Small Council: What did you think of “No One?”

What did we like about “No One,” the eighth episode of Game of Thrones Season 6? What didn’t we like? Tell us your opinions, and vote it our poll!

DAN: The consensus around the internet seems to be that “No One” underwhelmed, and generally I agree, although there was certainly good stuff in there.

The biggest problem fans seem to have was that it was implausible for Arya to run around Braavos like that so soon after sustaining a serious gut wound, or to run around at all. Or to live. Those people are probably right, but not having much knowledge in this area, it actually didn’t bother me while I was watching the episode. I accepted that the wound was slowing Arya down, especially after it opened up following that jump, and left it at that.

I kind of compare it to that time the Mountain crushed Oberyn’s skull with his bare hands, aka That-Was-Disgusting Fest 2014. The scientific consensus seems to be that this isn’t possible (although there are other opinions), but we accepted it anyway. (Of course, that was incidental to the scene—Oberyn was dead anyway—while Arya’s wound is more consequential.) Still, while Game of Thrones is a fantasy show, it’s a fantasy show that’s always been grounded in reality, and after this flare-up, I think it might have been better off skipping the whole wound-and-recovery bit and having the foot chase happen at the end of “The Broken Man.”

With the Arya plot muddled, the proportion of set-up to payoff was thrown out of whack. I liked the scenes with the Hound and in King’s Landing, but they were mostly setting up future developments. Ditto the stuff in Meereen—Daenerys arrival was very much a “tune in next week” moment, and the best thing that can be said about the Tyrion-Missandei-Grey Worm comedy scene was that it wasn’t as bad as the last time they tried that.

By far the strongest parts of the episode were at Riverrun, where we were treated to a pair of wonderfully layered conversations, first between Jaime and Brienne and then between Jaime and Edmure. (If I had my way, the hour would have ended on that wistful wave between Jaime and Brienne. I loved that.) And I thought Edmure’s decision to surrender the castle had the sort of moral murkiness that used to be this show’s bread and butter. Was he a coward for selling out his family or a hero for saving hundreds of lives? Those sorts of questions give this show weight and intrigue.

The problem was that, until very recently, we hadn’t seen characters like Edmure and the Blackfish in years, so even though “No One” paid off the siege plot nicely, it wasn’t a plot we were deeply invested in. And yes, it would have been cathartic to see the Blackfish take out a guy or two before Jaime was told of his death, but that’s a minor point. (For the record, I had no problem with the Waif’s offscreen death—the candle bit was neat, and there was no question as to what happened next.)

I seem to have been on the defensive for a good chunk of this write-up. I think that’s the kind of episode it was. Bring on “Battle of the Bastards.”

KATIE: I’m still a little embarrassed about how much time I spent theorizing over Arya’s injuries in “The Broken Man” since, as it turns out, those theories came to nothing. I almost wonder if it would have been better if they had, although I suppose something like Jaqen-is-disguised-as-Arya may have taken longer to explain, even without the medical implausibilities that were Arya’s healing and level of activity.

That being said, I felt that much of the context of “No One” didn’t really pay off. There was a lot of build-up to action, but very little actual action: Cersei’s “I choose violence” resulted in one quick death, when it seemed that it would have ended in a massacre. The Blackfish died in a fight we didn’t see. We kept mostly to the pyramid during the battle in Meereen, and saw nothing but a few seconds of the masters’ havoc. And Arya cut the lights before taking out the Waif (I do, however, appreciate the poetic resonance to this one, and think it works better than another bloodfest à la Meryn Trant). But with “Battle of the Bastards” on its way, maybe we could do with a little premeditated reprieve from violence.

As Dan mentioned, the scenes at Riverrun really made this episode, and I loved every minute. The dynamics worked all across the board—Bronn and Pod, Brienne and Jaime, Brienne and the Blackfish, and Jaime and Edmure. There were layers to every interaction (with the possible exception of the Bronn and Pod scene, which was there purely for enjoyment), and they deeply explored the characters and their relationships with one another. Considering his experience at the Red Wedding and what it cost him, there’s much to be said for the Blackfish’s decision to stay behind at Riverrun when he could have escaped. Edmure pointed things out about Jaime that the latter would rather not address, and Jaime’s insistence that he cares only for Cersei rang somewhat false; it seemed as though he were trying to convince himself, because it’s the only way he can justify his actions anymore. Brienne and Jaime still have the complicated relationship of two people who respect and admire each other, but their agendas are taking them in opposite directions. This is what made the episode riveting, regardless of the lack of action.

It may have arguably been the third set-up episode in a row, but I do think “No One” was the best of the lot, and hopefully we’ll see some big culmination of these events in the next two weeks.

CAMERON: I’m inclined to agree that a particular section of Riverrun was the best in this otherwise anticlimactic episode. The Brienne/Jaime stuff just works, man. Some of it is down to writing, some of it to acting, but all of it in service of one of the best fictional pairings of characters ever.

I also enjoyed the dark humor of the Hound’s scenes, which was good because now that Tommen has ruled out Cleganebowl I need all the Hound I can get, y’know? But mostly this was an episode where things just sort of ended (like the past two season finales of Arrow—ZING), which was both awkward—because we still have two episodes to go this year—and annoying. There was some setup for the finale (read: I’m very excited to watch Cersei just burn it all to the ground), but otherwise… eh.

