History Recap / GameOfThronesS6E7TheBrokenMan

* EnemyMine: Averted. Cersei tries once more to ally with the Queen of Thorns, only to be brutally rebuked with a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.

* AllThereInTheManual: The Viewer's Guide reveals the name of the Brother (Ray), the leading bandit of the Brotherhood (Lem Lemoncloak), the Lord Glover (Robett Glover), and the wildling leader (Dim Dalba).

** Davos mentions that the place where they camped is the same location used by Stannis the previous season and they likewise mention the absence of the blizzard, an obvious hint that Jon is retreading Stannis' plot from the previous season and the books, and that Melisandre's sacrifice to hold back the cold is still in effect.
** Blackfish tells Jaime Riverrun can hold out for a two year siege and asks him "Do you have two years?", alluding to the show's planned final two seasons.

** Arya suffers severe stab wounds, but does not die instantly (unlike 99% of her fellow characters who get stabbed), being able instead to flee through the village without dropping dead.

* RecycledPremise: Just like Arya in season 2, Sandor loses his only friend after the man refused to cooperate with a bunch of armed men on horseback.

* SceneryPorn: We only get a short glimpse of the nature surrounding Bear Island's main castle, but it sure looks beautiful. Riverrun castle is also not without its charms.

* SignificantWardrobeShift: Margaery is back in regal attire, but apparently her revealing, opulent dresses have been banned to the back of her closet. Instead she goes for modest, simple garb now.

* StepfordSmiler: Margaery pulls her "got religion" shtick so flawlessly, even the Queen of Thorns is fooled by it.

** It was not a surprise that Brother Ray and his group were all going to be slaughtered without fighting back due to their pacifist ways. Ray told Clegane even if they wanted to fight they'll lose since they are just regular commoners, not bandits and former knights.

** The Stark party travels within a single episode from Bear Island to Deepwood Motte to the location of Stannis' former camp -- while the distances aren't that long, it ''is'' snowing all the way, so the march should actually be a bit too slow to be feasible.

* {{Troll}}: The Blackfish repeatedly jabs Jaime with some thorny facts and finally declares he only agreed to talk because sieges are boring and he wanted to assess his disappointing adversary.

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: No one brings up the issue of a member of the Night's Watch, the Lord Commander no less, being involved in a matter of the realm. If they know he's dead, neither Lady Mormont or Lord Glover brings it up, either. Granted this had been [[TyrantTakesTheHelm some]] [[SuccessionCrisis crazy]] [[TheBadGuysWin years]].

** While the High Sparrow's lecture towards Margery regarding her "duty" toward her husband may label him as a StrawMisogynist by today's standards, in the time before modern medicine and technology, the mortality rate was such that women really did need to have children at every opportunity. This was especially true for the royal families, since line of succession is all the more important and the show itself has shown what even a little doubt in that process can create.
** Yara's drink-or-die approach to Theon's mental illness comes across as amazingly harsh, but considering how wildly out of step Ironborn culture is with that of the rest of ''[[CrapsackWorld Westeros]]'', let alone the real world, it isn't surprising; the fact that Yara even broaches the subject candidly, without malice, is noteworthy on its own given the sort of world she comes from. Furthermore, it wasn't that long ago at all when real shellshocked soldiers, coming home from World War I through Vietnam, were given more or less the same advice by their own society. Until very recently PTSD wasn't even diagnosed, let alone treated, so her reaction isn't really surprising. Counts as DeliberateValuesDissonance, given it goes to show how divorced the Ironborn are from the concept of empathy that this is the best she can do. This probably counts for Westeros as a whole, as well, since it's unlikely the concept of PTSD is even understood there. WordOfGod from the showrunners in the Inside the Episode video is that they don't think medieval people, particularly the Ironborn, really know what PTSD is - so they figured it was more realistic to show Yara being kind of rough ("she's not a psychotherapist"), though underneath she does care about Theon.

* GutturalGrowler: Robett Glover's voice is low and raspy.

'''In the Riverlands''', we see peasants building a new sept. Among them is revealed to be Sandor Clegane. He has been saved from a slow death by Brother Ray, who leads them. Still, while Sandor helps them he remains sullen and apart, in spite of Brother Ray's effort to reach him, claiming the gods have a plan for him. Sandor wonders why, if the gods are real, he hasn't been punished. Brother Ray replies that he has. Later, Ray tells the group how he was once a soldier, who pretended to be brave. Inside, he was afraid, but didn't want anyone to see. Whatever orders he was given, he followed-to burn people's houses, steal their food, or murder their sons to stop them taking up arms to fight. Finally, he was shamed by a woman calling him and other soldiers animals for seizing her son. After he killed him, Brother Ray was overcome with shame, hearing her cries even now, and will for the rest of his life. Brother Ray says he devoted himself to doing good, and says it is never too late, looking significantly at Sandor. A group of riders approaching interrupts him. Their leader asks if they have horses, steel, or food, to which Brother Ray replies only the last, and offers them dinner. The riders depart, and Sandor berates him for his response, warning that they will come back. The septon refuses to fight if they do, saying he has renounced violence. Later while he is out in the forest cutting branches, the sound of screams come from the camp and Sandor rushes back to find everyone has been massacred. Brother Ray is left hanging from a beam of the new sept. In a fury, he takes up his wood ax.

