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» » Game of Thrones Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken (2011– )

Short summary

Arya is tested by Jaqen H'ghar in the House of Black and White and he tells that she is ready to become someone else. Tyrion and Jorah have a conversation about Daenerys and Jorah's father and how he was murdered by his own men; out of the blue, they are captured by pirates and turned into slaves. Little Finger stumbles with Lancel in King's Landing and has a meeting with Cersei and he plots against Stannis Baratheon and the Bolton. Jamie and Bronn are riding in Dornes and they meet Myrcella; however they need to fight against the Sand Snakes. Lady Olenna meets with Cersei to discuss the future of Loras Tyrell. He is judged by the High Sparrow and Margaery Tyrell is involved and arrested with her brother to a formal trial. Sansa marries Ramsay Bolton and he humiliates her.

The first time that the derogatory nickname of Olenna Tyrell "Queen of Thorns" is mentioned on-screen.

This episode's title comes from the words of House Martell. This is the third episode overall to take its title from the words of a noble house, following Игра престолов: Winter Is Coming (2011) (House Stark) and Игра престолов: Fire and Blood (2011) (House Targaryen).

The song that Bronn sings is "The Dornishman's Wife," a song about a man who had an affair with the wife of a Dornishman, the Dornishman then kills the man when he finds out. In the books, it was Mance Rayder who first sang the song when Jon entered his tent for the first time. Bronn never sings it in the books.

The episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More).

This episode is Jeremy Podeswa's first of two Emmy Awards Directing nominations for the show

The lowest rated episode of the series at 8.1 (as of 01/18/2019)

In the books, Trystane and Myrcella never kiss or express any other form of affection. While they get along well, it is unknown if they have romantic feelings for each other.

Myranda reveals that Violet (Stephanie Blacker), the other girl who seduced Theon in Игра престолов: The Bear and the Maiden Fair (2013) just before he was castrated, has been killed by Ramsey because she got pregnant (she is not the same girl who was hunted and killed by Ramsey's dogs in Игра престолов: The Lion and the Rose (2014)). This may be an in-joke, referring to the fact that Blacker could not reprise her role in the fourth season due to her real-life pregnancy.

The controversial scene involving Sansa Stark is not in the novels, as Sansa is hiding in the Vale and not in Winterfell. The writers combined Sansa's storyline with that of Jeyne Poole, who was the one victimized in the novels when wed to Ramsay Bolton as an Arya Stark impostor. The writer of the episode, Bryan Cogman, explained Sansa's choice to wed Ramsay: "This isn't a timid little girl walking into a wedding night with Joffrey. This is a hardened woman making a choice and sees this as the way to get back to her homeland. Sansa has a wedding night in the sense she never thought she would with one of the monsters of the show. It's pretty intense and awful and the character will have to deal with it."

The scene of Ramsay sexually assaulting Sansa was widely criticized for being graphic, and another negative example of how sexual violence against women was being used as a narrative tool. However, the same scene in the books (with Jeyne Poole instead of Sansa) was considerably more graphic: Ramsay commands Theon to undress Jeyne, then to "prepare" her with his tongue (namely to perform oral sex). Theon obediently does as he is told. Ramsay then molests Jeyne very brutally. Sophie Turner, for her part, defended the scene, saying that she loved doing it for being so 'messed up', with Sansa finally having escaped Joffrey's clutches, and then ending up with a guy who is even worse. Turner also noted that audiences were much more sympathetic towards her character than before this episode.

In the book, Margaery is arrested on charges of infidelity and treason fabricated by Cersei. Loras is never put on trial for being a homosexual or for any other charge, though three of Margaery's cousins are arrested with her on similar charges.

In the books, Littlefinger never returns to King's Landing nor meets with Cersei, and thus never reveals to her that Sansa is in his custody or requests to be made Warden of the North. Cersei also never discusses any intentions to fight the Boltons with him, as in the books the Lannisters come up with the idea to marry Ramsay to Jeyne Poole (under the guise of Arya Stark), altered in the show to Sansa.

In the books, Tyrion never speaks to Jorah Mormont about his father Jeor. Tyrion has no idea that Jeor has been killed, and by whom. As of the most recent book, Jorah is still unaware of his father's death, nor about his last will and testament - that Jorah will join the Night's Watch.

In the books, Tyrion and Jorah are captured by the slavers on a ship while sailing to Meereen. Jorah kills several of them, and they decide to take him to the fighting pits. The slavers also never intend to kill Tyrion or castrate him, but rather bring him to the fighting pits as well for entertainment.

Areo Hotah's comment to Jaime "When you were whole, it would have been a good fight" is perhaps a reference to the book scene of Jaime and Brynden "Blackfish" Tully during the siege of Riverrun scene in the fourth novel: Blackfish asks Jaime tauntingly if he wants to fight him, both of them know well that Jaime has no chance without his right hand. Jaime muses "That would have been a sweet fight once". That encounter between Brynden and Jaime occurs in Игра престолов: The Broken Man (2016), but this topic of conversation is never raised between the two.

In the books, Ellaria and the Sand Snakes do not plot to murder Myrcella. Tyene and Arianne Martell (Prince Doran's daughter) plan to crown her.

In the books, the Waif's background story is different: her stepmother treated her well until she gave birth to a daughter of her own. The stepmother wanted to kill her, and for that purpose she approached the Many-Faced God, but could not bear the sacrifice he asked of her. She then tried to poison the Waif, but failed. When the healer in the House of the Red Hands told the Waif's father what the stepmother had done, her father offered a sacrifice of two thirds of his wealth and the Waif to the Many-Faced God for his wife to receive the gift of the god (death). His prayer was answered and the waif came to the House of Black and White to serve.

In the books, Cersei never makes any mention of being aware of Stannis' plot to take the north, and at this point the story set in King's Landing is told entirely from her point-of-view.

