“Game of Thrones has long thrived on the ambiguous moralities and complex psychologies of its anti-heroes, but ‘Battle of the Bastards’ pushes its current season towards culminating in a jarringly tidy climax.”
“One can only hope that Game of Thrones has exhausted its season quotient of character reappearances ostensibly designed to catch us some degree of off-guard, but perhaps future cold opens are coming.”
“After the twin climaxes of last week’s Hodor reveal and Daenerys’ enflamed emergence in the preceding episode, it was only natural for HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ to need a bit of a breather.”
“Jon Snow may be the one who comes back to life, but it’s the women of Westeros who are increasingly shaping the direction of Season Six.”
“And just like that, things are looking up for Season Six.”
“Will the execution weigh on Jon as he experiences life beyond the Night’s Watch?”
“As good as Game of Thrones can be at revealing shades of grey in ostensibly irredeemable characters, the show is equally adept (if not more so) at making its villains as detestable as can be.”
“There’s a lot of expository detail, and little development in the singular arcs beyond the exposition.”
“Game of Thrones may disappear from the conversation for brief lulls, but it always returns with full force — it is doing something right.”
