By Zoe Benjamin OnMilwaukee Reporter Published May 23, 2016 at 8:06 PM

This week’s "Game of Thrones" was a pivotal episode that solved so many unanswered questions, but raised that many more. My level of engagement during this episode was piqued even more than usual, and here’s why:

The Stark family is finally rising from all the evil wrongdoings against them, and who would’ve thought that Sansa would be the main one driving it? Sansa was once one of the most annoying teenagers, but she's now evolved into a strong woman with a serious sense of leadership. She survived the ever-so-evil Joffrey Baratheon and Ramsay Bolton, one after the other, and managed to persevere.

It was no surprise that she was so furious with Littlefinger at their brief meeting; he’s supposed to know everyone’s secrets. There’s no way that he wasn’t aware of just how sick of a human being Ramsay is, and for that, he fairly deserved to be cut down by Brienne. I think she may have only spared his life because of his relationship with Catelyn Stark. Sansa’s mercy was a testament to how powerful and just of a ruler she’ll be. She’s loyal and reasonable, but she won’t take the BS from anyone – much like her mother.

The only good thing Sansa gained from her last encounter with Littlefinger was his intel on extra troops from someone called "The Blackfish." He referred to them as Jon Snow’s army, so let’s hope that they’re loyal. Brienne is all for Sansa getting her revenge, but she doesn’t trust that Jon is working with Sir Davos and Melisandre. After seeing Stannis have his own brother assassinated with Melisandre’s black magic, and Davos being Stannis’s right hand man, you can’t blame Brienne for her distrust. Also, why did Sansa withhold her information from Jon? Maybe it’s been so long that she doesn’t want to fully trust him before knowing what type of man he is. Or, maybe she simply doesn’t trust those around him. Whatever it is, I have a feeling that Sansa knows exactly what she’s doing nowadays.

Arya is still a master-in-training, but her skills are pretty damn awesome already if you ask me. After seeing the fight scene between Arya and Waif – the girl who continuously rocks Arya’s world in a bad way – I must say that I wouldn’t want anyone else to teach Arya how to fight. Waif is a pro when it comes to fighting, and I hate to admit it. You can’t be the best without beating the best, right?

After being defeated yet again, Arya is told that she’ll never be one of them, to which Jaqen H’ghar agreed. He’s giving Arya another whack at an (authorized) assassination, only to be subjected to scoping out her target, as the woman performed in a play making a mockery of Ned Stark. It was painful to watch, so much so that I thought Arya was going to snap – but she didn’t do it. She kept her cool, remained patient – as she always has – and reported back like a good girl with no name.

Theon’s attempt to return home and help his sister claim the Iron Throne somewhat backfired. Their uncle and murderer of their father, Euron Greyjoy, challenged Yara to the throne and won. I hoped more than anything that he wouldn’t wake up from the required drowning of the new king of the Iron Isles. Since what is dead may never die, the uncle from hell arose and ordered a fleet of ships to be built. Yara and Theon stayed smart and stole all of the best ships for their own fleet, so I hope that they get a real chance before Euron can kill them off.

Dany is stuck in an awkward love triangle, but that's not to say she didn’t try to simplify things. She banished Jorah twice, to which he said, "Screw it," and returned again. He’s saved her life countless times and fell even more in love with her with every venture. I’m glad he finally confessed it; he needed to get that off his chest already. Khaleesi commanded Jorah to find a cure for his impending doom, and if anyone can beat those odds, it’s Jorah Mormont. The man’s been through hell, but he found a purpose with Dany. They’ve always been and always will be a team, no matter how many times Dany banishes him.

Back at Meereen, Lord Varys finally met his match. The High Priestess Kinvara instilled absolute fear into Varys, and she seems to know all of the demons he’s battled in the past. She mentioned a voice that he heard from the fire on the night of his castration, and he immediately became spooked. He finds power in his knowledge, and the fact that someone knows more than him is probably terrifying.

Bran is probably one of the most important characters on "Game of Thrones," and this episode further proved that. His abilities include skin-changing, prophetic dreams and looks into the past. He found out that "The Children" (I prefer to call them pixies), who inhabit the tree he lives in, created the Night Walkers. I’m sure they never would’ve thought that their attempt at peace would go so absolutely wrong.

We finally learn why the Three-Eyed Raven warned Bran that if he stays in a place for too long, bad things can happen. Bran is too fixated on knowing all at once. His over-zealous attitude about his abilities caused him to get marked by the Night’s King, which now puts him at a constant risk. I knew that the Night King would come for him, but not as quickly as he did. Many casualties occurred because of Bran’s impatience, including his direwolf Summer. R.I.P. Summer.

While Bran was still visiting the past with the Raven, the Night King parted fire and released the dead upon their cave. Meera somehow managed to kill one of the night walkers with what seemed to be a spear to the ... jugular area? I’m confused by this because I thought that only dragon glass or Valyrian steel could do this. Does Meera have some special powers?

As chaos unleashed around them, Bran began to faintly hear Meera scream for him to wake up and control Hodor. Bran successfully turned Hodor on auto-pilot; however, in doing so, he also affected the Hodor of the past. As Meera screamed for him to hold the door, young Hodor began to repeatedly scream, "Hold the door!" This simple request from Meera in the future became Hodor’s sole purpose. He was always meant to hold that door for Bran and Meera as they escaped, and it was all because of Bran. This all apparently means that Bran has the ability to affect the past and future.

Mind officially blown: Our world of dragons and magic now also has time-travel paradoxes. We'll find out what this means for the final fate of Westeros next week.

Zoe Benjamin OnMilwaukee Reporter

Zoe Benjamin, currently a senior at UW-Milwaukee, was raised in the South suburbs of Chicago. She is a foodie, an avid traveler and music junkie, with just the right amount of nerdiness to top it all off.

Growing up in a large Jamaican family exposed her to a lifestyle full of food, laughter and pride. Zoe’s appreciation for her family’s eclectic nature led her to celebrate the differences in others. She just so happens to especially enjoy the study of food, seeing that eating is her favorite pastime.

Ever since she was able to get on a plane by herself, Zoe has taken the liberty of traveling to every place within her reach -- whether that be the next state over, or across the seas. Her wanderlust has taken her to 10 different countries, with France being her favorite. Nothing excites her more than French food and wine. Zoe hopes to absorb and share as much culture as she can so that the world may become that much more accepting of all the bountiful diversity in the world.