High Sparrow

In many ways, "High Sparrow" represented a sum of all my meta-textual fears about this fifth season of Game of Thrones, and in an even more complicated respect than I had imagined.  In a pivotal scene tonight, D&D threw us book-readers for our biggest loop to date by announcing that Sansa (Sophie Turner) will be marrying the deplorable Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon).  Is this a spoiler?  Is it a change? Both?  I will ruminate more excessively on these implications later, but one cannot discuss "High Sparrow" without noting that this episode represents a watershed moment in the adaptation history of this series.

It is also worth noting that the creators rose to the challenge and then some in making this bold decision.  "High Sparrow" is not only the best episode of Thrones this season, it has me convinced that this season is truly going to be the best season of Thrones.  I can't recall feeling such confidence in Game of Thrones, not just as an adaptation, but as a show.  I thought I would despise spoilers, and perhaps this bullet will be easier to bite than the teased death later in the season, but they delivered so damn well that I couldn't have cared less.  The content at Winterfell was second only to Jon Snow in this episode.

After teasing us with the flayed man banner over Winterfell in the opening credits, we returned to the ancestral northern holdfast for the first time since Theon and Ramsay ran it into the ground in the second season.  It is, above all, terribly sad - the Boltons are the greatest remaining villains in the show, and the return to Winterfell, where the show really began, emphasizes just how much tragedy has befallen our beloved Starks over the last few seasons.  Indeed, the focus of this episode is the respective evolutions of the Stark children.

Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton, promoted to the main cast with this episode), is reeling from the death of Tywin Lannister as much as Jaime and Cersei.  Despised by the northern lords (no northern family emerged from the Red Wedding unscathed), Roose was protected only by the fear of Tywin Lannister.  Now he desperately needs to legitimize his rule over the north, and to this end he forges a bold new alliance with Petyr Baelish, who himself is playing a very dangerous game.  Littlefinger will offer the support of the Vale, while the Boltons get a proper Stark heir shore up their rule.

Sansa appears to be a pawn in all this, but when Littlefinger tells her about his plan, he convinces her to go along by insinuating that this is really an opportunity for her to re-embrace her identity as a Stark.  "There's no justice in this world, not unless we make it.  Avenge them," he says.  This hints that Littlefinger will betray the Boltons, but it does not make Sansa any less of a pawn in his game.  He says he's heard very little about Ramsay - coming from Varys's only true rival in King's Landing, this rings false.  Either the creators are mischaracterizing him a bit, or (more likely, I think) they're emphasizing that Littlefinger will happily sacrifice Sansa's well-being for his own ends.

They are followed by Brienne and Pod, who abandon the convoy at Moat Cailin.  Brienne says she and Pod will go around - obviously, they do not know how impassible the Neck is, and I expect serious road troubles for BriPod in the coming episodes.  Meanwhile, Stannis plots an invasion of the North.  I can envision some ways in which they are adjusting the book plots to reach the same climax at the end of A Dance with Dragons, but on the whole, this is shaping up to be a fascinating convergence.

As a change, this is colossal.  But as has been the case this year, the writing and acting has just been so terrific that I was immediately sold.  Roose and Littlefinger have never spoken in the books - to see these two most cunning, implacable figures speak with each other was one of the greatest thrills of the episode.  This was phenomenal television, and I look forward to this direction.

Jon and Arya are the other main focal point of this episode; both are asked to confront themselves as Starks and as people.  In Braavos, Arya has been sweeping the floor of the House of Black and White for days, but as Jaqen points out, she has hardly progressed in her quest to become "no one".  "How did no one come to be surrounded by Arya Stark's things?" he asks, gesturing to her clothes, her silver and her blade.  In a powerful scene, phenomenally acted by Maisie Williams, Arya throw most of her items into the sea, but she can't quite give up Needle, Jon Snow's parting gift to her.  Instead she hides it in some rocks and returns to the House, where she is seemingly promoted.

