On this episode of Game of Thrones, titled Book of the Stranger, the 4th episode of the 6th season, there is a lot of episode to recap! Littlefinger is trying to come up with a way to attack the Boltons, while the High Sparrow is still in control of King’s Landing, but Cersei might have a plan. Jon Snow, meanwhile, reunites with Sansa, and they have to decide their next move given Ramsay Bolton’s ultimatum. Oh yeah, and Daenerys again proves that she is the “Unburnt,” showing the Dothraki that she could very well be a fitting leader. There’s a lot to recap in this episode, which Josh provides this week, and then both Violet and Josh provide their thoughts on the episode!
Littlefinger Manipulates Robin in The Vale
In the Vale, King Robin is failing terribly at his archery training. Littlefinger shows up at the archery range, and greets King Robin. Littlefinger has a present for Robin, a falcon, which he becomes enamored and obsessed with. Littlefinger then gets into a debate as to what exactly happened to Sansa when she was being taken to the Fingers. Littlefinger explains to Yohn Royce that Ramsay had ambushed Sansa and took her captive.
Littlefinger then begins to shift the blame of Sansa’s capture to other people who may have known of Sansa’s trip–namely Royce himself. Royce takes offense to this accusation, but Littlefinger turns to the Lord of the Vale as to the judgment for Royce. But Robin, unsure of himself, asks Littlefinger if Royce should go through the moon door. Royce makes a plea to Robin, saying he has only served the Vale. Robin then goes to Littlefinger for guidance, asking if Littlefinger believes Royce. Littlefinger says that Royce should be given one more shot. Robin sighs, but agrees.
Littlefinger then tells Robin of Sansa making it to Castle Black, and says that he is worried about her as the Boltons would be able to get to her. Robin says they should help, and Littlefinger seems to be happy about this.
The High Sparrow In King’s Landing
In King’s Landing, Margaery is still being held prisoner, and is escorted to the High Sparrow. The High Sparrow is still trying to break her down, and provides some information about his own life–explaining his father was a cobbler, and he took over his shop. He discusses how his shoes took a long time to complete–for people more wealthy than himself. He talks about how he tried to get a “taste” of the wealthy’s life. He then talks about how he seemed to have a revelation, when he was at a party, where there was much sin.
The High Sparrow then takes Margaery to see her brother. In his cell, Margaery tries to tell Loras to remain strong, but he seems to be on the verge of breaking, and even says so himself. Margaery pleads for him to remain strong.
Cersei and Jaime Have a Plan for the High Sparrow
Meanwhile, moving over to Tommen, he is in a discussion with Master Pycelle, who seems to be warning of Tommen of enemies “within and without.” Cersei overhears this conversation, and asks Pycelle to leave. Pycelle protests but Tommen also requests his departure.
Cersei and Tommen talk about how to handle the High Sparrow. Tommen says they should not antagonize him. But Cersei seems to want to take action. Tommen also informs Cersei that Margaery is going to be paraded down the streets like Cersei was.
Given this news, Cersei and Jaime decide to attend another Council Meeting, at the protest of Olenna and Kevan. Cersei explains what will be happening next, and the High Sparrow seems to have gotten the leaders of King’s Landing bickering amongst themselves. Jaime explains the plan–to have the Tyrells’ armies come into King’s Landing to take the High Sparrow, and the soldiers of King’s Landing will stand down. Olenna and Kevan warn that there could be civil war in the city if the plan doesn’t work. Olenna seems fine with that, saying, “better them than us.”
Theon Greyjoy Returns Home to the Iron Islands
Theon has made his journey home. He greets his sister, Yara. She seems very upset with him, specifically for not leaving with her when she attempted to rescue him, causing many men to die in vain. Yara then asks why him why he is back now, seeming to suspect it could be to become ruler. Theon tries to tell her that he was broken by Ramsay, and apologizes. He also tells Yara that he wants her to lead the Iron Islands, and he wants to help her.
Ramsay Kills Osha in Winterfell
Ramsay has Osha brought to him for a chat. Osha doesn’t seem impressed, given that Ramsay doesn’t eat his victims. Osha tries to play Ramsay, coming on to him, and trying to play off her protection of Rickon Stark.
Osha tries to grab a knife she had seen on the table, but Ramsay tells Osha that Theon told her about how the Stark boys escaped. Osha makes a grab for the knife, but Ramsay slits her throat before she is able to get the knife back to him.
