The 5 most important moments in Game of Thrones season 5, episode 6

Moral ambiguity continues to fall by the wayside in David Benioff and D. B. Weiss's adaptation of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire novels. The sixth episode of season five featured some decisive setbacks, but it's becoming clearer whom Benioff and Weiss want us to root for as the season ramps up to its climax.

"Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" was a shocking episode. Our lead characters were beaten, imprisoned, and taken captive — but their resilience persists. These are the moments everyone will be talking about (spoilers ahead).

Arya (finally) passes Jaqen's tests

HBO

After spending weeks washing corpses at the House of Black and White, Arya still doesn't know what it'll take for Jaqen H’ghar to approve of her initiation. She's repeatedly tested on how well she can tell a lie and how well she can recognize one — but she fails, and no one will give her any answers.

Later, as she scrubbing the floor, Arya is approached by a father with a sick daughter; the man is hoping to help end his child's suffering. Arya facilitates the girl's death, spinning a tale about having been sick herself, only to be healed by the waters of the House of Black and White's fountain. Jaqen watches from the shadows.

Jaqen interrupts Arya as she's cleaning the girl's corpse, and leads her through a previously forbidden passageway into a room stocked to the ceiling with disembodied faces. It's our first glimpse at Jaqen's shape-shifting mechanisms, though how it all works (and how Arya plans to use it) is yet to be seen.

Tyrion and Jorah are captured by slave merchants

HBO

Jorah and his captive, Tyrion, having passed through the ruins of Valyria, share a few moments discussing Daenerys's right to the throne before they're caught by slave merchants.

The slavers quip about killing Tyrion to sell his enchanted dwarf genitals, but the youngest Lannister is quick to talk himself out of danger, reasoning that any worthwhile cock merchant would want to see Tyrion alive to know that the genitals were in fact those of a dwarf.

Jorah, meanwhile, earns his keep when Tyrion talks up his skills as a fighter. Now that Daenerys has reopened fighting pits in Meereen, Jorah could bring in some decent cash for the slavers. "Take me to Slaver’s Bay, put a sword in my hand, I’ll prove my worth," Jorah promises. If nothing else, they're headed back in Dany's direction.

Jaime and Bronn face the Sand Snakes

HBO

Jaime and Bronn, disguised in Dornish garb, make it into the Martell compound. They're there to rescue Myrcella Baratheon, Jaime's niece (and secret daughter).

Problem is, they're not the only people after Myrcella. She's also being hunted by the Sand Snakes, the bastard daughters of the late Oberyn Martell. They're out to avenge their father's death — but a fight breaks out as soon as the Snakes cross paths with Bronn and Jaime. The guards of the Martell estate are swift to stop the fight, forcing both parties to surrender. Ellaria Sand, who was behind the plot, is apprehended as well.

Grandma Tyrell swings in to save the day, but Margaery and Loras are jailed

HBO

Olenna Tyrell, informed of Loras's imprisonment, has made her way to King's Landing to confront Cersei about her treachery. She succeeds at first — there's an impromptu interrogation by the High Sparrow, and both Margaery and Loras swear against the allegations of the knight's homosexuality.

Then the High Sparrow brings in Ollie, the young blond in bed with Loras when Margaery intruded a few episodes ago. Ollie's word goes against the Tyrell siblings' — and the High Sparrow calls for a full trial against both of them.

Sansa and Ramsay get married, and their wedding night turns ugly

HBO

Sansa Stark is no stranger to forced marriages at this point, but her union with Ramsay is particularly horrifying. Miranda, Ramsay's lover, offers a few words of intimidation in a last-ditch effort to scare Sansa out of the wedding, but Sansa stands firm: Winterfell is her home, she tells Miranda, and she isn't scared.

Whether or not she's bluffing — and whether she has a legitimate reason to be scared — is another story. The tortured Theon Greyjoy walks her down the aisle, where he surprisingly identifies himself by his real name for the first time in ages.

When the ceremonies wrap up, Ramsay takes his bride back to a bedroom, with Theon in tow. Bizarrely enough, it appears to be Brann Stark's bedroom from season one, where he lay paralyzed in his pre-Hodor days.

Ramsay probes the validity of Sansa's claims of virginity, given her previous marriage to Tyrion, before violently consummating the marriage and forcing Theon to watch. It's a brutal scene, even by Game of Thrones standards: Sansa is raped, Theon watches through a face full of tears, and Ramsay continues to prove just how twisted he really is. It's a traumatizing moment, setting the stage for the upcoming clash between the Bolton and Baratheon forces — and as of right now, it's not difficult to choose sides.

Previous episode

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

We'll be honest: advertising alone isn't enough for Vox, or most newsrooms, to do the amount of high-quality journalism that the world needs and keep it free. We count on contributor support in order to produce nuanced, clear, and optimistic journalism. We don't have a paywall or ask our readers to subscribe in order to see our content, so instead, we’re coming to you this #GivingTuesday to ask you to make an investment in our future. If you’ve read an explainer this year that helped you to see an issue more clearly, got the answer to a long-time question, or just plain learned something, then we hope you’ll consider making a contribution of $20 or whatever you can today.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via