The first three episodes of season six of "Game of Thrones" have thrown a lot at us and at some point there was going to be an episode in which the action slowed down a little bit, and some setup needed to take place. Episode four was just that, a little underwhelming on the big twists and action but had, as Tyrion would say, "Great conversations in elegant rooms."
The episode started off with the Stark family reunion everyone has been waiting for since the very first season. Sansa showed up to Castle Black with Brienne and Podrick in tow and was reunited with her half-brother Jon. They shared a touching embrace and some dialogue about how they should have never left Winterfell in the first place.
It was a pivotal moment in the story of the Stark children. Sansa was never close to Jon and in some ways mirrored her mother's attitude towards him of being aloof and cold. However, the fact that she went to him shows her growth as a person. Her maturity came through when she apologized to Jon about the way she had treated him but also in another way.
Sansa has made her mind up that she wants to reunite her sibling in Winterfell and retake the North. "Game of Thrones" has been much maligned in the past for the often vicious ways women have been torn down in the show, but it was refreshing to see Sansa take charge of her life and really claim a leadership role, especially when Jon spoke about how exhausted he was of all the fighting he has done since leaving home.
After years of studying Cersei and Littlefinger, Sansa has developed into one of Westeros' elite politicians and has started putting together a team around her. In previous seasons, many have claimed that Sansa is the key to the North, and she is finally using both her name and skills to show the world why. Her next step will be to consolidate a true fighting force behind her. The Wildling army is less than half of what Ramsay has at his disposal, and it will be curious to see how many of the Northern houses she can gather to support her. Sansa has endured some of the worst atrocities in the world at the hands of Joffrey and Ramsay but has survived, and it will be fascinating to see the extent of her vengeance.
Down in King's Landing, the Lannister twins finally set the wheel in motion. While Jaime and Cersei have their own ulterior motive, they were able to convince Lady Olenna and Kevan Lannister that it was in all their best interests to overthrow the Faith Militant and kill the High Sparrow. Interestingly, it wasn't by means of political interest but an appeal to the parent and grandparent in Kevan and Olenna. Call Cersei whatever you want, but her devotion to her children can never be questioned and it was fascinating to see her utilize this twisted empathy to get her vengeance. Setting the Tyrell army on the Sept, is also a wise political move by Cersei and Jaime, as it can potentially weaken their rival house or potentially have the entire move backfire and eliminate them.
In Meereen, the internal conflict between Dany's cabinet was a bad sign. Obviously, Grey Worm and Missandei have very strong feelings about slavery, and Tyrion's seven-year plan was not even close to what they wanted to hear. One must remember that Dany has freed slaves everywhere she's been through her dragons and army. Her absence necessitates diplomacy, and it's hard to argue that there's anyone in the world better at playing politics than Tyrion. However, to Grey Worm and Missandei, Tyrion is an unknown. Apart from Dany hand selecting him to serve as her advisor, they likely know nothing about his previous work as the Hand of the King. Unfortunately, they must realize that politics is about compromise and Tyrion put it best that he can't achieve peace and the abolishment of slavery in one day. Moving forward, it will be important for Tyrion to build a stronger connection with Dany's other advisors, which may prove difficult as we saw in episode 3 when he had a lot of difficulty engaging them in conversation.
Lastly, Dany's inevitable escape from Vaes Dothrak was, simply put, incredible. She lived up to her title as the Unburnt, and by uniting the entire Dothraki people under her has made a power play never before seen in the world. She now has the Unsullied and Dothraki at her disposal, not to mention the dragons. The world's best fighting force, a cavalry, and dragons seems almost unfair. Of all the characters in the show, the last Targaryen is in the best position to win the Game of Thrones, however she still faces a monumental task of defeating the masters of the other free cities. It is unfortunate, but it appears that while her path eventually will make its way westward, it will still be some time before that happens.
