Superman Snow and Daredevil Arya

Just like episode one of this season, this episode starts and ends with a scene from the Wall.
After the dramatic eye-opening scene that ended the previous episode, the question on everyone's mind was "Is Jon Snow going to be himself when he is resurrected? Or are we in for some Zombie Snow action?" Apparently, Jon Snow's sulkiness is intact after visiting the afterlife, which he knows nothing about (even when dead he is in character) after he is resurrected. The Red Woman asks him what he saw after he died and he says - "nothing". This really quite summarizes the emotional impact this whole scene had for me.

And then right at the middle of this flat-line moment, the lousiest piece of dialogue I heard in this show. Ever. comes up. As though taken directly from Dallas or The Bold and the Beautiful:

Davos:
You were dead.
And now you're not.
That's completely fucking mad, seems to me.
I can only imagine how it seems to you.

Jon Snow:
I did what I thought was right.
And I got murdered for it.
And now I'm back.
Why?
I don't know.

Davos:
Maybe we'll never know.
What does it matter?

IS THIS REALLY THE BEST YOU COULD DO? For some reason I was expecting Jon Snow to burst into song or turn his face towards the camera, break the fourth wall, and exclaim "you guys!!! It was all thanks to my fans who have kept me in the running to becoming the next Westerosi Idol!" The emotional delivery there was a mess and I was a bit let down by the response to Jon's resurrection as well. Tormund Giantsbane and the other Wildlings and Crows looked as though being dead and coming back to life is an everyday event and so after the drama ending the previous episode this whole first scene was a bummer.

But let's move on to talk a bit about Davos Seaworth. Since when is he the Alfred Pennyworth to Jon Snow's Crowman? Davos started out as a much more complex character and now he is reduced to a two-dimensional father figure to Snow, urging him on to get back out there and make some more mistakes. It is frankly quite unclear why he is so emotionally invested in Jon Snow's success. Where is all the hatred and suspicion towards Melisandre? Where is the loyalty with a tad of bitterness and that whole messed up relationship he had with Stannis? I sure wish they make Davos more interesting again (as they should Alfred Pennyworth too! We all know who the real superhero is).

Next we have Samwell and Gilly making a debut this season with a puke-in-a-bucket moment. In terms of the timeline of the show it seemed a bit problematic - it seems as though Sam and Gilly have been stuck on that ship for ever! Everywhere else time has been moving three times as fast (Khaleesi will manage to end slavery by the time they get to OldTown), but I guess sending Sam via ship was Snow's idea and we have already established he doesn't know much about anything.

In the meantime we have Varys and Tyrion trying to figure out how bad of a political mess Meereen is, and apparently it is like Westeros on steroids. Nobody likes Daenerys messing up their slave trade and everyone are out to get her. Perhaps she will end up fleeing to Westeros on the back of a dragon after pissing off an entire continent. Unfortunately, she is currently about to stand a trial of sorts deciding whether she will be sent to pine away her days at Dothraki Widow Central at Vaes Dothrak (which is like an endless shopping mall only without the stores and the air conditioning). The scene with Varys trying to pry out information from Vala is probably the most subtle in this episode, but still in comparison to other Varys plots and intricacies seen in past seasons, quite weak overall. And yet again, in a show so consumed with delivering a violent scene every five minutes, the kindness Varys shows to Vala stands out as a single, benevolent moment. Perhaps he isn't self-interested after all? Nahhh...he totally still is.



Next we have Arya at the final stages of her Daredevil ninja training. Not much has been happening with Arya ever since she arrived at Braavos (discounting her act of revenge for which she lost her eyesight, of course). Unfortunately, when focusing only on the physical aspect of her training there is something that goes amiss in terms of the potential psychological process this character goes through. One of those rare moments when reading an internal monologue passage from the books could illustrate something in a more meaningful way than a filmed battle montage can.

King's Landing is still as complex and as interesting as ever. A real Church Vs. Throne saga is evolving there when the High Sparrow manages cleverly to use Cersei's love for Tommen to make him see things from his own perspective - and that is that Cersei needs to further pay for her perceived sins against the faith. This is probably the cleverest dialogue in the entire episode. A moment which truly demonstrates both Tommen's weakness as king and as a character and the Sparrow's brilliance. Tommen is still an impressionable kid and Cersei shouldn't let such manipulative people like the High Sparrow near him. At this rate, Tommen will be ringing the bell when she will be walking naked down the main street next time. At the same location, the rift between the Small Council at King's Landing court and the Lannisters is deepening, which again tests Cersei's patience. The question is not whether she will snap horribly and mess things up even more, but when will that happen. My guess is one, two episodes from now.  

Bran Stark keeps getting closer and closer to confirming the famed internet myth of L + R = J. Yeah yeah, I won't elaborate on that now. However, there was an interesting moment when he sees his dad in his vision and realizes that Ned lied to him about the great battle with Ser Arthur Dayne. Yes Bran, daddy lied. I think it might actually help Bran grow up a bit. How long can he possibly keep living in the Three-Eyed Raven's cave surrounded by hallucination inducing tree roots? Both Bran and Arya are stuck in a never ending initiation narrative that falls a bit flat due to the chosen structure of the episodes of constantly shifting focus between the characters as to help the viewer keep in mind all those separate plots. Their coming of age narratives pale in comparison with the bombastic Daenerys and Jon Snow story arcs.    

The scene at Winterfell surely reminds us that sometimes making the viewers forget about a character altogether could actually be a good thing (writers showing some versatility). Rickon Stark captured and brought to Ramsey Bolton. How many Starks will this guy torture? His delight at seeing Rickon borders on an Austin Powers Dr. Evil mwahahaha moment, but it was still nice to see Rickon again, even if it was in such dire circumstances. RIP dire wolf, by the way.

Finally, the episode brings us back to Snow at the Wall. His final act as Lord Commander of the Night Watch is to execute his own killers - Ser Allister, Olly and two others - before taking off his cape and giving it to Dolorous Edd (as his name suggests, he should have been made Night Watch Chief in the first place), and exiting the scene like the fabulous diva he is. Sashay away.