Although we last saw [[Arya]] hiding in the dark with [http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Needle Needle] in her hand, the scene opens with Arya walking openly through Braavos without Needle, with her hands behind her back. She approaches two Westerosi traders drinking at an outdoor table and negotiates passage to Westeros at dawn, through the use of large bags of money she shows them.
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Although we last saw [[Arya]] hiding in the dark with [[Needle]] in her hand, the scene opens with Arya walking openly through Braavos without Needle, with her hands behind her back. She approaches two Westerosi traders drinking at an outdoor table and negotiates passage to Westeros at dawn, through the use of large bags of money she shows them.
We next see [[Arya]] admiring a view of the [http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Titan_of_Braavos Titan of Braavos] when an old woman approaches her and reveals herself to be [[the Waif]], who repeatedly stabs her in the gut, twisting the knife as she stabs. Arya escapes by leaping over the handrail and into the River. She is left stumbling through the streets of [[Braavos]], leaving a trail of blood droplets and visibly afraid.
We next see [[Arya]] admiring a view of the [http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Titan_of_Braavos Titan of Braavos] when an old woman approaches her and reveals herself to be [[the Waif]], who repeatedly stabs her in the gut, twisting the knife as she stabs. Arya escapes by leaping over the handrail and into the River. She is left stumbling through the streets of [[Braavos]], leaving a trail of blood droplets and visibly afraid.
Revision as of 19:36, 9 June 2016
"The Broken Man" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of Game of Thrones. It is the fifty-seventh episode of the series overall. It premiered on June 5, 2016. It was written by Bryan Cogman and directed by Mark Mylod.[1]
Revealed to have survived his wounds from his battle with Brienne, The Hound lives with a band of villagers. Brother Ray, their leader, is a septon. He talks with Sandor, and recounts how he had saved Sandor's life after having mistaken him for a corpse. When Ray mentions Justice, Sandor remarks that if there was justice in the world, he should have been punished. Ray responds that perhaps he has been punished already. He tells Sandor that "Violence is a disease—you don’t cure it by spreading it to more people." Sandor replies that you don't cure it by dying either.
At a gathering, a trio of men from the Brotherhood Without Banners arrives and attempts to extort the group, but upon finding out that the group has no worthwhile possessions, they leave. Sandor warns the septon that the Brotherhood will return. Later, while he goes out to the forest to chop wood, he returns to find all of the villagers murdered and the septon hanged. Angered, Sandor picks up an axe and heads off.
At King's Landing
Queen Margaery is studying the Seven-Pointed Star at the Sept when the High Sparrow enters and they discuss the passage she's been reading, which is about the Mother's love and mercy. Margaery notes that in the past she pretended to love the poor when in fact she only really pitied them. The High Sparrow asks her why she hasn't joined King Tommen in the marriage bed, and Margaery explains that the desires that once drove her no longer do so. The High Sparrow assures her that desire is not necessary. She has a duty to produce an heir. The High Sparrow then makes a thinly veiled threat against Margaery's grandmother, Olenna Tyrell, stating that while she is a remarkable woman, she is also an unrepentant sinner.
After Margaery returns to the Red Keep, Olenna meets with her under the supervision of Septa Unella. Olenna insults the septa until Margaery comes to Unella's defense. Olenna pulls Margaery into another room in an attempt to gain some privacy, but Unella simply follows them. Olenna threatens to have her guards come in, but Margaery again defends the septa. She states that Unella has been a true friend and teacher, to which Olenna asks with some horror what the Sparrows have done to her. Margaery replies that the gods could have punished Olenna and her allies for marching on the Great Sept, but instead they showed mercy. Olenna retorts that they marched on the Sept for Margaery and Loras' sake, and that Loras is still in prison. She then tries to convince Margaery to leave King's Landing and return to Highgarden. However, Margaery refuses, stating that her duty requires her to be at King Tommen's side.
