Snow has never been a good thing on “Game of Thrones“. This week’s episode, sees snow falling, and falling hard, on many of the characters. “Winter is coming” may be the words of House Stark but everyone is starting to realize this is the stark truth. Even as we move south and across the Narrow Sea where it is still a bit too warm to snow, the specter of impending doom shrouds every interaction we see. “The Gift” is an episode that handles its darkness right. For me it doesn’t reach the highs of “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken“. Let’s dive in.
We have to start by dealing with the repercussions of the closing moments of last week’s episode. Several days have passed and Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) has been assaulting Sansa (Sophie Turner) every night. Bruises are visible all over her body and she sobs in her bed when Reek (Alfie Allen) comes to deliver food. Sansa attempts to remind Theon of who he really is and implores his help but he maintains that he is no longer Theon, he is only Reek. He also reminds Sansa that Ramsay is capable of even worse than what she has seen so far.
A bit later in the episode, we are treated to a near repeat of the events of season two as Ramsay takes Sansa on a forced march that ends with her having to look upon the flayed body of an old woman. This is the same woman who tried to get a clandestine message to Sansa that the Stark family still has allies in the North. Seemingly reminiscent of when she was forced to witness her father’s head on a spike, Sansa’s power is once again subverted. On the march, she needles Ramsay about his pregnant stepmother. If she has a boy, a boy born within the bounds of wedlock, the newborn would be the true heir of the Boltons, not Ramsay. She was starting to act a bit like the person some people expected her to be after the events of last week, strong and in control. All of this only to have the proverbial rug once again ripped out from under her.
The story of Sansa, Ramsay and Reek is still far from over and with no book knowledge to be relied upon as things have diverted from the words of George R.R. Martin, we still cannot say for certain what the writers’ true intentions are going forward. I’m still of the opinion there were other methods they could have used to bring Sansa to this point and I think the scene in the courtyard proves it. This is obviously a brutal world and Sansa isn’t the only one in danger.
At the Wall, Jon (Kit Harington) sets off for Hardhome, he intends to convince the Wildlings gathered there to come south and settle in the land known as the Gift. Not long after, Maester Aemon (Peter Vaughan) finally succumbs to illness. This puts Sam (John Bradley) and to an even larger extent Gilly (Hannah Murray), in a precarious situation. With the Lord Commander gone, the men of the Night’s Watch are emboldened in their actions and try to force themselves on Gilly. Sam tries to be the hero only to be shown he doesn’t really have the necessary skills to protect anyone. This is another upsetting scene that reinforces the idea there is no safe haven for anyone, no matter who or where they are.
The last place we see snow falling is on Stannis (Stephen Dillane) as he marches to Winterfell. The snow is making it difficult for his men to march, the lingering threat casts a long shadow on their actions as well. Stannis again begins to doubt the visions of Melisandre (Carice van Houten). However, she is once again able to reassure him of the inevitability of the visions. He has seen first hand they end with the Boltons defeated and his armies victorious. With the amount of snow falling on Stannis and in Winterfell, it’s hard to imagine things going well for either house.
No snow falls in Dorne but things aren’t going well there either. I’ve been supremely let down by how Dorne has been handled this season, especially the Sand Snakes. This week sees Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers) come to the forefront rather than Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes) but the Snakes still don’t really have individual personalities and their scene in the prison cell felt like a bit of a wasted opportunity. If each sister had a chance to interact with Bronn (Jerome Flynn), they may have been able to emerge a bit more and could have possibly given us something to root for. What we got instead was a bit more “sexposition” and not much changed for any of the characters – although Bronn will probably have quite the headache.
Over in Meereen, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) comes face to face with Jorah (Iain Glen) at one of the small fighting pits. She immediately calls for him to be removed, time has not softened her opinion of his betrayal, but Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) presents himself as a gift of Jorah. This finally ties Dany directly into the events going on in Westeros and signals an exciting potential shift in the status quo.
We end in King’s Landing. If it were cold enough to snow, there would be a blizzard. Lady Olenna (Diana Rigg) has moved on to verbally sparring with the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) directly. He refuses to yield an inch and the Queen of Thorns’ grandchildren remain jailed. This was another of those scenes that I keep mentioning being a strength of the season: two incredibly talented actors going at it with thinly veiled intentions.
We get another one between the jailed Margaery (Natalie Dormer) and Cersei (Lena Headey). Cersei keeps twisting the knife having to assert her dominance and proving to her rival that she’s emerged victorious. That victory is very, very short lived though. As soon as Cersei is brought before the High Sparrow, we should know what’s coming. After all, Westeros is that brutal place for everyone and the delicate house of cards that Cersei has built was inevitably going to be toppled by the only thing she’s ever cared about, her family.
A big episode with a lot of developments means we should have a lot to discuss. What fate do you think awaits everyone in captivity – Cersei, Margaery, Loras, Jaime, Bronn, the Sand Snakes? Are you excited for the Daenerys/Tyrion meeting? Is Sansa going to be able to recover from yet another trauma? Let’s discuss!