In the books, the encounter between Areo Hotah and the Sand Snakes is significantly different than in the show: the Sand Snakes do not take part in it because Prince Doran had them arrested; Jaime and Bronn do not take part in it because they never came to Dorne; neither Ellaria nor the Sand Snakes planned to kill Myrcella - Tyene intended to crown her; Princess Arianne Martell (Doran's daughter) intended to carry out Tyene's plan; she and Myrcella are accompanied by Ser Arys Oakheart of the Kingsguard and Gerold "Darkstar" Dayne; in the encounter, Areo Hotah kills Arys Oakheart while Darkstar attempts to kill Myrcella and runs away; Arianne and her other companions are arrested; Myrcella survives, but is horribly disfigured: she lost an ear and has a hideous facial scar; Ser Balon Swann of the Kingsguard is sent by Cersei, on official capacity, to bring Myrcella back, and he does not sneak into Dorne nor gets into fight with anyone.

The Kindly Man (in the show he is replaced by Jaqen H'ghar) does not slap Arya when she lies.

In the books, Lancel does not join the Sparrows but the "Warrior's Sons", an order of knights sworn to the Faith of the Seven. They are part of the Faith Militant.

In the books, Jaime and Bronn never come to Dorne, and never encounter the Sand Snakes and Areo Hotah.

In the books, Doran Martell has the Sand Snakes arrested shortly after they tell him their plans to settle score with the Lannisters, thus they are forestalled.

In the books, Olenna Tyrell has not returned to King's Landing since the High Sparrow became the High Septon. The conversation between her and Cersei does not occur.

There is no mentioning in the novels that Ramsay got Violet or any other woman pregnant.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: TheFresh
    Well, it was definitely one of the weakest episodes of Game of Thrones.

    The Arya's part was nicely visualized but was not interesting as far as written content goes, the story of that part is becoming quite boring and at times one asks what the hell is going on and why? A prefect example of excessive mystery and low content which leads to irritation.

    The kings landing is still good, littlefinger is acting extra smart with his artifice and Cersei still believes she is extra smart. The faith part is fine as well.

    The Tyrion part was a bit weird in the humor area. The Dorne part was unpleasant as far as fight sequence and acting of the sand snakes go, the dialogues were made even cheesier when delivered by the sand snakes. I wish they had taken in the right actresses and good choreographers or focused on other good characters left. They could have focused on Euron Greyjoy, casted Timothy Gibbs perhaps.

    As far as Sansa part goes, one should know that violence is a part of the world which game of thrones encompasses and men or women, no one is immune to it, many characters have suffered a gruesome fate.Those who have seen the episodes sincerely and without prejudice will never complain that only female characters suffer or have suffered in this show. I am seriously upset that fans were angry about the last scene, what Ramsay did was expected of him, he isn't a noble man and Sansa was never the most clever or strong character, in other words after Ned's death it was a character which was a subject to other's will, and most of the time it never had much power over itself due to the situations she was in.

    However, the thing which is becoming more and more irritatingly frequent with game of thrones is the cheap cliffhanger thing in the end which looks quite artificial. It seems like it's done just to shock in the end and frankly it looks and feels quite cheesy.

    I will give it 8 because when you compare it with other TV shows, it is still better and they shockingly and easily score 8 or 9 here.
  • comment
    • Author: nailer
    After a two episode absence we get to see Arya Stark again; weeks have passed and she is still spending her time preparing the bodies of the dead and sweeping the floor. She claims to be ready to progress in her training so Jaqen H'ghar asks her to tell him who she is and who she came to be there; each time he catches her in a lie he strikes her. Another test comes when a young girl is brought to the House of Black and White; she suffers from an incurable condition and can only hope for a comfortable death; it is up to Arya to make it as easy for her as possible; telling her what she needs to hear not what is actually true. Elsewhere in Essos Tyrion and Jorah Mormont continue their journey but are captured by a group of slavers' it is only Tyrion's quick talking that saves his life and persuades their captors not to take them in the wrong direction.

    Back in Westeros Sansa is warned of what happens to women who bore Ramsey Bolton. Later her wedding takes place and her wedding night is anything but romantic. In the capital Lord Baelish informs Cersei that Sansa is at Winterfell and tells her that once Stannis and Lord Bolton have fought it out he will have the Knights of the Vale attack the victor… on condition that Warden of the North. Later Olenna Tyrell arrives demanding the release of her son but after a brief enquiry Margaery is taken into custody as well; accused of giving false testimony. In Dorne Jaime and Bronn find Myrcella but are immediately attacked by a group of women known as the Sand Snakes.

    I was rather shocked to see so many one star reviews for this episode as I really enjoyed it. The opening where Arya washed the corpses may not have been exciting but there was a tenderness that made it a joy to watch. Her story progressed nicely with Maisie Williams once again putting in a fine performance. As usual Peter Dinklage does a great job as Tyrion; especially as he pleads for his life. The scenes featuring Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark were some of the most disturbing in the series; especially after her wedding when she is raped by Ramsey; he is one of the series' least pleasant characters by some way and this final scene was a gruelling watch. The goings on in King's Landing were intriguing; Lord Baelish is as conniving as ever and the treatment of the Tyrell's is sure to have repercussions later in the series. Overall another fine episode.
  • comment
    • Author: SkroN
    This episode is near the top of my list. We have several issues in motion. The biggest fact is that there is no invulnerability among any characters. Tyrion is no at the mercy of slave traders and Jorah is infected. Both are in about as tenuous situation as there can be. Cersei has embraced the Sparrows and has taken on Margery full force, having her cast into prison. She is still ruling the kingdom and Tommen is just a little boy, hopelessly out of his league. Theon still has a bit of nobility in him (though he always was a coward) and may have been pushed to the brink. Sansa has been given to Ramsay and he is doing what he always does. He is a delightfully awful character whom we grow to hate with each passing minute. Then there is the princess who has embraced her new life in a far off land and has fallen in love with a suitor. She is going to be hard to rescue, since her saviors are now captured and she is so resistant to being rescued. With Circei back home, one can only imagine. Also, Littlefinger has made a packed with the evil queen mother for his own gain. She is putting a lot of eggs in his basket. The closing scene is terrifying, but only because of the buildup. So many have suffered throughout this story, so Sansa is not going to walk through everything unscathed. Can't wait for the next episode.
  • comment
    • Author: felt boot
    After reading some very negative reviews on what can surely only be called the greatest episode of the season so far, I feel compelled to write my own review to demonstrate what makes this episode stand out to me.

