Game of Thrones (TV Series) Blood of My Blood (2016) User Reviews

The balance of power shifts in King's Landing and Arya makes an important decision.

[Tweekums · 9/10 · 21 January 2017]

This episode opens shortly after the previous one ended; Meera is dragging Bran through the snow and the White Walkers are approaching fast; suddenly an unidentified rider rescues them. It later becomes apparent that it is Bran's uncle Benjen Stark; it was assumed that he died long ago but he survived north of the wall and during that time learnt more about the White Walkers. Meanwhile Sam and Gilly arrive at his home; at first they are made to feel welcome but when his father returns the atmosphere turns frosty… then gets even colder when he learns that Gilly is a Wildling. In King's Landing Jaime and the Tyrell forces move to rescue Queen Margaery but are thwarted when it emerges that King Tommen and Margaery are now siding with High Sparrow. Elsewhere Walder Frey is determined to retake lands lost to 'Blackfish' Tully. Across the Narrow Sea Arya chooses not to kill the actress she was instructed to kill; something that will put her life in danger in the not too distant future. As Daenerys and her Dothraki march to Meereen she is reunited with one of her dragons and gives a stirring speech to her followers.

There may not be lots of action in this episode but that doesn't mean it is boring. The opening provides the episode's main action as well a serving to introduce a character we assumed was dead. The scenes at Sam's family home were suitably tense without any real sense of danger; Hannah Murray and John Bradley put in fine performances as Gilly and Sam. The events in King's Landing were intriguing and served to shake things up nicely as the balance of power shifted very suddenly. Arya's scenes were really good; they also mean that her character's development is going to change direction as she deliberately disobeys her instructions. Maisie Williams did a great job playing the role in a way that meant that her move was neither too obvious nor too surprising. We have seen Daenerys give plenty of stirring speeches to various followers over the years but they are still a great way to end an episode; especially when she is sat astride a massive dragon. Overall I really enjoyed this episode and look forward to seeing how things develop.

Blood of my Blood

[Jon_Targaryen · 9/10 · 29 May 2016]

There has been a large amount of criticism directed towards this episode due to comparisons to The Door, one of the greatest Game of Thrones episodes of all time. However, Blood Of My Blood is a strong episode that should not be held back due to the previous episode's overwhelming success. I'll mention my three personal favourite story lines from this episode, as I highly encourage you to watch 606 for yourself.

Coldhands save Bran and Meera from wights after their escape from the cave. Bran is having visions of previous events from within the series, along with some brief scenes of The Mad King, Daenerys' father. It is revealed that Coldhands is indeed Benjen Stark, a character that all Thrones fans have missed dearly.

The King's Landing storyline was well done. Margaery convinces Thommen into accepting the High Sparrow's religious views and way of life, or this could all be a clever attempt to overthrow the faith and reinstate order back into the capital. Jaime is sent to deal with Blackfish at Riverrun.

Arya finally gets some action. After watching incredibly biased and false reenactments of the Bravosi take on the Purple Wedding, Arya ventures backstage and forms a friendship with the woman portraying Cersei Lannister, the one whom she was sent to kill. Arya makes the right decision and turns rouge, refusing to kill the actress and digging up Needle from it's hiding spot.

The Good: - Arya's decision - Sam meeting with his family and claiming Hearthsbane - The return of Benjen Stark - Sets up momentum for a conflict in King's Landing - Gives North and Mereen story lines a break The Okay: - Little action, but makes up for it with strong dialogue - Anti-climatic scene between Tyrells vs Faith Militant The Bad: - Daenerys is my second favourite character...but really?! Stop prolonging her storyline, leave her out of episodes if you have to! Feels like the show is overusing her, bring back her meaningful conversations with her advisors and battles with the slavers, her motivational speeches are repetitive. Hope to see her get some very strong scenes in the last four episodes.

Not as strong as the last two amazing episodes, maybe on par with Oathbreaker.

8.8/10

I've had it with Dany

[antoniojatar888 · 7/10 · 29 May 2016]

Game of Thrones has showed consistency throughout its 6 seasons. It's almost a given that after a great episode such as last weeks' The Door, the following episode would consist on story development.

I like to see this show progress the way its characters think and act, so I had no problems with this episode that brings back a lot of characters from other seasons, such as: Walder Frey, Black Fish and Benjen Stark.

However, Daenery's story line is becoming dull, I'm tired of seeing her conquer small cities and remembering us that she is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. I believe that showing her so INCREDIBLE and UNSTOPPABLE so many times has made her too constant and boring. I want to see her face a big army where she has to sacrifice several "banner men" in order to succeed and rule, not just burn a couple of Khals and then intimidate everyone with her dragons.... TOO REPETITIVE.

Another solid episode, not too much action going on.

7/10

The dead don't rest

[aadhi444 · 30 May 2016]

When GRRM was plotting the outline of 'The song of Ice and Fire' back in 1993 he mentioned three big threats to Westeros, every threat greater than the previous one.

