On 'Game of Thrones,' it's finally all about empowered women

Sunday was a profoundly somber day of mourning in America, so it was perhaps for the best that the nation's entertainment obsession — Game of Thrones — was in somber and reflective mood too.  

Season 6 Episode 8, "No One," could have just been one of those setting-the-table episodes where characters are moved into place for wars to come. But along with the maneuvering, we got some of the show's best disquisitions on life, love and loyalty, with a side helping of honor and dignity. 

Better yet, the episode saw cracks of enlightenment open up in the bloody medieval hellscapes of war-torn Westeros and Essos. Even in a world as dark as this, it turns out, unlikely friendships can blossom. Old acquaintances can be reunited. The hangman's form of justice can prevail over the butcher's form of justice. All-but-inevitable battles can be avoided. Dragons and their mistresses can return in the nick of time. 

And a girl can learn to be someone. 

Indeed, the episode was largely about women coming to know themselves, and learning who they can and can't rely on. The show has been tilting in this direction all season, of course — see also Sansa Stark, Gilly and Lady Lyanna Mormont — but it was never clearer than in "No One," in which no characters displayed more agency than Arya, Brienne, Daenerys and Cersei. 

You might quibble with including Cersei in this list, given that the Lannister Queen had to suffer two major indignities. First, to be relegated by her own uncle, Hand of the King Kevan Lannister, to "the gallery with the other ladies of the court." 

Moments later came the gut punch of seeing her own son declare from the Iron Throne that trial by combat, Cersei's only hope in her forthcoming court date with the Sparrows, is now "forbidden through the seven kingdoms."

But Cersei is smart enough to always keep at least two allies to hand. She has the brawn of Ser Robert Strong, a.k.a. The FrankenMountain, whose crushing of a Sparrow right in front of Lancel and his mob prevented Cersei from being taken captive. (And she didn't forget her manners: "Please tell the High Sparrow he's welcome to visit.")

And she has the brains of Qyburn, who has taken over Varys' "little birds" network and apparently been investigating an "old rumor" that is "much more" than they'd hoped. Could this perhaps have something to do with the vast stores of wildfire under the city? Or something even more nefarious? 

All we know is: Never underestimate Cersei when she's hatching a plot, and someone should probably alert whatever rudimentary Fire Department they may have in King's Landing. 

IMAGE: HBO

You might say Jaime Lannister has agency in this episode; after all, it is he, not Brienne, who ends the siege of Riverrun. He talks Edmure Tully into walking into the castle and demanding the inhabitants, his liege servants, lay down their arms. 

But why does he do this? In a surprisingly unguarded moment, he tells Edmure that none of the battle to come will matter to Jaime, because he loves Cersei and is merely doing this to return to her. He would launch Edmure's baby over the battlements in a trebuchet, because nothing matters. 

"The things we do for love," Jaime said, echoing what he said in the very first episode before throwing Bran out of a window for Cersei and setting the entire disastrous tale in motion. Then as now, he is very much her creature.

The only good in Jaime is brought out, then and now, by Brienne — perhaps the only other woman he loves, and not in the crude way Bronn enjoyed joking with Podrick about. (Bronn also grudgingly conceded that Jaime simply has more game than he: "The way all women look at him is frankly irritating.") 

IMAGE: HBO

The long-awaited reunion of the Kingslayer and his former captor was much more sublime. Brienne reported that she'd found Sansa, and tried to broker a deal for the Blackfish's life in order to bring him and his army to her. She tried to return his sword, appropriately called Oathkeeper, even as she warned him that an attack on the Blackfish was an attack on her. 

Jaime bade her keep the sword — a huge deal, this is Valryian steel we're talking about — and the worrying foreshadowing of Jaime and Brienne taking up arms against each other did not pass, at least not in this episode. She escaped, he saw it, chose to do nothing, and the two frenemies shared a final meaningful wave.

Brienne also received possibly the greatest compliment of the Blackfish's life as he assisted her escape. She had previously informed him in no uncertain terms that she would serve Sansa until the day she died, so he had the measure of her. She insisted he come with her. "You'll serve Sansa better than I could," said the gruff old soldier, before laughing off his death by grumbling about how long it had been since he'd had a sword fight. 

Arya hadn't had a sword fight in a long time either, or a proper ally — and in this episode, she found both. She also has renewed purpose, and even hinted at where she might end up at the end of the series. 

"The edge of the world, maybe," said the actress Lady Crane as she nursed Arya back to life from the stab wounds inflicted by the no-name waif, in response to Arya's question about what was west of Westeros. Arya's face lit up: "I'd like to see that." Foreshadowing alert!

Lady Crane was killed by the waif, and the chase was on again. As Arya fled and jumped off very tall ledges in the backstreets of Braavos, it was even harder to believe she'd survive her injuries than it was last week, let alone make it out without breaking a bone. A girl has become very good at parkour. 

