I recently contributed this review for The Pod of Casts. It’s a great Game of Thrones podcast and I would encourage you to listen if you enjoy the TV show.
So John’s watch is done. The price for his resurrection seems to be the loss of his sense of purpose. Sansa’s arrival then must appear to be heaven sent. Seeing them together after so long was very touching but not without flaws. It seemed to miss a beat when they were eating together. Did they simply eat or were we rejoining them after exchanging tales? Some cue would have been helpful, a montage, a fire loosing its flame to indicate the passage of time. Despite this what we gain is a direction albeit backwards, to Winterfell. Sansa’s plea to John gives him someone to fight for, someone to rescue and a dividend to put towards the war to come. Sacking Reese and installing Rickon as Warden of the North will give the Wildlings more security for their new homeland and a banner for John to use to gather the armies of the north and replenish the forces at Castle Black. Numbers appear against John until Little Finger returns to The Vale and rallies the troupes. While this could assist John and Sansa, the price for doing some deal for the combined forces of House Arryn & Royce could be high. Choices made here could irrecoverably decide their fate. While the Starks fight to maintain their way of life in the north, the high borne at Kings Landing fight for the same at any cost to others. After all, better them than us. The lowly High Sparrow gives another illustration that deep down, both sides the same, flawed people. Sadly this is proved true as we see further hints of torture from the faith militant and the Lainisters plotting a military strike. I fear this can only lead to mutually assured destruction. Meanwhile Tyrion tries to impose a new way of life in Slavers Bay. He is cautioned that he doesn’t understand the culture of this region but Tryion responds that he understands these type of people and that appealing to their self interest will succeed. I enjoyed the dramatic irony of this scene that proposes in order to allow the people freedom, he alone must devise the new order. I am reminded that this is the same mistake Daenerys made last season which leaves the question, after freedom, what next? Daenerys seems locked into the same sociopathic thought process: you are evil rulers, I shall destroy you and lead your people so that I may rule instead. The last scene, we see once more Daenerys doing the right thing but for the wrong reasons. I hope that somewhere along this journey she and Tyrion will learn, as John has, to set their own ambitions aside for the sake of others.