Jon rejects his Stark heritage more completely, at least on the face of it.  Arya buried Needle, presumably to return later, but having been elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, Jon rejects Stannis's offer to become Lord of Winterfell and give Stannis his aid in regaining the North.  But would Jon call this a rejection of his heritage?  I'm not sure.  Stannis compares Jon's relentless honor to that of Ned, which Jon considers a high compliment (Stannis disagrees).  Jon is simply trying to do what his father would do.

The connections to Ned are deepened in the most riveting scene of the episode, the execution of Janos Slynt for insubordination.  Slynt, recall, betrayed Ned back in "You Win or You Die," though Jon doesn't know this.  Slimy as always, Slynt refuses Jon Snow's order to repair the abandoned ruin of Greyguard.  For this Jon personally executes him.  Dominic Carter gives a fine last performance, breaking down and admitting his inner cowardice, emotively and pathetically.  Jon hesitates but executes him anyways.  Back is the second season Jon failed to execute Ygritte and was captured by the Wildlings, but Jon is not the green boy he was back then.  He's becoming a proto-Ned Stark in command of the Night's Watch.  Whether he survives command better than his father did remains to be seen.

Though "High Sparrow" saw the most substantial book-to-show changes, the show maintained a remarkably firm grasp of character and circumstance.  Returning the series to Winterfell does wonders with respect to the feels - it's simultaneously heartening and heartbreaking to return to Winterfell in the state that it's in.  Meanwhile this episode maintained thematic unity, showing three of the remaining Stark children facing their Stark identities in the face of huge, and hugely different, personal challenges.  Add in the fantastic introduction of an ambiguous but intriguing new character, the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) and crisp pacing, and "High Sparrow" stands out not only as one of the best episodes of this season but of the entire series.

A

Bits

- The previous High Septon is caught in Littlefinger's brothel by some black-robed Sparrows, a new breed of militant servants of the Faith of the Seven whipped and made to walk naked through the streets in a fairly harrowing scene.  Good scene (and foreshadowy), but far funnier was the septon's absurd worship fantasy with prostitutes standing in for each of the seven.  Olyvar in the beard was hilarious - "always the maiden..."

- The presentation of this development to the Small Council also provoked one of Pycelle's funniest moments in recent memory.  "A man's private affairs should remain private!"  The blustery Mace Tyrell also gets a great one "High Septon! This is a rather shocking thing to hear!"

- Didn't mention it, but the stuff with Margaery and Cersei this week was terrific.  I especially like the way Tommen is being depicted.  He's a sweet, ultimately pretty inconsequential kid, but in the scene where he suggests Cersei return to Casterly Rock he gets a bit of agency.

- "Welcome home, Lady Stark.  The North remembers." Chills.

- I'm officially going to say that Tyrion is just boring so far.  But at least giving him only one scene a week minimizes the boredom.  I genuinely believe it's going to get better.  The brothel scene was, at least, his best all year.

Book Bits

- Robert Strong sighting!  But this does not confirm Cleganebowl.  I'm not a huge fan of that theory as it doesn't really fit with the new "Gravedigger" characterization of Sandor.

- I hate the setup of a Brienne/Stannis confrontation, as Brienne is one of the finest killers in Westeros and I'm firmly on Team Stannis.  That said it would be completely in GRRM's wheelhouse to have Brienne die horribly in the attempt.

- Serious concerns with Ollie.  He fucking hates the Wildlings.  He may be "for the Watch".

- I am really, really looking forward to Theon's arc this season if they do it right.  Having Sansa stand in for Jeyne Poole is going to make it all the more powerful.  Terrific nonverbal performance from Alfie Allen.

- The Daenerys cosplay is a bit silly, but as is often the case the sexposition tells us something - Dany is being mythologized and culturalized within Essos already, even if they haven't really gotten the message yet in Westeros.  Tells us something about Daenerys even if we don't see her this week.

- The Faith Militant is ok...a bit over-the-top.

- Jonathan Pryce is excellent.

- Edd may not have fetched a block, but Olly fetched a sword, and more importantly, Stannis nodded.  I fucking love Stannis this year.