But the waif was a genuinely scary threat (and a very corporeal one — sorry, everyone who believed that "Arya and the waif are the same person" fan theory). Slicing the candle with Needle was a neat trick given that she's learned how to fight in the dark. 

Back at the House of Black and White, Jaquen gave his charge another ultimate compliment: "A girl has become no one." The look on his face when Arya insisted on who she was, and that she was going home, was a nicely economical way of telling the story too. He acknowledged her agency.

Elsewhere in Essos, the lack of female leadership — specifically, Daenerys Targaryen — was being keenly felt. "She'll come back," insisted Varys to Tyrion as he left on a secret mission to aid Mereen, a sweet and sorrowful parting for one of our favorite buddy comedy pairings. "She has to. My heart's been broken too many times already." 

And return she did, atop Drogon, though not before the rest of Slavers' Bay launched a sneak attack by sea and Tyrion tried to get Misandre and Grey Worm to drink wine and tell jokes. After Tyrion's killer Stark joke, we can only hope he gets a standup routine — if only to hear the end of that "honeycomb and the jackass" gag. 

Though through an odd editing choice, we barely lingered on Daenerys for a second before cutting away. She didn't get to say a word to her people. A perfect opportunity for the mother of dragons to drop the mic went begging. 

The best line of the episode, meanwhile, went to the Hound. Newly nihilistic after witnessing a massacre of many good people last week, he went on a rampage against the perpetrators, rogue members of the Brotherhood Without Banners. He didn't have agency; his blind need for revenge did.

The hunt led him to his old frenemies, Beric Dondarrion, the Brotherhood's undead leader, and Thoros of Myr, the Red priest who brought Beric back to life. Beric and Thoros convinced the Hound to execute the remaining guilty men by rope rather than butcher them by axe. But they can't convince him that he has returned to their midst for some godly purpose. 

Replies the Hound: "A lot of horrible shit gets done in this world for 'something larger than ourselves.'" 

On a day like this, we couldn't agree more. 

And as book readers know, the return of the Brotherhood, and the many discussions of Catelyn Stark in this episode, may be the greatest foreshadowing of all. The show may be about to reveal a angry, vengeful and powerful female figure to put all the rest to shame.

'Game of Thrones' fans are putting tiny Hodor stickers to very good use

Warning: Contains spoilers from Game of Thrones Season 6, episode 5.

LONDON — Hodor may be gone, but his memory will live on in the form of tiny, well-placed stickers.

Since the crushing conclusion of Season 6, episode 5 was broadcast Sunday, it appears that some fans have decided to pay tribute to the big man.

The reason for the sticker in the picture above isn't that clear, but it's easier to see in the one below.

'Hold the door.'

IMAGE: IMGUR/MIKEAMANIA

Let this give you some comfort: somewhere in the world (probably in the U.S.), there's at least one person going around decorating elevators with tiny little Hodor stickers.

Never forget.

BONUS: The adventures of sad George R. R. Martin.

A 'Game of Thrones' fan predicted the meaning of Hodor's name back in 2008

Warning: Contains spoilers from Game of Thrones Season Six, Episode 5.

Think you're good at predicting stuff that will happen on Game of Thrones?

You're not as good as this person.

Now that we know what Hodor's name actually means it seems sort of obvious (well not obvious, exactly, but like the sort of thing someone could have worked out).

The thing is, someone did work it out. Back in 2008.

Here's a thread in the A Song Of Ice And Fire (ASOIAF) wiki — What does Hodor mean? — that was started in February 2008.

IMAGE: ASOIAF WESTEROS

Although there was plenty of speculation, there's one comment from a user called Myrddin that really stands out.

IMAGE: ASOIAF WESTEROS

Okay, so it's not an exact prediction of what happened (obviously Myrddin is joking), but they still nailed the key origin of Hodor's name.

The theory went down well, even then.

IMAGE: ASOIAF WESTEROS

Ah, if only if had been that simple.

Myrddin wasn't the only one to predict the origin's of Hodor's name, either. In 2014, writer Michael A. Ventrella shared a story on his blog about a time he met George R. R. Martin at a convention.

The two apparently had rooms near each other, and kept bumping into each other in the elevator. On one occasion, Martin joked about how he would have been an elevator operator if he hadn't become a writer.

The last time they met during the convention, Ventrella writes, they had the following exchange:

Ventrella: "I finally figured out why you have a character named 'Hodor'."

Martin: "Oh?"
V: "I was thinking about your comment about wanting to be an elevator operator. It's clear to me now that 'Hodor' is short for 'Hold the door'."
M: "You don't know how close to the truth you are!"

