SequelS.W.A.T. : Season 6 Episode 7
The last three episodes of Homeland have enjoyed an immense urgency as the hidden noose around Carrie tightened. President-elect Keane also seems to be on borrowed time before Dar Adal kicks the chair out from under her, but at least she has made a vibrant protest and may even thwart his plans by refusing to allow herself to be trapped inside a gilded cage. And the plot developments on the Keane side, as well as what is happening with Adal, Saul, and everyone else, certainly moved the needle in troubling directions.
SequelS.W.A.T. : Season 6 Episode 7
The one exception that I would give to this is if the writers are setting up the concept of Dar Adal attempting to turn Carrie Mathison into an asset to be used against Elizabeth Keane. In theory, this could be a unique development. Homeland has toyed with the possibility before in season 3 when the series attempted to fool viewers into the idea that Carrie was being turned into a mole because of how Saul Berenson was throwing her under the bus before a closed door session of Congress. And it did at least convince me that Saul left her out to dry before the twist that it was all a wheel within a wheel sting operation against the Iranians.
The episode ends with a happy ending (for now) for LaKeisha after Tommy buys her the house she wanted in the suburbs to get her out of the game. As LaKeisha seems to get out, Tariq goes deeper in, with his mother Tasha (Naturi Naughton) promising to teach him the game at the end of the episode.
"The Broken Man" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 57th overall. The episode was written by Bryan Cogman, and directed by Mark Mylod.
"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 title of the episode is a reference to a speech given by Septon Meribald, a character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, who was also used to create the character of Ray. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 7.80 million in its initial broadcast. The episode earned a nomination at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Production Design for a Fantasy Program.
In the "Inside the Episode" featurette published by HBO shortly after the airing of "The Broken Man", series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss spoke about some of the thought process behind the motivations of the characters that were featured prominently in the episode. David Benioff began by speaking about Sandor "the Hound" Clegane, saying "I think suffering a near death experience probably changes anyone, and that certainly has changed Sandor Clegane. He's a more thoughtful person than he was when we last saw him, he's probably more aware of his vulnerabilities, he knows how close he came to dying, and he's really thinking about his past in a way that he never had before."[4] Weiss continued, "The unfortunate, ugly reality of the kind of pacifism that Ray is preaching is often suicidal when you're in the middle of the kind of world that they're all in. 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."[4]
Weiss additionally spoke about the introduction of Lyanna Mormont in the series, with Weiss saying, "We were excited about the prospect of the character because she's mentioned in passing in the previous season," referring to her letter to Stannis denying him men, and swearing fealty to House Stark. Weiss added, "The more we thought about it, Jon is going to come up against so many old guys with beards in the North that like 'What if she was a tougher audience?' 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." David Benioff concluded the featurette speaking about the Ironborn story, noting "Yara's not a therapist, in our kind of sense of the word, she's not there to tell him to 'buck up' and 'everything's going to be okay,' it's a pretty brutal kind of therapy, but that's who they are, I mean they're essentially a Viking people. There's not a lot of room for sort of soft, and gentle psychology. I think it's the kind of tough love Theon needed at this point, and when he finally raises his eyes, and looks into her eyes, we see a glimpse of the old Theon that had been lost for so long."[4]
The episode is only the fourth in the series with a cold open.[5] The first three being the series premiere, "Winter Is Coming", the third season premiere "Valar Dohaeris", and the fourth season premiere, "Two Swords". Bryan Cogman stated that they felt it was necessary to utilize a pre-credits sequence due to the reintroduction of Rory McCann, saying "We figured it would make his reveal more impactful if the audience hadn't seen [McCann's] name in the opening credits first."[2]
The episode featured the return of several characters from previous seasons, as well as the introduction of new characters, who were either mentioned previously within the show, or had some connection to an established character. Rory McCann, who portrayed Sandor "the Hound" Clegane from the beginning of the series through the fourth-season finale episode "The Children", returned as a series regular. McCann had previously speculated about the return of the Hound, saying in an interview with Access Hollywood in 2014, "There's always hope."[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.[2]
Another re-introduction involved the storyline surrounding the Siege of Riverrun, with actor Clive Russell returning to the show as Brynden "the Blackfish" Tully, who last appeared in the third-season episode "The Rains of Castamere", in which the Red Wedding took place, and the Blackfish successfully evaded. In an interview with IGN, Clive Russell stated he was hopeful to return to the role saying "I'd hoped that he'd come back because he comes back in the books again. But they're not doing the books -- there is no book to do it from. I'd hoped that would happen. I don't think I was surprised it would happen because they bring back all kinds of people at all kinds of times. But it was good to go back there, I must say."[7]
"The Broken Man" was directed by Mark Mylod. Mylod previously directed the fifth season episodes "High Sparrow" and "Sons of the Harpy".[15] Mylod also directed the subsequent episode, "No One", for the sixth season.[15]
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ian McShane was asked about the process of shooting his final scene where he is shown hanging after being killed by the Brotherhood, with McShane saying that the filming of the scene was "very easy. You just have to hold your breath for 10 seconds and look sufficiently dead for them to get it."[3] He also noted in the interview, "Rory was a delight to work with, and so was the director. The whole experience was five days in Belfast, and I enjoyed it a lot."[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.[18] McCann, whose character is frequently shown chopping wood in the episode,[19] previously spoke in interviews about his prior career with chopping down trees, revealing "I was a lumberjack for years, [...] and I even trained myself to be a tree surgeon."[20]
"The Broken Man" was positively received by critics, who listed the return of Sandor Clegane, the introduction of Lyanna Mormont, and the siege of Riverrun as high points for the episode.[25] It has received a 98% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 46 reviews with an average score of 7.8/10.[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."[26]
Matt Fowler of IGN wrote in his review for the episode, ""The Broken Man" gave us back The Hound, but his return felt a little diminished, given the parade of returns we've already seen this year, and there weren't as many notable moments in this chapter as other Game of Thrones episodes. 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. Arya getting her guts punctured was a shocker, but it didn't feel right that she couldn't see her attacker coming."[25] He gave the episode an 8 out of 10.[25]
Alan Sepinwall of HitFix praised the episode structure, writing "The quick transitions and constant back-and-forth movement among subplots generated more energy that, when combined with several characters we either didn't know before or hadn't seen in a long time, made "The Broken Man" feel livelier."[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. A storm is brewing - for now, we were invited to enjoy what remains of the calm."[28] Jen Chaney of Vulture also felt the episode was more of a set up episode for storylines to be resolved in the close of the season, writing "Although two bombs get dropped in this week's episode of Game of Thrones, it's an hour focused on putting the narrative chess pieces into place. "The Broken Man" doesn't finish off any of its major moves. Those bold turns are yet to come."[29]
The sixth series of Line of Duty, consisting of seven episodes, began broadcasting on BBC One on 21 March 2021. The story follows the actions of AC-12, led by Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar) and DI Steve Arnott (Martin Compston), as they investigate DCI Joanne Davidson (Kelly Macdonald) and her team, including former AC-12 officer DI Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure).[1] 041b061a72