    First of all, last week's episode was fairly uneventful, therefore when this week's episode aired it should have been unanimously praised. However, many viewers are claiming that this episode was "one of the worst episodes of GOT", "poorly done", and "terrible" - did we watch the same episode?!

    Okay, sure: the fight scene between the Sand Snakes and Jaime and Bronn seemed clumsy as certainly someone should have died (*cough cough* the one-handed-Jaime *cough cough*), yet I was sitting on the edge of my seat fearing for the loss of any of the characters as I want to see them all survive (despite the fact that inevitably they cannot all possibly), therefore when the fight was intervened I let out a sigh of relief knowing that everyone was safe - for the time being.

    But what annoys me the most is the fact that it is the final scene which people are condemning and berating the writers for. This is absolutely ludicrous. Yes, Sansa has been through hell from the beginning, and as of recent she has been beginning to gain some authority and power so to see it all wiped away in this rape scene is tragic. But is it really that hard to fathom? We're talking about Ramsay Snow (or Bolton - whatever): the most sickening, evil cretin of a human being in all of Westeros. We have witnessed him viciously mutilating people in the past - indeed, a victim happens to be in the same room as them! - so is it really that horrific that he did as he has always done to Sansa? No! Of course it's not! It is entirely logical and whilst it is upsetting to see Sansa, a character we want to see succeed after having gone through so much, being raped, it is the only thing that would have made sense in this scene. And looking to the future, we can only yearn for the day that Ramsay gets what's coming to him. Whether that be by the hand of Brienne, Stannis, Sansa herself, or perhaps even Theon (unlikely, I believe), it will be a fine episode to look forward to.

    In addition, do remember that in the very first season Daenerys was brutally raped by Khal Drogo and in that scene they showed far more than they did in Sansa's scene in this episode - so why is this episode being criticised so much more?

    This episode was stellar: Arya begins making some serious progress in the House of Black and White and we learn what all the bodies are cleaned for; Tyrion and Jorah are captured by pirates; Littlefinger swears loyalty to the King and perhaps sets up some serious chaos for future episodes; the Sand Snakes and Jaime and Bronn all close in on Myrcella; Lady Olenna and Queen-Mother Cersei have their polite conversation of (un)veiled threats; Margaery and Loras are arrested as King Tommen sits helplessly and watches in horror; and Ramsay and Sansa begin their wretched relationship together.

    If last week's episode was lacking, then this week's episode was a gift and should be unanimously praised. This was by far the most action-packed, thrilling and exciting episode of the season, yet it was also the most emotionally manipulative. For that, this is my favourite episode of season 5 thus far. I do sincerely hope the rest of the season delivers and continues with the momentum of this episode.
  • comment
    • Author: Delirium
    When Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken aired on HBO, fans of the show and the book series hated it for being more brutal and disturbing in comparison to the previous episodes. What's worse it that it received a 58% rating on Rottentomatoes. Ouch. However, I think that this is a pretty good episode. But before I can give it some praise, there are some problems I have with it.

    In the previous episodes, the dialog was mostly good despite how slow the plot progression has gotten, but it's sad to say that the dialog here is really weak. It came across as too violent and disturbing particularly the ending sequence where Ramsay Bolton rapes Sansa Stark which came across as really unnecessary (which was the only reason why it received such controversy) and made me felt sorry for her. The second and third problems are the script and plot progression. The script does have some fine moments, but it lacks the spark that made the previous episodes (not to mention the previous seasons) so great. Also, the story did little to advance the story-arcs for the Lannister and Stark characters.

    However, despite those flaws, everything else turned out OK. The performances, despite how weak the dialog was, are still good, the scenery, sets and costumes are still gorgeous, the music score from Ramin Djawadi is still fabulous and suited the atmospheric tone in some of the scenes really well, the directing is really good, and the editing is even more sharper this time around.

    So, overall, Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken is by far the weakest episode of the entire season, but in spite of it's problems, it's still pretty good. :)
  • comment
    • Author: Love Me
    This episode was definitely one of the best of this season and i have no quarrel with it as other people do. This isn't exactly a review but just a comment on how other people have taken to this episode. They say that this episode was too much and they went too far. Well that is a load of rubbish this episode was excellently played out and had some strong points especially towards the end. These people feel that the ending was disturbing but I ask them if they have been watching the same game of thrones that I have because that wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Sure it was scary and horrifying but well in bounds of what is acceptable. For gods sake there was incest in the first episode and a head exploding in season 4. Also Danerys was also raped and it was probably worse but there were no complaints, so I ask if these people are really old enough to watch this show, I mean it is rated over 18.
  • comment
    • Author: Sudert
    This episode finally establishes that while many characters follow the storyline from the books although with slight changes (due to TV as a medium), others have completely different story lines. Waiting eagerly for the next episode.

    Arya continues her training at the House of Black and White as she fails again at her test, but then later learns to lie successfully and kill someone without being emotional, passing the first of her many trials and is introduced to the collection of dead faces in the basement. Readers know what her future holds. Viewers, wait for a surprise.

