Spoilers for the show, the books, everything.

Well the showrunners are clearly set on trimming down the cast this season huh? Last week we saw the demise of half of Dorne. This week we bid adieu to Roose “The Lannisters Send Their Regards” Bolton, as well as his new wife.. and new child. We can all agree that Ramsey is far worse than Joffrey ever was, right?

Oh, and the return of the Greyjoys! Kind of… Old Balon stuck around for about 5 minutes of screen time before being tossed off a bridge by his younger brother Euron. It’s Kingsmoot time ya’ll!

Anyway, by my best estimate we had 7 on screen deaths tonight (the aforementioned four, two NW guys, and the heckler in King’s Landing)… but we got a Resurrection! It has happened! Though was any one really shocked by the re-emergence of Jon Snow? I’m ecstatic that the show got that over with during episode two, rather than drag it out for half a season. Now we can get to some sweet action (a dead Olly? Thorne perhaps?), some bro time with Tormund, Davos, and Edd, and a possible reunion with Sansa!

Speaking of Stark sisters, we got a short touch-base with both of them- Arya might be getting her eyes back in order to do more stabby things, and Sansa is travelling north with her new posse (while saying farewell to Theon in the process). Nothing earth-shattering for either scene, but we’re at least seeing movement.

And speaking of movement- we got to move through time. Bran (welcome back!) gives us a glimpse into the past, seeing his father, uncle, and aunt as children back in Winterfell. I thought this was a great way to reintroduce Lyanna, especially since the promos for next week look like we might be getting TOWER OF JOY.

You know what else brought me joy? Tyrion and the Dragons. I’ve never been a huge Tyrion=Secret Targ fan theory proponent, but the “Dragon has three heads” foreshadowing has often pointed towards our favorite Lannister. What will loose Dragons mean to Mereen now? Can they get out of that dungeon? Or are they just more mobile? How many episodes until Tyrion saddles up on one? These are important questions.

Episode Grade : A-