Game of Thrones S6E05 Explained

Game of Thrones Season 6 Episode 5 is out, and it is huge, so let’s begin.

At Mole’s Town – a little village just south of the Wall – Sansa confronts Littlefinger

for having given her to Ramsay.

Littlefinger says he’s sorry, he didn’t know Ramsay was so cruel, and apparently he’s

telling the truth, he really didn’t know – which is a pretty major fuck-up, right?

He gave up Sansa, one of his most valuable strategic assets, and someone he loves in

his own creepy way, to a family that’s famous for flaying and betraying Starks , somehow

not suspecting that they’d hurt her.

Littlefinger is usually a master manipulator but with Ramsay he made a mistake, and he

admits it – he presents himself to Sansa unprotected, at her mercy, to apologise.

So as much as Littlefinger is using Sansa for his own political goals , he also seems

to sincerely want Sansa to forgive him.

He’s a complicated character.

Like, this meeting happens at Mole’s Town, right, which is interesting because Mole’s

Town has the brothel where the men of the Night’s Watch come – at least until the

wildlings sack the town in Season 4.

But it’s in the ruins of that brothel that Littlefinger chooses to meet Sansa – just

as he meets Cat in a brothel, and Olenna in a brothel – prostitution is a big theme

in Littlefinger’s story, in fact the whole situation of Petyr giving Sansa to Ramsay

kind of is an act of pimpery, right?

So much of Littlefinger’s character is rooted in his sexual history with Lysa and Catelyn,

which is tied up with his feelings of self-worth and power and status – “I’m not going

to fight them.

I’m going to fuck them.

That’s what I know.

That’s what I am” – in Littlefinger’s mind, sex is deeply linked to power and control,

so it’s no coincidence that prostitution and pimpery are recurring themes in his story.

Anyway, Littlefinger offers Sansa the support of his knights from the Vale, but she refuses

him.

She’s probably right not to trust him.

But at the same time, she and Jon and co.

really do need more men right now.

Those knights will probably end up in battle at Winterfell anyway, cause you don’t bring

an army to the north and not use it.

Also, Littlefinger says the Tullys, led by Brynden “Blackfish” Tully, have retaken

Riverrun, and may be able to support Sansa in the north, which could be a huge help.

And on his way out, Littlefinger calls Jon Sansa’s half-brother, not brother, which

seems to make Sansa doubt if she can trust Jon.

In Braavos, Arya trains with “the waif”, because hitting people with sticks is clearly

the path to becoming a great assassin, then Jaqen turns up and tells Arya the story of

how the Faceless Men began.

This was hundreds of years ago in Valyria, the empire of the original “dragonlords”,

who ruled most of the known world through the power of their dragons and their slaves.

In the books, we’re told the slaves would mine for gold beneath volcanic mountains called

the Fourteen Flames, and that the mines were so hot and the work so hard that slaves would

pray for “an end to [their] pain” – so the first Faceless Man was someone who killed

the slaves who suffered the most . Arya says he should have killed the slave masters, not

the slaves, and she’s told that “He would bring the gift to them as well” . Some fans

believe this means that the Faceless Men caused the Doom of Valyria, the massive fiery catastrophe

that suddenly destroyed the empire two hundred years ago.

If it’s true that the Faceless Men were behind the downfall of the original dragonlords,

they might not be a fan of Daenerys, this new Valyrian queen , conquering cities with

her dragons.

Maybe the Faceless Men will try to kill Dany.

Arya’s told to kill an actress, so she goes to see a play.

The play is a retelling of recent events in King’s Landing – the death of King Robert,

the downfall of Ned, the marriage of Sansa to Tyrion.

It’s cool to see how the public perception of what happened is so wrong – like, Ned’s

portrayed as an idiot who wanted the Throne, when he was the opposite.

Tyrion plots with then betrays Ned, when that was actually Littlefinger.

Cersei tries to follow the rules, when she actually broke them.

Joffrey’s a noble prince instead of a nasty little shit, and he’s kind to Sansa when