'''At Riverrun''', Jaime arrives with a Lannister army to aid the Freys' siege. Both he and Bronn criticize the poor setup of the Frey army. The Frey brothers attempt to coerce the Blackfish into surrender by threatening his nephew Edmure, but he refuses to budge. Jaime berates the Frey brothers for making a threat which they won't carry out, taking control of the siege. He goes to negotiate with the Blackfish, offering him a chance for surrender without bloodshed. The Blackfish categorically refuses though, and is wholly unimpressed by Jaime.

'''In King's Landing''', Margaery meets with the High Sparrow in the Great Sept. He urges that she counsel her grandmother into repenting, and warns she is not safe in body or soul while within the city. When she meets with her though, Lady Olenna characteristically scoffs and refuses. Further, she is incensed when Margaery says Loras will not be released except if he renounces his title and becomes a penitent. However, Margaery slips a small piece of paper into her hand while urging her to leave for Highgarden, bearing the rose symbol of their family, which pleases Olenna to see. Cersei comes to visit her, admitting her terrible mistake in giving the High Sparrow power, saying they have to fight him together now. Olenna is understandably displeased with her, and bitterly vents her feelings about Cersei. The only thing which gives her any joy is to see Cersei has lost.

'''In the North''', some of the wildlings have grown reluctant to follow Jon. They complain they signed up with him to fight the wights and White Walkers, while he means to fight his fellow "southerners". However, with Tormund's help Jon convinces them that if he can't stop the Boltons and the others who follow them, they'll kill the wildlings, and they agree to follow him after the giant Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun show his support for Jon. Later he visits Bear Island to seek aid from the Mormonts along with Sansa and Ser Davos. Lady Mormont, a girl of ten, is a very tough sell, with both Jon and Sansa's entreaties failing to move her. At last Ser Davos eloquently convinces her to take their side, although the Mormonts have only sixty two fighting men. Next they visit Deepwood Motte, though Lord Glover refuses to aid them. Lord Glover says he just took back the castle with Bolton help, and demands to know who else is aiding them. He is unimpressed to learn only House Mormont is with them so far. When Sansa reminds Lord Glover of his oath to her family, he retorts that their house died with Robb. They return to their camp. Jon says they must march on Winterfell now before the snows come, despite their small numbers. However, relations are tense between the northerners and wildlings in the camp. Sansa writes a letter to someone, but seems reluctant to send it.

'''In Volantis''', the ironborn under Yara and Theon have entered port to visit a brothel in the Long Bridge. Theon, naturally, feels out of place in the setting. Yara, it transpires, likes women, selecting a pretty female Volantine prostitute. She pushes Theon to drink at least, and crawl out of the pit that he's been living in. If he's really too far gone to enjoy life any more, she says, he ought to take a knife and end his own suffering - it's no way to live. But if Theon Greyjoy is still in there, she ''needs'' him - because together, they're going to beat their uncle at his own game, give Daenerys her fleet, take back the Iron Islands, and maybe even exact some payback from one Lord Bolton while they're at it. Perhaps resonating with the ironborn inside of him, Yara's ToughLove pulls Theon out of his funk if just for a little while, and he looks her in the eyes with a resolute nod. Smiling, with honest relief written on her face, [[PetTheDog Yara pulls Theon into a hug and gives him a sisterly kiss on the forehead]] before leaving to conclude business with her chosen lady.

* AsYouKnow: Sandor is informed of his own story in conspicuous detail since we last saw him, since he's not likely to be talkative about it on his own.
* TheAtoner: Brother Ray was once a man much like Sandor, who burned, robbed and murdered. Now he's trying to help people as a means of penance.

* BrokenPedestal: The Starks, and Robb Stark in particular, end up being this to the both House Mormont and Glover. They both make it known that they hold Robb responsible for their Lords dying during War of the Five Kings, particularly the Red Wedding.

** Sandor Clegane returns! He's been missing in action and presumed dead since the Season Four finale. He now has a grudge with The Brotherhood Without Banners, who make their return after a three year absence.

* CanonForeigner: So far, in the novels there are no characters named Flynn or Morgan among the ranks of the Brotherhood Without Banners.

* IdiotBall: In contrast to last episode, where she was armed and hiding in the sewers, Arya displays a lack of awareness and caution that allows the Waif to catch up with her and nearly kill her.