The first threat is the internal civil war among the kingdoms which has subdued but still lingers to this day. The second threat is the conquest of Westeros from the Narrow Sea by Dany and her army along with her dragons. The third is the invasion of Westeros by the White Walkers from beyond the Wall.

This episode is significant in the sense that it sets up the second and third threats in a direct collision course. Finally, Danny seems to be all set to sail over the Narrow sea. She has had enough at Essos. We have waited for this moment from the time Kahl Drogo made this announcement back in Season 1. Will Yara provide the ships necessary to set sail?

Overall 'Blood of my blood' is a subdued episode compared to the previous one. It once again sets the pieces up for the reminder of the season. Just four more episodes to go. And you have to slow down a little bit to accelerate later to finish the season on a high.

We start off where we left things in 'Door'. Bran is still downloading all the stuff. If you pause and see there is too much happening in those few seconds. The one thing that is predictable in GoT is that someone always comes at the right movement to save the day. Be it Brienne saving Sansa a few weeks back to Benjin (Cold Hands) saving Bran now. Benjin's return was predicted by almost all the fans and it's high time all the mysteries get resolved one by one. Is Benjin a hybrid of wight and human?

Sam is getting braver day by day. His dad is like Twyin 2.0. His brother chuckling at the idea of White Walkers shows that how much people believe at its existence. It kind of tells that apart from the people who were at Hardhome no one still believes White Walkers are back. In a moment of bravado Sam takes Heart's bane with him. I believe this is a foreshadowing for Sam to learn how to make a Valyrian steel at the old town.

Arya's story arc is gaining momentum. It is utterly clear she will never become a no one. A girl still has a list of people to kill. It looks like she knows what she is up to. A showdown between the Waif and Arya is on the cards. That parody of drama shows how much history can be twisted. Nevertheless, Arya enjoyed the death of Jeofery.

The showdown at Kings Landing took a U turn. From the time the trailer was released everybody were looking forward to that moment. It was such a disappointment. Margery looked like she knew what was going to happen. She is just abiding her time to save her brother. Tommen is like a ping-pong ball going back and forth between his mother and High Sparrow. This entire season the story at Kings Landing is going at snail's pace. Walder Frey is back after the infamous Red Wedding. He looks lot healthier than he used to be? Now Jamie coming to his cause we can expect a showdown between Jamie and Brienne at the Riverrun. The duo hold the twin Valyrian swords made from Ned's Ice.

Now back across the Narrow sea, Dany is all set to sail. The speech she gave was a bit tedious. However, her dragon Drogon looks impressive. All the story arc looks all set to converge now. I kind of have a feeling it will all end where it began – back at Winterfell.

+ Benjin is back

+ Bran downloads history

+ Sam's bravado

+ Cunning High Sparrow

• A bit slow-paced

• Conspicuous absence of Tyrion and Jon Snow

Last scene ruins it for me

[Ammn · 9/10 · 29 May 2016]

You have to know I don't usually do reviews and I don't write English well. This is the best episode of season 6 in terms of writing. it started where it ended last episode Bran was saved by his missing uncle and little explanation of why he never came back to the wall, but not much info of what's going on with Bran at least not yet! We finally seen development from Arya! A girl well never be no one. Sam meets his family and his bad father who didn't take him time to find a reason to throw him out but this time it comes with a price with Sam taking one of the oldest valuable swords. High sparrow win and this time he wins the king. He is smarter than I thought. Tommen started to make decisions.

Finally Ending the episode with the cheapest writing of Daenerys like "How many ships we need to sail to westeros?" Daario respond "A thousand ship" WOW just exactly what Euron Greyjoy thinking, it like Euron knows exactly what Daenerys needs and he's going to build them faster than you think, and that scene with the dragon are you kidding me ? is that what writers saving the budget for? they killed wolfs and sir Barristan for this? A 30s dragon show off and a boring speech we've heard "A thousand" time

Game of Thrones - S06E06

[j_forbesy · 8/10 · 30 May 2016]

Coming off the massive Hodor moment last episode, I never expected this episode to be straight out amazing. Overall it was a really solid episode. While not a lot happened and there was no big death or reveal, it was still a very well put together episode that allowed us to take a bit of a back seat and started to invest us into the remained of the season.

What they have done this season which I've loved is continue the character from the previous episode into the first scenes of the next. I think this season they are trying to make a show that if people were going to go an binge it and watch episodes on end, that the season would feel more like a 10 hour movie similar to what Marvel has done with Daredevil and Jessica Jones. That did that again with Bran, continuing him on from the Hodor moment that ended last episode. I've also like how the story arc you see at the start of the episode is usually picked up later in the episode and continues on. I think the way they are planning their episodes and the placement of all the story lines has been great this season.