    Meanwhile Jorah and Tyrion roam around and talk (Tyrion does, until Jorah tells him to shut up). Their chemistry is superb, not unlike Tyrion and Bronn. The conversation changes to fathers, and Tyrion tells Jorah the reason he is here and accidentally reveals to Jorah that his father died while leading an expedition beyond the Wall due to mutiny. Jorah gets emotional. They are captured by slavers and Tyrion uses his wit and loud mouth to save his cock from being cut off and sold to a cock merchant and convinces them to let Jorah fight in the pits in Meereen which Danaerys has reopened. We know Jorah is going to kick ass based to the released Season 5 photos. Talk about luck...

    ... Speaking of Bronn, we are treated to his wonderful rendition of "The Dornishman's Wife", a famous song in Westeros, as Jerome Flynn gets to flex his singing muscles again (He was the half of the hit duo Robson and Jerome in the 90s). Reaching the Water Garden Jaime urges Myrcella to leave with him, but the Sand Snakes attack and attempt to take her hostage. The fight is very clumsy - they seriously can't defeat a sell sword and a one handed man?! Also bad cinematography and editing, as the camera angles are very shaky and there are too many cuts making it difficult to see who is fighting who.

    Fortunately Doran Martell anticipated this and has his Captain/Head of Security Areo Hotah stop the fight and capture them and also Ellaria Sand who gave such orders to the Sand Snakes.

    The Sand Snakes are really... Boring. They are indistinguishable from each other and they overact a lot as angry bloodthirsty women who want to avenge their father. And they can't fight! Oberyn would've killed Jaime and Bronn within seconds (I know he died in the trial by combat but he would've killed the Mountain if he wasn't stuck on drawing out his confession).

    Meanwhile Petyr Baelish aka Littlefinger returns to King's Landing and is interrupted by Brother Lancel "I'm no Lannister" who is now a religious fanatic with a flower marking on his head and surprisingly a brunette this season (never noticed it before). Their face-off is funny with Littlefinger calling his indulgences "entertaining" compared to Lancel's.

    During the meeting with Cersei, Littlefinger pledges his support to her and reveals that Sansa Stark is alive and is about to marry Ramsay Bolton while conveniently neglecting to state that he smuggled Sansa to the Boltons. What exactly is he planning? Does he have a fetish for chaos and disorder just like the Joker from The Dark Knight? Because chaos is a ladder?

    Sansa...oh my dear Sansa. Why? Didn't she suffer enough with Joffrey and Cersei...

    The hyped up nude bath scene was nothing much but we see Sansa standing up to Myranda who tries to intimidate her as she reveals Ramsay's true nature. For a while we feel good that Sansa is all grown up...

    ... Until it comes crashing down as Ramsay tears up Sansa's clothes and violently rapes her and makes Theon/Reek watch on their wedding night. Theon's/Reek's expressions are heartbreaking and Alfie Allen deserves an Emmy for his portrayal of such a tragic character. Sansa now needs Brienne more than ever...

    + Arya continues her training. + Jerome Flynn singing. + Tyrion and Jorah still going to Meereen. + Smart Doran. + There is a profession such as "cock merchant" in the world of GOT.

    • Corny and unskilled Sand Snakes. They can't fight a one handed man and a sell sword and mouth off cheesy lines. They need better writing. - WTF ending. Even if we knew that the marriage wasn't going to be a happy one. - What exactly is Littlefinger's real motive? Chaos is a ladder?
  • comment
    • Author: Memuro
    Arya is tested by Jaqen H'ghar in the House of Black and White and he tells that she is ready to become someone else. Tyrion and Jorah have a conversation about Daenerys and Jorah's father and how he was murdered by his own men; out of the blue, they are captured by pirates and turned into slaves. Little Finger stumbles with Lancei in King's Landing and has a meeting with Cersei and he plots against Stannis Baratheon and the Bolton. Jamie and Bronn are riding in Dornes and they meet Myrcella; however they need to fight against the Sand Snakes. Lady Olenna meets with Cersei to discuss the future of Loras Tyrell. He is judged by the High Sparrow and Margaery Tyrell is involved and arrested with her brother to a formal trial. Sansa marries Ramsay Bolton and he humiliates her.

    "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" is one of the weakest episodes of "Game of Thrones". Arya used to be one of my favorite characters; however her segment in the House of Black and white is boring. Little Finger is annoying with Machiavellian schemes against everyone that is powerful making the viewer lost about his true intentions. Cersei's plots are also annoying. I did not read the book, but the last scene with the humiliation of Sansa by Ramsay seems to be totally unnecessary. My vote is seven.

    Title (Brazil): "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken"
  • comment
    • Author: Vutaur
    My least favorite game of Thrones episode. While some parts of this episode are okay, it is dragged down by the poor writing and directing in Dorne, in addition to the horrible shot at the end of the episode. The remaining scenes of this episode aren't enough to make it even mediocre.

    Mylod really performed poorly here, failing entirely to create suspension in the fight scene, nor make any of the scenes emotional or believable.

    Not a good episode of GoT. Possibly the worst.

    4/10 - Poor
  • comment
    • Author: Trex
    First 4 seasons I couldn't wait to watch the next episode, this season I couldn't care more. I was waiting for the story to build up, but 6 episodes have passed and - nothing. We used to gasp at the events, discuss the reasons behind actions, bet on what would happen next. To me this show represented real life - brutal, sudden, dark... with a few decent human beings among ruthless beasts.

    Yes, I felt bad for some of the events, but I was not watching GOT to feel bad, I was watching it to feel the life in it. What I see now are cheesy scenes and pitiful events, nothing more. To me, it became more like a lot of other shows just in different costumes.

