*** Stop right here if you have not seen Sunday’s episode. MAJOR SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY***

Uncle Benjen Stark is back from his long walk and no longer M.I.A. He was summoned by the Three-Eyed Raven aka Bran, but how? Do these mystical powers run in the Stark family or is Benjen somehow linked to the Three-Eyed Raven because The Children saved him from turning into a White Walker? What else was good ole Ben up to this whole time? Will he be the one to train Bran and prepare him for the ultimate battle against The Night’s King and his army? So many questions and not enough answers.

Holy awkward family reunion. Poor Sam and Gilly. Not only did his father, Randyll Tarly, talk down to his eldest son but also verbally abused Gilly right in front of the whole family. Gilly’s pride in Sam’s accomplishments were no match for his father’s disappointment and borderline hate for his son. However, Sam’s mother took action, sticking up for her dearest Sam and escorting the women from the table. Randyll then told Sam he had until first light to leave his home, but the baby and Gilly would be taken care of. After Gilly expressed to Sam that he is nothing like his father says, it ignites a fire in him. He decides to take action grabbing his family and his father’s sheath and leaves his family’s estate.

Back at The House of Black and White, Arya Stark is once again faced with the task of poisoning Lady Karen. She does pour the poison into her rum but just in the nick of time returns to smash it out of her hand and lets Lady Karen know her fellow actress is out to get her. Unfortunately for Arya, this proved to be a grave mistake. Waif is now tasked with killing Arya. Thankfully Arya dug up needle before going to sleep. She better sleep with one eye open if she knows what is good for her.

The Lannister and Tyrell plot to take down The High Sparrow and regain Margaery and Loras Tyrell was foiled by none other than Tommen Baratheon himself. Young Tommen declared his devotion to serve the Seven Gods and in exchange Margaery did not have to take the walk of atonement. To add insult to injury, the King then removed his own father, Jamie Lannister, from the Kings Guard and banished him from King’s Landing.

Speaking of releases from prison, another Stark uncle returns to the screen. Lord Edmure Tully is released by Walder Frey in hopes to regain Riverrun from Blackfish. For those that don’t remember, Edmure married one of Frey’s daughters during the “Red Wedding” and as the heir to Riverrun, can put House of Frey back in control of said castle. Pitting brother against brother may not be the best course of action, but it seems Edmure may be inclined to lean more toward helping the Frey’s in fear of being on the receiving end of more torture. We shall see.

Once again Daenerys is on the road back to Mereen and plotting a course to Westeros.  She and Daario determine that they will need at least 1,000 ships to get the Queen and her army of Khal to Westeros. Euron Greyjoy is jumping up and down somewhere in the distance. Drogon, who really needs to stop growing or he may obliterate GOT’s VFX budget, returns to his mother, which in turn fires up the Khal to follow their Khalessi into a war to regain the iron throne.

However, there is a bigger war coming. Time to stock up on the obsidian (dragons glass) and prepare for the epic showdown between the Three-Eyed Raven and the Night’s King and his army of White Walkers. Will we see this showdown this season? Probably not, but one can dream.

Next Week:

Jamie meets Blackfish

Olenna Tyrell and Cersei face off…. Again

Jon and Sansa make moves

Yara and Theon plot to take back the Iron Islands

The Wildlings join Jon’s quest to take back The North

Davos Seaworth knows what’s up… The Dead are coming

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*** Stop right here if you have not seen Sunday’s episode. MAJOR SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY***

As we all know from last week’s episode, Jon Snow is alive and well. At least psychically. Mentally…. Well if you had just risen from the dead, how would you feel? Moments after Jon awakes, Melisandre is already trying to recruit him to be the new, “prince that was promised.” Slow your role girl. You don’t have a good track record in keeping said Prince safe and we just got him back. Jon then gets the best pep talk ever from Davos Seaworth telling him to go out and fail again.

Tyrion was not the only one with superb one-liners in this episode. Tormund Giantsbane jabs at the size of Jon’s “member” in this episode saying, “What kind of God would have a peck that small?” That takes the cake for one-liners thus far in the season. Olenna Tyrell also threw a jab Cersei’s way.

In this episode we saw the return of young, Ned Stark as he fights to get, whom we can only assume is Lyanna Stark, out of a tower. For those that have read the books, this directly correlates with the fan theory R + L = J, as in Lyanna Stark + Prince Rhaegar Targaryen = Jon Snow. This fan theory would mean that Jon isn’t the bastard child of Ned Stark and that he could be the heir to the Iron Throne. Is this the promise that Ned made to Lyanna when she was on her death bed? The second biggest bombshell of this sequence was that Ned Stark was not the swordsman he claimed to be. He didn’t even kill Sir Arthur Dayne. Howland Reed stabbed him in the back, then Ned proceeded to cut his throat. Like Bran, we were all pissed when the Three-Eyed Raven pulled him out of the vision. He quickly whisked young Bran away after he called out to his father, who may or may not have heard him calling his name before he ran into the tower.

