Game Of Thrones Recap: S6E5 ‘The Door’

Just like that, the sixth season of Game of Thrones is halfway over. Thankfully, the fifth episode ‘The Door’ was as thrilling as last week, though decidedly darker and more magical. It fulfilled its function as a narrative pivot while also providing a balance of character drama and plot progression that kept it flowing. The most thrilling part was getting the answers to some series-spanning questions, including the tragic origin of Hodor!

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: Jon, Sansa, Tormund, Davos, Melisandre, Brienne, Littlefinger
  • The North: Ramsay
  • The Iron Islands: The Greyjoys
  • The Riverlands: The Tullys/Freys
  • King’s Landing: Cersei and 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 (plus Episode 6 synopsis and preview)