Margaery instead pleads for Olenna to return to Highgarden instead. As she emphatically tells her grandmother to return home, Margaery secretly slips a piece of paper into Olenna's hand. In doing so, she seems to have successfully communicated to Olenna that she doesn't quite mean what she's been saying in front of Septa Unella, and Olenna's expression changes, realizing this. She plays along and agrees to acquiesce, then walks away.
As soon as she is clear of them, Olenna privately unfolds the piece of paper and finds that there is a rose drawn on it. She seems cheered by the silent message, as the use of the Tyrell sigil indicates that Margaery is merely tricking the Sparrows and that her true loyalty is still to House Tyrell. She also seems to understand that Margaery is urging her to leave for her own safety.
Cersei later confronts Olenna about her plans to leave, telling her to remain for the sake of Margaery and Loras, who is still imprisoned. Olenna retorts that the reason all of this is happening is because of Cersei: "Loras rots in a cell because of you. The High Sparrow rules this city because of you. Our two ancient houses face collapse because of you and your stupidity.”
Cersei admits that she made a mistake with the Sparrows, but insists that an alliance between the Lannisters and Tyrells is more important now than it ever was. Olenna tells Cersei: "I wonder if you’re the worst person I’ve ever met. At a certain age, it’s hard to recall. But the truly vile do stand out through the years. Do you remember the way you smirked at me when my grandson and granddaughter were dragged off to their cells? I do. I’ll never forget it." She notes that Cersei has neither influence nor support anymore and is surrounded by enemies. She tells Cersei that she (Olenna) will be leaving the city as soon as possible, and that Cersei's utter defeat is her only consolation.
In the North
Jon, Sansa, and Davos begin searching for allies to retake Winterfell from Ramsay. First, with the help of Tormund and Wun Wun, they secure the allegiance of the Wildlings and their elders led by Dim Dalba, who are still indebted to Jon for saving them at Hardhome and are aware that Ramsay and his allies will wipe them out if they do nothing. When the meeting disperses, Jon asks Tormund if he's sure that the Free Folk will join him, and Tormund responds: We’re not clever like you southerners. When we say we'll do something, we do it.
They also manage to secure the allegiance of House Mormont when Davos warns the young Lyanna Mormont of the dangers the White Walkers pose. She agrees to contribute 62 men and promises that they each fight as well as ten men.
Later, Jon and Sansa travel to Deepwood Motte to secure the allegiance of House Glover. They receive a frosty reception from Robett Glover, who points out that the late King Robb failed to protect his home from the Ironborn. Despite being one of the Starks' most loyal bannermen, Robb did not come to his aid when the Ironborn invaded Deepwood Motte, imprisoned his wife and children, and brutalised his subjects. When Sansa tries to highlight the fact that the Glovers had pledged fealty to House Stark, Robett responds that he received them out of respect for their father Eddard Stark but warns them that they have outstayed their welcome.
In the end, Jon and Sansa are only able to recruit a small number of minor houses, only adding a few hundred extra soldiers to their army. Davos deals with a brawl among the Wildlings. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Jon is adamant that they attack Winterfell as soon as possible before Ramsay rallies more forces and before the weather turns on them. Sansa disagrees, instead opting to try and recruit more houses. When Jon refuses to change his mind, Sansa begins writing a letter to be sent by raven to an unknown party, likely Petyr Baelish.
At Riverrun
Jaime and Bronn lead the Lannister army to the gates of Riverrun, where the Freys attempt to coerce the Blackfish into surrendering the castle by threatening to execute Edmure Tully. The Blackfish calls their bluff and refuses to surrender. Disgusted with the Freys' incompetence, Jamie takes charge of the siege and attempts to parley with the Blackfish, warning him that the Lannisters will show no mercy to the Tullys, but if he surrenders, the lives of his men will be spared. The Blackfish rejects the offer and warns Jaime that he has 2 years worth of food in his stronghold, and that while hundreds of his own men may die defending, thousands of Lannister troops will perish as well.
