2602:306:bd96:4b90:60c7:161:b578:7162 (talk) There is no emphatic evidence to suggest that Sansa was raped in the episode. However, there is a consummation of a marriage between two consenting parties. The consummation may have been violent and frightening, but it was not a rape. |
Darkfrog24 (talk | contribs) Undid revision 663016967 by 2602:306:BD96:4B90:60C7:161:B578:7162 (talk) When in doubt, follow the sources. Let's take this to the talk p. |
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===In Winterfell=== |
===In Winterfell=== |
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In preparation for the wedding, Myranda ([[Charlotte Hope]]) washes Sansa's ([[Sophie Turner (actress)|Sophie Turner]]) hair and warns her about the "rumors" of the horrible things Ramsay ([[Iwan Rheon]]) has done to his mistresses when he has grown bored of them. Sansa responds that Winterfell is her home and Myranda cannot frighten her. Reek ([[Alfie Allen]]) arrives to take Sansa to the Godswood where the ceremony will be held. Sansa is officially married to Ramsay, and he takes her back to the castle, where he proceeds to |
In preparation for the wedding, Myranda ([[Charlotte Hope]]) washes Sansa's ([[Sophie Turner (actress)|Sophie Turner]]) hair and warns her about the "rumors" of the horrible things Ramsay ([[Iwan Rheon]]) has done to his mistresses when he has grown bored of them. Sansa responds that Winterfell is her home and Myranda cannot frighten her. Reek ([[Alfie Allen]]) arrives to take Sansa to the Godswood where the ceremony will be held. Sansa is officially married to Ramsay, and he takes her back to the castle, where he proceeds to rape Sansa while forcing Reek to watch. |
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==Production== |
==Production== |
Revision as of 01:16, 19 May 2015
"Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" | |
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Game of Thrones episode | |
Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 6 |
Directed by | Jeremy Podeswa |
Written by | Bryan Cogman |
Original air date | May 17, 2015 |
Running time | 54 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 46th overall. The episode was written by Bryan Cogman, and directed by Jeremy Podeswa.[1] It aired on May 17, 2015.[2]
Plot
In Braavos
Arya (Maisie Williams) continues her training with the Faceless Men. She asks the man with Jaqen H'ghar's face (Tom Wlaschiha) what they do with the bodies of the people who die in their temple. However, Jaqen tells her that she is not yet ready to know. Frustrated, Arya then asks the Waif (Faye Marsay) on how to pass the game of faces. The Waif hints to Arya that in order to pass, Arya must be able to convincingly lie. When Jaqen comes to test Arya again, Arya tells him how she came to join the Faceless Men, but lies about several key facts. However, Jaqen is able to tell Arya is lying not only to him, but to herself as well, and leaves.
Some time later, a man brings his sick daughter to the temple so that she can die in peace. Arya goes to talk to the sickly girl and lies to her about how she was ill like her in the past. Arya then gives the girl poisoned water to end her suffering. Jaqen then takes Arya to a secret chamber underneath the temple, where the Faceless Men store the faces of all the people that have died in the temple. Jaqen tells Arya that she is not yet ready to become "no one", but she is ready to become "someone else".
In Dorne
Trystane (Toby Sebastian) and Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free) decide to walk through the Water Gardens, and make plans to marry one another, much to the concern of his father, Prince Doran (Alexander Siddig) . Meanwhile, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Bronn (Jerome Flynn) disguise themselves as Dornish guards and infiltrate the gardens. Bronn knocks out Trystane and Jaime moves to take Myrcella but they are ambushed by the Sand Snakes: Obara (Keisha Castle-Hughes), Nymeria (Jessica Henwick), and Tyene (Rosabell Laurenti Sellers). Jaime and Bronn battle with them briefly before more Dornish guards, led by Areo Hotah (DeObia Oparei) arrive and arrest both groups. Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) is also arrested for her role in the orchestrating the kidnapping plot.
Across the Narrow Sea
Jorah (Iain Glen) and Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) continue to make their way to Meereen on foot. Tyrion tells Jorah how he is on the run from Westeros after killing his father Tywin, and also tells Jorah how his father, Jeor Mormont, was killed in the North. Jorah is shocked to hear of his father's death. They are then captured by slavers, who plan to take the pair to Volantis for sale. However, Tyrion manages to convince the slavers to take them to Meereen instead since Jorah is an accomplished warrior and can earn them more money in the newly reopened fighting pits.
In King's Landing
Lord Baelish (Aidan Gillen) returns to King's Landing on Cersei's request, where he is confronted by Lancel (Eugene Simon) and the Sparrows. Lancel warns Baelish that they have purged King's Landing of all vices, and they will not tolerate his prostitution business. Baelish then meets with Cersei, who has grown suspicious of his loyalties. He assures her that he is loyal to the throne, and informs her that Roose plans to marry Sansa to Ramsay, giving them control over the North. Cersei is infuriated at the Boltons' apparent treachery, and Baelish convinces her to allow him to lead the knights of the Vale to Winterfell to destroy both the Boltons and Stannis, asking that he be named Warden of the North in return. Cersei agrees, under the condition that he bring back with him Sansa's head.
