‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6, Episode 3 Recap: Oathbreaker

Liam Cunningham, Carice van Houten and Kit Harington star in Game of Thrones Season 6, episode 3. Photo Credit: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO.

This episode picks up right where it left off — at Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) awakening — with producers deciding not to tease the audience after a year (and two new episodes) of waiting. It actually answers several of our questions right away: Is he the same Jon Snow? (Yes, more or less.) Will he forgive his betrayers and possibly try to unite them with the Wildlings? (No, he put them to the rope — even Olly, who’s grown about five years in a week.) Would he be some sort of God? (No, “What kind of God would have a pecker that small?” Tormund Giantsbane, who is portrayed by Kristofer Hivju, points out.) And would he remain loyal to the Night’s Watch? (It’s unclear if his duties extend over multiple lifetimes. Samwell Tarly has suggested that their oaths are open to interpretation, so either Jon is taking this to heart or he just doesn’t care.)

“My watch has ended,” Jon says, handing over his feathered cloak of leadership to Dolorous Edd (Ben Crompton).

Oathbreaker or not, Jon is entering the real world again — though hopefully not too soon, so he doesn’t miss Sansa (Sophie Turner), Brienne (Gwendoline Christie) and Podrick (Daniel Portman). The Starks never can catch a break, so my guess is he’ll be long gone by the time she gets there. Perhaps he’ll join the Wildlings again and prepare for the great battle against the White Walkers. After all, a renewed Melisandre (Carice van Houten) believes that he is her great warrior prince, Azor Ahai, that she saw in the flames. Or maybe he’ll try to recapture Winterfell and start a bastard vs. bastard war with Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) — especially now that, for the first time since Season 3, Rickon Stark (remember him?) is back.

Natalia Tena (Osha), Dean Jagger (Smalljon Umber) and Art Parkinson (Rickon Stark) star in Game of Thrones Season 6, episode 3. Photo Credit: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO.

Ramsay now has another Stark to torture and hold as collateral should Jon and company decide to attack Winterfell, thanks to Lord Umber (Clive Mantle) who hand-delivered him and Osha, portrayed by Natalia Tena (and beheaded Shaggydog — another direwolf down). But could this all be a ruse to overthrow the Bolton army? The Umbers are supposedly very loyal people, and Lord Umber did refuse to bend a knee to Ramsay. And did Shaggydog’s head look a little too small to be a direwolf? We may have (happily) forgotten all about Rickon, but his reappearance does beg some interesting questions.

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) also had a homecoming that was less than ideal. This episode she regrettably reaches Vaes Dothrak and gets a lukewarm welcome from the dosh khaleen, the ruling group of crones and widows of dead Khals. This sisterhood isn’t impressed by all of Daenerys’ titles (Mother of Dragons, Queen of Meereen, etc.), and they won’t save her. After a quick wardrobe change, it’s determined that Daenerys will be judged in a formal trial for her crime — not joining the dosh khaleen right after Khal Drogo’s death. But her dragons have saved her before, and with all three now roaming free, it’s likely that they will save her again. I mean, there’s no way Ser Jorah (Iain Glen) and Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman) can fight an entire Dothraki army themselves.

Hopefully they all return sooner rather than later because the situation in Meereen is getting duller by the minute. Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) is left spinning his wheels during a very awkward conversation with Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson), and in King’s Landing Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is doing the same as she plots against her enemies, now with Varys’ (Conleth Hill) former little birds (aka sweet-toothed children) at her fingertips.

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones Season 6, episode 3. Photo Credit: Macall B. Polay/courtesy of HBO.

Anton Lesser as the Master of Whisperers in Game of Thrones Season 6, episode 3. Photo Credit: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO.

She will undoubtedly need their help to crush the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) and the rest of the world. Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman) clearly holds no power in the Seven Kingdoms, let alone in King’s Landing. We applaud him for trying to be more kingly by confronting the High Sparrow and demanding he let Cersei visit his sister, Myrcella, in the Sept. But what was supposed to turn into some sort of power shift merely becomes a religious history lesson with Tommen attentively listening to his teacher like the good little boy he is.

Gilly (Hannah Murray) and Sam (John Bradley-West) also do a lot of talking during their first appearance of the season, although a now-literate Gilly is doing most of the talking while Sam’s pea-green face is in a barrel. This scene is irrelevant and only serves as a reminder that Gilly and Sam are still alive, and sets up a possible introduction to new characters — aka the Tarly clan. Whether they will accept Gilly with open arms remains to be seen. She did call Sam the father of her child…

Sam and Gilly are sailing toward family while Arya (Maisie Williams) is still running away from hers. In Braavos, audiences watch her plotline on fast forward, seeing mostly bits and pieces. I mean, how many times can you see poor blind Arya getting beat up (though she’s improving) before getting bored? She is making progress — that is, talking about herself in third person — and Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha) rewards her with her eyesight. Not that she reacts much to it, and neither did we. In Game of Thrones time, she was only blind for two whole episodes.

Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Game of Thrones Season 6, episode 3. Photo Credit: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO.

Robert Aramayo as a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones Season 6, episode 3. Photo Credit: Macall B. Polay/courtesy of HBO.

This episode was mostly talk but we did see some action in the past, when Bran Stark’s (Isaac Hempstead Wright) vision with the Three-Eyed Raven brings us back to Ned Stark’s (Robert Aramayo) famous sword fight with the legendary Ser Arthur Dayne. Even though we know Ned wins, based on future events and what history has told us (and Bran), the main event is still thrilling to watch. And that’s not just because the fight ended with a stab in the back (though not by Stark himself), putting to question Ned’s honor and rocking Bran’s opinion of his father. We also hear Lyanna Stark scream from the Tower of Joy. Of course, whether it’s from being tortured or from the pains of childbirth, we don’t know yet. But this may be a key event in history, since Rhaegar Targaryen is already dead in this scene and Westeros folklore had claimed until now that he raped and murdered Lyanna. She has been a recurring character presence so far this season, and it appears only the Three-Eyed Raven knows why (although we can pretty much guess the reason). Much like a movie trailer, he teases us with the best part. “That’s enough for one day,” he tells Bran, who, like us, is eager to learn more.