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Home / Entertainment

TV Review: Game of Thrones, season six, episode five

By Siena Yates
NZ Herald·
23 May, 2016 09:30 AM4 mins to read

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Bran just changed the game for everyone. Photo / HBO

Bran just changed the game for everyone. Photo / HBO

SPOILERS: This review contains details from episode five, season six of Game of Thrones. Don't read if you haven't seen the show.

Well, you know what they say: another week, another episode full of sisters doing it for themselves (and everyone around them), on Game of Thrones.

At Castle Black, Sansa took charge of the war games as the resident Stark, convincing Jon and Davos to rally the houses of the North in her favour.

She also confronted Little Finger for giving her to Ramsay Bolton, forcing him into a corner by asking "what do you think he did to me?" while Brienne made sure he actually answered.

READ MORE:
•TV Review: Game of Thrones, season six, episode four
•Who will kill Ramsay Bolton and how will they do it? Here are six suggestions

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Little Finger tried to weasel his way back into her good graces by offering her the army of The Veil, but Sansa told him to go home because basically, "we got this".

Sansa is finally coming into her own this season, owning the Stark name. Photo / HBO
Sansa is finally coming into her own this season, owning the Stark name. Photo / HBO

What she did learn from him though, is her uncle the Blackfish has an army and she and Jon are going to convince them to join their cause.

Meanwhile, we got more of Tormund eyeing up Brienne, and some of Brienne calling Jon Snow an emo. Good times.

In Braavos, Arya was sent to a play which played out a gross version of season one, in which Ned Stark was killed and Sansa was swept up by the Lannisters. Arya's reaction proved she's still a Stark no matter how much she pretends to be nobody.

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The other great thing about the play is that after six seasons of seeing a bunch of naked ladies, we finally saw the first penis on Game of Thrones. It was warty and gross, but still, steps toward equality and all that.

In the Iron Islands, Yara made a grab at the throne, but unlike the chap at the play she doesn't have a penis and neither does Theon, so Euron got the throne instead (steps away from equality and all that).

The siblings that steal a fleet of ships together, slay together. Photo / HBO
The siblings that steal a fleet of ships together, slay together. Photo / HBO

Euron's master plan is to give his fleet to Dany and win the favour of the dragon Queen, so that they might take over Westeros together (not likely, as long as Daario's around).

So while Euron drowned (because of course, you have to survive a full on drowning to become King), Yara and Theon made a break for it and stole all of Euron's ships while they were at it. My greatest hope is they'll go on to pledge their allegiance to Sansa now they're homeless.

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In Dany's world, she and Jorah basically declared their love for each other and in Meereen, Tyrion got a Red Priestess on his side who - unlike Melisandre - is backing Dany as the one who was promised.

But the main event of the episode stemmed from Bran going off and doing something he wasn't supposed to do because he never listens.

Even though the Three-Eyed Raven told him not to - he warged to see the army of White Walkers, but they saw him too and Bran was marked by the Night's King who used the mark to find them.

Only by then, Bran and the Raven were busy warging so Bran could take up the mantle from the old man, Hodor was freaking out and it fell to the women to hold things down.

The Children of the Forest will literally blow everything up if that's what it takes. Photo / HBO
The Children of the Forest will literally blow everything up if that's what it takes. Photo / HBO

The Children of the Forest held off the White Walkers with a burning ring of fire, while Meera attempted to get Bran up and moving.

They did all the fighting - Meera killed a White Walker and one of the Children of the Forest even blew herself up to help the others escape (RIP). And Summer became the latest of the direwolves to be killed off because the Thrones creators have no hearts, leaving only Ghost and Nymeria in play.

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Meanwhile, Bran - while already warging into the past with the Raven - also warged into Hodor when he heard Meera's desperate cries for him to do so, so Hodor could carry Bran to safety.

While he and Meera made a run for it, Meera shouted back at Hodor to "hold the door" while they escaped an onslaught of white walkers.

Hodor, you're too perfect for this world anyway. Photo / HBO
Hodor, you're too perfect for this world anyway. Photo / HBO

Hodor in the past heard Meera yelling at Hodor in the present through Bran's double warg, and dropped to the ground in a strange seizure in which he kept repeating "hold the door" until it slurred to become "Hodor".

Back in the present, grown up Hodor - distracted by his own revelation - appeared to be killed by the white walkers. Though there may still be hope, as we never actually saw him fall.

Either way, seeing what happened to Hodor proves how powerful Bran actually is, and now that he's left the cave and taken over as the Three-Eyed Raven, he's clearly about to become a major player in the Game of Thrones.

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