This post will be about the plot lines of Jon and Daenerys.
Daenerys: She is not able to control her dragons. After seeing the corpse of a young child burnt by Drogon, she decided to have them locked. She was able to lock Viserion and Rhaegal. However, Drogon just flew away. In the past the Valyrian dragon lords used magical horns to bind the dragons. Daenerys does not have any of those with her in the meantime, and she does not know much about dragon lore. The implication here is that warging or skinchanging could be an important tool to control dragons.
Did Drogon really burn the child? It seems the child was not eaten but burnt. I think Drogon would kill a prey in order to eat it. First the prey is incinerated. Then the prey is consumed which the body must be disarticulated. The body of the victim was not disarticulated. Did somebody else set up this event in order to lock the dragons away? Here is a good theory regarding this issue, and it is all about playing the game: Did Drogon burn the girl? More will be learnt about the Harpy in the show later on. I think the theory in the given link is plausible. Let’s say that Drogon burnt the girl and cattle at the same time. It could be likely that he ate some of the cattle but not all of what he incinerated. However, the girl’s father did not request compensation for damaged goods in this scene.
Daenerys also had to face a former slave, who wanted to go back and serve his former master. By abolishing slavery, Daenerys has caused an economic collapse in the area. Basically, the slaves do not know what to do with their lives after being freed, and most likely they are living in poverty. This scene shows that Daenerys is a great conqueror but not a great ruler. She does not foresee the political and economic implications of her actions. She does not learn more about the people she is trying to rule. Of course, the intention behind her actions is good (justice and abolition of slavery) but she does not see the end result. In this respect, she does not resemble his ancestor Aegon the Conqueror who acquired knowledge about Westeros before conquering it.
Lady Stoneheart: There is no need to mention who she might be for non-book readers. If you want to get spoiled, do a google search for this character. I think she is not cut from the show, since she will have to encounter Brienne. Of course, her introduction in this episode could have been a great cliffhanger for a season finale. I think the producers decided not to include her this season because of the episode’s theme being about “children”:
- A burnt girl
- Daenerys locking two of her “babies”
- A Child of the Forest (Leaf?) helping Bran and company
- Jon – Mance: Jon decides to negotiate a peace deal with Mance. Jon is taking a role of great responsibility. He is endangering himself but it is something that he must do to save lives. The TV viewers now get an idea that the Wildlings just want to protect themselves from the wights and White Walkers. They just want to be safe on the south side of the Wall. Mance even mentions two times that his people have suffered / bled enough, and it is obvious that he also wants to achieve a peace deal.
- Stannis – Mance: Stannis arrives beyond the Wall with his sellswords on calvary. This turns out to be an advantage for Stannis and the Wildlings are subdued quickly. When Stannis requests Mance to bend the knee, Mance gives one of the best lines of the episode: “We do not kneel.” The Free-Folk or Wildlings elect who they want to follow as a king. As a result, rulership is not inherited – the main reason why they are not “kneelers.”
- Jon / Stannis: Jon’s honour is emphasized in this scene when he protects Mance suggesting that he should be taken for questioning first. It is interesting how the conversation smoothes down once Jon reveals himself as Ned Stark’s bastard. There is a slight deviation from the books in this scene: Davos meets Jon. In the books Davos splits from the rest to convince the Northern lords to join Stannis’ cause. I cannot wait to see the interactions between Jon and Davos next season.
- Tormund: I really like the actor portraying this character. When Jon was asking him regarding the Wildlings’ burial rites, he was not that much friendly: “The dead can’t hear us.” Once he realized that Jon was more concerned about his well-being, he suggested Jon to bury Ygritte beyond the Wall because she really loved him.
- Ygritte’s burial: I think this scene was well-done and it really compensates for the loss of impact that Ygritte’s death caused in the last episode.
- Melisandre: She kept staring at Jon when the dead were being burnt. As a book reader, I can say the Jon does not trust her. However, I would like to see the show’s approach to their interactions next season.