    We just cancelled our subscription to HBO Now as we had it only to watch this show.
  • comment
    • Author: Winenama
    This episode has got to be a perfect proof of the deteriorating quality of Game of Thrones episodes lately. Why do I say that? Well, let's just start with how Dorne's story is unfolding. In the last few episodes, we see Oberyn's lover plotting with his daughters for revenge against the Lannisters. Knowing that it would culminate into a full blown confrontation between the duo from King's Landing and the Sand Snakes, we were hoping for an exhilarating fight to say the least and some irrevocable damage that was to be inflicted on the possibility of peace between the two clans (exemplified by Myrcella's scar in the book). Instead, what we got was some really badly orchestrated fight between the two factions and an absolutely anti-climatic end to all of the plotting. What was the whole point of this? It seems like the writers had only intended to drag the story on. Moving on to Winterfell, Sansa got ready for her big night and ends up out-witting a lowly servant girl in her attempts to unnerve her. Are we supposed to rejoice? Is this a victory? Is this the moment when Sansa finds her footing? That this scene would be the answer to these questions would be belittling the question itself. Sansa STARK would never have problems out- witting servants. Her problems have been far graver and her torturers truly powerful people, confronting whom would require not wit and contempt but true power and strength. When I realized that Sansa was to be Jeyne's substitute, I knew this scene would come and from the books I do know what's in store for Sansa is worse. Now the reason why I am unhappy with this scenario is because in the books, she has time and opportunity to gain strength and truly come onto her own. But here, she has yet again been reduced to a play-thing for perverts. Since she is again helpless against her tormentors,we are left to wondering when her rescuer would come to save her (maybe Brienne, Theon or whoever, but never herself) - a truly nauseating prospect. The show writers have clearly sacrificed Sansa's character growth for some cheap horror shots. Now why did I rate this revolting episode a 2 and not a 1 or 0 (not sure if 0 is an option)? Well that would be because of a few (precisely two) moments of redemption, like Tyrion thinking on his feet and Arya's lie. I am seriously reconsidering watching the series because of the bitter aftertaste left by this episode.
  • comment
    • Author: Whitebinder
    I can't believe my eyes - this show goes too far from the book to my liking. It is very disappointing to witness. I could off accept this, if they made it better than the book but in fact they dropped quite a few very important characters and lines of their development and this show looks very poor compare to the book. Those who had a chance to read the book can understand what I mean exactly. I am astonished how freely the authors of the show juggle with the characters and the plot of the books. It is rather a parody then a screen adaptation how I see that more and more. I am giving up watching this HBO show and will be waiting for new books to come.
  • comment
    • Author: Malakelv
    I did not like the change in Sansa's story line at all! Maybe they wanted to make her story more interesting but they failed at that, I believe. What happened to Sansa was completely unnecessary, like she hasn't had enough! Why should she endure this? To become stronger? Utter crap!

    I'd suggest to the writers to stick to the books and not to make such drastic changes to the events!

    The fighting scene of the sand snakes was horrible as well, very poorly done, it felt like they did not even rehearse the battle choreography or something.

    The only thing I liked was the progress in Arya's story. Nothing else.

    What has happened to them this season? Are they in a hurry to wrap it up?
  • comment
    • Author: Agrainel
    one of worst and poorest episodes of GOT. battle scene between prince O'Brien's girls and king slayer was super terrible, very poor very low quality and so far from GOT's class.

    the ending scene of episode completed the misery. the only way writer knows to make show great and attractive is to shock people with torturing scenes of characters which they like, characters that have more humanity, more kindness and in overall good humans! this way worked at first, with executing Ned stark and killing rob stark, but not anymore! why we should watch sansa (an innocent poor kind girl!) get raped by a crazy psycho bastard and hear her whines? should we enjoy this scene?

    does always seeing good people go to misery makes a movie great ?
  • comment
    • Author: Ienekan
    I really loved how female centric this episode was. If only Daenerys was in it to legitimize it even more. And for the most part, it exemplified strong character moments for all of our favorite female characters. It turned out to be one of if not the best episode of the season so far. Game of Thrones has always been great at giving us backstabbing moments that actually make sense and don't feel forced, and I feel like this was a perfect example of an episode that focused on it. Plus, this episode definitely felt like the first step into the absolute chaotic second half of the season.

    We began in Braavos where Arya continued her training into becoming no one. Even though Arya has probably had the least amount of screen-time out of the main cast members this year, her scenes at the House of Black and White have felt tedious. With that being said, the dungeon of heads or whatever was pretty cool. And I was glad to see that it seems as though her training is picking up a bit. Speaking of the Starks, Sansa had a big night, but not necessarily a good one. Anytime the show has a wedding, I get nervous for the characters. I half expected to Brienne to break up the party, or maybe even Theon. But what I was really hoping for was Theon killing Ramsay while he raped Sansa. It was heartbreaking watching Sansa go through something like that after all she has been through, and Theon's face seemed to signal him helping her. But she did have a great scene with Myranda in which she completely out smarted her and I'm sure eventually will prove that she will not be one of those 'dumb girls'.

    Baelish arrived at Kings Landing to set another one of his schemes in motion. When he revealed to Cersei that Sansa was still alive, I thought for a second that he had bad intentions but in typical Baelish form, he had more up his sleeve. This time he wants to be named Warden of the North. That's something I would be okay with, as long as the Bolton's get what they deserve. Meanwhile, Cersei once again plotted against Margaery. It's been fun all season watching the two go at matching blows week to week. Putting her on trial with her brother for having homosexual experiences is pretty brutal. And it shows us again just how little power Tommen actually has.

    Onto our favorite road trip duos, Tyrion and Jorah bonded over their father issues, that is until they were captured by slavers. I feel like the whole being 'captured on a road trip' thing is getting a bit annoying but at least the slavers are headed towards Meereen. If anything else, tonight was a great episode for these two and their scenes erase the brutal final scene. Where's Varys when we need him? Jaimie and Bronn arrived but ended up in a battle with the strange sand snakes. Bronn was another character I thought may kick the bucket tonight, thankfully he did not, and gave us the hilarious 'oh for fuc** sake line'. So now being over half way through the season, I'm very excited to see how the season ends. And hopefully the show delivers on many of the promises it's seemingly making.