In Volantis
Theon and Yara take the Iron Fleet to Volantis to hide and rest. Inside a brothel, Theon sits despondently as Yara and the others carouse with naked and semi-naked prostitutes. Yara repeatedly tells Theon to drink some ale and he repeatedly refuses.
Yara is persuading Theon to regain his former identity and self confidence, as she will need his assistance in retaking the Iron Islands from their uncle Euron. When pressed, he says that if justice were served, he would be burnt for his crimes, so she responds, “Fuck justice then. Do it for revenge.” Eventually she convinces him to put his guilt aside and help her because she needs him. He drinks some ale and begins to gain some composure.
She then reveals to Theon that she plans to take the Iron Fleet to Meereen and forge an alliance with Daenerys before Euron does. After the conversation, she goes to have sex with a female prostitute.
In Braavos
Although we last saw Arya hiding in the dark with Needle in her hand, the scene opens with Arya walking openly through Braavos without Needle, with her hands behind her back. She approaches two Westerosi traders drinking at an outdoor table and negotiates passage to Westeros at dawn, through the use of large bags of money she shows them.
We next see Arya admiring a view of the Titan of Braavos when an old woman approaches her and reveals herself to be the Waif, who repeatedly stabs her in the gut, twisting the knife as she stabs. Arya escapes by leaping over the handrail and into the River. She is left stumbling through the streets of Braavos, leaving a trail of blood droplets and visibly afraid.
Rory McCann (Sandor Clegane) is restored as a starring cast member commencing with this episode, having been absent since the season 4 finale.
This is the sixth episode in which Peter Dinklage does not appear, and the first instance of two consecutive non-appearances.
Notes
General
The title of this episode appears to refer to the return of Sandor Clegane. He was very nearly killed after his fight with Brienne of Tarth and thus "broken". In the books, "broken men" is a term for conscripts during wartime who desert and turn into bandits, wretched men living from one day to the next. A character named Septon Meribald gives a lengthy speech about broken men, and how they should be pitied for their miserable state. George R.R. Martin has referred to this as one of the most thematically significant passages in the series. "The Broken Man" could also refer in a sense to Theon Greyjoy or Jon Snow, still dealing with theirtrauma.
In the books, the sentence "the gods are not done with me" is actually said by Theon, while he is still in Winterfell, in response to a hooded man (whose identity is unknown) who asks him scornfully "How is it you still breathe?".
This is only the sixth episode Tyrion Lannister doesn't appear in, who is currently the character with the most character appearances. The other five episodes he doesn't appear in are the previous episode, Blood of My Blood (which focuses heavily on Samwell Tarly and Gilly's visit to Horn Hill, and the King's Landing plot), The Watchers on the Wall (which focuses entirely on the battle of Castle Black), First of His Name, The Rains of Castamere (which doesn't feature King's Landing at all) and You Win or You Die.
This is the fourth episode to feature a pre-credit sequence, and the first that is not a season premiere. The previous episodes were "Winter is Coming", "Valar Dohaeris" and "Two Swords". Co-executive producer and writer Bryan Cogman explained that the cold open was necessary to preserve the impact of revealing Sandor Clegane's survival, in view of actor Rory McCann's name appearing in the credits.
Sandor Clegane
Sandor Clegane has not reappeared in the novels since Arya left him for dead by the side of the road in A Storm of Swords, and thus his return in this episode is a major spoiler for the books. However, there are suggestions he may have survived. In A Feast for Crows, Brienne and Podrick visit a monastery on the Quiet Isle where refugees from the war are seeking sanctuary. The monastery is led by an Elder Brother, who reveals to them that the Hound is "dead," even though they see a large horse resembling Sandor's and spot a hooded gravedigger who might be him. The exchange is framed in such a way that the Elder Brother may be speaking figuratively: "the Hound," his violent and angry past, has died, while "Sandor" has found his peace helping the refugees at the monastery. In the books, Brienne and Podrick also encounter a wandering septon named Meribald with a colorful past as a mercenary and bandit, and who now does penance by helping the poor and needy. Brother Ray, played by Ian McShane, is a loose adaptation of both Meribald and the Elder Brother.
