Waste of time, worst finale I've ever seen!
This episode was teeeeeense.... I was 100% sure for 42 minute & 39 seconds that they were walking into a trap. If I watched it again, I would still be 100% :-) The main reason I thought (still think) so is that Rick took all the best people with him, leaving their place to vulnerable and Jesus (I love that character though) is almost to good to be true (coming from an Atheist, hahaha )
Next episode is probably going to be EPIC :-)
That's gotta be one of the worst episodes of The Walking Dead.
Hodor, we will miss you :(
Tormund has a crush on Brienne! HAHAHAHAHA! and aww. Summer and Hodor............I didn't even had enough time to cry.
This episode has it all, from small and forgivable mistakes such as randomly disappearing attack dogs to plot-breaking and totally unrealistic killing of characters who could have been interesting and worth keeping alive. It's clear now that the show's creators don't really understand the source material and they are now trying to improvise some fanfiction to hold their story together. They are trying too hard to add shock value by killing off characters who haven't really been developed enough for anybody to be shocked about their deaths. The episode's ending was also trying to go for shock value, but ended up quite random and unnecessary. Most actors and production values are still good as ever, but even those can't carry a flawed story.
Omg he lives !!!! Thank you red woman
What an intense episode! The second of S6 has been bloddy amazing so far.
I really like Jesus. I liked him in the comics, and I really like him here on the show. Please don't screw this up, please don't make him overly dramatic like every other character, please please please.
My brain is dead what is life
Be kind to your giants. Be kind to your dragons. Be kind to your enforcers and lieutenants and underlings and the little people who, unbeknownst to you, loom quite large. Because these individuals have power, power that you may not recognize, power that you may take for granted, but power that may be turned against you or which you may find yourself sorely needing at some point.
No one is kinder, if cautious, on that front, than Tyrion. His quiet scene with Dany's two remaining dragon was the highlight of a fairly-action pakced, eevntful episode for the simplicity and ension in the moment. perhaps Tyion is uniquely suited for dragon training, for earning the trust of superior beasts. He is, after all, someone who has had to get by on disarming people with his wits and charm rather than with his sword, and as he noted when we first met him, he has a particular appreciation for the unique and broken things across Westeros.
So when he approaches those dragons, tells him that he is their friend, that he came to unchain them, and shows that he respects and admires them, they grant him their approval. They lean down and allow him to remove the iron around their necks. it's a moment fraught with tension (bookended with Tyrion's trademark hilarious bon mots), where the fact that at any moment, these massive creatures could turn their heads and snap up Tyrion like drumstick makes Tyrion's subtle bravery in even walking into that cave noteworthy. It's shot in shadow, making the dragons seem al the more hallowed and important, and Tyrion all the smaller in the process. But Tyrion's always someone who could see the power coming from unexpected places, who's been able to cut through the haughtiness of his last name and understand when things big and small were coming to upset their apple cart. He's as good a symbol as any for someone who recognizes strength, who respects what other people disregard or fear, and finding out how to earn respect, or at least survive because of it.
The opening few scenes of the episode each feature large, powerful men who are capable of inspiring fear, and who possess the physical strength that gives men some measure of power in the harsh environs of Game of Thrones. The first is Hodor, whom Bran sees in a flashback to his father's youth, speaking and moving around and dismissed as a stable bo. bran is dependent on Hodor, to move, as a silent protector and companion whom, in many ways, he's taken for granted. Bran has used him for combat, treated him as more of a tool than a person, but he starts to realize that there is, or at least was, more to Hodor.
Then the episode tacitly contrasts Bran and Hodor with Cesei and Robert Strong. While Bran uses his giant to help, to do what he cannot in terms of transportation and movement and the like, Cersei uses hers as protection and for vengeance. The reanimated brute destroys a brewhouse braggart in the alleyway behind the pub for daring to besmirch his lady's name. His imposing visage is put forward against the King's Guard, and intimidates the lot of them, even as they stand their ground. It's clear that while Hodor is a gentle creature, someone who arose from some trauma but retained a sweet disposition and became something helpful and useful for good, Robert Strong is his opposite, a reconstituted Frankenstein who is only a weapon, a hulking implement of war created only to wreak havoc.