    +Road trip duos

    +Cersei vs Margaery

    +Baelish plots again

    +Bronn

    +Arya getting closer

    -Theon should have redeemed himself

    -I felt Dany's absence

    9.1/10
  • comment
    • Author: BlackBerry
    After a middling installment last week, Game of Thrones' fifth season is back on track and the momentum is moving again. Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken is arguably the most eventful episode of the season yet: Ramsay and Sansa married; the Faith Militant arrested the Queen of Westeros; Arya finally made real progress in her training; Jaime briefly relocated his daughter in Dorne and the Sand Snakes attacked. But episode six also returned to the style of the first four episodes by having a solid theme run through each of the narrative arcs. Whereas last week's Kill the Boy failed to offer a strong thematic link between its uneventful narratives, Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken displayed something quite simple: honesty.

    This theme is most present in Arya's outing this week, in which she learns that there is a lot more to becoming no-one that she previously envisioned. "Did you believe a word I said?", the Waif asks Arya, "Was I telling the truth or was I lying?". This brief encounter visibly shakes Arya, leading to potentially her best scene of the season yet. As Jaqen H'Ghar quizzes her on her former life, striking her down every time she lies, we come to learn a lot more about Arya than we did before; despite everything she attempted to make him believe, she never hated the Hound. This theme also resonates clearly in Loras' trial, in which he and his sister, Queen Margaery, lie repeatedly, only to result in both of their arrests. It may not compare to the trial we saw in last season's episode six, in which Tyrion took down the entirety of the upper class of King's Landing, but it's a terrific sequence nonetheless; any moment involving Lena Headey, Natalie Dormer and Diana Rigg in the same scene is bound to steal the episode.

    The episode's most resonating scene, though, comes at the very close. Game of Thrones has always been controversial in its depiction of sexual violence, and has (on more than one occasion) adapted a consensual sex scene from the source novels into a rape sequence for the show. Whilst Sansa's rape at the end of the episode isn't adapted from a consensual moment in the novel (it isn't in the novel at all, in fact) it still feels morbidly unnecessary. It's a tonally dark sequence, as Ramsay forces Reek to watch as "the girl he grew up with becomes a woman", and undoubtedly the most disturbing thing we've been given all season. But, for some reason, the whole scene fails to feel justified. Myranda essentially informs Sansa, and the audience, what will happen after the wedding, so the viewer is well aware of the ordeal Sansa will endure that night. I feel the outcome of this would hit harder if we hadn't seen it, and had rather caught up with Sansa at the beginning of next week's episode. Unless, perhaps, the show is prepared to delve into this deeper and uncover the more psychological motivations and impacts of the moment, but this seems unlikely. Otherwise, it feels like yet another mere exploitation for simple shock value, only reconfirmed by the writers' decision to use Sansa's rape as the episodes conclusion.

    Absent this week was Daenerys, as well as Jon Snow and Stannis Baratheon, ultimately allowing more time to be fleshed out with the stories we were offered. Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken benefits from being the most eventful episode of the season thus far, and its thematic umbrellas of truth, deceit and honesty gives the episode a nice focus that was lacking last week. But it's bogged down by something I thought the show was long past by now and, regrettably, whilst the stories are finally advancing, nothing is looking anywhere close to a satisfying conclusion with just four episodes to go. We know the show will return next year, and every year until the story is finished, but season five is unfortunately looking set to be the show's weakest year thus far. It is rich thematically and remains fantastically written and superbly performed, but the narrative hold seems to be dropping, and I'm unsure how much longer the show can survive on setup.
  • comment
    • Author: Hirah
    This episode has got to be a perfect proof of the deteriorating quality of Game of Thrones episodes lately. Why do I say that? Well, let's just start with how Dorne's story is unfolding. In the last few episodes, we see Oberyn's lover plotting with his daughters for revenge against the Lannisters. Knowing that it would culminate into a full blown confrontation between the duo from King's Landing and the Sand Snakes, we were hoping for an exhilarating fight to say the least and some irrevocable damage that was to be inflicted on the possibility of peace between the two clans (exemplified by Myrcella's scar in the book). Instead, what we got was some really badly orchestrated fight between the two factions and an absolutely anti-climatic end to all of the plotting. What was the whole point of this? It seems like the writers had only intended to drag the story on. Moving on to Winterfell, Sansa got ready for her big night and ends up out-witting a lowly servant girl in her attempts to unnerve her. Are we supposed to rejoice? Is this a victory? Is this the moment when Sansa finds her footing? That this scene would be the answer to these questions would be belittling the question itself. Sansa STARK would never have problems out- witting servants. Her problems have been far graver and her torturers truly powerful people, confronting whom would require not wit and contempt but true power and strength. When I realized that Sansa was to be Jeyne's substitute, I knew this scene would come and from the books I do know what's in store for Sansa is worse. Now the reason why I am unhappy with this scenario is because in the books, she has time and opportunity to gain strength and truly come onto her own. But here, she has yet again been reduced to a play-thing for perverts. Since she is again helpless against her tormentors,we are left to wondering when her rescuer would come to save her (maybe Brienne, Theon or whoever, but never herself) - a truly nauseating prospect. The show writers have clearly sacrificed Sansa's character growth for some cheap horror shots. Now why did I rate this revolting episode a 2 and not a 1 or 0 (not sure if 0 is an option)? Well that would be because of a few (precisely two) moments of redemption, like Tyrion thinking on his feet and Arya's lie. I am seriously reconsidering watching the series because of the bitter aftertaste left by this episode.
  • comment
    • Author: MarF
    After an epic episode 5 where everything seemed to happen and there were twists and turns at every corner, this episode seemed to take stock and set up for the remaining 4 episodes of the season.

    It was a good time to strengthen some characters, their relationships and the relationships we have with them. A time to remember why we love certain characters and why we hate others.

    Tyrion and Bronn gave us quotes only they can and endeared us to their cause that little bit more. The ninja turtle Sand girls let us down with a fairly poor fighting scene. Tyrion and Jorah get to save their legs and receive a fast track to the fighting pit, thanks to some Slavers. Baelish was up to his usual bag of tricks, as well as Cersei continuing her refusal to roll over and have her belly scratched.

