Game of Thrones, Season 6, Episode 7 Recap, “The Broken Man”

So who is the Broken Man of the title of this episode of Game of Thrones? Well, let’s face it, that could be anyone at all. But let’s start Episode 7 with a completely happy scene with happy people being happy. What ever could go wrong with that in Game of Thrones?

Here’s my recap of what went down in Episode 7 (entitled “The Broken Man”) of HBO’s Game of Thrones Season 6.

So, a woman nearly killed you? Well, I called Game of Thrones the “tits and dragon” show and nearly got a lynching myself, so I totally get it. [Image via HBO]

• So, happy people being happy, until they are killed by a group called the Brotherhood Without Banners. So who is this group being killed by this other group? Turns out it is Brother Ray (Ian McShane) and his followers that are slaughtered. The Hound (Rory McCann) is also a member of this group but thanks to some OCD issues over wood chopping manages to avoid being killed. *MENTAL NOTE TO ARYA: Kill people, don’t leave them to die. Ditto for you Brienne of Tarth* And now it seems time for the Hound to return to the crappy lifestyle that is everyone’s birthright in Westeros. The other group, the Brotherhood Without Banners, are basically out to piss off the Lannisters and protect the commoners. Except for this bunch of commoners it seems…
• So Margaery IS playing the game of thrones. After last week I wasn’t sure if she was just an idiot or if she was just laying low until she could kill them all. Well, laying low it is, and now she is getting concerned because the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) has just announced his intentions to “fix” Margaery’s grandmother. Margaery manages to get a message to her grandmother via a drawing of a rose that makes perfect sense to Olenna (Diana Rigg) but I can only assume is code for “Go home Nan, you’re drunk.”

[Image via HBO]

So while Olenna is getting ready to leave King’s Landing, she still has plenty of time to tell Cersei (Lena Headey) how much of a bitch she really is. Which means Olenna better watch her back because I am pretty sure Cersei is now looking for a knife to plunge deep into the woman’s back…

• Meanwhile, Cersei’s brother, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is doing what he does best, which is prance around on a horse and take over other people’s sieges. He’s at Riverrun in Episode 7 of Game of Thrones and remember how Walder Frey (David Bradley) thought Edmure Tully (Tobias Menzies) was an excellent wildcard? Yeah, he’s not. After a lot of war talk, Jaime meets face to face with Brynden “Blackfish” Tully (Clive Russell) and talks about who owns Riverrun. In the end, Blackfish tells Jaime to fuck off and settles in for a two year wait, because that’s exactly how much food he told Jaime he has.

That awkward moment when you have to beg for an army and your little sister has to step in because you are shit at negotiations. [Image via HBO]

• In the North, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) are trying to drum up an army in order to reclaim Winterfell and hopefully kill Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) in some horribly painful manner. The pair manage to get the wildlings on their side as well as Lady Mormont (Bella Ramsey). I know this sounds impressive, but Lady Mormont has a mere 62 men in her army and the wildlings, while a steady 2,000 men, are so busy causing a ruckus, I can understand why Jon wants to attack Winterfell without a full army. Sansa won’t let him though and sends ravens out to try and hurry things up.
• As for Sansa’s little sister, Arya (Maisie Williams), it appears she has learned little from being beaten with a stick and spending all that time at the House of Black and White. Sure, she manages to steal a lot of money and get a ship sorted to sail in the morning, but quicker than than audience can shout, “Don’t trust the old lady!” at their TV screens, Arya is stabbed multiple times by said old lady and I am left wondering just how many Starks are going to have a run in with stabby things before they work out not to trust anyone. Arya manages to jump off the bridge and the mean girl seems to think Arya is dead. But, hold on, nope, Arya’s alive. So what does she do? Wanders through the crowded marketplace with obvious stab wounds. If the mean girl doesn’t see Arya, she will hear all about it before long.

When HBO forgets they have already done this with Arya’s brother and stabs her repeatedly as well. [Image via HBO]

• Remember how Yara (Gemma Whelan) and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) stole all their uncle’s ships in Episode 5 of Game of Thrones? Well now they are planning to hook up with Daenerys (Emila Clarke), but not before Yara tells Theon to kill himself or harden the fuck up and be the brother she used to know. Theon picks Team Yara and it will be interesting to see where all this ends up going.

WTF Moments

• The whole storyline with Ian McShane. Between the Hound returning, trying to work out who the hell Ian McShane was and the three guys on horses with their thinly veiled threats, it was only once I hit up the Game of Thrones Wikia that I could really work out what was going on. If you still can’t work out what is going on, here’s the article I wrote that sorts out who is who.
• Arya getting stabbed. Because if the audience can see it coming, you haven’t been beaten by the mean girl enough.

Tits and Dragons Meter

For a reminder of my rating scale, please visit here.

2 out of 5 for Tits. Game of Thrones got their sexposition on again thanks to Yara and Theon having a heart to heart. It has been a while HBO, it has been a while.

0 out of 5 for Dragons. Zilch on the dragon front this week in Game of Thrones beyond a scant mention of the “Mother of Dragons.”

Season 6 of Game of Thrones returns to HBO with Episode 8, entitled “No One” on Sunday, June 12, at 9 p.m. ET.

The official synopsis for Episode 8 of Game of Thrones has not yet been released.

[Image via HBO Inc.]