Episode 603: “Oathbreaker”

Ser Davos stands dumbfounded as he finds Jon Snow alive and mostly well on the table where they left his body. Jon sits up and looks around, then feels the stab wounds his sworn brothers gave him. Ser Davos gives Jon his cloak so he can cover up as Lady Melisandre enters. They ask Jon if he remembers anything. He says he remembers being stabbed in the heart, but after that there was nothing. No heaven or seven hells, no watery hall of the Drowned God, fire or ice, nothing. Ser Davos explains how Lady Melisandre brought Jon back from the dead. She tells them that she realizes she was wrong about Stannis. He was not the prince that was promised, but someone has to be. Ser Davos asks to have a moment alone with Jon. Jon says he did what he thought was right for everyone and he got murdered for it. “Why am I back? What does it matter?” Davos advises Jon to fight and go on as long as he can to clean up whatever “shit” he can before death comes again. Jon says he failed before and Davos tells him, “Go fail again.” Jon rises and leaves the room to see what’s left of the Night’s Watch, and the wildlings, staring at him as if he were a god. Which, according to Tormund Giantsbane is exactly what they think he is. Tormund knows different though. He saw Jon’s pecker and knows that any god “wouldn’t have a pecker that small.” Jon thanks Dolorous Edd for helping to save him as well. A short time later, possibly a few days, Edd comes to tell Jon that it is time. Jon comes out to the courtyard and everyone is gathered. The last four men who helped kill Jon are being hanged. Two of them are Olly and Ser Alliser Thorne. Jon asks if they have any last words and Ser Alliser says he had a choice to serve Jon or the Night’s Watch and if he had it to do all over again he would make the same choice. Jon cuts the pulley and the men hang until they die. Once it’s done, Edd says they should burn the bodies quickly, but Jon hands Edd his cloak and tells him to either wear it or burn it. Edd has the Wall now, and Jon says, “my watch has ended” and walks away.

We get another flashback through Bran and Bloodraven. A small group of young men ride towards a tower in an area that looks like it may be in Dorne. Outside the tower there are three Kinsguard with the three-headed dragon sigil of House Targaryen engraved on the chest of their armor. One of them is sharpening his sword. When the group reaches the tower we find out that one is Ned Stark and another man is Howland Reed, Jojen and Meera’s father. The three men of the Kingsguard includes Ser Arthur Dayne, aka the Sword of the Morning and pretty much the greatest warrior the seven kingdoms has ever seen. He addresses Ned Stark and Ned asks why the three men weren’t protecting prince Rhaegar on the Trident. So at this point, Robert has killed Rhaegar on the Trident and Jaime has killed King Aerys. Robert’s rebellion is basically over and these are the last three men still fighting for House Targaryen. Ser Arthur Dayne tells Ned that their prince wanted them at to stay at the tower. Ned asks where his sister is, but Ser Arthur Dayne doesn’t answer Ned, he only says, “So, now it begins.” and Ned replies, “Now it ends.”  They begin fighting until it is down to Ned and Ser Arthur Dayne. Bran can’t help but to be concerned though he knows his father beat Dayne and lived to have children. However, the truth and the story seem to be slightly different. As Ser Arthur Dayne seems to have beaten Ned, Howland Reed recovers and stabs him in the back (much to Bran’s dismay and disapproval) and then Ned chops off his head. Ned hears someone in the tower and runs up the steps. Bran calls out, “father” and Ned seems to hear him. He turns around to see who is there and of course no one is. Bloodraven gets a little miffed and immediately pulls Bran and himself out of the flashback. Bran doesn’t understand why until Bloodraven tells him that the past is already written and the ink is dry. They must be careful not to stay too long in the past or they won’t return. Bran says he does not want to be like Bloodraven sitting in a cave forever with a tree growing through him. Bloodraven tells him he won’t be there forever, but he must learn things first before he can leave.

Arya continues her bojutsu (I think that’s what it is) training with the girl at the House of Black and White as well as her mental training with J’aquen. Every day she gets the snot beat out of her and then gets asked about her former life, always answering, “a girl is no one.” She gets better and better until one day she bests the girl. Finally satisfied with her answers and her knowledge of ingredients (poisons perhaps), J’aquen gives her a potion to drink. He says, “If a girl is truly no one, she has nothing to fear.” Arya drinks the potion and regains her sight.

Sam and Gilly are on a boat to Oldtown. They are caught in a storm and Sam is having a difficult time with seasickness. Gilly is excited to see Oldtown, but Sam has to break some news to her. The Citadel doesn’t allow women so she will need to go to Hornhill, Sam’s hometown, where his family will take care of her. He will tell his family that little Sam is his baby. She resists for a moment because she wants to stay with Sam, but then she concedes and says if Sam thinks it’s for the best then she trusts him because as far as she is concerned, Sam is the father of her son.

Varys and Tyrion are still trying to hold Mereen together. Varys meets with the prostitute that was killing Unsullied back in season 4 or early season 5. She thinks Varys is going to torture her, but he says that’s not his way. She is surprised that he knows her name, Valla, and that she has a young son named Dom. Valla says the Sons of the Harpy will kill her if she tells Varys who they are. He tells her that he’s booked passage for her and her son on a boat to Pentos. All she has to do is tell Varys what she knows. While Varys is talking with her, Tyrion is having a very long and awkward silence with Missandei and Grey Worm. They don’t seem to understand his humor, a pity because his sarcasm is hilarious. He asks them both what they would be talking about if he weren’t there with him. They don’t understand the question and Grey Worm says they would be talking about reports of who went where and what’s going on in the city. Tyrion says he is referring to conversation and suggests playing a drinking game. Strike two. Grey Worm and Missandei don’t drink. As Tyrion runs out of options, Varys enters and tells them what he found out from Valla.T hree cities are funding the Sons of the Harpy, Astapor, Yunkai and Volantis. Volantis is the largest and oldest city in Essos. Grey Worm says the Unsullied are ready to fight, but Varys and Tyrion aren’t quick to jump on board the idea of an all out war. Missandei decides it for them by stating that the masters only speak one language and that is violence. Tyrion better hurry up and get those dragons trained and find their riders because another war is coming!

