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Sunday’s ‘Game of Thrones’ episode paid off big time for book readers
Ned, Lyanna, and Benjen Stark were all featured in Bran's vision to Winterfell — a brief moment from the books. This was the first time readers saw any version of Lyanna on screen. Why does it matter? There's a running theory (practically accepted as fact at this point) that Lyanna is the real mother of Jon Snow.
She's described in the books as a wild, strong-willed girl (not unlike Arya). The show has only given offhand mentions of her, when King Robert reminisced on their engagement and expressed anger at Rhaegar Targaryen for taking her away. Lyanna died right after Robert's rebellion, leaving a sad mark on the war.
Fans have long theorized about what happened to Hodor to make him, well, Hodor. In the books we know his name used to be Walder, but the show's flashback revealed that it's been changed to Wylis.
This was also the first time we saw Hodor speak regularly, joking and teasing alongside young Ned, Benjen, and Lyanna. When Bran returned to the present, he asked Hodor what happened to him. Though we don't have an answer yet, Bran's questioning makes us believe that we may learn the truth soon.
In the books, Jon Snow's assassination plays out a little different. Wun Wun has an altercation with some of Stannis' soldiers, and when Jon rushes out to the courtyard he sees the giant "dangling a bloody corpse by one leg." Amidst the chaos of the scene, several Night's Watch men take advantage of the distractions and kill Jon.
A cool factoid about Wun Wun's victim in the books has to do with George R.R. Martin's love for the New York Giants football team, and his friendly rivalry with a man who loves the Dallas Cowboys. The man Wun Wun killed has heraldry similar to the Dallas Cowboys' blue and white stars. Martin intentionally included a "giant" killing a "cowboy" after he lost a bet.
Even though the details were left out, the showrunners' inclusion of Wun Wun's rage killing was a fun book nod.
Viewers were on edge as Tyrion entered Viserion and Rhaegal's gigantic prison cell because there is a book-only character named Quentyn who gets roasted alive trying to do the same. In the books, Quentyn is the son of Doran Martell (who was killed off of the show already).
He's sent to Meereen by Doran to marry Daenerys Targaryen and bring her back to Westeros. Unfortunately, Daenerys is uninterested. Quentyn then foolishly attempts to release and control her two remaining dragons. The plan goes poorly, and he's burned so badly that he dies after three days of suffering. Tyrion's venture into the dragon pen had people concerned he would meet the same fate as Quentyn, but instead he had an endearing chat with the beasts. It was a relieving scene to watch play out.
Fans are seriously divided over this theory, and the scene between Tyrion and the dragons only fueled the discussion. Those who believe he might be a Targaryen think that his mother, Joanna Lannister, had relations with the Mad King Aerys Targaryen. This would explain his outsider status in his father Tywin's eyes, and works into a foretold prophecy regarding heroes and dragons and the general song of ice and fire.
However, others disagree with the notion based on Martin's character arc for Tyrion and a lack of substantial evidence. Read through the arguments on both sides, and decide for yourself.
Right before Ramsay killed his father, the two Boltons were speaking with Harald Karstark. He is the son of Rickard Karstark, a lord Robb Stark beheaded back in season three after Rickard killed two young Lannister boys were Robb's prisoners.
Harald is clearly in cahoots with Ramsay, as he doesn't flinch when Roose is killed. Ramsay also mentions two other houses they will ally with: The Umbers and the Manderlys.
The Manderlys are an important house in a theory called the Grand Northern Conspiracy. Their leader Wyman pretends to be loyal to the Boltons and Freys while secretly working against them. Will we see this long-awaited plot come to fruition in season six?
In the books, Balon is found dead after a storm. Since no one witnessed the fall, people assume he fell from a bridge. But then his exiled brother Euron conveniently appears back at the Iron Islands the next day and people suspect he was involved.
The show confirmed this as fact, with an epic scene between Balon and Euron right before the latter pushes Balon to his death. The showrunners included a couple of Euron's iconic book lines as well.
"I don’t mock the Drowned God," Euron told Balon in the show. "I am the Drowned God. From Oldtown to Qarth, when men see my sails they pray." This harks back to a scene in the books where Euron claims to be the godliest man among the Ironborn. Another great line that made it into the show was Euron's claim "I am the storm." We're excited to see more of Euron in episodes to come.
Does it get any better than being totally right about your favorite protagonist's probable return from the dead? We don't think so. "Home" delivered Jon Snow back to the realm of the living, more or less exactly the way fans believed he would. In a series known for subverting expectations and crushing dreams, Jon's resurrection was a relieving and exciting moment for viewers — even though we saw it coming.
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