Game of Thrones - 'The Broken Man'

Bronn and Jamie - Warbros!

This episode starts off feeling odd, because unlike most episodes of Game of Thrones, 'The Broken Man' has a cold open in which it drops a bombshell.

The Hound is (also) still alive.

I say also, because that's what? Three supposed corpses back in play this season? I'm genuinely starting to expect Sean Bean to make a return.

But yes, we never did see Sandor Clegane die and it's not like his family doesn't have form for hanging onto life against the odds. The Hound has been rescued by a peaceful commune under the guidance of soldier-turned-septon Brother Ray (and look! It's Ian McShane,) whose reformed goodness shines out like a neon sign saying 'murder me' as he encourages Sandor to embrace the chance of redemption and just, I don't know, hopes that the Brotherhood Without Banners will somehow turn out to be as good as their press.

No, seriously death; where is thy sting?

In King's Landing, the High Sparrow tells Margaery that Lady Olenna is filled with sin. The Queen cautions her grandmother to return to Highgarden and comfort herself with prayer and good works, but slips her a picture of a rose to indicate that she is still Margaery Tyrell, for all her talk of repentance. Cersei tries to make common cause with Olenna, but Olenna sharply rejects her overtures and assures her that her only comfort in all that is happening is that Cersei has lost and it's all her own fault.

Jamie - accompanied of course by Bronn, who is seriously wondering where his castle is - rock up to the Frey siege of Riverrun and immediately get into it with the Frey commanders for being useless tossers who failed to notice 8,000 armed and armoured men approaching their position. Brynden 'the Blackfish' Tully is unimpressed by the Frey's threats to kill Edmure, but agrees to a parley bitch-off with Jamie, which he wins on points, largely because he seems locked into the 'everyone dies horribly' outcome that Jamie is trying to avoid, which gives him an edge in fatalistic sass.

At some point, Littlefinger is probably going to try to arrange a marriage
alliance between Bear Island and the Vale, and Lyanna Mormont is going to
cut a fool.

Sansa, Jon and Davos continue their tour, seeking the support of the North. They get the Wildlings and 60-some Bear Island badasses from the late Lord Commander Jeor Mormont's niece Lyanna, an eleven year old who looks like she could kick Ramsay Bolton's teeth in and still be home for bedtime. Elsewhere they have less success, and Robett Glover (Tim McInnery) tells them to get stuffed. Concerned, Sansa writes a letter, I'm guessing to Littlefinger asking for some Knights of the Vale, and we all worry about the price that aid might bring.

Yara Greyjoy and her followers rock up at a whorehouse somewhere or other, Yara apparently either feeling that what Theon needs to cheer him up is more reminders that Ramsay Bolton cut his dick off, or more concerned with getting her own end away than with his recovery. She encourages him to drown his sorrows in booze and goes off to get laid. I guess for all its other flaws, Game of Thrones is doing reasonably - if not exceptionally - well on representations. That's at least five significant gay or bisexual characters who are not primarily defined by their sexuality.

Arya secures passage back to Westeros, but is ninjaed by the disguised Waif, who stabs her several times before Arya is able to leap off a bridge into a canal. The Waif watches, apparently satisfied, but Arya surfaces downstream and swims painfully to shore. Given Arya's failure to spot the obvious Faceless Man attack and the Waif's failure to find the body (so far,) I call that a no-score draw.

Back in the Riverlands, Brother Ray's followers are slaughtered while Sandor is cutting wood, and Ray himself is hanged. Not a long role for McShane then, but he did get the title speech at least. Sandor turns away from the carnage and picks up an axe.

'The Broken Man' is once more solid Thrones, away from the grim sensationalism of... well, pretty much any episode with Ramsay Bolton in it. I'm increasingly convinced that Ramsay Bolton - and the driving need to remind us that he's a complete bastard, despite Iwan Rheon's looks and puppy dog eyes - is a big part of the problem with the series at present. The Hound's return is less of a thing than it would have been before Jon and Benjen literally returned from the dead, but I guess it provides the opportunity for a Clegane half-dead cage match at some point.