Dany has come full circle and she enters Vaes Dothrak for her second time. Khal Moro’s men quickly escort her to the dosh khaleen. The Dothraki widows rip her tattered clothes off as well as her awesome dragon choker. (How dare they! They better give it back to her when Drogon shows up to give her a ride.) They give her an old tunic to put on. Dany tries to explain who she is, but the head crone says she remembers the last time Dany was there while she was pregnant with Rhaego. She asks why Dany didn’t return after Drogo died as is the Dothraki custom. (I think these women need to discover feminism. So much girl-on-girl hate. Most of the “crones” look pretty young too.) She basically tells the woman she has other things to do and isn’t really down with hanging in a tent for the rest of her life. The woman tells her they must have a Dosh Khveshvan, a large gathering where the Dothraki decide which cities to sack, which people to enslave and what to do with silver-haired young women who hatch dragons in the pyre of the khal. They could decide to kill her, or if she is lucky, she can stay with the dosh khaleen to live out her days. I’m voting for a third option. (Again, you know Drogon is gonna come get her!)

Qyeburn is converting Varys’s little birds to be his own. The children ask where Varys is, but they quit asking questions once he gives them candy. He tells them to bring their friends to join them next time. Cersei shows up with her new bodyguard. In the book, there is a pretense that the Mountain is dead. His body is sent to Dorne to appease Prince Doran and the other Martell’s with the killer of Elia Martell, her children and prince Oberyn. Qyeburn names him Ser Robert Strong since the Mountain is supposed to be dead. So if you’ve heard that name, that’s why people haven’t been calling him the Mountain. Since prince Doran has been killed by Ellaria Sand and the Sand Snakes, who have openly declared war on the Lannisters, I guess they aren’t keeping up this pretense in the show because they plainly call him the Mountain in front of anyone who can hear. Anyhoo, the kids are scared of the Mountain, but Qyeburn tells them not to fear him as he dismisses them. Cersei tells Qyeburn she wants his little birds everywhere, all over Westeros and in all of the Free Cities as well as the slave cities. She wants to know every threat possible. She also tells Qyeburn that Ser Gregor (aka the Mountain) will be her champion because she will invoke trial by combat in order to get out the other charges she has against her from the High Sparrow.

Grand Maester Pycelle is trying to stage a coup. He is in a small council meeting with Ser Kevan Lannister, Mace Tyrell and his mother the Queen of Thorns. Cersei and Jaime stop there next along with the Mountain. Cersei demands to know why the Queen of Thorns is there since she isn’t on the small council. Lady Olenna tells Cersei she was invited, and who is she to question why she is there. Cersei is no longer the queen. Margaery is the queen now, so Cersei doesn’t belong there either. Jaime says he does have a seat on the small council as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. Jaime and Cersei insist they will stay, so Ser Kevan says they obviously can’t stop them from staying, but unless Ser Gregor is going to kill the rest of them, they can leave. And they do.

Tommen visits the High Sparrow and demands Cersei be allowed to see Myrcella, but he says Cersei can’t enter the sept until she has atoned for all her sins. She is to stand trial in front of seven septas. (That sounds promising, as those women seem about as up on women’s rights as the Dothraki women.) The High Sparrow tells Tommen that he can see his mother loves him very much, even doing bad things to protect him. He knows the only reason she confessed to any sins and went on her walk of atonement was so she could get back to Tommen, but he says they need to bring out the good in each other.

Ramsay gets a visit from the son of Great Jon Umber. I’m guessing his name is Small Jon Umber. He tells Ramsay his father was a cunt and he knows he killed him. He is upset because Jon let the wildlings through the Wall and gave them uninhabited land in the north. He has fought wildlings all his life and is not happy that they are now his new neighbors, so he wants Ramsay’s help to send them packing back to the other side of the Wall. If Ramsay does this, the Small Jon Umber will swear allegiance to him as Warden of the North. Then the Umbers will help him fight any other enemies. He also presents Ramsay with a gift. I really thought he was going to drag Stannis in, but he drags two figures in instead. When he takes off their hoods we see that it’s Osha and a grown up Rickon. Where the heck did they come from? Ramsay isn’t so quick to believe its Rickon until Small Jon throws poor Shaggy Dog’s head on the table. (Why do we have to keep killing all the damn direwolves?!?) Ramsay welcomes Rickon home.

What will Jon do now? I really hope this means he is going back to claim Winterfell and kick Ramsay’s ass. I’m so excited! I was really hoping Jaime would climb from behind Cersei’s skirts, but I guess the fact that she was screwing everyone in King’s Landing doesn’t sway his love for her. And where have Rickon and Osha been and why are they back? Last but not least, who was in that tower Ned was going to? Why would three Kingsguard be guarding a tower when their prince and their king were dead? What were they protecting? I have a very good idea, but I’ll keep that to myself for now.