Game of Thrones 5-10 "Mother's Mercy"

   This episode left us with a few cliffhangers that "A Dance With Dragons" also left us with, so any predictions I make here, especially concerning Jon Snow, are really about what I think or hope we will see in "Winds of Winter" when it comes out.

OK, then, lets just get on with it and talk about Jon Snow and why I think he's only mostly dead. The next time we see Jon, I think, it will be through Ghost's POV, but, will he warg in to Ghost permanently, or come back? I'm betting on coming back; and this is why:

   When I finished the chapter in "A Dance With Dragons" dealing with the mutiny at the wall I put down the book and refused to read it for another week or two. I was pissed at GRRM and had it with "A Song of Ice and Fire" and wasn't going to read it anymore. I finally DID finish it. So, I had a good long time to think of Jon's situation and how he could possibly survive it before this episode aired.
   Firstly, Jon is even more than a central character, the whole series pretty much hinges on both him and Daenerys. He is the ice to her fire.
   My friend, Rommy introduced me to what is probably the most reasonable theory as to Jon's parentage, and it involves him having both Stark and Targaryan blood. GRRM, will need to reveal Jon's parentage sooner or later.
Rommy's blog: http://kestrilsrhythmsandgroove.blogspot.com/

   In the book, Jon gets word via raven that Stannis has failed and died at Winterfell. Jon then starts talking about marching an army of Wildlings down to take the castle himself. Why would the Lord Commander announce that he would be literally abandoning his post? It sounded like he was tryng to get killed. Jon is too smart for that.

Yes, yes, he IS too smart for that.

   Jon learned from Sam how to look at his Night's Watch vows legalistically, and even Stannis once compared Jon's negotiating skills to "an old woman haggling with a fish".  Jon is one of the more clever characters, right there behind Tyrion and Littlefinger. Jon would know that if he technically dies at the wall, then his watch is technically is over. So, a dead-and-back-again Jon could actually claim the name Stark and march his Freefolk army south. But, how?
   This brings us to Lady Soneheart. Lady Stoneheart is a character in the books, but, not the show. She is Catelyn Stark after being resurrected by Beric Dondarrion (another follower of R'ollor), and she now commands a band of anti-Lannister partisans in the Riverlands called The Brotherhood Without Banners. The last time we saw Lady Stonheart, she was killing Brienne of Tarth for the crime of carrying a sword hilted with Lannister gold. (The Sansa-Ramsey-Brienne storyline is not a thing in the books). We have not seen Melesandre use resurrection, but we can safely assume that it's not outside her skill set.
   Melesandre (in the show) returns to Castle black dejected. She had pinned all her hopes on Stannis. She did things a person with a conscience would never consider in the hope of turning him into the savior to beat back the darkness to come. Stannis failed. It wasn't in him to be what she wanted him to be. She will be looking for another Azor Ahai, and, if we are right about Jon being a Targaryan prince, then...kings's blood!

Speaking of resurrecting the dead, what do you think of Franken-mountain?

Meanwhile, in Bravvos, a girl has a lesson to learn. Instead of wanting to be nobody, a girl still wants to be Arya Stark. Now a girl must learn to see without seeing.

What will happen with Daenerys now? Will the injured Drogon regain his strength in time to swoop down and save her from the horselords?

Will the death of Myrcella cause a Lannister-Martell war?

And, finally, regarding Cersei. Even for those of us wanting to see her get her just reward for the wretched things she has done, this was a hard thing to watch or read. What she went through was an atrocity and truly made us reel back in horror. But, the public sexual shaming of Cersei Lannister is a lesson in what happens when we give power to religious fanatics. If it made you angry, that's a good thing.
This one scene is enough to turn Lena Heady into one of my most admired actors. Her portrayal of a very proud woman bearing a stoic face to the world as her soul is being broken was unforgettable.

