‘Game of Thrones’ Season 5, Episode 6 Recap: ‘Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken’

Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in “Game of Thrones” Season 5, episode 6. Photo: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO.

“No, a girl is not ready to become no one, but she is ready to become someone else” — Jaqen H’ghar to Arya Stark

After a mildly unimpressive prior episode, it was entertaining to see several new and enticing developments unfold in this week’s hour.

At the House of Black and White, we see Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) still hard at work preparing and cleaning bodies that have been taken by the Many-Faced God. She washes them, clips them and covers them. She has the drill down pat. But as the weeks go by, Arya grows tired of still not yet learning how to be a Faceless Man — and as we all know, patience was never her forte.

At this rate, it seems her dreams of becoming “no one” are useless because she simply can’t let go of her life as Arya Stark.

But Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha) catches a glimpse of hope when Arya is given the chance to take the life of a little girl in chronic pain and sickness, brought to the House of Black and White by her father to ease her pain. She tells a tale of a time when she was sick and the water healed her — finally, a believable lie, told only as a comfort before the girl drew her last breath. As a reward, Jaqen leaves the mysterious door in the embalming chamber open and leads Arya down a passage to a cavernous hall, filled with pillars bearing many faces — the faces of those same bodies she had washed. It looks like Arya is getting her way, at last starting her journey to becoming “no one” by first becoming “someone.”

Meanwhile, Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) are still bickering, a cute sort of ritual between the two of them. But perhaps petty quarrels are to lighten the mood for the disgraced knight, anything to take his mind off the fact that he has contracted greyscale after the fight with the Stone Men of Valyria. Not to mention the death of his father, former Lord Commander Mormont of the Night’s Watch, after a mutiny by his own men — a (briefly) saddening tidbit that Tyrion manages to let slip.

Unfortunately, his problems seem to worsen when the pair accidentally runs into slavers that take them hostage. Luckily, Tyrion still has his wits about him, and he talks his way out of having his tiny (debatable) dick cut off and gets to keep his head — for now. And surprisingly, Ser Jorah manages to get one step closer to seeing his lovely Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) again. At the behest of the slavers, he is to utilize his excellent swordsman skills (which impressively took down a Dothraki bloodrider so long ago) in Meereen’s newly opened fighting pits.

Sophie Turner and Iwan Rheon in “Game of Thrones” Season 5, episode 6. Photo: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO.

Speaking of fighting, we finally get a taste of some action in Dorne, where Bronn (Jerome Flynn) and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) meet up with the treacherous Sand Snakes in a bid to capture the doe-eyed Princess Myrcella — portrayed by guest star Nell Tiger Free. Although, the quarrel is so fleeting that it lacks any real substance and sense of genuineness. But with Bronn, Jaime, the Sand Snakes, and Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) now in custody, our curiosity is piqued to find out what will happen next.

In King’s Landing, where Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) has yet to hear what’s become of her brother and lover, she makes perhaps her biggest power play yet — just like Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen), who seems to have thrown Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) under the bus in a bid to become Warden of the North with help from Cersei.

Anyhow, Littlefinger isn’t the only one who’s back in the capital. The Queen of Thorns, Margaery Tyrell’s grandmother (played by Diana Rigg), has returned with grievances about the arrest of her grandson, Ser Loras (Finn Jones). Olenna Tyrell confronts Cersei, who remains as two-faced and unbowed as ever. So Ser Loras faces an inquest, not a trial, led by the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) himself to face the charges set against him for being an alleged homosexual, which he denies. Just when you think the unpleasantness is over, Margaery (Natalie Dormer) is called to testify — not even royalty is exempt from a holy inquest. The denial train continues — that is, until one of Loras’ past dalliances becomes a surprise witness and turns against the Tyrells. With the enraging quip about a birthmark, the High Sparrow says there is enough evidence to bring Loras — and Margaery — to trial.

And in possibly the most jarring episode ending so far this season, Sansa Stark gets a true taste of just how messed up her sadistic new husband, Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), really is.

After a winter wonderland ceremony in the Godswood at Winterfell, the newlywed couple, escorted by Reek (Alfie Allen), enter the candlelit chamber where they are to consummate their marriage. Of course, Sansa, being a virgin, is no doubt petrified of what her first time will be like — and to a sick stranger whose family she hates, no less. But her worries are amplified when Ramsay asks Reek — her former childhood friend — to stay and watch Sansa turn into a woman, to put it delicately. With tears streaming down her face, the now red-haired Sansa begrudgingly starts to strip — that is, until an impatient Ramsay tears off the back of her dress and takes her from behind. And although the camera pans away from the rape scene, the moment is way more powerful and emotional as we instead hear Sansa’s painful screams, and watch Reek’s horrified face look on, too scared to look away.

Throne Room Notes:

• Poor Sansa just can’t seem to catch a break. You have to feel bad for the girl.
• It’ll be hard for Margaery to get out of this one. Cersei may have finally got her way.
• It seems everything is going as planned for Littlefinger.

Video courtesy of Game of Thrones.

Video courtesy of Game of Thrones.