GoT Recap S6 Ep7: "House Stark is Dead"

Season six has been a whirlwind of reincarnation and we're very grateful, but nearly everyone is reemerging with a new identity: Margaery is learning to be a woman of God, Theon is trying to be a man again after all the abuse, Jon and Sansa are rebuilding House Stark from the ground up, Bran is learning to be the Three-Eyed Raven and the Hound is trying to start a rage-free life. This renaissance is a confusing time in Westeros, and the characters are learning they've got to adapt or fake it 'til they make it.

When Arya left Sandor Clegane for dead at the end of Season 4, we assumed he had, you know, died. Much to our surprise, he's alive and working on his inner peace with a small community of Westeros hippies. He was saved by the group's leader, a Septon (aka Ian Mcshane from "Deadwood"). It seems like he's really rethinking his previous way of life and trying to turn over a new leaf, until his new family is killed by the remnants of the Brotherhood Without Banners. By the end of episode 7,  it appears The Hound is back in full force, and seeking revenge. 

Just after deciding to take on her real identity again, Arya gets stabbed by Jaqen's jealous waif and she did NOT go easy on her. After she manages to escape into what I assume is some kind of moat, Arya ends up hobbling through the streets of Braavos staring up with her puppy dog eyes for someone to reach out a helping hand. We pray Arya eventually finds some kind-hearted soul to tend her wounds until they turn into the kind of injury only the Red Witch can treat. 

After Margaery announced she's a reformed purist in the previous episode, we're worried she's now a crazed radical like the High Sparrow, and so does her grandmother. However, in a meeting with Olenna, Margaery urges her to go back to High Garden with haste in an effort to save her from the church. She shares an intimate hug with her grandmother and manages to slip her a note, where she hints that Good Queen Margaery is an act. We just hope that means she has a plan.

While they're running from their Uncle Euron, new king of the Iron Islands, Yara and Theon stop in a brothel to blow off some steam (a real fun place for Theon). Benioff and Weiss nonchalantly reveal Yara is way into women, and she also serves as a tough-love therapist. She basically tells Theon to either man-up and kill himself, or find the old Theon, because she needs him. At the end of the conversation, we see a glimpse of the old Theon in his eyes. What this mean, we're unsure of, but we're excited to see how he'll fare sans penis (since that seemed to do so much of his thinking before).

According to the Northerners, House Stark is dead—a jarring notion to consider. But the 10-year-old Head of House Mormont, does offer up a (seemingly) measly 62 men to help with the fight against Ramsay. Lyanna Mormont assures us that one of her men is as strong as ten average soldiers, and we believe her. This little woman is North AF and dealt with her business like a BOSS. 

Although Jon is ready to accept the meager help and fight anyway, Sansa sends out a secret raven. The contents—and the recipient's identity—remain a mystery.

No, not just winter. The showdown between the living and the dead appears to be closer than ever and there are going to be giants, dragons, zombies and red witches. Hopefully everyone sorts through their personality disorders in time to prepare.