(SPOILERS AHEAD!)
After last week's fiery conclusion, this week's "Game of Thrones" focused on the icy part of Westeros. Jon and Sansa planned their attack on Winterfell, the White Walkers returned, and we finally learned the truth about Hodor. Plus Arya got a mission, and a new Red Woman entered the fray to champion Daenarys as the true ruler promised by the Lord of Light.
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After finally reuniting with Jon Snow, Sansa Stark reunites with someone she is much less happy to see: Petyr Baelish, aka Littlefinger. He tells Sansa that the Knights of the Vale are ready to fight for her in her quest to retake Winterfell from Ramsay Bolton, but Sansa refuses his help. She is very distrustful of Baelish, as he was the one who arranged her marriage to Ramsay. Sansa makes Littlefinger say how he thinks Ramsay tortured her, and Littlefinger tries to apologize. He also tells her that her great-uncle Brynden "the Blackfish" Tully has assembled an army and advises her to seek him out. Sansa decides to tell Jon about the Blackfish's army, but she does not mention Littlefinger and lies about how she heard the news.
Braavos
Arya is back in the House of Black and White and is no longer blind. But even with her eyesight restored, the Waif is still a better fighter. After another brutal combat lesson that ends in a bare-knuckle brawl, Jaqen H'ghar interrupts to give Arya a mission. He tells her to poison an actress who performs plays in the street. After watching the play, which turns out to be basically a re-enactment of the first "Game of Thrones" season, including the beheading of Ned Stark, Arya follows the actress backstage and sees how she can poison her.
Under the Tree
Bran embarks on another vision with the Three-Eyed Raven, and this time he sees the nonhuman Children of the Forest, who are thought to be the first inhabitants of Westeros. Bran sees the Children create the first White Walker. After Bran wakes up, one of the Children says they created White Walkers to defend themselves from men.
Later Bran again enters a vision but without the guidance of the Three-Eyed Raven. He sees an army of inanimate White Walkers. As he walks through the crowd, he reaches the Night King, last seen leading the White Walker army during the massacre at Hardhome. Though Bran is in a vision, the Night King sees the young Stark boy and grabs his arm. This marks Bran in real life and allows the Night King and the White Walkers to enter under the tree, which was previously safe from the creatures.
The Three-Eyed Raven tells Bran that the time has come for him to take his place. When Bran asks if he's ready, the Three-Eyed Raven replies, "No."
The Night King soon arrives with a massive army. As this happens, Bran and the Three-Eyed Raven return to the vision that showed Hodor, formerly named Wylis, talking. Bran then wargs into Hodor, and a Bran-controlled Hodor pulls Bran's body out of the cave as they run from the invading wights. They escape the cave through a door, which Hodor shuts on the attackers. He stays to keep the door shut while Meera drags Bran away. As the wights tear at Hodor's flesh through the door, Meera yells back at him, "Hold the door!"
Still in his vision, Bran watches as Wylis falls over and goes into a seizure. His eyes go white, and he starts to shout repeatedly, "Hold the door." As he continues to yell, "Hold the door" becomes "Hodor," revealing how Hodor's condition came to be.
Iron Islands
With Lord Balon Greyjoy dead, the time has come for the Iron Islands to pick a new ruler. His daughter, Yara Greyjoy, declares her intention to take the throne, though many do not want a woman to rule. The recently returned Theon Greyjoy, Yara's brother, then throws his support behind his sister, which sways most of the dissenters. Just when it looks as if Yara will be crowned queen, Balon's formerly exiled younger brother, Euron Greyjoy, appears and claims the throne. Yara accuses Euron of killing Balon, which he happily admits to doing. He then declares that he's going to seduce Daenarys Targaryen and team up with her and her dragons to conquer Westeros. Euron is then named king of the Iron Islands, and Yara and Theon escape with the best ships in the Ironborn fleet.
Vaes Dothrak
Following her dramatic burning of Temple of the Dosh Khaleen and winning the hearts and minds of the Dothraki, Daenarys turns her attention to another matter: Jorah Mormont. Although she has banished Jorah twice, she says, he helped save her life two times. As she decides whether to banish him a third time, he makes the decision for her by revealing that he has the fatal disease greyscale. Before Daenarys has time to grieve for him, Jorah reveals another secret, albeit one that everybody this side of the Narrow Sea already knows: He's in love with her. Jorah then prepares to leave his khaleesi for the third and final time, but Daenarys stops him. She commands him to find a cure for greyscale, and once he does, to return back to her and advise her.
Mereen
After striking a tentative agreement with the Masters of Slavers' Bay, Tyrion and Varys try to figure out how to show the people of Mereen that Daenarys can keep them safe. Enter: another Red Woman. This priestess says that she saw Daenarys claim victory in the flames and is thus the real champion of the Lord of Light. Varys is skeptical, as he heard the Red Woman Melisandre made similar proclamations about Stannis Baratheon, which did not turn out so well. To prove her claims, the new Red Woman retells the story of Varys' castration as a boy. As a horrified Varys listens, the priestess implies that he heard Daenarys' name on that night, proving that she is indeed the Lord of Light's choice.