So the answer was right in front of us the whole time. No one predicted the tragic circumstances of how that meaning would be revealed, though.

This 'Game of Thrones' fan theory about Bran is so wild it could work

LONDON — Not to be unkind to Bran or anything, but we've invested a hell of a lot of time watching him do very little on Game of Thrones.

In the time it's taken Daenerys to rear three dragons, take over three cities and amass a gigantic army of loyal followers, Bran has basically just walked a few miles through the snow and found a cave.

Obviously he's been through a lot of unpleasantness on the way, but all we're saying is that there must be some wider purpose to those long, cold scenes of him traipsing through the barren North.

Now that he's teamed up with the Three Eyed Raven, though, things might be about to change.

Reddit user Negative Karma Snilfer certainly thinks so, anyway. On Monday morning, after episode three aired, they posted the following theory about Bran and the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen. 

IMAGE: REDDIT

Pretty far-fetched, right?

Well, maybe not. From the Tower of Joy flashback in the last episode it seems pretty clear that Bran — despite what that killjoy the Three Eyed Raven says — has the power to influence the past as well as watch it.

Just look at the confusion on Young Ned Stark's face after Bran calls out to him.

Is it really that much of a leap to suggest that Bran, while watching other characters in the future, could actually influence what happened to them in the past? The Three Eyed Raven certainly looked nervous in the flashback when Bran yelled "father;" it was as if he knew what the consequences of the boy's actions could be.

Reactions to the theory were mixed on Reddit.

IMAGE: REDDIT

IMAGE: REDDIT

Eventually someone pointed out a connection to the beginning of the show, when Bran inadvertently sparks the escalating conflict between the Starks and the Lannisters.

IMAGE: REDDIT

Some people took things even further, too.

IMAGE: REDDIT

This isn't the first time theories about Bran and time travel have been bandied round. In the past, people have suggested he may in fact be one of the legendary Brandons he hears about in Old Nan's stories (Brandon the Builder, Brandon the Shipwright, etc.).

It seems pretty clear that Bran is destined for something big, anyway. The buildup to him meeting the Three Eyed Raven and realising his own powers took so long that there has to be a decent reason for it.

Whether he uses his powers to start meddling with the past — or whether he simply becomes a roving eye through which the fates of other characters, past and present, can unfold — still remains to be seen.

Like Follow Follow Let's talk about THAT moment from the 'Game of Thrones' Season 6 premiere

WARNING: This post contains spoilers from the season premiere of Game of Thrones. You've been warned.

Melisandre, is that you? 

If it's a big moment you wanted from the Season 6 premiere of Game of Thrones, then you likely weren't disappointed by the episode's last minutes. That's when viewers saw the character played by Carice van Houten transform into an old, wrinkled lady after removing everything, including her large ruby necklace, in front of a mirror.

Guess that explains why the episode is titled "The Red Woman."The last time we saw Melisandre, known as the priestess of the "Lord of the Light," she had sacrificed Stannis Baratheon's daughter Shireen in an attempt to save his army. That failed (R.I.P. Stannis), and she fled to Castle Black.

In the new episode, a wary Melisandre seems to be as shocked by Jon Snow's death as the rest of us.

"I saw him in the flames, fighting at Winterfell," she says to Sir Davos.

After Jon Snow was stabbed in the season 5 finale, some fans speculated that Melisandre may be able to bring him back because she has the power to resurrect dead bodies/souls.

But the first episode of Season 6 only showcases her reaction to the death — and later, her true form.

So what could this all mean? 

Van Houten told Entertainment Weekly in a recent interview that the arc of her character is "finally going into a different direction."

t's changing and I really like it," the actress revealed. "We see her from a really different side of her now. We see somebody whose whole belief system is tumbling down. She's completely confused, and I really like to play that. After all the security and strength and pride, now we see something completely different."

"Completely different" is right. 

On Friday, just a few days before the Season 6 debut, images of Melisandre's wrinkled self leaked on Imgur. 

A Reddit thread almost immediately popped up, speculating what Melisandre's new form may reveal about the rest of the season.

The Red Woman is always wearing her necklace, which glows whenever she performs magic. Per one Reddit user, "in the books, she uses rubies to change appearance of other people. In the D&E series, Bloodraven uses them to change his appearance as well." (D&E refers to Dunk and Egg, another series of George R. R. Martin novellas set in the same universe as his Song of Ice and Fire saga.)

Another user suggested, based on analyzing cast members' previous interviews (including this one), that "Melisandre is 400 years old or thereabouts, which dates her birth to around the time of the Doom of Valyria" and "that she is a former slave." 

Others weren't as shocked, suggesting this moment was foreshadowed in George R.R. Martin's books.

But one Redditer pretty much summed up how we all feel:

"I'm just trying to connect the dots."