Jon Snow and Sansa Stark Reunite at Castle Black
Edd talks with Jon Snow, who is making preparations to leave. Edd is disappointed in Jon Snow abandoning them with the White Walkers advancing. Jon Snow tells him that his own brothers killed him. As the two get heated, Castle Black’s gate opens up, and in comes Sansa, Brienne and Podrick. Jon Snow comes out, and he and Sansa embrace.
Sansa and Jon Snow talk, and reminisce about home. They also talk about their regrets for leaving Winterfell. Sansa then asks his next move, and Jon Snow says they should stick together. Sansa says they need to take back Winterfell. Jon Snow says he has no army, but Sansa says the Wildlings owe Jon Snow, and other Northern armies would assist. Jon Snow seems pretty resigned to not fighting anymore given how much he has done recently. Sansa tells Jon she will do it herself if Jon won’t help.
Meanwhile, Melisandre and Davos chat about their next moves, and Melisandre seems to think Jon Snow is the chosen one, rather than the now-dead Stannis. Davos then asks what happened with Stannis, in the fight, and his daughter. Melisandre remains vague, but Brienne shows up and is sure to tell the two she is the one who executed Stannis.
Ramsay Bolton Threatens the Remaining Starks
Later, there is an awkward dinner between Brienne, Jon Snow, Sansa, Edd, and Tormund, the leader of the Wildlings. A member of the Night’s Watch brings a letter to Jon Snow, addressed to him. It is from Ramsay Bolton, who tells Jon Snow he is a traitor, and that he is holding Rickon Stark, and demands Sansa to be returned to him. If he does not, then he will kill all of the Wildlings, and do some very horrible things to Sansa and Rickon. The group then discusses military power of the Wildlings–which is only about 2,000, much less than Ramsay’s. Sansa says they should ask for other Northern families’ assistance.
Tyrion Negotiates With Slavers in Meereen
Tyrion seems to have set up a meeting with slavers in Slaver’s Bay, to have negotiations. Missandei and Grey Worm are not excited about this meeting, as they think slavery will come back. Tyrion indicates that they need peace in the Meereen, and meeting with them is the only way to do it.
At the meeting, the Slavers seem to take issue with Tyrion somehow rising to the top of the food chain in Meereen. But Tyrion does offer compromise–compromise that offends Missandei and Grey Worm–offering the slavers time (seven years) to acclimate to a slave-free world in Slaver’s Bay. The slavers seem happy with this decision though. In exchange Tyrion tells the Slavers to stop supporting the Sons of the Harpy. The men are the given parting “gifts” of scantily-clad women.
Tyrion then heads to the throne room, which has a few angry citizens of Meereen. They aren’t happy about this meeting Tyrion had. Tyrion manipulates both Grey Worm and Missandei into backing his decision in order to keep Meereen together in one piece. They both are not happy about it though.
Meeting with Missandei and Grey Worm, Tyrion explains that he is unable to end both war and slavery in the same day in their current situation. Grey Worm is still not convinced Tyrion’s plan will work though–he is worried that the Slavers will end up using Tyrion.
Jorah and Daario Try to Save Daenerys
Jorah and Daario, meanwhile, work out their differences as they make their way to the Dothraki city, and they seem torn on Daenerys, given they are both smitten with her.
Jorah and Daario head down into the Dothraki town, but Jorah says they should do so unarmed, that way if they are caught, they would at least try to be able to explain away their presence as merchants. Daario agrees, but Jorah tells to him to remove all weapons, which includes his hidden dagger that has a naked women for a hilt. Daario says he will. In their disarming, Jorah sees the greyscale on Jorah’s arm. Jorah ensures Daario that it didn’t touch him.
They head into town to look for Daenerys, but they come up two Dothraki men. Jorah tries to explain they are merchants, but they are not believed. One man feels to tell others, which Daario gives chase to. Jorah, meanwhile, starts to get his butt kicked by the man that stayed behind to fight. Daario shows up though, and saves Jorah.
Daenerys Gains Control of the Dothraki Clans
Daenerys, meanwhile, is with the widows of the Dothraki leaders, the Dosh Khaleen, awaiting her “hearing” with the Dothraki leaders, the Khalasars. She learns the way of life for the Dosh Khaleen, which is to provide knowledge for the Dothraki. Daenerys asks to get some air, and she is escorted by a young Dothraki woman. Jorah and Daario approach, grabbing the young Dothraki woman. Daenerys tells the two to not hurt the woman. Daenerys doesn’t think they can make an escape though. She comes up with another idea however, and asks for the Dothraki woman to trust her, and for Jorah and Daario to help her.
