Game of Thrones Episode 609 Recap: It’s Finally Sansa’s Turn to Be the Best Stark

Since the first season, Game of Thrones has made a tradition of saving the best for second-to-last, and “Battle of the Bastards”— the penultimate episode of the sixth season—was no exception.

Was it the greatest episode ever? I wouldn’t say so: Daenerys’s re-conquesting of Mereen was triumphant but a little too familiar, Jon’s showdown with Ramsay was an extravagantly staged nail-biter that relied too much on contrivance for the sake of suspense (why didn’t Sansa tell Jon she had called in Littlefinger’s forces? Isn’t it a little convenient that they showed up just in the nick of time?), and Ramsay’s excessively gory death felt pandering and unearned to me.

Still, it was a lot of fun. We got dragons, we got a battle scene that was big, bad, and incredibly tense, and we got to see Sansa take her long-awaited turn at being the best Stark. I’m not complaining.

Sansa Drops the Mic

“Hear me, Westeros! I am no longer the woman you knew! I am fire and life incarnate! Now and forever, I am…”

Oops, wrong universe. But you’ll forgive me for getting my Sophie Turner roles mixed up this week, as Sansa Stark—like the X-Men’s Jean Grey—has finally ascended to the higher level of badass redheadery we’ve been waiting for.

We all saw this coming all along right? Right?

Yes, Sansa galloped off from Winterfell way back in the series premiere as a starry-eyed dip whose only aspiration was to have a fancy wedding and wear a really nice crown. And okay, yes, she was a big brat that one time. Maybe twice.

But then something funny happened: things got bad—and then really bad—and Sansa survived. Not only that, she did it without dragons, or giants, or three-eyed ravens or children of the forest, or even a sword.

When Sansa icily reminds her dopey brother that “No one can protect you,” it’s because she’s always been on her own. As far back as her days in King’s Landing, Sansa’s been quietly protecting herself, working on her stitchery while taking cool measure of everything going on around her, learning how to game the system, and slithering through situations that would have gotten the best of the show’s more flashy or impulsive characters. In “Battle of the Bastards,” she got to show a little flash of her own: by being defiantly, gloriously correct in her convictions, by saving the day with her foresight and savvy, and by feeding Ramsay to the dogs.

Well, he deserved it!

Look, it’s not the typical Hero’s Journey, but Sansa has nevertheless grown up. The question is what she’s grown up into: that evil, private little smile she flashes the as Ramsay’s being devoured by his hounds does make one wonder if Sansa’s got some of the Dark Phoenix in her.

Ramsay Bolton Gets a Taste of His Own Medicine

Speaking of feeding Ramsay Bolton to the dogs: it may have been a sweet comeuppance, but it was also a little much. Has anyone ever doubted that Game of Thrones was building Ramsay up as an almost comically grotesque monster just so we would all cheer when he was knocked down?

This is a strategy that has worked for the show in the past—Ramsay is really just a more menacing replacement for Joffrey, after all—but I hope they retire it in future seasons. Because we wouldn’t be celebrating Ramsay’s gruesome death if it weren’t for the tedious, gratuitous, and manipulative scenes of rape and torture that the show deployed to make us hate him in the first place.

Daenerys Experiences Déjà Vu

Is there a more reliable and well-oiled deus ex machina in the world than the one owned by Daenerys Targaryen? Probably not, but even though we’ve seen her play this scene more than a few times already, it never gets old to watch her extract herself from a sticky situation by imperiously raining down some exquisitely timed dragonfire on her enemies. The dragons even looked pretty good doing it for once. Bravo. Again.

Jon Snow Gets Lucky

Jon is all like, if Daenerys gets a bunch of dragons, why don’t I?

Simmer down Jon, and be happy you got a giant. Not to mention a sister. And it’s really a good thing you fight pretty good, otherwise you’d feel even stupider than you already do.

Littlefinger Makes Himself Useful

Thanks for the cavalry, Littlefinger. This still doesn’t mean you get to marry Sansa though, okay?

The Greyjoys Bring an Extra Ship to Meereen

And the name of that ship is Danyara. While the deliciously flirty meeting between Dany and Yara Greyjoy got a bit lost in the shuffle amidst the prodigious bloodshed of the rest of “Battle of the Bastards,” our Khaleesi hasn’t had this much chemistry with another character since Khal Drogo was still around. More please.

The Sandsnakes Remain Forgotten

I’m not sad either, but after all they put us through I’m a little surprised they’re still M.I.A.

The Death Count

Let us mourn the fallen: Rickon Stark, Ramsay Bolton, and poor Wun Wun the giant all bit it this episode, not to mention a couple of slavers, untold Meereenians, and a bunch of the usual unsung redshirts. Am I missing anyone?

Source: vanityfair.com