I think my favourite scenes from this episode was with Sam and Gilly and his family. We get to meet yet another king and get to see a family dynamic we haven't really seen in Game of Thrones. We always knew that Sam was disowned by his father but it was great to actually see it. I thought it was a great character development moment with Sam in these scenes alone. At first we saw the timid Sam getting abused by his father but by the end he makes the decision to take Gilly with him and take the sword that is rightfully his. I hope they really explore this story a bit more and I hope this isn't the last we have seen from Papa Sam.

I really liked the Ayra scenes in this episode. I always thought she was eventually going to turn her back on the faceless assassin and in this episode she did. I've really liked how the other girl who has been trainer her has been gunning for Ayra this whole time and never believed in her. It is really shown throughout all the training sequences and we finally get to see what it all comes to in the last few episodes. I really liked the play aspect last week and I thought it was fantastic again this week. I like how through the play they were able to create an emotional moment with Ayra. Already this season we have had Sansa and Jon come back together and had the reappearance of Rickon. For me I think they are trying to head towards a Stark reunion and I feel of all the Stark children, Ayra has had one of the biggest journeys since leaving Winterfell.

I really loved the ending to this episode. Daenarys story line has fantastically capped off two episode so far this season and I feel like her story is starting to build once again. I was really disappointed with her story last season but its been fantastic seeing her become a conquer again this season. The power she had in this final scene with her dragon was amazing and it really made me excited to see how her story is going to fold out for the remained of the season.

8/10

brilliant episode

[partholas · 10/10 · 30 May 2016]

This is an amazing episode... Don't lower your spirits by what others are saying... If you want gore, nudity and violence, this episode is gonna be a bore for you... If you want good acting and storytelling, you are in for a treat

The High Sparrow strikes in a very different way. I like how his subtle actions are actually helping many people. Cersei has become a stronger calmer person, Tommen has got some goal in his life, Margaery has become an even better person and the city itself has come closer to the crown... No more riots people.

Benjen Stark is Back! Perhaps not the way we wanted him to return, but this way is more realistic than him being Coldhands or Daario...

Arya's story line goes on a barrel role. I always expected her to go against the Sparrows and return to Westeros, but i didn't expect it to happen so soon.

No Jon or Sansa, but their absence was made up by Sam and Gilly, who finally have exciting plots

Finally, The Blackfish!! And Jamie's gonna follow the story line... The reason why I'm excited because this paves the way for .... wait- for- it ... Lady Stoneheart people! Cant wait

A wonderful episode transition crowned with a great scene.

[Nymeros_Martell · 9/10 · 29 May 2016]

A beautiful episode transition. Great development of Sam arches, Arya and Daenerys. Although King's Landing has been anticlimactic, it demonstrated the ability of articulation and great strategic thinking of the High Sparrow, always masterfully played by Jonathan Pryce. Arya realize the injustice practiced by faceless men, and decides finally resume his Stark identity represented by the needle. Sam can, after two decades, to empower and make a decision that will influence your life, Gilly and baby. After so much suffering faced by Stark, it is strange to see that one of them survived. Oh, Walder Frey, and want you to die. Jaime seem to really regressed as a character and again turned marionette Cersei. And as icing on the cake, a small number of Bran views and a great scene of Daenerys.

Not nearly as perfect, but still great

[gavin-thelordofthefu-48-460297 · 9/10 · 30 May 2016]

Blood of My Blood isn't nearly as solid as the last four episodes, but it's still great. My only two disappointments is that the pacing felt really uneven and could've used some fixing, but everything else was fine.

The performances continue to shine, the story is still well-written with a nice twist in the story-arc for Arya, the script is really good and there are some great moments. The sets are still great, the new characters are well introduced, especially the family of Samwell, the person who join the Night's Watch in the last five seasons. The scenery is still gorgeous, the editing is really nice, and Ramin Djawadi continues to deliver some fine music.

So, overall, not nearly as perfect as the last four episodes, but still great and worth-recommended. :)

More Irons in the Fire

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 29 May 2016]

A few random events. This is a transitional episode. We have Sam and Gilly arriving at his father's castle. He is humiliated by the overbearing ass of a father and Gilly defends him, only to be further maligned. Now we move to Queen Margery and the King, who is an indecisive ass and who falls for the Sparrow's monkeyshines. He gets to see Margery and as the Tyrell's arrive to keep her from taking that fateful walk, he walks out on the steps with her, swearing allegiance to that pack of wolves who act in the name of their god. There is further action with Bran and a rescue. Finally, Dany is back in the saddle (the one on the dragon, who has now healed). Arya chooses to return to the living and takes her sword back (the cool thing is her incredible training). So now it will be a week again to get back to the heavy lifting. Cersei is biding her time, like the snake under the rock. Fascinating that we are actually pulling for her these days.

a belated effort to get back on track

[Ar_Pharazon_the_golden · 6/10 · 31 May 2016]

This episode marks an effort by the show to get two story lines closer to book developments that had been ignored: one by introducing us to Bran's new companion and two, by removing Jaime from King's Landing.