It isn't explicitly stated where the scenes involving Sandor Clegane take place, but given the presence of the Brotherhood Without Banners it is apparently somewhere in the Riverlands. When Arya abandoned Sandor they were actually leaving the Vale and near the coast where its southern border meets the Riverlands (which is how she was in riding distance of a port at Maidenpool).
The Brotherhood Without Banners reappears for the first time since Season 3's "The Bear and the Maiden Fair." The Brotherhood appears to have adopted far more ruthless tactics with regard to the common people of Westeros since their last appearance. A similar change occurs in the novels, as the group becomes much more focused on exacting revenge against the Freys and the Lannisters than on their original goal of defending the common folk.
Although unnamed in dialogue, the HBO Viewer's Guide identifies the lead member of the Brotherhood who appears in this episode, the one with the yellow cloak, as "Lem Lemoncloak", another member of the Brotherhood from the novels.
This episode is the first time that Riverrun castle has appeared as a fully realized exterior location. When it previously appeared in Season 3, it was primarily filmed on interior sets - the castle itself was seen as a matte painting in the background of Hoster Tully's funeral. The wide shot of the area around Riverrun is accurate to the books: the castle is located at a major fork in the river, where the Red Fork of the Trident is joined by its major tributary, the Tumblestone River. In peacetime the castle is located on a triangle of land where the two rivers meet, with water on two sides: in time of war and siege, the Tullys open several levies to flood the remaining third side, essentially turning it into a small island - making it very difficult to besiege, as any attacker has to divide its forces into three portions to cover each water crossing.
Brynden asks Jaime if he came to fulfill the vow he had given Catelyn to bring her daughters back. This vow is not mentioned in the show. In the books, Jaime recalls it in a flashback while heading to King's Landing with Brienne and his cousin Cleos: "Swear that you will never again take up arms against Stark nor Tully. Swear that you will compel your brother to honor his pledge to return my daughters safe and unharmed. Swear on your honor as a knight, on your honor as a Lannister, on your honor as a Sworn Brother of the Kingsguard. Swear it by your sister's life, and your father's, and your son's, by the old gods and the new, and I'll send you back to your sister. Refuse, and I will have your blood."
It seems unwise of Catelyn to trust the vow of a man who has broken so many vows, let alone who swears while he is drunk, chained to a wall, with a sword pressed to his chest. Jaime wonders about that, guessing that Catelyn was putting her hope in Tyrion. He makes up his mind to fulfil the oath, but by the time they reach the capital, both the Stark girls are gone (in the show, at that point Sansa is still there). Still, he intends to keep the first part of the oath by doing his best to resolve the siege of Riverrun wihout spilling blood.
The Siege of Riverrun takes place in A Feast for Crows, the fourth novel of A Song of Ice and Fire. In the books, Brynden Tully is not present at the Red Wedding, instead remaining behind at Riverrun with the Tully army to hold their southern flank and to guard Robb's wife Jeyne Westerling. After word arrives of the massacre at the Twins, Brynden pulls back his men to the castle and gathers ample food supplies for a lengthy siege. The siege is ongoing when Jaime arrives with a Lannister army to assist the Freys.
In the novel, Jaime is engaged at Riverrun when he receives word that Cersei has been arrested by the Faith Militant. As a result of the growing rift between them, Jaime simply burns Cersei's desperate plea for help.
Other than chronological adjustments, the presence of Bronn, and some other slight changes, the Siege of Riverrun subplot plays out similarly in the novels. Notable condensations are of course that the several dozen members of House Frey have been understandably condensed into just Lame Lothar and Black Walder Rivers. No outside help is expected to come help the castle so the Freys aren't keeping a tight watch on the external perimeter, and instead are spending most of their time feasting and whoring in their camps outside the castle.
