[S6E10] Every Version Of You

Allen: I had a good relationship with a number of professors and stayed in touch occasionally. When we came to Maine, which we did every year on vacation, I would get in touch with some of them.

[S6E10] Every Version of You

Sunday night's episode of Game of Thrones exceeded every single one of my expectations. Revenge, revelation, and the most brutal winnowing of the show's cast since the Red Wedding, all collided into one of the best episodes yet of HBO's fantasy drama.

For a show that boasts some of the best music on television, somehow Game of Thrones managed to up the ante even more in the Season 6 finale. Right from the first scene, and right up until the last, just about every bit was simply gorgeous. An almost mournful piano greets us in the High Sept. Later, during Cersei's coronation, the urgent rise and fall of strings, dark and moody. The episode deserves awards based on its music alone.

But people don't fear the Freys, Jaime retorts. They fear the Lannisters. And what good are the Freys to the Lannisters if every time they lose Riverrun the Lannisters have to go and win it back for them?

This revelation---which, yeah, pretty much every book reader who has paid any attention at all was guessing at---is the primary reason that Jon Snow matters so much to the story, and why I knew without a doubt that he'd be resurrected this season.

For everyone who has commented and said that Sansa is making power plays against Jon, or that her bringing Littlefinger in on the sly was some way to undermine Jon's claim, I'd just like to point out how wrong you all were. While I questioned Sansa's behavior and judgment in last week's episode, I never once believed she'd plot against one of her last surviving family members.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Power showrunner Courtney Kemp said: "Coming out of Episode 9, I think Tommy is pretty pissed off after Benny [Domenick Lombardozzi] was sent to kill him. And he's lost pretty much everything, so I think you will see the lengths to which he'll go to resolve certain issues."

Simone is killed in a frankly unnecessary side-swipe (RIP Simone, I miss you already), by a null who gave his baby to the trees, so naturally, Peaceful Leader Russell now must burn everyone from space at the stake.

And in stories like this where pain and loss and seemingly inevitable doom can make everything feel meaningless, love is what gives our heroes the power to keep going. Love is what motivates them to keep fighting for this elusive better world.

And the result of seeing them recognize and fight for that, and by extension for their own happiness, is honestly invigorating the narrative and the viewing experience in such a drastic way. It makes everything feel like it matters that much more, because the stakes are suddenly hyper-personal, and it matters to the characters what happens.

Clarke was worried that she was an unforgivable monster, but Bellamy not only forgave her, he put her above everything and everyone else, burning the world down to save her. He cares about her so much that life without her is meaningless.

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For those not already aware, the man-makeover challenge is the one where everyone that you love this season is swept aside to make way for less interesting people. No, seriously, this episode always serves to remind me why this is the only reality show I still watch because I always forget how spoiled we are with having contestants that are previously established entertainers who are then edited down to the prime of their performances and commentary.

Girl, you leave my sides aching every week. Absolutely love your reviews and quick wit! Look forward to more, werk mama, fierce mama, oh yess mama!**Could not resist, Laganja is just too easy to throw shade at.

This 'Game of Thrones' discussion is written by someone who has read George R.R. Martin's books, but will generally only discuss events that have happened on HBO's televised version -- not that it matters much now that the show is going its own way. Still, please respect these boundaries should you choose to participate in the comments section.

Totals: One terrorist attack that blew up a church (and several major characters); one horny maester stabbed to death by a pack of feral children; one king Wile E. Coyote'd out a window; one throat gruesomely slashed; two bystanders outside the Sept of Baelor burnt by wildfire; three more bystanders crushed by a church bell; one quick stab to Lancel's guts; one seven-pointed star carved in Loras' head. But hey: At least word of his homosexuality will never get out! His secret is safe with everyone who got blowed up real good.

Notes: Two overhead shots of the trial that allowed me to estimate the number of people inside the Sept of Baelor: 150, ballpark. So wait, why am I guessing at the number dead from this attack and not big battles with massive piles of dead? Scale is one reason -- it's easier to approximate a few score than a few thousand. And finality is the other: I know for a fact that everyone inside the sept is dead; I can hardly say the same for a battlefield. (This is why I'm not also estimating the carnage in the neighborhood surrounding the sept aside from the deaths that were shown.)

Red and gold were never really your colors, I see that now. You look so sleek, so badass in black. And did you dim the throne room? It's AMAZING, I always said it was too bright ("I love Game of Thrones, but everything's too bright." -- me, all the time). I'm getting a kind of a throwback fascist vibe, and fascism is TOTALLY in right now. Er, nationalism. That's what the news organizations call it, for some reason. But YOU wouldn't call it that, Cers. You tell it like it is. Just ask Nurse Ratched.

I would be remiss if, somewhere amid all the armpit farts and bike horns, I didn't point out what a technical marvel this episode was. Yes, it balanced massive plot developments with smaller moments of dialogue that built characters, but that's par for the course. But "The Winds of Winter" shined everywhere else, too, particularly in its pacing and music (it was bookended by very different versions of the show's theme song, setting starkly different tones).

When Rory calls Paris to announce her return to Yale with a drumroll, the harsh response is everything I wanted it to be: "You really had to drum roll that? Of course you're coming back. What are you going to do without a college degree? Drive a forklift?" What I like most about Paris is that you always know where you stand with her. If she's not impressed, girlfriend ?? will ?? not ?? fake ?? it.

The best part of this episode is that everyone breaks the pact (maybe not Ross, unless you include bringing his monkey to cure his loneliness) and all have a terrible night. Make sure to watch through till the end when Joey ends up kissing Chandler to get him to stop complaining.

Joey throwing the non-desirable Christmas trees into the wood chipper is the equivalent of killing someone in Phoebe's eyes, which makes for a funny few scenes where everyone is trying to reason with Phoebe.

The trial of Loras Tyrell, and perhaps a scorched King's Landing. As they do every week, HBO has released a handful of photos prior to the finale, one of which shows Loras Tyrell finally being tried by the High Sparrow. However, regardless of the verdict, Loras seems to have people on his side. 041b061a72