But there's a third giant to be considered -- a real one. When Ser Davos and his loyalists are protecting Jon Snow's body, when Thorne's men are banging down the door, and the threat feels very real and very intense, in come the wildlings, with Wun-wun in tow. Initially, there is simply a standoff. But one foolish member of the watch shoots an arrow at the larger than life warrior, who proceeds to manhandle his attacker, smashing him across Castle Black's walls, and prompting the traitors to drop their weapons in fear. A giant who knows what he's doing, who's in control of his actions, can be the middle ground between Hodor and Robert Strong -- a powerful being who can put himself on the side of justice.
But it's not Wunwun alone who ensures that Jon stays in one piece long enough to be resurrected. It's the Wildlings he let in past the gates, who earned his respect. They represent the power of the people, the idea that there are many below the station of the noble families of Westeros who, nonetheless, band together and represent a threat and a power that stands poised to upset the established order.
That idea is present in Jamie's tense confrontation with the High Sparrow. Jamie is understandably upset at the man who had the woman he loves imprisoned and humiliated, and he threatens to leave the Sparrow bleeding on the floor of the Sept. Jamie is a man who's seen enough horror to question whether there's anyone to look down on him for what he's itching to do. He's been an interesting lens through which the show has examined morality in the brutish world of the show, and his godless threats are another interesting wrinkle. But just when he threatens to make good on his promise, he finds himself surrounded by the sparrows. The High Sparrow tells him that they are nobody, the lowest dirt of the kingdom, and yet he too speaks of them with an aura of quiet power, that nothing banded together can amount to something to put fear into even the most seasoned warrior.
That scene also touches on a key theme running through "Home" -- family. Jamie is protecting his sister, protecting the people who share his name. It's also what his son is ashamed of having failed to do. Tommen's had little development thus far, but he gets two meaningful scenes here, one of many in the episode between a child and a parent. He tells his father that he carries a deep shame for not being able to do more to protect his mother and his wife. He is a young man put in an impossible position who realizes that despite the fact that he is nominally the most powerful man in the world, he feels utterly powerless to do anything, and he cannot forgive himself for that.
That's also what makes his scene with Cersei so important. When he finally goes to apologize, Cersei hears him and tells him it's fine, but Lena Heady plays the coldness there perfectly. She speaks as a mother who loves his child, but is very very disappointed and hurt by his actions. And then he spills his fears out in front of her, he tells her that he needs her help, that he is weak, and he needs her to show him how to be strong. Despite her pain, despite her resentment, despite her frustration, Cersei cannot say no to her last living child, her little boy, and contrasted with her earlier curt acceptance of his apology, when she embraces him and reassures him, she truly means it.
Unfortunately, the scenes between parents and children are not nearly so loving in the rest of the episode. When Yara confronts her father about their losing battle, he dismisses her. He chastises her. He refuses to see reason, and then, faced with another family member, he is tossed to the waves. Balon hasn't shown himself to be much of a father, goading Theon into the events that led to his downfall, and ignoring his daughter's harsh but important truths. The old kings are dying, the heads of the old houses are dropping like flies, and those who refuse to adjust to the new realities find themselves quickly buried.
Roose Bolton is another lord sent to meet his maker, but he, unlike Balon, is dispatched by his own child. It's not surprising that Ramses had a cotningency plan in the event his father gave birth to a male heir. It's surprising that he would put it into place so soon. There's legitimate sweetness when Roose tell Ramses that he will always be his firstborn son, which just makes the ensuing murder all the more striking. And of course, Ramses being Ramses, he leaves no stone unturned, brutally killing his stepmother and brother in a sequence that could have conveyed the same cruelty with half the lurid detail. Even so, it's a scene of the love between a parent and a child being torn asunder by the harsher forces that abound as people like Ramses grope for power.
Melisandre spends much of the episode wondering if she has power. She's spent the bulk of the show as an agent of the Lord of Light, and now she's doubting herself, her vision, her abilities, the things by which she defined herself. She wonders if the lord has taken his favor away from her. And Davos tells her that he's heard tell of gods from hither and yon, but he's seen her power, and something greater, something more important, needs it.
So she sets to work. She cleans Jon Snow's wounds. She performs the ritual. She says the incantation. And yet we are led to believe that it's not her spell, not her tricks, not her forgotten tongue that raises the dead and returns the power. It's one simple utterance -- "please" -- a symbol of humility, of desperation, of need, of recognition that power can be taken for granted and just as easily slip away.