    Theon seemed back to being Theon (but still at a crossroad of who he is and who he fights for) and it was a stark (haha pun intended) contrast for Sansa; she finally grew a pair and stood up to someone, before being robbed of all dignity and becoming yet another passenger to Ramsay and his sadistic ways. For a moment you think Theon might react and help Sansa, but judging by how pivotal Ramsay has been this season that would just be too easy.

    The usually unmoved and powerful Lady Olenna failed in her attempt to remind Cersei of the ongoing dependence on House Tyrell. Consequently the now Queen and the Heir to Highgarden fell into an obvious trap and were remanded by the Faith Militant. Marjorie called on King Tommen to assist - he however continues to be a wet noodle; the "King" proving powerless and naive when pitted against the tact of his mother.
  • comment
    • Author: Windworker
    The last scene was clearly unnecessary and probably written just to stir controversy. Not because of the book, not because Sansa was precious, not because of the fact that life doesn't turn out to be a fairy tail. Simply because after we get the idea, screams of the character went on. Because it was a torment to watch that unnecessarily long scene. Because they probably wanted it to be something to remembered. Well, that was just sick. These kind of scenes really started to take place longer than necessary. I highlight the word especially "necessary" and "unnecessary".

    They've got definitely one of the best stories in their hands. Now I can understand they wanted the show to be different than the book. But if it's gonna be with pervertedly violence and especially highlighting these scenes after we watchers clearly understand what's going on, then I don't want to watch the show. Makers of game of thrones after this point should really question themselves:

    Could they tell more about the events or do they really want to hurt people psychologically just to get more attention?

    I was a real fan and if I'm disappointed and I've read people also disturbed, then the kind of attitude should not be like "that's a show and we do it". Well, that's your show and if only you could manage a lot of people to watch it till this episode and it really became in fact that way "your show"; and after all of this you made quite a lot of them angry at you, that seems like a problem to me.
  • comment
    • Author: Kagaramar
    The writers seriously messed up on this episode. After finally making Sansa a stronger woman, they let Ramsey RAPE her on her wedding night! What sort of sick mind thinks of that!

    It would have been better if Theo killed Ramsey, but that might have taken some imagination which the writers don't seem to posses.

    Shame, shame shame!

    I'm not sure how the stupid writers plan to fix this other than having Sansa or Little Finger kill Ramsey!

    Get your head out of the place that the sun doesn't shine and fix this abomination!
  • comment
    • Author: Gandree
    The first two seasons were great. The 3rd was above average. The fourth had 4 good episodes and the fifth has failed to get my attention. The theme seems to be to start something and not finish it in Game of Thrones. We are all waiting for a battle on all fronts or even on one front, but for heaven sakes please fight! Instead of finishing story lines the writers of Game of Thrones change the direction before anything is ever finished. This particular episode continues the trend. I understand they don't want to make the show predictable, but they are introducing new characters and twists and turns before the old twist was finished. I am sick of this season. This was the worst episode of Game of Thrones I have watched.

    The mess in Kings Landing is neither interesting nor fun to watch. I almost turned the episode off. Kings Landing is running a muck. Where is winter? Where are the White Walkers? What happened to the guy who can resurrect himself? Is the Hound dead? Why haven't we seen the Mountain? Where is the Brandon Starke? This episode does nothing to bring you closer to any of those answers!!!
  • comment
    • Author: zzzachibis
    I have the benefit of hind sight in regard to the series since I binged the whole thing before the start of season 7. Because I binged the whole show in a week there was nothing that really stood out that justified this being rated as the show's worst episode. Many people hate the episode because of dorne and sansa getting raped and gave the whole thing 1 star because of it. Lets look at each subplot of this episode to see if the 1 star ratings are justified deserved.

    Tyrion and Jorah: We get a great moment where tyrion and Jorah talk about Jorah's father. There is also some entertaining banter between the two of them before they are captured by slavers. We get another great moment where tyrion escapes death by talking his way out of it.

    Arya: Arya plays the game of faces and is forced to accept that she doesn;t hate the hound any more. The scene where she successfully lies to the girl about the poison and the reveal of the hall of faces were also very impressive

    Kingslanding: We see yet another example of how Littlefinger is the best player of the game. There is also a great moment between Olenna and Cersei. Finally in a shocking twist both Loras and Margaery are arrested by the faith. Cersei's Plan seems to be working perfectly. (The High Sparrow is easily the best of the new characters that were introduced this season.

    Winterfell: Sansa stands up for herself against Ramsay's insane girlfriend. The wedding ceremony was very well done. And now for the rape scene. Is it disturbing? Yes. Is it horrible that Sansa had to suffer even more? Yes? Did we already know how horrible Ramsay was? Yes. However, Sansa didn't know. It was perfectly in Ramsay's character to do something horrible like that and its even worse in the books. Not to mention that now Sansa realizes she can't just blindly trust Littlefinger. He threw her into a horrible situation and did't know better. Those saying that the show runners didn't care about Sansa's pain during the scene were proven wrong in Season 6 when SPOILER

    Sansa confronts Littlefinger about what happened and describes how she can still feel what happened. The scene was done as tastefully as possible and the way Sansa described the scene in season 6 is something I've never heard before in any movie or tv show yet it also sounds very realistic. Sansa's suffering in king's landing helped her in becoming less naive in regards to princes and queens while her suffering in winterfell helped her become less naive about Littlefinger. This episode also starts Reek/Theon on a path to redemption.