Meanwhile, Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) arrives in King's Landing in an effort to free Loras (Finn Jones) from the Sparrows' custody. She warns Cersei that her actions have put the Lannister-Tyrell alliance in peril, though Cersei expresses confidence that there will not be enough evidence to convict Loras. At Loras' holy inquest, the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) interrogates both Loras and Margaery (Natalie Dormer), and they both deny that Loras is homosexual. However, Olyvar (Will Tudor) is brought in and testifies against Loras. Loras is set to be brought to trial, while Margaery is arrested for lying to the High Sparrow.
In Winterfell
In preparation for the wedding, Myranda (Charlotte Hope) washes Sansa's (Sophie Turner) hair and warns her about the "rumors" of the horrible things Ramsay (Iwan Rheon) has done to his mistresses when he has grown bored of them. Sansa responds that Winterfell is her home and Myranda cannot frighten her. Reek (Alfie Allen) arrives to take Sansa to the Godswood where the ceremony will be held. Sansa is officially married to Ramsay, and he takes her back to the castle, where he proceeds to rape Sansa while forcing Reek to watch.
Production
Writing
This episode was written by the series producer Bryan Cogman, who has written at least one episode in every season of the show. It contains some content from George Martin's novel A Feast for Crows, chapters Arya II, Cat of the Canals, and Cersei X and A Dance with Dragons, chapters the Ugly Little Girl, Tyrion X, and the Prince of Winterfell, though series consultant Elio Garcia describes the portrayal of some of these events as "vastly different" from the original.[3]
Like other episodes this season, it also included content and storylines written specifically for the television adaptation. Myles McNutt of A.V. Club points out that this changes the way the viewers interpret the showrunner's decisions. When describing his opinion of the decision to show Sansa raped by Ramsay on their wedding night (a storyline given to a different character in the books), he compares the scene to a similar one between Danyeris and Drogo in season one (which was consensual in the novels): "While we could frame the shifted events of Dany and Khal Drogo’s wedding night in light of where we knew Dany’s story was going, here we have no idea what this does to Sansa’s storyline."[4] However, in other ways, the episode veers back to book canon: "Whereas Loras’ arrest suggested the show was replacing Margaery’s alleged dalliances with his homosexuality, here the show gradually builds to Margaery’s arrest for lying on her brother’s behalf."[4]
Reception
Ratings
Critical reviews
This episode received sharply divided but generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the episode received a 62% approval rating from critics with an average rating of 8 out of 10, the lowest of any episode in the series. Critics took issue with the decision to have Ramsay rape Sansa on their wedding night. "This grim scene was difficult for the show to justify," says Charlotte Runcie of The Telegraph. "Sansa has been through plenty already and using rape as female character development is a fantasy cliché that can so easily look crass."[5] Myles McNutt of A.V. Club says, "The issue with the show returning to rape as a trope is not simply because there have been thinkpieces speaking out against it, and is not solely driven by the rational concerns lying at the heart of those thinkpieces. It’s also that the show has lost my faith as a viewer that the writers know how to articulate the aftermath of this rape effectively within the limited time offered to each storyline [...] rapes may function as narrative climaxes, but the rising action has never been particularly well-drawn, and the denouement has been non-existent."[4] Christopher Orr reacts to the scene with, "Let me table that for now and return to it once my nausea has receded," later adding "I continue to be astonished that showrunners Benioff and Weiss still apparently believe that their tendency to ramp up the sex, violence, and—especially—sexual violence of George R.R. Martin’s source material is a strength rather than the defining weakness of their adaptation. Yes, several of the greatest moments of the series—Ned Stark’s beheading, the Red Wedding, etc.—have been horrifyingly violent. But they have also been surprising [...] Ramsay’s rape of Sansa was exactly the opposite:"[6] Criticism of the scene has focused on the plot decision itself and its role in the overall story and character arc and not on the quality of the acting. For example, Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair says, "And if we can say one positive thing about that scene it’s that Allen nailed his performance. Theon’s horror mirrored our own and the camera—focusing on his reaction—let our minds fill in the blanks. But as little as any of us wanted to see Sansa physically punished and exploited, was it really important to make that scene about Theon’s pain?" says Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair, though she adds that the rape scene "this rape scene undercuts all the agency that’s been growing in Sansa since the end of last season. She was at the height of her power earlier in the episode when, stripped back down to her red-headed Tully roots, she told Myranda in no uncertain terms that Winterfell was her home and she would not be intimidated. [...] I’d never advocate that Game of Thrones (or any work of fiction) shy away from edgy plots out of fear of pushback or controversy. But edgy plots should always accomplish something above pure titillation or shock value and what, exactly, was accomplished here?"[7]
References
- ^ Hibberd, James (July 15, 2014). "'Game of Thrones' season 5 directors chosen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
- ^ "Shows A-Z - game of thrones on HBO". The Futon Critic. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
- ^ Garcia, Elio; Antonsson, Linda (May 17, 2015). "EP506: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken". Westeros.org. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ a b c McNutt, Myles (May 17, 2015). "Game of Thrones (experts): "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken"". AV Club. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ Runcie, Charlotte (May 17, 2015). "Game of Thrones: Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken, season 5 episode 6, review: 'raw emotion'". The Telegraph. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ Kornhaber, Spencer; Orr, Christopher; Sullivan, Amy (May 17, 2015). "Game of Thrones: A Pointless Horror and a Ridiculous Fight". The Atlantic. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
- ^ Robinson, Joanna (May 17, 2015). "Game of Thrones Absolutely Did Not Need to Go There with Sansa Stark". Vanity. Retrieved May 18, 2015.