The trusted men and women in the room slowly slip away. One-by-one, they wait and hope and eventually step out of the room. It's a masterful sequence that draws the expectation and the methodical beauty of the Red Woman's work out in a series of warm images of tranquility. We know what's coming. The story demands it. But Game of Thrones takes its time; it lingers, it lets us drink in the fire-lit room while everyone waits with baited breath, let's us hear the splash of the water as it cleans the wounds of our fallen hero, lets us sit with anticipation as the show forces us to hold on, to pause, and breathe.
And then he breathes. This messianic figure--betrayed by his disciples, laid out in the traditional form of new testament suffering and repose, and then resurrected in the hopes that he might save them--comes back to life. It's strong imagery for the show to tap into, but it couches it in the larger themes of "Home." Power can come from strange, unexpected places, from simple men, from large men, from little men, from free folk, from dragons, from parents and children, from sparrows and red witches, from bastards and carpenters. Treat them all well; one day your life, your very being, may depend on them.
Such an amazing episode!
It just left me speechless.
Now I can tell with no doubt this is the best season of the walking dead so far I hope that they keep this level of awesomeness!
But the part that made me sad about this episode is that it focused on Carol and we all know what's going to happen next in this show unless a miracle happens.
10/10
How can an episode where so much happens be so dull? There's a firefight, a significant casualty, a big decision from a major character, and a reckoning between two people who've had unfinished business for a long time now. This is major stuff, so why did "Twice as Far" feel so unexciting?
In fairness, the episode seemed to be aiming for a sense of routineness to the proceedings. It opens with a repeated sequence involving supply inventory, guard shifts, and the daily rhythms of Alexandria to establish the semi-normalness and predictability that the town has settled into after the incident with The Saviors. The show thrived on this type of quiet after the storm vibe in "The Next World", but here it felt ponderous and contrived.
Perhaps it's because the episode's focus quickly shifted to a pair of expeditions, each of which features one babe in the woods with knowledge and skills that were helpful to the collective as a whole, but left them far less equipped to handle the combat realities of the zombie apocalypse. And each of these neophytes were contrasted with more capable, hardened warriors, who scoffed at their less-adept counterparts venturing beyond the walls and safety of Alexandria.
The Abraham-Eugene pairing was the weaker of these two storylines. There's genuine bad blood between the two of them that the show has only glancingly addressed. Though it seems like they made amends in the Season 5 finale, there's fruitful territory in the two of them rebuilding an uneasy trust after all they've been through together. And yet here, where the episode seems to be attempting to explore that territory, the character-based side of it is shallow, and the way their conflict is dramatized and resolved is unlikely and a little dumb.
Now Abraham and Eugene are not necessarily the type to sit around and talk about their feelings, but that's part of what makes their dialogue feel so strange and miscalibrated in this episode. Both Abraham and Eugene have a certain lyricism in their speech patterns, which, when sprinkled in with the more naturalistic style of most other folks on the show, can prove a nice contrast from the grand speeches the show's dialogue often defaults to (as seen in Denise's last hurrah here). But put them together, and in some ways it feels like you're watching a different show; the unnaturalness of their speech stands out and makes the intended emotional content behind their exchanges seem less real.
Eugene talks a great deal about changing, about trimming his distinctive mullet and reaching "level two" in terms of self-reliance and combat-readiness. The born warrior Abraham is naturally skeptical, even moreso when Eugene says that his services are no longer required. After a failed run-in with a walker that prompted this exchange, Abraham walks off, leaving Eugene to his own devices, something that could make sense if the episode did a better job conveying the lingering ill-feelings between the two of them as a motivation. Here, it seems like cruelty from Abraham, even if the big action scene suggests he was at least keeping tabs on Eugene as he made his way back to the compound.
Eugene is juxtaposed with Denise in the episode, and her story with Daryl and Rosita is a little more successful if only because, initially, the show is a little more subtle about showing what's going through Denise's mind through all of this. There's been several moments this season where Denise has shrunk from the moment, been unable to help the way she needed to, because she couldn't handle the horror around her. The idea of her trying to push past that, to leave the gates and go on a mission with two of the more capable fighters in the group in order to take her training wheels off works at a basic character motivation level.