Game of Thrones 5-9 "The Dance of Dragons"

   So, Stannis officially gives away his Father of the Year award to Ser Jamie. Why Stannis, why? It's not fair that princess Shireen, the only truly innocent character, should go in such a way.
It's not fair.
No, no it's not.
Yet...
Don't be surprised by what people do in the name of religion in this series.
   Stannis, unlike his wife, is no true believer in R'hollor (even she appears to be having second thoughts now). But, he is is the Macbeth of the series. He is vain, stubborn, has an exceedingly overdeveloped sense of destiny, and he is under the sway of a highly manipulative priestess. She takes full advantage of his many faults. Melesandre, of course, is convinced that any horrors she inflicts on the world are for the greater good because they are in the service of her god.
   In Braavos, Arya is caught up in a feared cult spoken only of in whispers, which, (valar dohaeris) serves the god of death. Arya is no true servant, either, but seems to have made a personal deal with the many-faced god to accomplish her own agenda. What will a girl do now that Meryn Trant (who is on Arya Stark's personal list) is in town? A girl plays a dangerous game.
   Meanwhile, back in Kings Landing, we find something akin to a grand inquisition run by the fundamentalist sect known as the Faith Militant and their deceptively soft-spoken evangelist leader, the "High Sparrow". "The Sparrows", as they are called, are popular with the common folk through their works of charity, but don't dare be caught doing anything that might be construed as offending The Seven, or you may find yourself in a dungeon and being visited regularly by Sister Hardass.
   If the writers allow us to see Victorion Greyjoy next season, we will, perhaps, get a better view of the followers of the Drowned God.

Things have been going downhill for Daenerys, breaker of chains, since she freed slaver's bay. Her attempts at nation-building in Meereen have gone just as well as anyone who keeps up with current events would expect...pretty much an utter failure. It all comes crashing down, finally, in the attack of the harpies in the stadium, and it really looked like the end of the line for Daenerys.
Just a quick commentary on the fight: Jorah was lucky. The spearman ran the Braavosi through the back thinking the beaten Jorah would be an easier opponent to deal with face to face. The waterdancer could have won the contest.
GRRM, isn't a big fan of having the hero gallop in at the last moment to rescue the maiden, but an exception was made. The hero of course was Drogon, who flew in just in time to to cook up a most excellent harpy barbecue.
Thus the title of the episode: Daenerys is the first dragon rider since the "Dance of the Dragons", the old civil war which Shireen was reading about early in the episode.

Game of Thrones 5-8, Hardhome.

We finally have Tyrion,  as advisor to Daenerys, getting the respect and position he always desired. This is good for the both of them. Tyrion finally gets a queen to advise worthy of his talents, and she gets a voice of reason to replace the one she lost with death of Ser Barriston. This also gives the viewers a different dynamic, for Danny has thus far surrounded herself with mostly lovers and warriors, The grizzled Ser Barriston, the lovelorn Ser Jorah, and her current foppish lover/champion, Daario. Tyrion's great strength is his mind.

And, poor Jorah, back to the fighting pits. What's he up to now?

Cersei still stews in prison and her options continue to get worse.  She can't count on a rescue from her weak-spirited son, Tommen, who is now under the sway of his uncle, Kevan Lannister. Tommen and Jofferey are two sides of a single character that were unfortunately separated. A character with Joffery's will and governed by Tommen's empathy could be an ideal king. We could name him King Toffery!

And, how awesome is it to have the High Sparrow played by Jonathan Pryce?

Things get interesting for the Stark sisters. Sansa learns the truth about the fate of her younger brothers and Arya embarks on her assassin career.

The most important development, however, occurs north of The Wall. Jon and Tormund Gianstbane go to the aptly named town of Hardhome to make an alliance between the Wildlings and the Crows (Yes, the Freefolk have towns) when an army of thousands of the dead attack. We even got to see Jon fighting alongside a Thenn. And a Giant!

If you didn't know the difference between a mere wight and a whitewalker before, you know now. Whitewalkers are the badass ones, and King whitewalker was the creepiest thing in the show yet. But, then, Jon discovers that "Longclaw" is a much needed +100 attack against whitewalkers. An obsidian point isn't the only thing that will take one out (eat Valyrian steel, motherfuckers!).

So, NOW, we have the true perspective. We see how petty realm politics really is. All the maneuvering by everyone else for the Iron Throne is completely besides the point. None of them even see what is coming for them. Jon Snow knows a lot more than nothing. By trying to bring the Night's Watch and the Freefolk together, he is literally fighting to save the world. It is the Long Winter and Stannis is not Azor Ahai, Jon Snow is,