In the first case, the appearance of Coldhands/Benjen Stark is welcome. Of course, introducing him 3(?) seasons too late is weird. If anything, the show is forced to reveal his identity immediately because who would remember the guy who appeared for 2 minutes in season 1? His showing up when he did feels a little forced, but in any case is sure to provide some interest in Bran's plot.

The King's Landing story on the other hand is a little shaky. The idea of Margaery and Tommen being converted (?) by the High Sparrow is unconvincing, but not without interest. That Jaime is off to Riverrun (under vastly different circumstances and timing than in the book) - to help Walder Frey, who reappears - may move his shambling character forward, but only after he has been used by the show to demolish several other plot lines, from Dorne to, most lamentably, his own. Still no sign of friction between him and Cersei.

Arya appears to do what we all knew would happen - reclaim her true identity. Which happens without much being gained, other than wasting a whole lotta time. We now wait to see how she will defeat the other faceless girl who has beaten the crap out of her a gazillion times.

Sam's awkward return to the Tarly household was well played. The guy who plays Randyll Tarly has a perfectly disgusted face. Not sure about Sam taking Gilly and stealing Heartsbane though. Kinda defeats the point.

And then we have Daenerys. Another - YET another - episode ends with a supposedly epic Daenerys scene. Yet again I felt like throwing up. Yes, that is mostly because I despise her character. But allow me to elaborate on more solid grounds:

Theon is Ramsay's prisoner. His badass sister sails around a continent with a band of ironborn cutthroats to save him. They are chased away by a naked Marquis de Sade and a couple of dogs. Daenerys gets captured by a horde of Dothraki. Two swashbucklers infiltrate the city, murder a few guards unnoticed while Her Incompetence murders the Dothraki leaders inside their holy city. Everyone follows her in ecstasy. See a difference? Robb Stark breaks off an engagement. Half his commanders turn on him. All hell breaks loose. Daenerys commits murder and sacrilege. Everyone is happy. Then she rides a dragon she couldn't control and convinces the Dothraki to cross the sea.

This is unfair storytelling. Some characters get what's coming to them. Others are unlucky. Others still get a lucky break. Once. And some suffer no (logical) consequences, are saved in bizarre and unlikely ways, never get in trouble for longer than a very little while, and are treated (by other characters) entirely unrealistically, with the sole purpose of being built up as some sort of epic hero (or villain in the case of the even less sensible Ramsay plot line). Well, no. No matter what happens in the future, this is very poor and unbalanced narrative. No one enjoys it when the game is rigged.

An odd and quite small episode of Game of Thrones

[dominic-holmes-halo · 10/10 · 2 June 2016]

For a while, I was thinking of not reviewing this episode at all since there's nothing really mind-blowing about it, and upon first watching "Blood of My Blood", I was rather disappointed with the episode, which is what I expected, coming off of last week's near-perfect episode. However, when I sat down with my parents and watched it for a second time, I realised that this episode is much better than I remembered as it executes just about everything it does flawlessly and it really is a perfect example of how Game of Thrones is great at drama as well as violence and fantasy.

It dials back on the momentum that previous episodes had and lets its story lines take their time, making it a rather small & self-contained episode that mainly comprises of just three major story lines; Arya's, King's Landing's and Sam's. Also, it perfectly meshes humour & tension with Sam's story-line whilst giving us a few surprises with the King's Landing plot and it sets up an exciting next episode for Arya. We get surprise returns from three characters that have been absent from the show for years, and the episode ends on a spectacular note, reminding us why this show is so special.

Overrall, this episode is a neat little gem and while it won't be remembered as one of Thrones' greats, it's still a fantastic episode that effortlessly blends fantasy and drama, whilst also balancing a few twists & turns with setup that makes me eager for the next episode.

My score for the episode: 9.6/10.

Now and Always

[dannylee-78082 · 7/10 · 23 April 2022]

A bit of a clunky episode but nonetheless great.

Lots of things happened in this episode. Bran and Meera escape with the help of Benjen - which is cool to see him back. For some reason, he had a big screen presence in the short moments he was in season 1. Sam and Gillie storyline is sweet. I love this couple very much. Much needed wholesomeness in this mostly dark GoT. Arya isn't able to make her kill and hence being a target of the Waif. I guess she's only wanted to learn how to kill people she wanted to kill, not just random people.

Margaery turning against her own family is actually very clever of her. She clearly is pretending to really buy into the faith stuff but this way, she has Tommen on her side and is able to split the Lannisters away from him which is what she has wanted all this time. Great move. Daenerys commanding the Dothraki with the dragons were cool too. However, both of this supposedly epic scenes were somehow a little awkward. It didn't bring the same surge of emotions as GoT has done many times. Maybe the music felt too dramatic. Maybe it was the editing. I am not too sure - I can't quite pinpoint it.