Meeting with the Khalasar, they are to judge whether Daernerys should be allowed to live or not. Daenerys has other ideas in mind though–she says she will lead the Dothraki. The Dothraki leaders find this funny, but Daenerys decides to start pushing over the various braziers in the hut. On top of that, outside, Jorah and Daario have blocked the exits. Apparently Daenerys is still the “Unburnt,” and more importantly, the Dothraki are not. They are burned to death, and Daenerys walks out of the burning building, completely nude, and to the crowd of Dothraki who have come to see the spectacle. The Dothraki seem to hail her has her new leader, as they kneel before her. Jorah and Daario also kneel.
His Thoughts on Game of Thrones, Season 6 Episode 4: Book of the Stranger
So, this episode of Game of Thrones had a lot going on. I am curious to know why the episode was called Book of the Stranger. I watched the episode twice now, and didn’t see any specific reference to this in the episode, but I could have missed it.
But most important to me this episode–both the High Sparrow and Ramsay Bolton are hopefully on their path to being dead. I really dislike both characters for completely different reasons. The High Sparrow at least has good intentions, but he has a zealot mentality, which really gets under my skin. I don’t really think Ramsay needs any explanation though.
But Jon Snow seemed to make a pretty big 180 this episode. He went from planning to leave Castle Black to staying and potentially raising on army to take down the Boltons. I look forward to seeing that battle.
Meanwhile, another player for the Iron Throne seems to have increased here army significantly–Daenerys. I wonder if her next plans are to return to Meereen, and if so, what she will make of Tyrion’s decision to allow slaves in Slaver’s Bay.
Littlefinger, meanwhile, is working on his manipulations. He is another I wonder about. What are his long term goals? He seems to want to take down Ramsay as well, but what of Jon Snow? Will they work together? Will there be some traitorous deeds going down eventually? Hmm…
It certainly does feel like the different powers are starting to ramp up though. Daenerys has created her massive army, now adding the Dothraki. Jon Snow could be uniting the Northern families, to create his claim to the throne, given he can stop Ramsay. Cersei and Jaime are dealing with some internal strife that they need to clean out to ensure they are not weak against external threats. Then there is Littlefinger, where I am still not quite sure where he stands. It will be interesting to see what happens as these bigger powers begin to converge on each other.
Her Thoughts on Game of Thrones, Season 6 Episode 4: Book of the Stranger
This was one of those episodes of Game of Thrones that make me say Heck yes! Oh my gosh, that reunion between Jon Snow and Sansa was amazing! The emotion that was conveyed in that hug was palpable. We’ve been waiting for a Stark sibling reunion for so long, I’m glad that we finally got one after all this time. Then it is Sansa, not Jon Snow, who is carrying the banner for taking Winterfell back, saying she’ll do it herself if he’s not in. You go, Sansa! But then they get the letter from Ramsay, and hear about him holding Rickon, which convinces him to give in after all. Sansa is pretty confident that the Northern families will support them, as Northern families are loyal. However, it was a Northern family that handed Rickon over to Ramsay, and Northern families probably feel betrayed by Jon Snow allowing the Wildlings through the gate, so getting the Northern families on their side might not be such an easy task as Sansa assumes. On the other hand, it might come down to choosing between the lesser of two evils: Ramsay or the Wildlings, and as we’ve seen, Ramsay seems to be the greater evil here. Though I’m sure Jon Snow can work out some sort of pact with the Wildlings anyway, and convince the Northern families that they’re not a threat. In any case, it seems like we’re looking at an epic battle at Winterfell by the end of the season!
Then the other epic thing that happened this episode was Dany burning down the Dothraki hut and killing all their leaders — and once again, stepping out from the fires unharmed. That was awesome. It looks like Meereen may have just gained thousands more subjects and soldiers.
We also saw the return of Littlefinger this episode. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen him. Not sure what he’s up to, but he is always up to something. I guess this time it’s him leading the Vale, through the guise of Robin. Oh Littlefinger, you master manipulator. At this point, it just seems like the Vale will add to the forces that will attack Ramsay Bolton at Winterfell, making the eventual battle that much more epic. But what does Littlefinger get out of it?
Of course, there’s the Sparrow issue going on in King’s Landing, which didn’t really interest me in the books, and honestly doesn’t interest me much now. We’ll probably get a cool battle scene out of it though.
Scenes from Game of Thrones, Season 6 Episode 5: The Door
Preview of Season 6 Episode 5 of Game of Thrones
