Yeah! The Raven said if you stay under the sea too long, you'll drown. He didn't say you couldn't drown yourself on purpose to save the world.

Sam. Hot Pie. Podrick.

I rewatched S5 just before this season started, and boy do they flow better without a week in between episodes. It's like they're making the show as you would if the whole season dropped at once, a la' Netflix, but then it doesn't. I'd like to know if that's intentional — if they're building it more for future,…

However, we did get Jamie briefly reprising Tyrion's one man show, I Will Drag This Chair Loudly To The Table, which was a nice callback.

In Varys's defense, he did have to pack up shop rather abruptly.

So it goes.

I wish they'd add a Maruder's Map style blinking light to the opening credits, showing us where LF is at all times.

There's still the glaring problem of no ships though, right?

"is the Three-Eyed Raven an immortal time-looped Bran, a la Merlin?"

Yes, I agree that it's this. But also with the possible complication from last episode, where Bran said the Raven had already shown him a bunch of other stuff (before the scene at Winterfell) that we didn't see. So it's possible he'll enter the fray with this stuff that we know he knows, but also with other relevant…

I think that Theon's transition to Reek would of been better served with a montage. A very quick one.

I think if you'd just gone with "Hodor" there, we would have had a nice Hodor chain. Or just "It is known", a few "it is knowns". But both of them together? That's some freaky mojo, man. Freaky.

Yes, I took it that the NW we saw in the courtyard last episode was everyone who's left. So a few dozen, tops.

"Was that me or the TV?"

It would fit if the maesters have some forgotten lore about how to turn back the White Walkers, and Sam digs it up. Maybe something related to the initial construction of the Wall?

This sad version of the Small Council made me think about what a badass version Robert had. Until I remembered that his council had just seen one member secretly kill his Hand. And was in debt up to its eyeballs. And really doing a piss poor job of finishing off the last of the Targaryens. Oh, and that his wife was a…

I remember him because his weary smirk reminds me of Jed Bartlett's chief of staff's.

I agree with that interpretation of Arya's blindness. What I wonder is if Jacquen was always going to undo it, or if he'd have left her a blind beggar if she hadn't passed that phase of the test? And also, how unique each Faceless Man's training is — is the "steal a mask, go blind" thing standard, or just Arya's?

I wonder if this is another mismatch between the character's age and the actor's age. Seems like he's written to be 10, but the actor looks 14.

And that worked out great, so I say we're fine.