Game of Thrones (2016)

Season 6

Director: Jeremy Podeswa, Daniel Sackheim, Jack Bender, Mark Mylod, Miguel Spochnik
Starring: Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey
Episodes: 10

Synopsis:
Tyrion and Varys try to keep the peace in Mereen while Ser Jorah and Daario search for Danaerys, the Night's Watch is riven by Jon's assassination, and Cersei plots her revenge on the Faith.

Impressions:
Well, it's finally happened. We're venturing into new territory. The Seven only know when Martin will finish The Winds of Winter, so the showrunners move the story forward for us. I've heard that Martin has advised them on the general direction the story's supposed to go, but we've already seen considerable divergence from the books and a number of other major subplots get dumped this season. I will say that the first episode is terribly weak, a jumbled mess that tried to handle too many plot threads at once, and it didn't bode well for the rest of the season, but I'm pleased to say that they managed to turn things around. I didn't think there were too many characters left for me to care about, but they managed to take away a few more. Among the newcomers, I rather liked Max von Sydow as the Three-Eyed Raven, Ian McShane as Brother Ray and Bella Ramsey as the tough-as-nails Lyanna Mormont (the most fearsome ten-year-old in all of Westeros!). I'm surprised that Dany's managed to turn things around for me a bit. I'd come to hate her character and everything to do with Essos, but this season was much improved. She gets a few moments of magnificence and she's finally gotten off her keister and is doing something. I absolutely loved the flashbacks we got from Bran's visions. I'd really like to see a spinoff series covering Robert's Rebellion. Cersei's also turning things around. No spoilers, but she may just prove herself Lord Tywin's heir yet. The Battle of the Bastards (Episode 9) is also amazing, one of the few fully depicted battle scenes in the series. So, in conclusion, while starting weak, this season ends strong. I wasn't that enthusiastic at the end of last season, but this time I'm eager for more. Give this a watch and I'll see you next season.

Rating:
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