    Dorne: Yeah okay this was really bad. The sand snakes are horrible characters and the fight choreography and editing was terrible. To this date this was the worst action scene in the show

    In conclusion, 4 of 5 story lines were great while 1 wasn't which equals 8 out of 10 stars. Even if I thought the winterfell plot was bad this episode that would be 6 or 7 stars. The worst episode of the show is not Unbowed Unbent Unbroken, it's season 7 episode 6 Beyond the Wall
  • comment
    • Author: Golkree
    We are well into the 6th episode of season 5th and just like last season 4; its just dragging on, as one review pointed out that its going no where. Each episodes is filled with mostly irrelevant scenes that are scene fillers with Characters like "Samwell Tarly" that are irrelevant to overall story compare to Stark children such as Bran Stark whom is missing this season. This show has become so predictable in its pattern of how the hour episode is filled with mundane characters such as tonight's High sparrow Kangroo court that serve no purpose in moving the story forward.

    Even Arya Stark, who is one of the main characters, in 3 episodes in the Black and White house is become so vague; we are still clueless as to what is the purpose of her so-called training. Jaqen H'ghar who was a very enigmatic character in the second season has now only returned to say very little, his character is like a walking robot, it has lost its enigma.

    Each episode always ends in some shocking turn of events just in the last ten minutes, be it a blood bath wedding, a hand getting chopped off, Sansa getting raped last night, which was utterly distasteful and a cheap shot. So when the show ends you sit back and kind of left in a weird trans or maybe even little disturbed, but you ponder in wonder, even hope that something will change next time but only to tune in next week for the same pattern of irrelevance that keeps this show alive and high rated on HBO..

    Just like the character "Baelish" aka: Little Finger, HBO is another form of peddler of Entertainment. The producers and the so-called screen writers of this show kind of mirror the very cast of this show, like little Finger who will twist and turn the truth to serve his agenda. HBO and creators have ironically done the same to tell the story of these books, its their own Game of chaos, to use shock value and cruelty to be their main source of stock. In five seasons darkness and cruelty seems to be on the rise in more sicker characters like "Ramsey",you begin to ask yourself what's the purpose of watching this show?. is this series an anthology on evil and cruelty?. that there is not much light or glimmer of hope in this tunnel of darkness where people like Sansa experience more cruelty in five years since her parent's death.

    HBO knows they got a hooked audience who will watch every episode to see how much sicker and crueler it can get, so no matter how boring, how sick, how bloody, how far departed from what actual books of George R.R. Martin were written, only to manipulate the audience with scenes like Sansa rape scene with the monster sick Ramsey. The more ignorant you are of the books the more to the advantage of the producers because so far they have butchered so much of the books that they are almost writing a new version of their own.

    Just wait until the last 3 episodes when you suddenly see a shift in the story line, where you may actually see some revenge for the Stark family, like last Season the death of the two Lanisters getting killed only towards the end of the season; that's all part of the game to lead us into the next season. The producers and HBO have become great at this game, to give us very little in 10 episodes and that pattern to lead you right to a bogus cliff hanger of final episode and how to end this another mundane season only to make you wait another full year to peddle more irrelevant characters. This is all for their own purpose to stretch and milk these series as long as they can even if it goes no where but we will all follow like a heard of sheep.

    It's good that we as an audience can come here on IMDb to express our opinions, some of you or most of you may read mine and get upset and think I am being negative, and think so what if they do stretch it, etc. But the truth is I use to love this show and now I feel almost contempt for what the producers have done to it to cheat the audience by wasting time. I wish there more criticism on a larger scale from the media.

    I think last night's episode is where it really crossed the line with Sansa's rape scene, it was the sickest and most cruelest scene in the entire five season even above the blood bath wedding. I also had very sick feeling after it was over to reconsider to stop watching this show?.
  • comment
    • Author: Aiata
    This season, every episode has been progressively worse than the previous one. I've never written a review before but this episode was so god-awful! I've been a huge fan of the show, but this season has been utter crap. 6 episodes into the season and it looks like the only thing the creators of the show are doing is trying to build things up, but it leads to nowhere. Talking about this episode almost every conversation was a filler- Jaime and Myrcella, Dany and Dario, the Septon and the Queen of thorns, however the one between the sand sisters and Bronn has to be the worst, hands down; why poison the guy and then throw in the anti dote, all while the sand sister is getting naked - cheap sleaze fest anyone? The part about the high Septon is downright ridiculous. So you throw Loras in prison and then the queen Margarie and not a single Lord, Knight, no one as much as squeaks! Why are all these lords fighting amongst themselves to sit on the Iron Throne when all you need to do is influence the Septon - take him out for a beer, make him your best bud. The Game of Thrones feels more like the game of laughs.
  • comment
    • Author: Dranar
    They built foundation for nice stories, nice characters and when they got the attention,they are doing what one can possibly think is worse. Only miseries are not part of the world and only worse cant happen. its a portrayal that only evil can win and fair people only suffer. Whether its dragons mother or a man truly concerned for the kingdom like Stan-is no one can be successful against evil. Its has become simple philosophy of this show. Its really is getting pathetic, nothing has happened in this season, sick plot and probably too many stories running along side just enough for the show to run. And now its 10 lines.
  • Episode cast overview, first billed only:
    Peter Dinklage Peter Dinklage - Tyrion Lannister
    Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - Jaime Lannister
    Lena Headey Lena Headey - Cersei Lannister
    Aidan Gillen Aidan Gillen - Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish
    Natalie Dormer Natalie Dormer - Margaery Tyrell
    Indira Varma Indira Varma - Ellaria Sand
    Maisie Williams Maisie Williams - Arya Stark
    Sophie Turner Sophie Turner - Sansa Stark
    Jerome Flynn Jerome Flynn - Bronn
    Alfie Allen Alfie Allen - Theon Greyjoy
    Michael McElhatton Michael McElhatton - Roose Bolton
    Iwan Rheon Iwan Rheon - Ramsay Bolton
    Tom Wlaschiha Tom Wlaschiha - Jaqen H'ghar
    Dean-Charles Chapman Dean-Charles Chapman - Tommen Baratheon
    Iain Glen Iain Glen - Jorah Mormont
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