Game Of Thrones Season 6 Episode 8 Review: No One

This episode ended with the moment we have been waiting for for seasons. Arya Stark is not no one - she is some one, and she is returning home! Although admittedly still a weaker episode compared to the strong opening 5 episodes, you can feel the tension building to what I can only hope will be 2 amazing final episodes to end the season.

Pros

• Tyrion, Missandei and Grey Worm drinking together was, for me, the best part of the episode. Although you could tell it was filler material whilst they waited for Daenerys to come back to Meereen, I could have genuinely watched a whole episode of those 3 interacting! Tyrion's joke about the fly in the wine glass actually made me giggle, and Grey Worm and Missandei are simply too cute together.
• Daenerys arriving on Drogon was expected but still satisfying. I know that Game Of Thrones does pride itself on staying away from the typical heroes narrative, but the Mother Of Dragons arriving just in time to save them from the Master's attacks was a great moment.
• "A girl is Arya Stark, and I am going home." Finally! I have enjoyed Jaqen H'ghar being back on our screens but it feels liek the right time to wrap up the story in Braavos and have Arya fully trained and ready to go kick some ass back in Westeros. Another Stark reunion anyone?
• The Hound is back to his normal self and killing everyone is his path. It seems that now he is back with the Brotherhood (who previously tried to kill him - awkward) and heading North to fight the White Walkers! The undead haven't got a chance...
• Jaime and Brienne reunite at Riverrun on opposite sides of the battle. I just love their relationship, as they battle between their honour and their true feelings. The wave goodbye at the end of the episode was so bittersweet, and I dearly hope they meet again!

Cons

• Blackfish dying off screen. Such an underused character and he didn't even get a proper death scene. Pretty pointless trip to Riverrun for Brienne!
• Arya killing the Waif so easily. I know that she's been through extensive training over the past 2 seasons, but the Waif has always clearly been a better fighter than her, having been a Faceless Man for longer. It was a satisfying end to her character but I would have liked to have seen how that final fight went down.
• Cersei can no longer rely on a trial by combat. Tommen took away his mother's last bit of hope as he announced that both Cersei and Loras will be tried by a panel of septons. This almost certainly means that Cersei will be found guilty and sentenced to death, making Zombie Mountain an altogether pointless creation now. I'm sure by the next episode she will have a new plan though...

Unanswered questions

1. Has Arya got magical self-healing powers?
2. How did Arya kill the Waif when she has been losing fights to her all season?
3. Why is Tommen being such a little douche? He basically sentenced his own mother to death!
4. Where has Varys gone on his secret mission?
5. What will Cersei do now?

Comparisons to the books

Obviously as mentioned earlier, Lady Stoneheart is a big character who becomes part of the Brotherhood Without Banners, prowling the Riverlands in search of Freys to hang. And who is Lady Stoneheart? The resurrected Catelyn Stark of course! She was brought back to life by the Brotherhood a few days after the Red Wedding, with Beric Dondarrion giving his life for her. 

"The Freys slashed her throat from ear to ear. When we found her by the river she was three days dead. Harwin begged me to give her the kiss of life, but it had been too long. I would not do it, so Lord Beric put his lips to hers instead, and the flame of life passed from him to her. And... she rose. May the Lord of Light protect us. She rose."

She now wanders the wild unable to speak properly due to her slit throat, and thristy for Frey blood and to get revenge on all those who have wronged her family. Brienne and Pod run into her and the Brotherhood when they are looking for Sansa, but it is not a happy reunion. Seeing that Brienne has the sword Oathkeeper, given to her by Jaime Lannister, Lady Stoneheart believes that Brienne has betrayed her oath and now serves the Lannisters. She gives her a choice: hanging or killing Jaime. Brienne refuses to kill Jaime and says that he has changed, so Lady Stoneheart puts both Brienne and Pod in a noose. Just before they are hanged, Brienne shouts out a word. This is believed to be 'sword' as she agrees to kill Jaime instead of dying.

I would love to see this storyline being played out on screen as it is one of the best moments from the books, but at the moment is is hard to see what the storyline would gain from bringing the character back in now.

My favourite reactions to the episode

Coming home and finding a mess...#GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/LA72nR25kb

— Daenerys Targaryen (@Daenerys) June 14, 2016

Only two episodes left 😭 #GameofThrones pic.twitter.com/3i8JOvnKGz

— Tyrion Lannister (@GoT_Tyrion) June 13, 2016