It works in contrast to Daryl, who is in no mood to take advice or help along others after his various run-ins with The Saviors. As the episode established in "The Next World", he's shifted to where Rick was, mistrusting outsiders and leaning hard on his lone wolf tendencies, if not his own miniature "Ricktatorship." The scenes of him ignoring Denise's advice about the transmission and Rosita's advice about the path to the apothecary, suggest that he's colder, less apt to make allowances for the people who don't see things his way or serve his interests. But contrasted with his later attempt to boost Denise's spirits after she blanched at a horrific scene inside the pharmacy and his willingness to follow the train tracks with Rosita, it suggests there's a part of Daryl that cares about people, that makes him a reasonable person even when he doesn't want to be, that he can't shut off.
Those scenes are the most successful part of the episode. "Twice as Hard" conveys Denise's internal struggle inside the apothecary well, and while talking about one's childhood is frequently a clunky way to give shading to a character, Daryl's line it sounds like he and Denise "had the same brother" is both sweet and telling in its way. There's a common ground between Daryl and Denise, who otherwise seem like individuals who've led very different lives up this point, and the reason Denise wanted the security of Daryl on the trip seems more specific and interesting.
But then there's a contrived zombie-killing scene for her meant to be contrasted with the earlier one with Eugene. And then Denise gives one of the most painfully didactic speeches in a show not lacking in them about strength and bravery and how Daryl and Rosita have each and make things harder on themselves by being alone. And then she takes an arrow through the eye. And then there's a standoff with The Saviors. And then Eugene somehow earns Abrahams respect by biting the penis of the ringleader (who was the impetus for Daryl's change in perspective). And then Carol tells Daryl he was right, and she ends her five-minute romance with Tobin to wander off to god knows where. And I wonder how the hell we got from A-to-B here.
Because this is all pretty rough. Abraham letting Eugene struggle with a zombie is already stretching it, but at least Abraham is something of a hothead who's more apt to let Eugene see how difficult what Abraham's good at is by letting him twist in the wind for a while. But Daryl and Rosita just standing back and watching because Denise calls them off after she's locked in a tussle with a biter is one of those weak plot contrivances where the point the show's trying to make supersedes and plot or character logic.
And if we didn't get it, "Twice as Hard" then has Denise make the point, out loud, in no uncertain terms, in a way that betrays any subtlety or subtext in her journey in the episode. As in last week's episode, The Walking Dead has characters vocalizing the main theme of an episode when it had already done a decent, if not exactly spectacular job at conveying those messages in much more artful ways. As The Robot Devil of Futurama once said, you can't just have your character announce how they're feeling -- that makes me angry.
A mildly exciting firefight ensues. Daryl gets his bow back. Eugene becomes the groin-chomping champion of the world and inexplicably redeems himself in Abraham's eyes by distracting The Saviors long enough to help him get the drop on them. Daryl reverts to his, "I should have killed you" mentality, and he and Carol bury Denise.
In the episode's final sequence, it returns to the kind of routine it opened with, making the changes more noticeable, as Carol reads her farewell letter in voiceover. The last scene of this sequence, featuring Morgan (and a great-as-always performance from Lennie James) reacting to Carol's absence, is a strong one, heightened by the sound of her empty porch swing straining in the wind. The concept of his pacifist philosophy having a subtle but significant impact on Carol has been one of the best parts of this season. And yet, Carol's conclusion, that loving people in this world means having to kill for them, something she can't handle anymore, seems like an odd progression in her thinking on that front. I don't like to play "what if" games when it comes to alternate plot directions, but Carol up and leaving feels out of character whatever emotional turmoil she's going through that causes her to count rosaries and smoke. It just doesn't seem like the natural decision from the woman we've come to know.
So what are we left with? A closer friendship and mutual respect between Abraham and Eugene that doesn't feel especially well-motivated. Another character who's developed and deepened in an episode only to bite the dust immediately afterward. A belligerent Daryl who's likely to double down on his isolationism, and a Rosita who seems poised to take Denise's advice to heart and move forward with Spencer as a result of Denise's odd little fable. A Sasha-Abraham relationship that's been confusing from the start. And a Carol-less Alexandria, perhaps with Morgan there to pick up the pieces. Few of these are great destinations to begin with, but as the episode itself portended, the road to get there was more than a bit rocky, and that left "Twice as Hard" feeling like a disappointing episode that leaves the series in a worse place than it was when the episode began.