The Game of Thrones Fandom Has Become Toxic

[evanbro · 1/10 · 29 May 2016]

It is beyond my level of comprehension how each episode this season has been praised by the fandom as if this show is flawless. It is very perplexing that the last episode of my once favourite show had actually received a 9.8. I mean, do people actually believe that episode was better than; Ned Starks execution, the battle of Blackwater, the Viper vs the Mountain, Tywin's death and much more? I mean, this whole season wanes in comparison when looking at every other previous season (excluding season 5 of course, which is only slightly better than this one). A user stated last week that reading the reviews on this godforsaken site will put you in a state of trauma, and I'm inclined to agree. And look where that users review is now, flagged down into the last page with every other truthful review. It seems like IMDb has become a site in which truthful and honest reviews are disregarded and flagged down as not helpful all because the GOT fandom can't handle criticism. In previous seasons, people were able to highlight some of the shows shortcomings without fear of being suppressed and censored. Now the fandom disregards the truth and sings the same bs praise each and every other episode. It is appalling. While I do not truly believe the episode is a 1, I have to give it this review to negate a least one positive review and a least bring some semblance of sense to this night's overrated episode. With all that being stated, let me begin on my list of grievances for this night's episode…

Speaking in terms of plot progression, nothing significant happened in this episode whatsoever. I mean, the whole point of Sam bringing Gilly to High Heart was so she could stay there while he became a maester. That's what happens in the book at least because he can't take her to the citadel. Instead in this episode Sam takes her to High Heart, only to say no and end up taking her to the Citadel anyways. Please give me a break. Sam's character arc is able to progress just fine without Gilly needing to be a part of it. Also, am I supposed to believe that the biggest coward in the series, Sam, would steal his father's sword Heartsbane? We are talking about Randyll Tarly here. Randyll Tarly would hunt Sam down and gut the POS alive if he even had the audacity to touch his valyrian steel sword. But in the show nope. Sam can apparently steel a rare Valyrian steel sword and leave unscathed.

Also, the best part of Tommen in the novels is the fact that he is very young and pretty much incapable of making decisions for himself. As a result, it is up to Cersei to make up the bulk of his decisions which is why the Kings Landing plot is so intriguing in the books. Instead, the show allows Tommen to forge a peace with the High Sparrow. WOW. The same group of people that have been victimizing the Lannister's for season 5 and onwards. Whatever. Then Tommen is apparently bold enough to remove Jaime from Lord Commander of the Kings Guard? Get out of here with that illogical nonsense.

In addition to this, Arya's plot just nosedived into absolute nonsense. What was the point in training Arya to become a faceless man for the past 1 season and a ½? I mean, there was absolutely no point in doing this if she was just going to leave the faceless men. And why do it after all of this time? She had multiple opportunities to do so and just now she develops a conscience and decides she can't kill people? Arya is a remorseless killer who has been victimized the entire series. Based on her plot in the novels and what we have seen of her in the shows, she wouldn't hesitate to make a kill for the faceless men, even if that person happened to be innocent.

Then we have an absolutely irrelevant and pretentious scene in which Dany flaunts her dragon and makes yet another pretentious speech where she talks about conquering. Of great, as if we didn't have enough of those. And then she states she needs specifically 1000 ships in order to get to Westeros. WOW! Who could have guessed that! Its not like Euron began assembling 100 ships last episode. What a coincidence! D&D obviously don't give their viewership enough credit and think they have to spell everything out for people.

The only redeeming parts of the episode was Bran and the reintroduction of Walder Frey. The reintroduction of Walder Frey and sending Jaime to the Riverlands is good as it looks like they are trying to get back in line with what occurs in the novels. Brans storyline was decent as they finally reintroduce Benjen after 6 seasons and we can finally see what is going to occur with him.

Like I stated above, while do not believe this episode to be a 1, I have to give it this rating in order to negate one positive review and bring balance to the overrated episode as it is currently sitting at a flawless 10. I understand my reviews are an open invitation to be flagged down as not helpful, so continue to be ignorant towards my reviews fandom. Anyways, I've done enough ranting. Goodbye.

Game of Thrones haters don't understand what toxic means...

[chucknorris-17576 · 10/10 · 3 June 2016]

Personally, in my opinion, I think Game of Thrones is the best programme on TV and it is well worth watching, even if you're not a fan of Fantasy. Whilst Game of Thrones has a fair share of drama, it also exhibits a good amount of action as well, and captivates viewers with its crazy plot twists and exciting story.

The only reason to steer clear is if you're sensitive to violence or nudity, or if you're too young. If you're okay with that, I seriously recommend giving it a try, if it doesn't catch your interest straight away just keep watching.

This show is an excellent show, and I'm tired of idiots rating it 1/10 just because something happens that doesn't go their way, despite still liking the rest.

"while do not believe this episode to be a 1, I have to give it this rating in order to negate one positive review and bring balance to the overrated episode as it is currently sitting at a flawless 10"

This is the most pathetic statement I've seen on IMDb... he wants to rate the show badly because he wants to negate other people's opinions? What? This show isn't rated based only off his opinion, he shouldn't get butt-hurt because other people enjoyed the episode and rated it good.

