive and well, and apparently still as strong as ever.
• I loved each and every brief scene with Ian McShane. (My only wish is that he could have called someone a c*cksucker. #DEADWOOD4LIFE.)
• I enjoyed the fact that Wun Wun is the de facto leader of the wildlings. Because if Wun Wun ain’t down with “SNOW,” then ain’t nobody got time for that.
• I loved, loved, LOVED, the Bear Island scene. First of all, Bear Island looked amazing and took my breath away. Secondly, Lyanna Mormont is my new spirit animal, and I shall endeavor to live my life as she would from this day until my last day.
• I actually liked that Sansa had the good sense to ask for help from Littlefinger and the Knights of the Vale. We all know Jon doesn’t have enough men to defeat the combined forces of the Boltons, Umbers, and Karstarks.
• I enjoyed the Iron Fleet in Volantis. I love that: A) Yara loves her brother enough to not ridicule him over his torture anymore, and; B) that she’s a confident woman who knows what she wants…whether it’s a Volantine whore or Daenerys Targaryen and her dragons.
• I loved that Margaery revealed herself as her own woman, and not a puppet of that filthy High Sparrow. And I’m glad she warned Lady Olenna to get out of town before it was too late.

Finally, I am one of the few who enjoyed the Arya scenes. I still believe it wasn’t Arya but rather Jaqen H’ghar wearing her face in order to draw out the Waif and test her. Here’s my reasoning:

1. We know that in Season 5, the Faceless Men can use some strange magic to wear the faces of the living, so that’s not an issue.
2. False-Arya was strolling through the streets of Braavos “walking like a rich person” without a care in the world.
3. She threw two bags of coins with her right hand to the ship’s master (Arya uses her left), and where did she suddenly get all that coin?
4. She didn’t have Needle with her, despite the fact that in “Blood of My Blood,” it was made clear that she fetched it.
5. Arya has seen the face of that old woman before, in the Hall of Faces. Why would she not be on guard?

I firmly believe Sexy Jesus gave his life so that Arya might live…or whatever. And we see Arya jumping from roof to roof like some trained parkour master from Assassin’s Creed in the trailer for “No One,” so that awful gut wound couldn’t have done any real damage to the real Arya. I know I’ll probably be roasted alive by my fellow council members, but this is my theory, and until “No One” proves me wrong, I’m sticking to it.

KATIE: Although on my first watch I didn’t particularly enjoy “The Broken Man,” I came around to it later. The overarching theme of hanging on to a final, last-ditch attempt at hope cinched it for me, and it packs a real a punch in this hour: Margaery getting her grandmother to safety; Jaime’s attempt to parlay with the Silverfox Blackfish; Jon and Sansa’s mostly failed recruitment, and the latter reaching out to the only person left to them; the Hound’s burgeoning sense of faith and how it’s crushed; Theon’s renewed sense of self; and, however she accomplishes it, Arya’s escape from the Faceless Men and her journey home.

Other than that, though, I left this episode with only some odds and ends left to comment on, so bring on the bullet points!

• While understandable that the North felt the negative effects of Robb’s failed war, Lord Glover’s indignant “Where was Robb?” can be answered with a “He was busy being betrayed and murdered by the men you now swear loyalty to.” The North’s going to look like a bunch of clowns when the wildlings and Petyr Baelish win back Winterfell for the Starks. (Because, let’s face it, the endgame of this battle is either Jon or Ramsay’s death, and it ain’t gonna be Jon again.)
• Although I’m not a book-reader, I don’t see why anyone’s fussed that Yara isn’t straight. Perhaps, as Dan said, there’s no reason for it, but in a show dominated by heterosexual flings and romance, there’s no reason not to do it, either. In any case, it doesn’t seem to impact the plot at all.
• As I mentioned in my recap of the episode, I agree with Razor’s theory that Arya was actually Jaqen in disguise, but there’s also the possibility (pointed out to me by my friend Sarah) that Arya faked her death with the help of Lady Crane: a little money, a little padding beneath that snug Braavosi ensemble, and a little fake blood for good measure. Lady Crane owes her, and anyway Arya is clever and on-guard, and she wouldn’t just hang out on a bridge without Needle when she knew she was in for a fight, as she seemed to know in “Blood of My Blood.” She may very well be setting a trap for the Waif. I’m on board for any theory that gets Arya out of harm’s way, but what I especially like about this one is that it grants Arya her natural wit, agency, and survival instinct.
• Speaking of instinct, Margaery’s scenes were gold this week. I never thought she was a true convert to the Faith, and I’m happy to see that speculation resolved. After a few seasons’ worth of unclear motives, I like that we see Margaery so clearly devoted to her family, meanwhile the High Sparrow seems to be clueless as to her true character and mental fortitude. The man thinks he can’t be beaten, and his tendency to underestimate even the cleverest of women will hopefully contribute to his downfall.

ANI: How did we get this far into the Small Council and no one mentioned Bronn? Did anyone else get the sense that he’s catching on that backing Jaime Lannister is probably going to wind up as badly as backing Tyrion Lannister? Except this time, he can’t leave Jaime behind in a cell for a nice castle. Don’t say it indeed.

Of course, the show within the show, “A Hound’s Life,” was the major thrust of the hour. I fear we will never see another corner of Westeros that green for a long time. I’m only sorry that Brienne didn’t pass through before the Brotherhood Without Banners got there—a scene where The Hound had to hide from “the woman” who nearly killed him would have been very interesting in light of Brother Ray’s teachings, especially since the Hound was struggling to take them to heart. He wanted to believe.

The weakest part of the episode, I think we can all agree, was Arya. Sorry, Razor, but if you have to write elaborate fan fiction in order to make a scene work? It didn’t work. That aside, this was a good episode. I loved that Sansa’s attempt to “get the North back together” like she and Jon were the Blues Brothers was not as easy as she assumed it would be. It’s time we saw how earlier actions reverberate down the line, and how Robb’s stupid honor has literally ruined things so badly it’s still three seasons later and people are mad about it. Same with the scene between Cersei and Olenna—Cersei’s learning you can’t just paper over bad choices with rehearsed scripts and constant game playing. Eventually, everyone’s emotional Iron Bank deposits will run out. Still, it was big of Olenna—especially considering how badly Cersei has behaved—to give her real solid truth about her situation, and to tell her to get out of town before the barefoot zealots come for her. Too bad the only piece of genuine advice Cersei’s likely to get from anyone was ignored, Cersei-style.

By the way, Corey, the reason Diana Rigg gets all the good lines? SHE’S DIANA FOOKIN RIGG. That’s why.

CAMERON: The decision to focus so heavily on the Hound in his pastoral life was pretty gutsy, but it paid off, I think. Ian McShane brought himself to the role of Ray with aplomb, and it’s excellent to see Rory McCann again, even if it is in part to tease us with the potential of Cleganebowl. (Also, again, that face make-up was positively gnarly. Good job, make-up department.) I’m also a fan of that badass flip Arya did into the river. I don’t think Arya will die within the narrative of the show/books, but when she eventually does, she will no doubt do it the same way Syrio Forel did: with style and flair. Assuming Syrio is actually dead, of course…

Anyway, it was a good episode. Lyanna Mormont was dope. The Greyjoy conversation was fascinating on several levels, which I talked about a bit in the review roundup. It will be interesting to see how this all shakes out in the next couple of weeks.