COREY: This episode was symptomatic of the feelings I’ve had towards Season 6 in general. It’s not so much what is happening, but how it is happening. I like where the overall plot is heading, and if I was just reading the summary on Wikipedia or something, I’d probably think a lot more highly of the season. Arya refuses to kill an innocent woman, and gets expelled from the Faceless Men in the most violent way possible? The Tullys have retaken Riverrun, and the Blackfish will never yield the castle easily! Go get him Jaime! It all sounds pretty cool on paper, but onscreen it feels rushed and unrealistic. And the most frustrating part about this all is that if Benioff and Weiss went to HBO and said, “Hey look, we need maybe five more episodes overall, let’s expand those last two seasons to full seasons,” HBO would jump at the chance. So why rush things?

As my esteemed fellow Small Council member Ani pointed out on the Take the Black podcast this week, (now available on iTunes), it feels almost as if we are getting the CliffNotes version of a book we haven’t read yet. We have largely moved past the books on which the series is based, and it is starting to feel a bit sloppy to me. We have Varys going on a “secret mission” and Qyburn telling Cersei that he has a “secret” that might help Cersei in her upcoming trial, and all kinds of other nonsense. Look, things like the Red Wedding worked because there were only oblique hints about what was coming, not because Tywin was spouting off about secret letters he was sending to secret people about secret things. It all feels like lazy storytelling to me.

All that being said, I did enjoy some things about this episode. The scene with Jaime and Edmure in the tent was downright great. Jaime attempts to be magnanimous, and when Edmure throws it back in his face, a switch flips in Jaime and out comes the Kingslayer. It was awesome to behold. Anything with the Hound is always fun, and I did enjoy Bronn joshing Podrick as Brienne and Jaime discussed the Tully siege. Overall, though, the scenes were just not enough to make up for the shortcomings of the rest of the episode, and the season.

ANI: I’m glad people agree with me, Corey. The only place I have to disagree is that Benioff and Weiss should be willing to extend the show further and take their time. I’m starting to think the exhaustion is getting to them. And it came out in this episode.

Also, this is the first time I’ve seen an episode so late in the season refuse to go for the big notes. Game of Thrones never does that. It builds slow and then, by Episode 7, the punches to the head start. Instead, the entire season felt backward—all the big notes happened in Episodes 1-6, and 7 and 8 have been stuck in treading water mode. Not to mention that there’s too much to cover properly. Where is Bran? (Seriously, did I just demand more Bran?) Where are Jon and Sansa? Their big battle is next week, and at this point they’ve been offscreen so much it’s almost going to feel like it dropped in out of nowhere. And good god, how many storylines will that leave to wrap up in the finale? Even if the rumors are true and we see the beginnings of Dany and Yara’s beautiful friendship gets shoehorned into “Battle of the Bastards,” that still leaves:

1. Bran coming south of the wall
2. Whatever will happen with Coldhands
3. More visions of the Tower of Joy
4. Euron and company and their new boats
5. Where Varys went
6. Where Olenna Went
7. If the Dornish are turning back up
8. Margaery’s game plan
9. Tommen’s death (shut up, the kid’s dead meat.)
10. Cersei’s trial, which will likely eat up a lot of screen time
11. Jaime figuring out what to do with Riverrun so he can get back to King’s Landing
12. The Freys doing whatever they want to do now that they’ve won again
13. Qyburn’s secret
14. Dany and Yara setting getting the hell out of Meereen already
15. Arya turning back up
16. The aftermath of whatever went down at Winterfell, and the lords of the North accepting Jon
17. Whatever BS Littlefigner’s going to try and pull last minute

All that in 70 minutes? What did Hermione bring everyone a Time-Turner to make it all fit?

RAZOR: Am I really in the minority here, because I actually liked “No One?” Sure, the episode had its fair share of problems, two offscreen deaths of important characters being chief among them, but there were other moments that were quite enjoyable.

• Every scene with Sandor Clegane in it should be considered a national treasure. Rory McCann hasn’t lost a step when it comes to portraying the Hound, and watching him butcher those outlaws and then verbally spar with Thoros and Beric Dondarrion was an absolute pleasure.
• The new Brotherhood Without Banners is not, in fact, an outlaw band like we were led to believe. In fact, Beric and Thoros are heading north to help fight the Night King. I’m getting giddy just imagining scenes with Beric and Jon, or Thoros and Melisandre (if she survives Episode 9), and the Hound seeing Brienne again.
• The Battle of Meereen unexpectedly began and Dany returned home, all in one episode. For those fans who were wanting her storyline to speed up a bit, well, you got your wish.
• The Mountain ripped a dude’s head off, and no one is talking about this.
• Tommen outlawed trial by combat, which is kind of a huge deal, since Cersei was banking on violence to clear her name.

Everyone is so focused on what they perceive to be terrible writing for the Arya vs the Waif scenes, that they are forgetting the larger plot: Arya is returning to Westeros, and that means the remaining names on her list better get their affairs in order. Overall, “No One” wasn’t the best episode, but it wasn’t without merit.