What really irks me about this stupid review is that it's titled "The Game of Thrones Fandom Has Become Toxic…," aside from me making this reply, of course, this statement is so ironic. He has the audacity to call a whole lot of people toxic whilst simultaneously whining about how his opinion should matter more than others, so is unnecessarily hating on the show.

Even worse, he says that he doesn't actually believe it to be a 1, but rates the whole show that because later seasons aren't going the way he wants them to, and because people that enjoy the show are rating it good. This is just the most toxic attitude in my opinion and I'm fed up of other people hating on things unnecessarily due to being butt- hurt about the show being rated better than presumably their other favourite show (which is implied by the ratings of other shows when I viewed his profile.)

Anyway, sorry about my rant to those here looking for reasons to watch Game of Thrones, steer clear of people hating the show as they just want it to be rated lower than their favourite TV show.

Decent episode but a lil dry

[toria484 · 30 May 2016]

Overall I thought it was a decent episode although some areas/story lines seem to be getting a bit stale and repetitive.

To be quite honest I wish Bran hadn't been saved for a number of reasons. 1- he's always annoyed me not really sure why and 2- he is responsible for the death of Hodor. But obviously I know they won't kill off Bran (at least not yet). I am also getting a bit sick of the clichéd "appears when about to die in the middle of a forest" as we saw happen to Sansa and Theon a couple of episodes ago. I mean happen once, sure, happens again, its a bit ridiculous. The other thing that irritated me about this scene was Meera apologising to Bran. Why is SHE apologising to Bran???? Bran is the impulsive little s**t who felt the need to directly disobey the Third Eyed Raven and get almost everyone killed and everyone else in danger. But I suppose what else did you expect her to say. Nice to see the return of Bejin and his flaming mace was pretty sick.

The scene between Gilly and Sam was well scripted and seemingly natural. I can't remember if Sam's family's wealth is mentioned previously but I don't remember it and was surprised when it was revealed he is from a noble name. Even if you don't like the show itself, you can't fault the costume and hair design team managing to create every family and area with a distinctive type of clothing and hairstyle. Beautifully done

I love the scene with Arya as it's back to showing her true self. I thought the idea of her becoming a faceless person was cool, but didn't honestly see it in her character. In my eyes, its more like Arya to go on by herself and not have someone else telling her what and how to do things. Particularly when she doesn't whole-heartily believe in the god. I really enjoy the theatre scenes from the last two episodes and love the Of Monsters and Men cameo that also carried over from last episode. It'll be interesting to see the repercussions Arya will face (geddit).

At this point, I almost expect a main character to be killed off every episode or so, and so I was quite surprised when the standoff between the Septa and the Lannister's fizzled out (can't decide whether i'm relieved). I love the Tyrells and the Lannisters (love to hate am I right) but I hate Tommen. He's just weak and shouldn't be King and I know that's the point but I can still complain about it.

Seeing Walder Frey back made my skin crawl and my eyes tear up. Thats the mark of good TV making- when its a dry scene but can still make you cringe in the thought of what could happen once again in that house. It'll be interesting to see where this leads particularly with Edmure's return.

I am excited to see something finally happen to Dany, even if it is reminiscent of a number of scenes that have already happened for her. In my opinion, nothing of note has really happened with Dany for a while and its getting frustrating. The writers are using the same concept and changing the scene slightly and plonking the scenes in. For example, Dany being heckled and sexualised then her turning around and proving them wrong, Dany disappearing then reappearing with/on a dragon, Dany naked in fire. I mean not that I don't love her, but pls, something needs to happen soon. Im hoping this episode was set up enough for her story line to go somewhere. But hey....dragons!!!!

Incredible to say the least

[851222 · 10/10 · 30 May 2016]

Greetings from Lithuania.

How to collide multiple story lines brilliantly and fascinatingly in one episode? "Blood of My Blood" in the Answer. I do not know what many of You guys saw in this episode that currently holds low 8,6 rating (in terms of this show) here at IMDb, but this episode blew me away - it is pure 10/10. Acting, directing, script, pacing (!) and all technical stuff are on the highest order - as (almost) always. There are multiple story lines here, which moved story forward - not hold it in the same path for a minute, and it was done in brilliantly crafted and unpredictable but always plausible ways. This season 6 doesn't take a break for an episode and it is one of the few best seasons yet, and "Blood of My Blood" in a one helluva ride. LOVED IT.

