Season 6, Episode 6 "Blood of My Blood" Discussion Thread

[Fist of Khonshu]

It's safe to say Margaery has a male child very soon, the story almost demands it. That cements her power and totally changes the dynamic.

And that would answer the question of Tommen's heir. If he checks out before that then... "Uncle Jaime"?

 

[Golgo-13]

Glad Arya's back to being Arya.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Without Tommen having any children with his "Baratheon" blood, I'd say there'd be another dynastic dispute in Kings Landing. The only family members left to the Baratheons are Targaryens, so it'll probably all go to hell and when Dany arrives she basically comes in as the only claimant left.

 

[Brother Jack]

Glad Arya's back to being Arya.

Her path to becoming a Faceless Man always felt self-defeating to me. She sought them out to get her personal revenge, but to become one of the faceless men she would have to renounce her identity and her personal attachments, the things fueling her vengeance. It was inevitable that she would reject them. Which makes me question what the point of it was in the first place.

 

[godisawesome]

Without Tommen having any children with his "Baratheon" blood, I'd say there'd be another dynastic dispute in Kings Landing. The only family members left to the Baratheons are Targaryens, so it'll probably all go to hell and when Dany arrives she basically comes in as the only claimant left.

Dany can't be seen as a successor to the Baratheon throne; she's restoring an older dynasty of she takes it, which either makes it a Second conquest or a restoration, which either makes her dynasty a successor state to the Baratheon kingship or a repudiation of the Baratheon line as illegal usurpers.

If Tommen dies, there's enough wiggle room over the succession laws that, since the entire main dynasty is dead, the most immediate in-laws probably have the best claims. The Lannisters still have plenty of family left, and their blood has sat the Iron Throne...but the Tyrells have the sitting queen, twice over, in fact.

Of course, if Tommen dies, the argument over succession actually means nothing. Force and persuasion become the name of the game; appointing or accepting a new dynasty is the most immediate recourse, and your best case scenario would probably be some kind of dual monarchy whereby a special small council (like the one that gave Aegon the Unready the crown) would select two marriable members of the most prominent houses and make them co-reigning King and Queen.

But we're going to see far more dead people than that suggestion would have!

 

[Roose Bolton]

Dany can't be seen as a successor to the Baratheon throne; she's restoring an older dynasty of she takes it, which either makes it a Second conquest or a restoration, which either makes her dynasty a successor state to the Baratheon kingship or a repudiation of the Baratheon line as illegal usurpers.

If Tommen dies, there's enough wiggle room over the succession laws that, since the entire main dynasty is dead, the most immediate in-laws probably have the best claims. The Lannisters still have plenty of family left, and their blood has sat the Iron Throne...but the Tyrells have the sitting queen, twice over, in fact.

Of course, if Tommen dies, the argument over succession actually means nothing. Force and persuasion become the name of the game; appointing or accepting a new dynasty is the most immediate recourse, and your best case scenario would probably be some kind of dual monarchy whereby a special small council (like the one that gave Aegon the Unready the crown) would select two marriable members of the most prominent houses and make them co-reigning King and Queen.

But we're going to see far more dead people than that suggestion would have!

Dany has Baratheon blood though. The Targaryen kings of old, from which she traces her descent actually took Baratheons as wives a few times throughout history as they, and the Velaryons of Driftmark, were the only other Valyrian families in Westeros "worthy" of mingling their blood with that of the Dragon. If Dany really wanted to she could claim her rights via the current Dynasty as the closest living relative of that House. Not to say that she will, but she could easily get away with it if she so desired.

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

Without Tommen having any children with his "Baratheon" blood, I'd say there'd be another dynastic dispute in Kings Landing. The only family members left to the Baratheons are Targaryens, so it'll probably all go to hell and when Dany arrives she basically comes in as the only claimant left.

Wellll, there is one....

</span>

 

[Reek]

what is this </span> stuff

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

I don't know, it's shown up in several of my posts and it won't let me edit it out.

 

[Reek]

I believe Brainiac has found you...

 

[chamber-music]

Wellll, there is one....

</span>

Wouldn't Gendry have to be legitimized first?

I doubt Gendry would want the Iron Throne and even if did I think he would be dead within a week.

Dany can't be seen as a successor to the Baratheon throne; she's restoring an older dynasty of she takes it, which either makes it a Second conquest or a restoration, which either makes her dynasty a successor state to the Baratheon kingship or a repudiation of the Baratheon line as illegal usurpers.

Dany's restoration going to be like Charles II aka King of Bling
[YT]/FA5abHKvUBQ[/YT]

 

[Victarion]

Her path to becoming a Faceless Man always felt self-defeating to me. She sought them out to get her personal revenge, but to become one of the faceless men she would have to renounce her identity and her personal attachments, the things fueling her vengeance. It was inevitable that she would reject them. Which makes me question what the point of it was in the first place.

Perhaps an inversion of the traditional hero's journey you commonly see in coming of age fantasy? Instead of embracing the ideology of a mentor who sees things in shades of black and white, she will seemingly reject the mentor's philosophy while using the tools she gained from said mentor.

We see the rejection in Arya killing Trant, and in deciding to spare Lady Crane's life.

