HOLLYWOOD—If last week’s episode of “Game of Thrones” was slow, this week was COMATOSE! No Khaleesi, no Tyrion Lannister. No Red Women, no Bran Stark or White Walkers. Definitely no Gilly or Sam. Not even the long-neglected Osha and Rickon storyline.

This week’s episode, ‘The Broken Man’ starts with a group of people we never saw before.

It was the happiest part of the show, those first 2 minutes. We got a BAD/GOOD guy back! A dead and forgotten character…

We thought The Hound was dead anyway, because Arya Stark left him to die in Season 4, episode 10. Now we find him becoming friends with the leader of the group, a man named Ray who calls The Hound by his REAL name: Sandor Clegane.

Ray is reformed from being “bad” and with a group that doesn’t take part in violence anymore.

The show turns to an odd conversation between Queen Margaery and High Sparrow, and she tells him about no longer being sexually driven. He reminds of her duty to produce a heir.

Lady Olenna Tyrell becomes the topic, and High Sparrow says she is in need of repenting. Was this a threat? For some reason he wants her to have King Tommen’s heir. Unless he just wants to make an example out of Old Lady Tyrell? Read an interesting Tyrell/Lannister theory here.

Next, the Queen is visiting her grandmother, with Septa Unella standing guard. Grandma threatens to have her guards bash her head in and as usual, the religious woman throws dagger stares at everyone. That doesn’t stop the Queen from passing a note with a rose, a Highgarden familial symbol that will mean something between them that we do not know yet.

Flash now, to Jon Snow and the Wildlings.

Mag the Mighty giant is there too, as Tormund rallies what is left of the “Free Folk” Wildlings, to fight for Jon Snow.

Back to Lady Olenna Tyrell, and a teaser scene shown in season 6 previews: the old lady giving Cersei HELL, reminding us that it was Cersei who empowered the High Sparrow to begin with.

https://youtu.be/TUnLxMcpoMI

Lady Olenna reminds us: “Loras rots in a cell because of you. The High Sparrow rules this city because of you. Our two ancient houses face collapse because of you and your stupidity… I wonder if you’re the worst person I have ever met. At a certain age it’s hard to recall but the truly vile do stand out over the years.”

Another old face returns: Jaime’s friend Bronn.

He’s riding to Riverrun with an army sent to take it from Brynden Tully (Blackfish.) Walder Frey’s sons are there when they arrive, threatening to hang Blackfish’s nephew Edmure. Tully tells them go ahead, and walks away.

Jon Snow and Sansa Stark are asking a family for help, one we’ve never seen.

As they ask Lyanna Mormont for soldiers, I realize this is the family of Jon’s old friend, deceased Lord Commander and father of Khaleesi’s buddy Jorah: Jeor Mormont.

After the strict and “ferocious” young girl finally agrees, we learn she has a mere 62 soldiers to contribute.

Back to Rivverrun and Jamie Lannister has called for a parlay with The Blackfish.

He tries to convince the elder Tully to surrender, who says NO. He then informs Lannister that he has two years worth of provisions, so the fight is on. Before the end of the scene, Blackfish throws a dig at Jaime, saying that he agreed to the parlay only out of curiosity to meet the Kingslayer and he is nothing but DISAPPOINTED.

They are trying to make us feel sorry for Jaime. Even Bronn barters his pay before making a crack about Jaime’s missing hand and we are reminded that Bronn’s loyalty is to money.

Sansa and Jon travel to another unknown place, House Glover, who tells them that House Stark is DEAD. They leave empty-handed, the 2,405 soldier army is a mere fraction of what they need to fight the Knight King!

The scene ends with Sansa writing a letter, to Lord Baelish?

Now, a scene that many will love! Yara Greyjoy is having fun at a brothel. After choosing a woman, she informs her brother that she intends on “F***g the tits off” of her. She forces Theon to drink ale and then reminds him he is Ironborn.

Yara needs “the real” Theon Greyjoy back, she tells him, so he should either go kill himself if he is so broken, or snap back to reality and get ready to FIGHT. This is because Yara has a plan: they will sail to Meereen, and she will “make a pact with that Dragon Queen.”

Back to The Hound again, and the Brotherhood Without Banners arrive, (with the middle man looking a LOT like the newly elected Euron Greyjoy). They try to “convince” them to give him money or food.

The assertive and charismatic Ray tells them that they don’t have food to GIVE, but they can sit and eat. The trio rides away and The Hound goes to chop wood, probably thinking about what his new friend had just told him: it’s never too late to stop being bad. He hears a horse, and runs back to find the group is dead.

The show ends with Arya, bartering her passage onto a boat that will leave the next morning, for Westeros.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d3PBugB1io

An old lady gets too close and you realize it’s The Waif, there to dole out punishment.

It’s too late. She stabs Arya repeatedly and the young girl escapes by falling into the water, leaving an area of blood in her wake.

We see her emerge on a pair of stone steps at the water’s edge, but she looks seriously hurt.

Next week cannot come soon enough!

Watch the preview for next week’s episode below!