In the books, the Frey who commands the siege and nearly hangs Edmure on a daily basis is Ryman Frey - eldest son of Stevron Frey, who died earlier in the war, thus making him Lord Walder's heir. Incidentally, Ryman also personally killed Lyanna Mormont's eldest sister Dacey Mormont at the Red Wedding (though both Ryman and Dacey were omitted from the TV adaptation).
In the books, the Freys actually drag Edmure Tully out and hang him by a noose on a daily basis, to taunt his uncle Brynden to surrender. This has been going on for so long that whatever force the threat may have had at first has long since become empty. In the episode, it isn't mentioned that the Freys have done this before and it may be the first and only time.
Brynden Tully accurately points out that it would be ridiculous to trust the Freys with any oath of surrender - given that they unthinkably broke guest right, killing his own niece and great-nephew while they were guests at the Freys' table. Thus, while not explicitly spelled out in the episode, Brynden doesn't budge when the Freys threaten to kill his nephew Edmure because first, he can sense they're bluffing; but more importantly, he has absolutely no reason to doubt that if he does surrender, the honorless Freys won't just break their word, and kill both Edmure and Brynden anyway.
Brynden states that Riverrun has enough food supplies to last for two years. In the books, he similarly managed to gather ample food supplies at the castle before the siege began, right after the Red Wedding. In the TV version, the siege wasn't going on off-screen this whole time but is stated to have only recently begun after Brynden recaptured it in a sneak attack, thus he still has two full years worth of food supplies in this version as well. Sieges can last for many years in Westeros, because castles are built with larger storage space to survive the years-long winters.
In King's Landing
The scene of Olenna and Cersei is the opposite of the scene in "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken": in the earlier episode scene, Cersei acted smugly and arrogantly, pretending to write a letter when Olenna was speaking to her chidingly about the arrest of Margaery and Loras. In the episode, Olenna is the one who indifferently writes a letter, while Cersei begs for her assistance.
Lyanna's message to Stannis, which reads: "Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark."
Lyanna Mormont, the new head of House Mormont of Bear Island, first appears in this episode. Lyanna is the ten-year-old niece of Jeor Mormont and the first cousin of Jorah Mormont. In "The House of Black and White," Stannis sent all the Northern houses letters asking them to acknowledge him as the rightful king, but despite having no substantial army left and only being a little girl, Lyanna sent back a defiant letter which read "Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark." The characters directly recount this incident in the episode.
In the book, following the liberation of Deepwood Motte, many survivors of northern houses join Stannis's host in his campaign against the Boltons, among them Alysane Mormont. The fact that her sister marches to battle alongside Stannis may indicate that Lyanna has changed her mind about supporting him.
Lyanna Mormont was named for Lyanna Stark, Jon and Sansa's late aunt.
Maege Mormont is stated to have died "fighting for Robb" since her appearance in Season 1. In the books, Robb sends her and Galbart Glover on a mission in the North prior to the Red Wedding. After this, nothing is heard of their status.
Robett Glover, younger brother of Lord Galbart Glover, first appears in this episode. Robett Glover mentions that his brother Galbart fought for Robb and hailed him as King in the North; it is implied that Galbart died during the war. Robett mentions that his wife and children were held captive by the ironborn, which did happen in the novels (Yara kept them prisoner but made sure they were well cared for).
Robett states that House Gloverrecently recapturedDeepwood Motte with the help of House Bolton. In the books, it is actually Stannis Baratheon who liberates Deepwood Motte as part of his campaign to purge the North of its enemies - the ironborn, and subsequebtly the Boltons. Needless to say that the Boltons did not help Stannis to liberate Deepwood Motte
In the books, while Asha is in Deepwood Motte, she receives a letter from Ramsay (written in blood and with a piece of Theon's skin enclosed), warning her "Linger in my lands, and share his [Theon's] fate" - thus perphas Ramsay intended to liberate Deepwood Motte the way he did at Moat Cailin, but Stannis beat him to it.