Did Eugene seriously bit D on the D? Like no judging, just wondering how the hell he managed to do that without hands and through jeans? Some mad skills. And since when Carol's joined Morgan's no killing camp? Her motivations are very unclear and farfetched. And we really fucking needed her to stay true to herself and balance Morgan out. I have no idea why they're writing her off. I doubt they will repeat the Carol coming to the rescue and killing everyone scenario, so it just seems like a pointless waste to me. Speaking of pointless wastes. Poor fucking Denise.
Pretty funny. I like when Jen says her vagina after having a baby; looks like the Predator when he took his mask off.
I really like this .difrent take on frankenstein ,hope we see a second season ,great show
OMG every time I think that an episode is the best one of this season comes an other and overtakes it.
good episode and he there was no king's landing ! I GOT THE TRAUMA WITH THE END PEOPLE my poor hodor and summer OMG.
AND MY POOR JORAH TOO.... IF HE DOESN'T GET THE CURE I'LL HATE THE SHOWRUNNERS FOR LIFE.
OMG! This episode was amazing!
Even though we all heard rumors about Jon Snow coming back from death but it still surprised me.
I can't wait for the next episode as this one was full of events.
And finally, Ramsey's character is awesome and what he did! I really didn't see that coming.
Finally, a legitimately great episode. It has been too long.
Pros:
+At least Euron is here, we will still have to wait to see if Victarion will join as well but it is confirmed the Kingsmoot will take place (although they sapped some of the most important dialogue for Euron's final conversation with Balon and it sort of felt awkward in that context rather than in a speech to dozens of powerful Ironborn families, also not sure it was the best idea to do it when Asha was right there. This way we miss the importance of Euron sailing his ship into the harbor the morning after Balon falls, plopping his ass on the Seastone Chair, and then drowning the one dude telling him to get the fuck out while Asha and Victarion are away in the North unable to do anything about it) I'm nitpicking though, at this point I'm just excited that it's happening at all.
+The Revival Scene was actually great, truly suspenseful. Most people saw it coming but it still managed to make me hold my breath and the hair on my neck stand.
+Jaime's confrontation with the High Sparrow was good
+Tyrion freeing the dragons was good and his dialogue wasn't totally cringe worthy and repetitive
+Sansa and Theon separation scene was great
+oh yeah, Bran is back and well on his way to becoming God Emperor of Westeros
Okay
*Arya stuff is going somewhere but it hasn't really gotten interesting yet
*Tommen's shame and Cersei's reaction were nothing special but I still understand why they put it in there
*Ramsay killing his father, step mother, and step brother was shocking and disturbing as it should have been but it does seem a little bit too illogical considering the Karstark man was right fucking there and probably would not want to work for Ramsay over Roose along with Roose once again telling him exactly why his retarded rampaging wont work. At least it made sense in that it is a very illogical person doing these things and they're not going against character really. I do think it is a good way to provoke the Northern discord that will soon take place with the Manderlys and Umbers joining up with the Night's Watch and Wildlings. Basically, I'm not sure I agree with the means but I do like where it seems to lead to.
Cons
- Nothing really, I said some stuff I didn't really like in the okay part but there really wasn't anything truly bad this episode.
Jesus. Mother. F**k'n. Christ.
That's what I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!! F**k the books. Keep on rolling past that shit and finish this off with a bang. I'm so jacked up on all this "PLOT" right now...
Jesus is finally making his entrance, and what an entrance it is!
What's up with that scene of Sam saying "mom" in the last episode? What happend after that?
A good start. I will definitely give it a few more episodes. Happy to see Tim DeKay back on my screen.
Does anyone else hope that Jimmy actually did the bad stuff they say he did? I just don't want it to be the mid-season reveal that he was set up or took the blame for someone else.
"I'm not the lord coman... yeah,close the bloody gate"
Summer has fallen... now winter is coming.
it's not fun any more to say Hodor but the exact opposite :(
My hearth breaks for Hodor...
Hodor hold the door...
Bran WTF are you doing??
That was crazy!!
OMG! Jorah told Khaleesi how he feels about her!!
This was as good as a sad episode.
So far, THE BEST EPISODE of the season.
Good job Jon Snow.
I knew it. Yes, very predictable. But very happy to have him back!
