By Zoe Benjamin OnMilwaukee Reporter Published Jun 13, 2016 at 4:06 PM

Last we left "Game of Thrones," Arya was stumbling around Braavos, stabbed in the stomach by the Waif. I questioned whether or not it was really Arya that got the shivving, since no one seemed to bat an eye as a teenage girl bled through the streets – quite odd – plus some other clues. But nope, the town people are as heartless as I imagined. And yep, it was yet another unfortunate Stark family moment to add to the growing pile.

Arya eventually made her way to the quarters of Lady Crane, the actress she elected not to assassinate, who stitched her up and served a nice helping of that good ol' healing Milk of the Poppy. Sadly, the Waif killed Lady Crane the next morning – "Game of Thrones," go figure – and engaged our poor Arya in a grueling chase through the streets.

Meanwhile, The Hound got a bit of revenge for the killing of his newfound village, coming across four of the men and, well, let’s just say that he chopped those men up real nice. However, there was one in particular, the leader of the group, that wasn’t present. The Hound eventually found the leader, but he was already paying for his actions.

To our surprise, Beric Dondarrion and his Brotherhood Without Banners beat The Hound to sentencing the men to death for killing the villagers. Beric was a man that The Hound met up with before; The Hound even actually killed him once, but he was brought back by the Lord of Light. The Brotherhood Without Banners offered The Hound a chance to fight alongside them in the North, giving The Hound the chance continue what he’s always meant to do: kill the hell out of others.

Back in Meereen, Lord Varys is leaving his bestie Tyrion to embark on a secret expedition to acquire ships and make connections for Dany. If he doesn’t return, we’ll know that his hunch about allies for Dany was wrong. It would be a travesty to lose such an important asset to the queen. The most famous imp in the world is losing out on his friends for the greater good, but who will Tyrion drink with now? Don’t fear; he still has Missandei and Grey Worm to keep him company.

Cersei sits at King’s Landing, waiting to gain back her power. The members of the Faith Militant were permitted entry into the Red Keep to summon her presence. The High Holy Septon commanded her to come see him. Instead, Cersei chose violence, and a member of the Faith Militant got his head not-so-cleanly ripped off by the revived Mountain. The Septon can take his commands and shove it, apparently.

However, to make matters worse for Cersei, she wasn’t made aware of King Tommen’s royal announcement. When she made her way into the court, she was forced to stand in the gallery along with all the other women of the court. She went from having a spot next to her beloved son to standing alongside the more common people. Now we see why King Tommen didn’t make Cersei aware of his announcement, seeing that it was to say she and Lord Tyrell were to face trial. Furthermore, he banned trial by combat – the very thing Cersei was banking on to get out of her predicament. After all of that, the little bugger wouldn’t even look his mother in the eye as he condemned her to a sad fate. Talk about your sins coming back to bite you, Cersei.

Brienne of Tarth and Podrick made their way to Riverrun, where she planned on convincing Blackfish to assist Sansa in the battle against the Boltons. The knight, Bronne, was highly surprised and impressed to see that Podrick was still alive. In return for his doubt, Bronne gave Podrick a few fighting lessons. Something tells me that those unorthodox moves will soon benefit Pod in some way or another.

Brienne then went to Jaime to see if she could ask Blackfish for his army’s assistance, which threw Jaime off a bit. She was basically asking Jaime to betray his own house, something he obviously didn’t want to do. They agreed to disagree, and Brienne was granted passage into the castle of Riverrun. Brienne’s last attempt to give Jaime his sword back, and his refusal of it, showed us just how deep their bond is. They’ve saved each other’s lives and have immense respect for one another. She’ll forever have Jaime’s sword to remind her of their bond. At the end of the day, Brienne and Jaime are now on opposing sides. It’ll really suck if Jaime ends up dying by the hand of his best friend with his old sword.

When Brienne met Blackfish, he was quite hesitant about her validity. Once he was finally convinced that she was there to protect Sansa, he claimed he didn’t have enough soldiers to help his niece take back Winterfell. It makes sense, but any number would’ve helped the cause.

Outside of Riverrun’s walls, Jaime blackmailed Lord Edmure Tully to take back his rightful place as Lord of Riverrun and capture Blackfish. Jaime’s crazy really started showing at that point because you saw just how far he’s willing to go to return to Cersei. I promise, the idea of Jaime and Cersei together will never be something I can get used to.

Edmure did exactly what he said he would, causing Blackfish to be a hunted man on his own soil. Blackfish helped Brienne and Podrick escape Riverrun, but not without letting Brienne know that she’s going to be a better protector of Sansa than he would ever be. In the end, Blackfish died for a good cause: fighting for his home. Jaime saw Brienne and Podrick escaping Castle Riverrun on a boat, and he did nothing about it. He simply bid her a final farewell with a subtle but heartfelt wave. With the wave, I think they both knew that was the last of their friendship; they are now enemies, and their bond can no longer negate that fact.

Soon after Lord Varys left Meereen, the masters of Slaver’s Bay returned for their property. The city was under serious fire as Tyrion waited in the pyramids for a miracle. Have no fear, for Dany came riding in on her glorious dragon. Goodness, that woman is majestic.

Lastly, we found that Arya had indeed succeeded in killing off the wretched Waif — finally. She cut the girl’s face off and set it in the hall of faces at the House of Black and White. Jaqen H’ghar was quite pleased with Arya’s defeat and tried to officially dub her as No One. Arya let him know, however, that she’s not no one; she's Arya Stark of Winterfell, and she’s going home. Her words echoed with assurance and power, so much so that Jaqen had no choice but to let her go. Let’s hope that she can get to Winterfell safely and her skills will come to benefit House Stark.

It seems like all the pieces are gathering in place for Sansa and Jon to finally face Ramsay Bolton. I can only hope that Ramsay gets exactly what he deserves ... but we'll have to wait until 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.