Game Of Thrones Recap: S6E1 ‘The Red Woman’

Hey, guys, I’m Sam and I’m going to be your Heroic guide on the journey that is Game of Thrones season 6. It’s a pleasure not only to get to review my favorite show of the moment, but a show that tickles all my fancies: high fantasy mixed with sex and violence, realpolitik and the gravitas to make fantasy as broadly acceptable as superheroes in popular culture.

For a fantasy nerd like me, among the many whose life was changed by Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, His Dark Materials and, of course, A Song of Ice and Fire, it’s the show’s greatest achievement. And as a book reader, I’m so excited to finally be in the dark (mostly) with the rest of the audience. So I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all for following along with me the next 10 weeks as we turn a major corner for a series pivoting toward its finale.

For simplicity’s sake, these reviews will be formatted thus: by clicking Next, we start in the furthest north and go south – covering the Wall, the North, King’s Landing and the rest of the Seven Kingdoms – and then east, to the Free Cities of Essos and finally, the Dothraki Sea and Slaver’s Bay. I’ve linked to the various sections below if you prefer to skip around with the episode’s storylines. The storylines that were not touched on this episode are italicized.

• Westeros
  • Beyond-the-Wall: Bran, Meera, Hodor and the Three-Eyed Raven
  • The Wall: Davos and Melisandre
  • The North: The Boltons, Sansa and Theon, Brienne and Podrick
  • Iron Islands, Vale, Riverlands: The Greyjoys, Littlefinger, the Tullys/Freys
  • King’s Landing: Cersei & Jaime, the Tyrells, the Sparrows
  • Dorne: The Martells
• Essos
  • The Narrow Sea: Sam & Gilly
  • Braavos: Arya
  • The Dothraki Sea: Daenerys, Jorah & Daario
  • Meereen: Tyrion & Varys