Television Review: No One (Game of Thrones, S6X08, 2016)

No One (S6x08)

Airdate: 12 June 2016

Written by: David Benioff & D. B. Weiss
Directed by: Mark Mylod

Running Time: 50 minutes

Game of Thrones’ hold on global popular culture in the mid-2010s was demonstrated in myriad ways. One of its more spectacular, and perhaps unexpected, legacies was its ability to seed the internet’s vernacular, transforming specific lines of dialogue into ubiquitous memes and phrases. No One, the eighth episode of the show’s sixth season, serves as a prime example of this latter phenomenon. While not amongst the season’s most explosive instalments, it is the wellspring of a line that would detach itself from its context and enter the common lexicon: “I chose violence.” This episode, directed by Mark Mylod, functions largely as a tableau of simmering political intrigues and character moments, a necessary but often plodding connective tissue between more seismic events. Its success is uneven, salvaged by a few brutally efficient action set-pieces and the culmination of one young protagonist’s long, dark journey.

The episode’s most immediately memorable moment is, without doubt, Cersei Lannister’s defiant stand in the Red Keep. The political crisis in King’s Landing reaches a new pitch as the High Sparrow, having thoroughly co-opted the young King Tommen, flexes his authority by sending a Faith Militant delegation led by Lancel Lannister to summon Cersei to the Great Sept of Baelor. Cersei, with the zombified Mountain a silent monolith at her side, refuses with icy calm. When Lancel warns that her refusal will lead to violence, Lena Headey delivers the line with chilling, matter-of-fact finality: “I chose violence.” The subsequent graphic decapitation of a zealot by the Mountain is visceral and shocking, a quota of graphic killing delivered with blunt force. Cersei’s smirk and her invitation for the High Septon to visit her “any time” is a magnificent display of bravado, yet it is undercut by the scene’s true consequence: Tommen, now a puppet, subsequently announces the abolition of trial by combat, directly thwarting Cersei’s planned use of her champion. The sequence feels somewhat contrived—a dramatic showdown designed primarily to gift the audience a killer line and a gory payoff—yet its cultural impact is undeniable. The phrase “I chose violence” morphed, slightly altered into the meme format “waking up and choosing violence,” perfectly capturing a mindset of deliberate, chaotic provocation. For all the scene’s narrative convenience, it left a strong, lingering impression.

Elsewhere in Westeros, the pacing is decidedly more sedate. In the Riverlands, two parallel stories unfold with varying degrees of satisfaction. Sandor Clegane’s campaign of vengeance against the Brotherhood Without Banners provides the episode’s first major action beat. His brutal dispatch of four men with an axe is swift, savage, and darkly humorous, a well-choreographed piece that reminds us of the Hound’s lethal prowess. The subsequent negotiation beneath the gallows, where he learns Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr had already sentenced the true perpetrators to death, adds a layer of moral ambiguity. Sandor’s reluctant participation in the executions and Thoros’s offer for him to join the Brotherhood is a quiet character beat that works, hinting at a potential redemption arc far more nuanced than mere vengeance.

The resolution of the Riverrun siege, however, is where the episode’s political manoeuvring shines. Brienne of Tarth’s mission for Sansa Stark leads her to Jaime Lannister’s camp, where she proposes a sensible deal: the castle surrenders to the Lannisters, but its garrison is allowed to march north to join the Starks. The tragedy lies in the stubborn honour of Brynden Tully, the Blackfish, whose refusal to yield his family home forces Jaime to employ a more cunning, and deeply personal, stratagem. By threatening the life of Edmure Tully’s infant son, Jaime coerces the broken lord to order the surrender, a move that is both pragmatically brilliant and morally repugnant. The Blackfish’s choice to die fighting rather than flee is a fitting end for the character, while the silent, distant wave Jaime gives Brienne as she rows away is one of the episode’s most poignant moments—a wordless acknowledgment of respect and a farewell to a simpler version of his honour. This storyline feels complete and emotionally resonant, a testament to the strength of the series when it focuses on the complicated legacy of war and family.

Across the Narrow Sea, the narrative stalls. In Meereen, the episode attempts to depict a fragile stability. Varys departs for Westeros on a vague mission to secure allies for Daenerys’s eventual invasion, a move noted by critics as a sensible step but one that highlights the plot’s holding pattern. What follows is a sequence that has been widely criticised for its tonal missteps and narrative stagnation. Tyrion, left in charge, tries to foster camaraderie by sharing wine and jokes with Grey Worm and Missandei. The scene is meant to humanise these often-stoic characters, but it drags, with the humour falling notably flat. This calm is shattered by the arrival of the slavers’ fleet from Astapor and Yunkai, a stunning CGI spectacle that is, unfortunately, all too brief. The Masters, having cynically used Tyrion’s compromise to regroup, launch their attack, forcing the Unsullied to retreat to the Great Pyramid. The tension is undercut, however, by the almost immediate, anti-climactic return of Daenerys on Drogon. Her arrival is a deus ex machina that resolves nothing in the moment, merely setting the stage for the battle proper in the next episode.

In stark contrast, the Braavos storyline provides the episode’s most compelling and coherent arc. Injured and desperate, Arya Stark finds refuge with Lady Crane, the actress whose life she saved. Their interaction is a quiet, human interlude, with Crane nursing Arya back to health and offering her a place in her travelling troupe—a tantalising glimpse of a normal life Arya must ultimately refuse. The predictability of Lady Crane’s fate—the kind-hearted helper in a Faceless Man narrative is almost always marked for death—is a minor flaw. Nevertheless, the subsequent chase through the streets of Braavos is a masterfully executed set-piece. Director Mark Mylod compensates for the episode’s broader lack of intensity with this thrilling sequence, where Arya uses the skills honed during her blindness to turn the tables on the Waif. The final confrontation in the dark room is wisely kept off-camera, a clever and practical choice that emphasises sound and suggestion over explicit combat. The satisfying twist comes at the House of Black and White, where Arya presents the Waif’s face to Jaqen H’ghar and declares, “My name is Arya Stark of Winterfell, and I’m going home.” It is a triumphant, long-awaited moment that effectively concludes her Braavosi apprenticeship and stands as the best part of the episode, elevating it above the preceding instalment

Ultimately, No One is an episode of transitions and preparations. Its pacing is deliberate to a fault, with large sections feeling like narrative marking time. Mark Mylod’s direction ensures it is never boring, strategically deploying violent action (Clegane’s axe work, the Mountain’s decapitation) and a superb chase sequence to maintain momentum. The production values remain high, from the practical drawbridge at Riverrun to the impressive, if fleeting, CGI of the slaver fleet. Yet, the core criticism holds: too many plots, particularly in Meereen, feel stuck in a rut, awaiting the return of a central character to inject purpose. The episode’s lasting cultural contribution, however, is indisputable. In Cersei Lannister’s cold, premeditated declaration, it gifted the internet a phrase that would outlive the series itself—a fitting tribute for a show that so often chose narrative violence over comfortable resolution.

RATING: 6/10 (++)

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