I’ve said it before and I’ll probably keep saying it but this season of Game of Thrones is freaking moving, and ‘Book of the Stranger’ is no different! I feel like any one single character arc on this show would be an entire season of another’s and that’s entirely refreshing! So without further ado, here is a brief recap of the latest episode of Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 4, ‘Book of the Stranger’. Sansa, Jon Snow, Yara, and Ramsay oh my!
The episode started off on a rather strange note for Game of Thrones…that is because characters were happily reunited in the form of Jon Snow and Sansa Stark! I was a little surprised by this one because let’s be honest…those poor Starks can’t catch a break. That being said, I expected Sansa to miss Jon Snow by just a day or two and at the end of the season…not in the first 5 minutes of this episode. Not that I’m complaining – it is actually really nice to see something reassuring to happen to the Starks other than Arya getting sweet assassin training. Where does Sansa want after meeting up with her estranged ‘brother’? She wants to march on Winterfell and after that lovely note from Ramsay, it looks like Jon Snow and the Wildlings want to roll! I also rather liked that brief exchanges of glances betwixt Breann and Tormund. Those would be some scary kids, no?
Next stop is Mereen with Tyrion and Varis entertaining the leaders of the former-current slave states. You could clearly tell that Daenerys’ subordinates of Grey Warm and Missy were not keen on Tyrion’s compromise with the slavers and I’m interested to see how this little story arc will play out. How will Dany respond once she gets back, now that Tyrion has extended 7 years of slavery? Was it a smart move? A bad move? I’m not quite sure who will turn out ‘right’ in that decision making. Is Tyrion right for compromise or is Grey Worm in his urge to annihilate the ‘Masters’?
Littlefinger then shows his hand in the Vale by exposing one of the noble lords of the House. Robyn kinda freaks me out with his solution to everything being the moon-door. He’s like the stupid-brother in the trifecta of scary child-leaders; Joffery, Ramsay, and Robyn! I’ll laugh that after Ramsay is dealt with that Robyn will be the next villain but one can only hope. Joking aside, you can see how Littlefinger terrifies that Noble Lord and basically strong armed him into aiding him. Aiding him with what? How about rolling on Winterfell! Poor old Ramsay…has a Wilding army he knows about and the Knights of the Vale he doesn’t. Either way, Winterfell is going to fall by the end of the season considering the current pace.
Back in Kings’ Landing, Cersei manages to shake out an uneasy alliance with the Tyrells. If anything, it seemed like the Lannisters and Tyrells were actively trying to destroy each other using the Faith Militant and the Sparrows but now it looks like they are both working together to actively destroy the Faith! Funny how that works out, no? You could see in Margaery Tyrell’s eyes how to ‘beat’ the High Sparrow. The High Sparrow represents a tremendous force in Game of Thrones if only because he is uncorrupted and focused. Is end-game is a purge of all of that evil…most of which drives the world of Game of Thrones! I wonder how this arc will end, hmmm?
We also got to briefly see Theon return to the Iron Island. Yes, this is what I am talking about when it comes to pacing; not only did we get to see Sansa meet up with Jon but Theon with Yara! All kind of reunions in this episode of Game of Thrones, ‘The Book of the Stranger’. Mad props to Alfie Allen(Theon) for his acting ability. His aversion to eye contact, his ticks, his constant fear…you really feel bad for the dude and know what a ‘broken’ human being looks like. At least we get to see him ally himself with Yara so we get to look forward to continuing adventures of the Greyjoys! Hooray!
Of course last but not least, we finally get a resolution to that whole Dothraki-Daenerys conundrum! At least she had things under control, right? We saw Daahrio and Jorah sneak through the city, make it to the Khaleesi at the temple of the Dosh Khaleen and…she tells them to help her? At first, I figured that she would have made some power play involving alliances but no…she remembered who the Dothraki are and the best way to reign that culture under control is through an impressive display of power. Sure, she can’t fight like a Dothraki Blood Screamer but she does have dragons…and she is immune to fire. She should probably just booby trap everything with gasoline come to think about it! Either way, it was nice to see Daenerys quickly gain control of the entirety of the Dothraki army. Now she truly is a force to be recognized and it will be something to behold to see what she’ll do with her newly acquired army. I would say she would probably go attack Astapor and Yunkai but that little deal Tyrion made…oh hell. This is why we love Game of Thrones!