* InsultToRocks: Brother Ray recounts a story of how he murdered innocent young men while working as a soldier. One of their mothers called him an animal for his deeds, which made him realize he was worse than an animal, because animals stay true to their nature while he was betraying his own.

* NiceJobFixingItVillain: The whole Faith Militant mess - which now includes the High Sparrow controlling the city, Tommen being a puppet king in the hands of a zealot and multiple nobles having been imprisoned - was caused because Cersei wanted to take down Margaery and was too stupid to foresee the consequences of her plot. Olenna spells this out for her and it's a sign of how badly she stuffed up that Cersei can't even argue back.

* TheRemnant: Riverrun is the last real cohesive fighting force which fought for the King of the North and the Riverlands.

** It was not a surprise that Brother Ray and his group were all going to be slaughtered without fighting back due to their pacifist ways. Ray told Clegane even if they wanted to fight they'll lose since they are just regular commoners not bandits and former knights.
** Davos was right that the North for all their loyalty won't walk against the Boltons for a desperate cause. Robett Glover even brings up that fighting for the Stark cost him his castle and his brother.

** A big point in the novels is about honor and reputation: the Lannisters, Boltons, and Freys succeed by betraying people and killing men under a flag of truce, and consider themselves clever for it. The inevitable result, however, is that ''no one'' will ever believe a word they say again, meaning that instead of an easy peace, the remnants of their enemies would all rather fight to the death than trust any offer of surrender. The Freys threaten Blackfish's garrison at Riverrun that they'll kill Edmure if they don't surrender - given that the Freys literally killed men who were guests at their own table, breaking SacredHospitality, Brynden has ''zero reason'' to believe them - if he surrenders they'll probably just kill Edmure anyway.

* TheyLookJustLikeEveryoneElse: Arya is paranoid after she gets stabbed, since the Waif could be literally anyone she asks for help. {{Properly paranoid}}, as it turns out, given her pursuer's [[FaceStealer reputation and power]].
* ThereAreNoTherapists: Theon is still struggling dealing with the torture he suffered at the hands of Ramsay, and Yara is not the best therapist.

* ToughLove: Because of the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuys culture of the Iron Islands]], Yara has a hard time actually ''[[LivingEmotionalCrutch empathizing]]'' with Theon, who is still suffering from PTSD from the torture he suffered. Yara's advice is either for him to [[DrowningMySorrows drink]] and suck it up, or kill himself if he can't deal with it. Interesting enough, she is not even saying this out of malice either. In fact, as she notes by saying she never struck him, she's [[OverlyNarrowSuperlative the kindest Ironborn]] he's seen in quite some time, if not ever.

* WhamShot: We open with a teaser featuring some smallfolk building what looks like a sept. One man approaches holding an entire log, sets it down, and the camera reveals this man is Sandor Clegane.

** Yara's drink-or-die approach to Theon's mental illness comes across as amazingly harsh, but considering how wildly out of step Ironborn culture is with that of the rest of ''[[CrapsackWorld Westeros]]'', let alone the real world, it isn't surprising; the fact that Yara even broaches the subject candidly, without malice, is noteworthy on its own given the sort of world she comes from. Furthermore, it wasn't that long ago at all when real shellshocked soldiers, coming home from World War I through Vietnam, were given more or less the same advice by their own society. Until very recently PTSD wasn't even diagnosed, let alone treated, so her reaction isn't really surprising. Counts as DeliberateValuesDissonance, given it goes to show how divorced the Ironborn are from the concept of empathy that this is the best she can do. This probably counts for Westeros as a whole, as well, since it's unlikely the concept of PTSD is even understood there. WordOfGod from the showrunners in the Inside the Episode video is that they don't think medieval people, particularly the ironborn, really know what PTSD is - so they figured it was more realistic to show Yara being kind of rough ("she's not a psychotherapist"), though underneath she does care about Theon.
** That being said, the fact that this harshness actually helps Theon implies that the [[UnfortunateImplications same treatment would work today]]. After all, Theon was raised by the Starks, a family that is considerably less harsh than the Greyjoys.

* BreakTheCutie: Sansa ends up getting hit with the cold reality that the Starks aren't [[OneHundredPercentAdorationRating as beloved]] in the North as she believed.

* AnAxeToGrind: Literally, as Sandor picks up an axe after finding Brother Ray's community slaughtered. [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge He won't be using it to chop wood.]]

* AbsenteeActor: No Brienne or Melisandre, despite the fact that the latter is travelling with Jon, Sansa, and Davos, who were a major part of the episode. This could be excused as wanting to avoid alienating the Northern lords with a priestess of yet another non-Northern religion. So instead they were sent to recruit Blackfish as their last episode plan was.

* StuffedIntoTheFridge: Sandor's new community and its charismatic leader get mercilessly butchered by the Brotherhood, giving the Hound a strong motive for revenge.