I AM THE MOTHER OF THE DRAGONS

[moviesfilmsreviewsinc · 10/10 · 2 March 2023]

At times throughout the six seasons of Game Of Thrones, it's felt that all the story lines are moving except for Daenerys Targaryen's tale of revenge. Sure, she's conquered cities and raised an army while being a single mother to three surly teenage dragons, but at the same time, she's not really done that much either. Daenerys has been a lot of spinning wheels and painful lessons. Roger Ashton-Griffiths is brilliant as this character, so goofy yet so pompous at the same time. He's no match for the High Sparrow in terms of being able to manipulate the masses, and even his own mother just rolls her eyes at his attempts to be in charge of anything other than a sandwich. Diana Rigg's reaction shots this week are amazing; she's one of the show's biggest weapons, and we get just enough of her every now and then to remind us all that the Queen of Thorns is a true power broker; Olenna is rich enough to get her way and old enough not to worry about niceties. This theme of independence runs throughout the entire episode, courtesy of Bryan Cogman's script. Sam is finding his manhood again, standing up to his cruel father Randyll Tarley (James Faulkner, last seen as Pope Sixtus on Da Vinci's Demons). Granted, Sam doesn't exactly stand up to him; it's more like sneaking around after he's in bed to steal the family's Valyrian steel blade Heartsbane and to take off with Gilly and little Sam after Randyll goes on a prolonged rant about how Wildlings are less than human. Still, by Sam's standards, that's practically flexing his muscles and preening. No matter how weak Sam might seem in front of his father, we've all seen what he's capable of when he has to act, and Sam and Gilly remain the most adorable couple in Westeros in spite of Randyll's insults. The wights are some of my favorite creations on the show, because every sword-carrying skeleton gives me flashbacks to Ray Harryhausen, and every flaming zombie stuntman gives me a gleeful reminder of one of the best 'man on fire' scenes in movie history from Swamp Thing. Even the appearance of Dany on the back of a dragon looks pretty good; the show's CGI dragons can sometimes be a bit dodgy, particularly when they're in flight, but it's such a cool scene that it's easy to overlook the computer and focus on just how awe-inspiring it must be for a Dothraki horde to watch a dragon fly overhead, especially since their Khaleesi is on the back of said dragon, a silver dot in a field of green and black scales.

Most underrated episode

[keanesuvakov · 9/10 · 23 August 2022]

This episode was not only super interesting but so much happens and it's severely underrated. Whether it's the alliance of the crown and the faith or Danereays's dragons. This episode deserves a 9.0 atleast even if it's not action packed.

Daenerys: Are you with me, now and always?

[bombersflyup · 9/10 · 26 November 2018]

Blood of My Blood is a good episode, despite Tyrion and Jon being absent. Somewhat uneventful, but moving forward.

Meera struggles to carry Bran and they're saved just in time by Benjen Stark. Should of just left him to die Meera, he doesn't even acknowledge that you're there. Sam and Gilly go to stay with Sam's family, but he doesn't get the kind of welcome he was hoping for and leaves with his father's Valyrian sword. Tommen's allowed to see Margaery. Jaime and the Tyrell army march into King's Landing to stop the walk of shame, but Tommen sides with the High Sparrow and fires Jaime from his position. What a tease, ha. Arya poisons the actress's drink, but changes her mind and saves her. Betraying her mission and Jaqen H'ghar, looking to serve her own ambition instead. A great turning point for Arya, to maintain her personality, while also becoming relevant to the other plots in the show. Daenerys delivers a speech to her new Khal followers, as she rides Drogon.

Arya, Gilly, Sam and Daenerys the standouts.

Doesn't quite have enough blood, far from bloodless though

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 27 March 2018]

Came to 'Game of Thrones' fairly late in the game and due to being so busy the binge-watching was gradual. Have found myself truly loving the show, very quickly becoming one of my favourites. It totally lives up to the hype and not only does it do the brilliant source material justice (a rarity in television) it is on its own merits one of the finest, most addictive and consistently compelling shows in recent years and quality-wise it puts a lot of films in recent years to shame.

"Blood of My Blood" is something of a let-down after two incredible episodes in "Book of the Stranger" and "The Door". It is still a very well done episode though, despite having some faults, and to be honest following on from episodes as good as those two is daunting and for it to be on the same level would have been a monumental challenge. It doesn't achieve this challenge/feat completely, but it almost like because of the good elements being so good.

There are faults here. Have to agree that Daenerys' role in the episode is dull and neither plot-progressing or develops her character much, her speech doesn't really stir the spirits either. Tommen's character needs to become more interesting because there is not enough to him yet to make him a love to hate him character, at the moment he's fairly ordinary.

Jaime's development seems to have gone backwards rather than progressed. Pacing is occasionally a bit slow.

However, there is a huge amount that works in "Blood of My Blood" that stops it from being bloodless. It is not as eventful or as tight pace-wise as the previous two episodes and revelations and such are milder and don't have the same amount of punch. The episode does do a great job with Sam and Gilly as well as the character of Benjen. Standing out just as much is the story with High Sparrow and Arya's character and story is progressing and the most interesting it was up to this point.

Can't fault the acting. Jonathan Pryce was always great as High Sparrow, he's superb here. Maisie Williams is another standout, and Sam and Gilly are splendidly characterised.