 

[P Supreme]

If anyone opposed Tommen he'd start polishing the crown and throne for the new guy and start working on a welcome feast.

lolololol

 

[Golgo-13]

I'm on board that Arya's real test is to defeat and kill the 'Waif'.

 

[P Supreme]

I'm on board that Arya's real test is to defeat and kill the 'Waif'.

yeah me too I don't think they would have the balls to kill her after all this time

 

[Schlosser85]

I'm on board that Arya's real test is to defeat and kill the 'Waif'.

You think that's what Jaqen wants?

 

[Iceman]

He doesn't seem all that attached to the waif. And for a faceless man he seems to have an inappropriate bond with someone who is not following the rules, maybe he knows Arya is destined for more.

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

Wouldn't Gendry have to be legitimized first?

I doubt Gendry would want the Iron Throne and even if did I think he would be dead within a week.

If there are no legitimate male heirs, then I believe a male bastard is next in line for royal succession. Robert's bastards were slaughtered because they did pose some kind of outside threat especially if the Lannister incest rumor was proved true.

But yes Gendry would have to want it and his claim would likely need support from the nobility (in the Stormlands?) or from someone else with authority, like the High Sparrow perhaps.

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

In “Blood of My Blood,” Arya Stark was faced with a choice: kill the kind-hearted Lady Crane and prove to the Faceless Men that she’s got what it takes to join their ranks, or abandon her mission and face the music. She chose Option #2, and we have yet to see what that’ll mean for her. Maisie Williams spoke to HBO’s Making Game of Thrones blog about how Arya came to her decision.

"She sees how Bianca (the actress who played Sansa) reacts to Lady Crane’s talent. Arya’s seen a lot of backstabbing and snakey-ness, and now it’s happening right in front of her, and she has the power to do something about it. Lady Crane is such a warm soul, which Arya hasn’t come across in a really long time. When Arya sees someone so selfish like Bianca, it’s something that really doesn’t sit well with her. I think that’s the moment when she thinks: I’m not going to do this. I’m going to take it upon myself to put things right."
​

According to Williams, Arya was “dead set” on becoming No One in the early parts of the season—after all, she refused Jaqen H’ghar’s offer to restore her sight in favor of continuing her training—but around the time she saw that play-within-a-play, she started to get her old spark back. “She’s now watching and realizing that the whole world believes her father was stupid and that Cersei is a loving mother,” Williams said of Arya. “So not only is she reliving one of the hardest moments of her life, she wants to stand up and say, ‘This is not how it went.’ It’s one of the moments that starts to bring the old Arya back to the surface.” The magic of the theater is an amazing thing.
When last we left her, it seemed like Arya understood that she had crossed a line, and was preparing for a confrontation, probably with the Waif, who’s had it in for her for a while. Williams explained the genesis of that rivalry:

"When Arya returns to the House of Black and White, she’s not willing to give up at all, which is why it’s such an interesting relationship between her and the Waif. The Waif has never met anyone who is this determined. The friction between them as the scenes roll out was so fun to do."
​

Hopefully, we’ll finally see the two of them square off for keeps in “The Broken Man.”

from: Iain Glen on what’s next for Jorah, and Maisie Williams discusses Arya’s big decision

 

[BestGirl]

Her path to becoming a Faceless Man always felt self-defeating to me. She sought them out to get her personal revenge, but to become one of the faceless men she would have to renounce her identity and her personal attachments, the things fueling her vengeance. It was inevitable that she would reject them. Which makes me question what the point of it was in the first place.

She can now change faces and fight like a pro. I imagine both skills will come into play later on - her fighting skills, in particular have been an important part of her plotline since season 1.

 

[Verick808]

If there are no legitimate male heirs, then I believe a male bastard is next in line for royal succession. Robert's bastards were slaughtered because they did pose some kind of outside threat especially if the Lannister incest rumor was proved true.

But yes Gendry would have to want it and his claim would likely need support from the nobility (in the Stormlands?) or from someone else with authority, like the High Sparrow perhaps.

Still wondering where that guy went. Is he still lost out there at sea? Maybe Theon will find him in the middle of the ocean.

 

[Da-Scribe]

She can now change faces and fight like a pro. I imagine both skills will come into play later on - her fighting skills, in particular have been an important part of her plotline since season 1.

Agreed, and not to mention, not every storyline will conclude with a character progressing psychologically. Sometimes the point is to have the character end up where they started. Arya might be the same Arya, but she's a lot more dangerous.

 

[Iceman]

Her path to becoming a Faceless Man always felt self-defeating to me. She sought them out to get her personal revenge, but to become one of the faceless men she would have to renounce her identity and her personal attachments, the things fueling her vengeance. It was inevitable that she would reject them. Which makes me question what the point of it was in the first place.

Agreed. Good skills to learn though and who can resist following Jaqen.

 

[Fist of Khonshu]

Still wondering where that guy went. Is he still lost out there at sea? Maybe Theon will find him in the middle of the ocean.

</span>

 

[Verick808]

Has anyone mentioned the fact that they just set up a holy war? Danny believes that Westeros will welcome her but now she'll be invading a people intensely loyal to the Seven Gods with a Red Priestess of her own at her side. It wouldn't surprise me if Danny embraces the role as Azor Ahai either. She's always been a bit arrogant on the account of her heritage.