SPOILERS: Don’t read this review if you haven’t seen or don’t want to know details from this episode of Game of Thrones.

Meereen

We’re here to discuss the terms of YOUR surrender.  -Dany declares to the slave masters

Dany’s dragons are ALL out (YAY)!  They burn up several sailors on one of the ships in the slavers’ armada, then totally destroy that ship.  (She’ll need the rest of those ships to sail to Westeros w/ her army of Unsullied and Dothraki.)  As some viewers noted, the CGI fires were NOT as strong as they’d expected. 

Tyrion seems to be (unofficially) the Hand of the Queen now.  Also, wasn’t it cool when gracefully/quickly Grey Worm sliced the necks of the two slavers!

Yara and Theon get an audience w/ Dany; Tyrion is also there to advise.  Tyrion cuts down Theon, who had made fun of him WAY back in S1.  The Greyjoys let Dany know of their uncle’s (Euron’s) plans to give her 1,000 ships in exchange for marrying him.  I LOVED the chemistry between Dany and Yara (as did MANY viewers)!  The two strong women leaders form an alliance (w/ a handshake). 

Winterfell

The day before the big battle, Jon, Sansa, Davos, and even young Lyanna Mormont (LOVED her little mean face) ride out to get the measure of Ramsay and his bannermen.  Did you count how MANY times Ramsay (who is himself a bastard) called Jon “bastard?”  It was almost in every sentence!

Just don’t do what he wants you to do!  -Sansa warns Jon re: Ramsay’s (game-playing) mindset

Davos and Tormund have a brief talk the night before the battle.  Then Davos goes for a walk and finds the little deer that he’d carved for Shireen last season.  Uh oh, Melisandre better watch out!

Was there ANY hope for poor Rickon!?  Hmmm… maybe for a second I thought he could make it across the field.  But we know (from previous seasons) that Ramsay is VERY accurate w/ his bow and arrows. 

On the second watch, I realized that he was missing on purpose until the last one (which struck Rickon in the chest).  Jon rode out to try and rescue Rickon, which was exactly what Ramsay wanted! 

The battle was one of the best Medieval battles I’d ever seen… and battles in general.  –Itamar Harel (GoT Academy)

The director definitely took inspiration from Braveheart (EX: Lord Umber’s battle cry) and Saving Private Ryan; several critics and viewers pointed this out.  The dead bodies of the Northmen and Wildlings getting piled up one on top of another brought to mind the crowded graves of the Civil War (as seen in Glory). 

Wasn’t this shot (from high above the battle) just AWESOME!?  The lords of The Vale (under orders from Littlefinger) ride in and knock the Bolton soldiers (w/ the tall shields) over like dominos.  Then, they enter the center of the fight and have at it w/ ALL the soldiers.

Your words will disappear. Your house will disappear. Your name will disappear. All memory of you will disappear. -Sansa declares to Ramsay before his own hounds (unfed for seven days) attack him

What did you think of the (VERY satisfying) demise of Ramsay?  I thought that Jon would just punch him to death, BUT it was Sansa who FINALLY got her revenge- YAY!!!