Game of Thrones 6-6 "Blood of My Blood"

This was one of the most geographically far-ranging episodes.

North of The Wall, Bran and Meera finally meet Uncle Benjen Stark. After almost dying at the hands of a whitewalker, Bejen has been at work slaying the undead with the help of an awesome flaming flail and magic acquired from the Children of the Forest. Bran has a vision that includes images of Ser Jamie slaying "the mad king" and of pyromancers mixing wildfire. King Arys's words "Burn them all" will apparently have some meaning later. Perhaps wildfire is the weapon to defeat the whitewalkers.

Down in Horn Hill in The Reach, the ancestral castle of house Tarley, Samwell brings Gilly home, and Lord Randyll proceeds to berate Sam for his weight. What Lord Randyll refuses to believe, but you and I know, is that looks are not everything, and that Sam, in spite of his soft looks, is now the real shit. He has been fighting for years up the frigid north against Wildling, Thens, Whitewalkers, mutineers and is more hardass than his father or any of his southron summer knights. Randyll then lets his prejudices show and insults Gilly for being a Wildling.
Later, that night, Lord Randyll gets the Tarly family's ancestral sword, Heartsbane, lifted under his nose by his own firstborn, before Sam and Gilly make their way in the dead of night for Oldtown and The Citidel. But don't feel bad for old Ranyll, that's what you get for being a complete dick. Besides, when the White Walkers come, Valyrian steel will be required AT THE WALL not hanging ON A WALL.

Talking about ageing lords who have had their day, we see Walder Frey again, who is apparently keeping himself alive simply out of spite for those who wish he would just die already, which is pretty much everybody. He is berating his sons for losing Riverrun to the Blackfish.

In the political chess game in Kings landing, we have check and mate. In a brilliant move, the combined houses of Lannister and Tyrell are outmaneuvered without a fight by the High Sparrow who's reformation is now the state religion with the conversion of King Tommen and Queen Margaery.

In the wildlands of Essos, Daenerys Stormborn gives her big "who wants to conquer the world with me" speech in front of her new khallassar from astride her mount. A mount which just happens to be a big fucking dragon.

In Bravvos, the girl fomerly known as nobody is now Arya Stark again. She blew here big initiation assignment. Her target was an actress, who, ironically, was playing Cersei Lannister in a bad satire. The actress mistakes Arya for a fangirl with a stage fascination, maybe a future actress, and asks "Do you like pretending to be someone you are not?" But, Arya was already acting, and the somebody she was not was the nobody girl. Arya gives the actress pointers in being Carsei, demonstrating a mature understanding of both herself and of her old archenemy. She knocks the poisoned cup out of the actress's hand at the last moment and fingers her understudy as the one who wanted her dead. Living with the faceless men has taught Arya not to be the hot and vengeful out of control killer she was a a girl, but, it also taught her that she is not one of them; scruple-less and willing to sacrifice anyone to the horrific god of death for the right donation to the House of Black and White. She embraces who she was meant to be all along, a noblewoman of House Stark with a sense of honesty and justice. That night, she trades her temple rags for a noblewoman's clothes, retrieves Needle from it's hiding place and then awaits in her chambers for The Waif who is sure to come that night to try to kill her. We know that when the Many-Faced-God is owed a death, he's not choosy. I think he will be satisfied with the waif.

After reading that Ian McShane will be on the show this season, I have been wondering when we will see him and who he will play. Since I have not seen him yet, my current guess is Archmaester Marwyn.