Also, returning to the screen was Samwell Tarly. Good to see you old chap! Seasick and all he is in much better shape than Rickon Stark and Osha who were the “gifts” given to Ramsay. R.I.P  Shaggydog. We can only hope and pray they do not meet the same fate as Ramsay’s family. But seeing how he treats his own family, there is not much hope for them.

Daenerys reached The Temple of the Dosh Khaleen (Vaes Dothrak). There she is stripped of her clothing and other belongings and told that by the other widows that the Khal’s are deciding her fate. Stating she would be lucky if they chose to let her live out her days with them, as she did leave the Khal’s and go off into the world on her own, which is forbidden.

Back in Mereen poor Tyrion was left alone with non-drinkers whilst Lord Varys was figuring out who is funding the Son’s of Harpies rebellion; The good masters of Astapor and The wise masters of Yunkai, with the help from their friends in Volantis.

Arya gets her sight back after some more vigorous training.

In the last moments of “Oathbreaker” we see Jon’s murderers receive death by hanging and Jon walk away from the Night’s Watch, ending his watch and leaving Eddison Tollett Castle Black.

On the next Game of Thrones:

• Sansa escapes Winterfell
• The return of Little Finger
• Jorah and Daario reach Vaes Dothrak to rescue Daenerys
• Cersei wants to “help” Margery Tyrell and stop her from having to purge her sins in front of the whole city
• Margery reunites with her brother

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It’s official. The wait is finally over! Only mere hours ago season 6 of Game of Thrones premiered. The episode titled, The Red Woman.

*** Stop right here if you have not seen tonight’s episode. MAJOR SPOILERS LIE AHEAD ***

Picking up right where we left off last season, we momentarily gaze upon Jon Snow’s cold, dead body, moments before Davos Seaworth is alerted by Ghost’s barking to the tragic scene. Other members loyal to our former Lord and Commander come rushing to his side, vowing to take action against those who brought down our beloved Jon Snow. Grabbing Jon’s body they relocate him and Ghost into Davos’s holding and board up the room with their swords as their only defense.

Later in the episode we catch up with Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy who are on the run from Ramsey’s hunters and hounds. The two cross a practically frozen river and seek shelter under a toppled-over tree only to be tracked by Ramsey’s hunters and hounds. As they are about to be captured Brienne of Tarth and Podrick come to their rescue, slaughtering everyone in sight. Brienne once again swears her loyalty to Sansa who accepts.

Sansa & Theon crossing a freezing river

Back in Dorne, Prince Doran Martell and his son, Trystane Martell are brutally murdered by Ellaria, Obara, Tyene and Nymeria Sand. At least Trystane’s death was quicker than his father’s; he took a spear through the skull while his father bled out from being stabbed in the chest. Myrcella’s corpse (killed via poison on her way back from Dorne) and Jamie arrive back in King’s Landing, greeted by a broken down and beaten Cersei.

Cersei’s downward spiral of shame and guilt continues with the news of her daughter’s death. She feels as though she has failed, in her words, her perfectly, pure daughter. Everything has been taken from her and she lets Jamie know that this was all foreseen in a prophecy a witch told her long ago. Jamie comforts Cersei and vows revenge on all who have wronged the Lannister’s.

On the other side of Westerns, Jorah and Daairo set out to find Daenerys and discover she has been taken by a Khalassar. Daenerys is captured by another Khal group and momentarily becomes their slave until she reveals she was married to Khal Drago. Khal Moro, the leader of this pack, says no one will harm her but she must go to where the other Khal widows are to live out her days; The Temple of the Dosh Khaleen (Vaes Dothrak).

In this episode we also catch a glimpse of Arya Stark. She is a blind peddler on the streets but is still being trained by Waif. If you call beating a blind, defenseless girl with a stick, training. We also catch up with Tyrion and Lord Varys who are busy trying to figure out who is calling the shots for the gold faces. As they are walking the streets of Meereen we see a shot of someone spying on their conversation before all of the city’s ships are burned to a crisp.

Although the first half of this episode felt like it flew by because of all the cuts to different locations, the pace of the second half slowed down just enough to uncover one of the most exciting story arcs of the episode. We jump back to Castle Black and discover Melisandre is actually a witch and not just some crazy woman! Say what? We watch as she undresses in front of a mirror. She then removes her necklace, the first time we see her do this on screen, and once it is removed she transforms into an old woman.

Questions we are left asking after this episode’s conclusion: Now that we have seen Melisandre’s true nature, can she actually rise Jon Snow from the dead? Will Brienne and company make it to Castle Black? And if they do, what lies in store for them? Who is burning the ships in Meereen and why? What exactly will Jamie do to exact his revenge? What will become of Dorne now that the Prince and his heir are dead?

Next week: Bran Stark makes an epic return to the series, after missing in action for a full season. Ramsey makes plans to storm the castle and Jamie is out for blood going straight for the High Sparrow. It also looks like we will see some dragon action next week (*jumps up and down like a 5 year old).

All that is missing is some White Walker action. Hopefully that will come soon enough.

Until next week friends.

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The post ‘Game of Thrones’ Season 6 Premiere Recap: “The Red Woman” *SPOILERS AHEAD* appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.