Visually, "Blood of My Blood" looks amazing, as one would expect for 'Game of Thrones'. The scenery is throughout spectacular, the sets are hugely atmospheric and beautiful on the eyes with a real meticulous eye for detail and the costumes suit the characters to a tee. The make-up is beautifully done. As well the cinematography and editing, which are cinematic quality as well.

One cannot talk about "Blood of My Blood" without mentioning the thematically, orchestrally and atmospherically multi-layered music scoring and the unforgettable main theme. Again, worthy of a high-budget fantasy/action/drama film. The end scoring is especially powerful.

Plenty of layers, passion and sensitivity in the writing if not quite consistent.

In conclusion, could have been much more but very well done on the most part. 8/10 Bethany Cox

The Alliance of the Crown and the Faith

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 30 May 2016]

Beyond the Wall, Bran and Meera are rescued from a wight attack by a mysterious stranger. Gilly and Sam go to Horn Hill and are welcomed by his mother and sister. However when they are having dinner, his father Randyll discovers that Gilly is a Wildling and insults the couple. Tommen meets the High Sparrow that allows him to visit Margaery and she confesses that she repented her sins. Out of the blue, Jaime commands the Tyrell army through King's Landing to release Margaery and Loras, but he is surprised by the revelation of an alliance of the Faith and the Crown. In Braavos, Arya meets Lady Crane and they have a conversation about acting. Then Arya saves the actress from poisoning. However Waif witnesses her behavior and reports to Jaqen that asks her to kill Arya. Meanwhile Arya retrieves the Needle from the hidden place on the rocks and brings it to her room. Daenerys and Daario have a conversation about the number of ships she needs to cross the Narrow Sea with her army. Then she leaves him and returns riding Drogon.

"Blood of My Blood" is the sixth episode where Arya finally has an attitude about Jaqen orders. The segment with Bran with his visions is annoying. Sam and Gilly are offended and now they will live outside Horn Hill. The alliance between The Crown and the Faith by the silly Tommen will be certainly destroyed by Jaime. The speech of Daenerys riding Drogon is the best moment of this show. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Blood of My Blood"

"Blood of My Blood"? Nothing to do with it.

[ououzaza · 8/10 · 3 August 2019]

An ordinary epsiode. just continue the storyline, but bringing back some plot lines that have been gone for a few seasons. there are a few surprises too.

good but not spectacular

[t-campbell_riley · 7/10 · 30 May 2016]

Too many weak moments in this episode for it to be a spectacular episode. enough good moments for it to be a good episode. the weak moments were the end scene where its now become so predictable and there's no real character development involving Dany, there's also no in depth political issues regarding Dany the most in depth they go is Meereen with Tyrion, they need to show Dany struggling for power her having to endure more personal conflict, more infighting then the end scene where she conquers a city wont seem so boring and draining. Arya becomes a "Stark" again which is excellent. they've made her re galvanize hope again the bit where she gets needle back is excellent. they've somewhat copied they done with Sansa where they made her character suffer and they then seek the help of others to shy away from being who they really are then they figure out who they are again. the difference is they made Arya's route a lot more subtle and a lot more empathizing for me. they've made Jaime regress, he's back to the illogical,irrational over confident character, the one who people hated, hes resorting to violence firs where as before he was a lot calmer and more logical when planning. Tommen is looking really weak as a character, he seems very conflicted with himself with his beliefs and you almost get the feeling that the writers don't actually have a proper story for him and they are just throwing him in there with the high sparrow vs Lannisters and Tyrells battle. loved the opening scenes with Sam and Gilly you finally learn more about who Sam is, you see the resentment that's there between him and his father and you can see him becoming stronger as a character each season. him taking the sword and leaving his father's castle just shows now he has really strengthened as a character. overall good not spectacular.

Stop stalling the main storyline

[deltaop · 5/10 · 30 May 2016]

I find it surprising that a show centering on intrigue and action, cannot continue from where it left off. We had a great episode last week, and this week's episode kind of falls flat. Primarily, because it was acting as a filler episode with no viable progression of storyline. And that is not a bad thing in its own right but on GoT it feels like the showrunners are deliberately stalling matters.

That being said, this episode wasn't completely dull. It had its moments - we visit the Tarlys and Benjen Stark is reintroduced as Coldhands. The rest of the episode is forgettable, to say the least. We don't visit most of the places critical to the major story arc - Winterfell, Castle Black, and the Vale.

Furthermore, I have had my issues with Dany but she is getting quite unbearable of late. The showrunners are throwing her in every episode, even if she doesn't have any logical storyline to build upon.

Conclusively, it feels like Game of Thrones is trying too hard to build suspense where it is not needed, and unduly emphasizing content that has no significant impact on the main storyline. The showrunners should stop treating us as brain-dead fans who can be appeased by one great action scene every other episode. Instead, they should make episodes with substance.