The Broken Man
"The Broken Man" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 57th overall.
Sandor "the Hound" Clegane lives a peaceful life with the pacifist community of Brother Ray; Jon Snow, Sansa Stark and Davos Seaworth attempt to build an army; Margaery Tyrell convinces her grandmother to leave the capital despite Cersei's appeal to stay; Jaime Lannister attempts to negotiate with the Blackfish; and Arya Stark is ambushed in Braavos.
"The Broken Man" garnered high praise from critics, who noted the long-awaited return of Sandor Clegane, the introduction of new characters such as Lyanna Mormont, and the siege of Riverrun as highlights of the episode.
The episode earned a nomination at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Production Design for a Fantasy Program.
They are only able to add a few hundred extra soldiers to the army, but Jon insists that they attack Winterfell as soon as possible before the Boltons rally more forces and the weather turns on them.
The Hound leaves to gather wood but hears screaming and returns to find the villagers slaughtered and Ray hanged.
Margaery insists that her place is supposed to be at Tommen's side, and discreetly slips Olenna a piece of paper with the sigil of House Tyrell drawn on it, indicating that she is still loyal to her family.
In Braavos, Arya secures passage back to Westeros, but is subsequently attacked by the Waif, in the guise of an elderly woman.
[1] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cogman stated, "The speech itself didn't make it into the episode, but it inspired the character and some of his dialogue.
[2] Ian McShane, who portrayed Ray, spoke about the writing in the episode in regards to his participation in the series, noting, "they wrote a two-page speech – so that's why they invited me.
Something sad about the fact that this person who tried desperately to walk away from what he was is being given no real choice but to go full throttle back in the direction of what he really is, which is a killer.
It seemed like an inherently fun scene to watch, it also is terrifying because it's putting a lot of dramatic weight on the shoulders of somebody who needs to be very young."
For instance, the “Northern Tour” Jon and Sansa embark on would probably take a couple weeks, but Arya's storyline over the past few episodes only spans a few days.
We realized a while ago that if we tied ourselves in knots trying to make all the “story days” line up between all the characters the momentum would suffer.
"[6] Bryan Cogman revealed in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that there was always a plan to bring back the Hound, but the manner in which he was reintroduced was not always entirely known.
[8] At the time, McShane described his role in the show as the leader of a peace cult, who was also a former warrior that has since renounced violence, also noting that it was a "complete one-off.
[15] Filming of the Riverrun sequence began in October 2015, and led to some complaints by locals living in the area following the construction of a portion of the Tully castle.
[16] Due to some concerns over the size of the structure, filming was unable to take place until local inspectors were able to determine if the production unit followed what had been agreed upon in the "planning application.
"[3] Prior to the season, in August 2015, reports emerged about the spotting of Rory McCann at a hotel frequented by actors during filming of the series, in Belfast.
[22] In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 2.720 million viewers on Sky Atlantic, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week on its channel.
[24] "The Broken Man" was positively received by critics, who listed the return of Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, the introduction of Lyanna Mormont, and the siege of Riverrun as high points for the episode.
[26] The site's consensus reads "The return of long-lost characters and the introduction of some sharply-drawn newcomers keep "The Broken Man" from feeling like mere setup for the season finale.
There were some fine scenes, but nothing on par with the show's usual goods, though Lady Mormont was a highlight and Jaime and the Blackfish's standoff is an interesting scenario, not to mention the questions raised by Sansa's letter.
"[27] Similarly, Ed Power of The Daily Telegraph also praised the episode, noting, "Once again there was a sense Game of Thrones was steeling itself for battles - and expensive set-pieces - chugging down the track.
