YMMV / Game of Thrones S6E3: "Oathbreaker"

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Arthur Dayne's fight has two examples.
    • The showrunners in the inside the episode as well as Bran consider finding out the truth of Arthur Dayne's death a Broken Pedestal moment and intend it to be a mythbusting take on Ned's honour. However, it is possible to consider Dayne as being the less honorable as he winds up dual wielding while at one point Ned only has a single sword. ^{From the books} The code of chivalry in the books in the case of duels and general conduct is to fight an opponent with the same weapons and armour. Ser Arthur in the books was famous for telling a disarmed opponent to pick up a sword and continue to fight after disarming him and was seriously into the knightly ethos. In addition to using Dual Wielding against an opponent with a single sword, Arthur also wears a helmet against an opponent who fights without one, when the honorable course would have been to remove his helmet. One duel in the novels, shows a challenger removing his additional armour after seeing his opponent wearing lighter armour without helm. Some point out that Dual Wielding is generally not as effective in battle and doesn't actually convey any special advantages, and Dayne's use of swords is not a reflection on his character^note  The fight has a mix of equipment from the beginning, apparently for fighter preference; Ned, Reed, and the second Kingsguard use one sword, Dayne favors two, everyone else uses a sword and shield. Others point out that it runs more on Rule of Cool since the scene in question is staged with Hollywood Tactics (Ned and Howland Reed and two of their companions not wearing any helmets), with the lack of realism leaving it ambiguous on what they can infer from it.
    • Some fans also wonder if Ned Stark actually boasted about beating Arthur Dayne which to many is out of character on his part, or that he merely let other people assume that he did and never actually conveyed the full details. Bran does confirm that Ned told him Ser Arthur was the greatest swordsman he ever faced and that Howland Reed saved his life, both of which are true, but he undoubtedly never told him the true context.
  • Is Smalljon Umber really trying to ally with the Bolton house? Or is he taking advantage of Roose's death to bait his impulsive son and new Warden of the North into attacking the wildlings, exposing his control over Winterfell by doing so? All the "The North Remembers" subplot was set but not used yet.
• Captain Obvious Reveal: Nobody even bothers making secret that Robert Strong, the newest member of the Kingsguard, is in fact Ser Gregor Clegane who was resurrected as an undead knight. Likewise, unlike in the books Clegane's head isn't sent to Dorne after he died, removing whatever mystery and reason there would be to keep Robert Strong's identity secret.
• Fridge Brilliance: Both Jon Snow and Beric Dondarion claim that The Nothing After Death is what they saw when they died after being resurrected which seems to imply that despite all the various afterlives the various religions believe in, there is no afterlife. But consider that they were both resurrected, and if greenseers can see glimpses of the future then the theoretical afterlife would be able to recognize who is destined to be resurrected, so would not allow them into the afterlife, only for them to be pulled straight back out again. They do not recall the afterlife because they truly were stuck in limbo instead.
• He's Just Hiding: Due to the wolves popularity and the small size of the head presented to Ramsay, some people theorized that Shaggydog is still alive and that the Umbers used an ordinary wolf head as part of a plan. Unfortunately, his death was confirmed later on in the season.
• Take That, Scrappy!: After the mutineers are executed, Olly is the only one who gets his own close-up. The implication seems to be the showrunners telling viewers that yes, he's finally dead, and won't get camera focus any longer.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Alliser Thorne’s last words are meant to show how he only did what he thought was right for the Watch and he does face death with dignity. The thing is, Thorne is a despicable man who is shown to have a deep hatred for all wildlings. He can’t even let go of his hatred even when both Lord Commanders plus many other men have seen the Army of the Dead and that if they left them to die they would only come back worse. Also his statement that the wildlings are an army of murderers and raiders is hypocritical considering that most of the men of the Night’s Watch are rapists and murderers who've chosen Watch service as their penance. So Thorne comes off as more of a petty, racist, short-sighted traitor than as a man who was doing what he believed was right. Besides, considering what a consistently unpleasant bully he was, his death is pretty much deserved and satisfying.

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