One of the irritating realities of the source material for much of this season of Game of Thrones is that it is basically two thick volumes comprised of 90% setup.  In other words, there is a lot of ground to cover, condense, and otherwise jam into a single season, and that means episodes like this one.  Only a couple of events in the episode could be mistaken as “major”, and even that is a matter of perspective.

 

 

For anyone familiar with the books, the title of the episode was a dead giveaway.  Arya arrives at her desired destination, and asks for Jaqen H'ghar.  Now, all things considered, she has perhaps forgotten that the assassin she once spoke to probably didn’t actually go by that name, nor should she really expect him to look as he once did.  That all said, this episode delivers the first lesson: names and faces aren’t a thing in the House of Black and White.

 

This is going to be a struggle for someone like Arya, even if it is exactly where her journey has been taking her.  Arya puts a great deal of meaning on her identity, from her list of intended victims to her prized possession of Needle.  If becoming someone like “Jaqen” means letting all of that go, then will she be willing to let those things go?  If not, what will it mean for her future?  (Setting aside that this subplot offers another change, possibly quite significant, from the source material; I will not say in what respect, though!)

 

 

More surprising was the time and direction taken with Brienne and Pod.  Who would have expected them to cross paths with Petyr and Sansa so quickly?  It also poses the question: if Brienne has already found both of the Stark girls and been rejected by them, what is her purpose in the story going to be?  It’s quite different so far from the path she took in the novels, so this is uncharted territory.

 

The information about Petyr and the marriage proposal is interesting, because it’s not something anyone who hasn’t been cheating and peeking ahead would know about.  It’s getting to the point that both the initiated and the uninitiated, in terms of the books, will be dealing with the looming darkness that is spoiler territory!  Whatever marriage is impending, this could fall in line with my theory that Sansa will play along with Petyr right up until all these alliances are in place, and then she will quickly dispatch him and take the reins!

 

 

Our first look at Dorne is a relatively short one, but it tells us all we need to know.  Ellaria Sand is pissed and wants to take it out on Myrcella, and the somewhat disrespected Prince Doran has to reinforce the point that they shouldn’t act like the Lannisters if they want to maintain the moral high ground.  The Sand Snakes may be ready for war with the Lannisters, but why would Dorne open that particular door, if they weren’t willing to do so already when Oberyn was casting about accusations?

 

What is perhaps more subtle here is the implication that Doran has other plans in mind.  Dorne was content to sit on the sidelines of the War of the Five Kings for a reason, and one must come to the inevitable conclusion that not launching a war against the Lannisters, even in their current compromised state, is a part of the grand scheme.  They are flying under the radar for another purpose, and I’m quite curious what that will turn out to be.  Or, for that matter, how badly will Jamie and Bronn mess things up?

 

 

Up at the Wall, Stannis desperately needs the Wildlings to play along, and he sees that Jon Snow is the only person that might influence them to do so.  Of course, Stannis also makes the mistake of thinking that the Wildlings are much inclined to listen to anyone south of the Wall, but that’s Stannis for you.  Despite his supposed mixed loyalties (which a desire to preserve as much life as possible is hardly mixed, in my view), Jon has been emerging as a leader.  If nothing else, his willingness to stand up to Stannis, even in the face of being handing legitimacy on a silver platter, is noteworthy.

 

So when it comes time for the new Commander to be chosen, was there any doubt that it would be Jon Snow?  Ultimately, it would be the only way to give Stannis a reason to decline his previous offer.  It just so happens to set some obvious conflicts in motion, which is plain as day.  Now the question will be: with Jon in command of the Night’s Watch, how will that play out with the Wildlings?  And how will those with distinctly anti-Wildling sentiments react to his choices?  Jon is basically entering the Game more and more, and he might be advised not to assume what his ideals will lead him to assume.

 

 

Over in Essos, Dany continues to find ruling Slaver’s Bay to be less than simple.  I honestly don’t recall if the matter of the formerly-liberated slave was covered in the source material, but I get the feeling that they are trying to condense all the various issues and challenges into as few episodes as possible.  And that’s fine by me, because they need to avoid lingering forever in Meereen. 

 

Ironically, I get the sense that people are under the impression that Drogon is back for good.  Well, just because he came to say hello to Mommy doesn’t mean that he’s not going to continue roaming the countryside.  Unless I am proven very wrong, I took it as an indication that he’s not gone forever, and will be around to factor into the story before all is said and done.  But at least it gave the episode a nice ending, since otherwise, things were rather bleak and contentious in Meereen.