Some new heraldry appears in this episode. House Glover's heraldry has never appeared in the TV series before and is first introduced in this episode: a silver armored fist on a scarlet red background. The sigil of House Mormont, instead of a striding (passant) black bear on a white background next to green trees as has been depicted in prior seasons, is a black bear rearing on its hind legs (rampant).
In the Free Cities
The sailors that Arya hires in Braavos mention hearing that the Iron Fleet had arrived in Slaver's Bay, even though, in the same episode, we see the Iron Fleet in Volantis, still on its way east to Meereen. It is possible that the two scenes are not meant to occur simultaneously, or that the rumor is simply a distortion of the truth.
Volantis makes its second appearance in this episode, following Season 5's "High Sparrow.". Yara and Theon Greyjoy's ironborn fleet stops there for supplies as it heads east to Slaver's Bay to ally with Queen Daenerys. In the books, it is their uncle Victarion Greyjoy who leads the Iron Fleet east to Slaver's Bay in order to win Daenerys to King Euron's cause.
The prostitutes at the tavern the Greyjoy crew visits in Volantis have teardrop-shaped tattoos below their eyes, indicating their status as slaves.
Yara Greyjoy kissing a female prostitute in Volantis in this episode. Martin directly stated that Yara's character in the books actually isn't bisexual - though several other characters had bisexual experiences which were cut from the TV show.
This episode depicts Yara Greyjoy kissing and fondling a female prostitute in Volantis, and at the end of the scene she openly says she's going to have sex with the prostitute. In the novels, Asha Greyjoy, while sexually active and promiscuous, shows no indication of being bisexual or experimenting with women. Game of Thrones Wiki reached out to George R.R. Martin himself to inquire about this:
Question: "Is Asha Greyjoy (renamed Yara in the TV series) bisexual in the books, or it was implied, and we just didn't catch on to it?"
GRRM: "I have a number of lesbian and bisexual women in the novels (and a couple who experiment), but Asha is not one of them. Unless I am forgetting something..."[2]
In the Inside the Episode featurette, the showrunners pointed out that Yara does love and care for her brother Theon, but they made her dialogue with him (which doesn't have a direct counterpart in the novels) to be deliberately blunt, "tough love" advice, because as they put it, Yara isn't a professional psychotherapist. As they explained, moreso than the rest of Westeros, the Ironborn are a very blunt, Viking-like culture of warriors, and this style of advice was deemed more appropriate to their beliefs.
In the books
See Differences between books and TV series - Season 6#The Broken Man
The episode is adapted from the following chapter of A Storm of Swords:
Chapter 65, Arya XII: The Hound helps villagers with construction works.
The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Feast for Crows:
Chapter 25, Brienne V: A septon tells about the horrors of war and broken men.
Chapter 33, Jaime V: Jaime arrives at Riverrun where he finds a Frey tying a noose around Edmure's neck threatening the Blackfish that he means to hang him unless Riverrun surrenders.
Chapter 38, Jaime VI: Jaime holds a parley with The Blackfish on the drawbridge to Riverrun, but is unsuccessful in convincing him to give up the castle.
The episode is adapted from the following chapters of A Dance with Dragons:
Chapter 19, Davos III: Someone speaks ill about Robb Stark.
Chapter 56, The Iron Suitor: A Greyjoy stops at Volantis.
Chapter 69, Jon XIII: Jon asks for volunteers to go with him and fight the Boltons.
Memorable quotes
Lyanna Mormont: "We are not a large house, but we're a proud one. And every man from Bear Island fights with the strength of 10 mainlanders." Davos Seaworth: "If they're half as ferocious as their lady, the Boltons are doomed."
Ray: "All I can do with the time I've got left is bring a little goodness into the world. That's all any of us can do, isn't it?"
