It finally happened. We all knew it was coming, right? Yet, when those gasping lungs finally pulled in air, the world collectively lost its mind. Game of Thrones season 6 episode 2, titled "Home," isn't just a transition piece of television. It’s the pivot point where the show stopped being a brutal exercise in nihilism and started giving us a reason to hope again.
Let's be real. After the season 5 finale, everyone was a "Jon Snow is dead" truther or a "Melisandre is going to fix this" theorist. There was no middle ground. When the episode aired on May 1, 2016, directed by Jeremy Podeswa, the tension was thick enough to cut with a Valyrian steel blade. But "Home" is about way more than just a guy coming back from the dead. It’s about the crumbling of old houses and the messy, violent birth of a new era in Westeros.
The Resurrection of Jon Snow and Why It Actually Worked
People forget how slow the first half of this episode felt. We spent a lot of time in the North, watching Davos Seaworth—the most reasonable man in the Seven Kingdoms—basically beg a depressed Melisandre to try something. It was desperate. She had lost her faith because Stannis Baratheon turned out to be a massive failure, and Jon was just a cold corpse on a table.
The ritual itself was underwhelming on purpose. No lightning. No screaming. Just some hair cutting, some washing of wounds, and a few whispered words in High Valyrian. Then, everyone left the room.
That’s the brilliant part.
The camera lingered on Jon’s body. Ghost, the direwolf, wakes up first. He senses it. Then, the gasp. Game of Thrones season 6 episode 2 delivered the most anticipated moment in fantasy history without the Hollywood flash. It felt earned because it was grounded in the sheer exhaustion of the characters involved. Kit Harington’s performance here is mostly physical, but that look of pure terror in his eyes when he wakes up tells you everything: death wasn't a peaceful meadow. It was nothingness.
Chaos at Winterfell: The End of Roose Bolton
While everyone focuses on the Wall, the real shake-up happened at Winterfell. This is where the episode gets truly dark. Ramsay Bolton has always been a monster, but "Home" showed us that he was also a short-sighted one.
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Roose Bolton, the man who orchestrated the Red Wedding, finally met his end. It wasn't a grand battle. It was a knife to the chest from his own son. Ramsay’s insecurity reached a breaking point the second he heard Roose’s wife, Walda, had given birth to a boy. A "true" heir.
Honestly, the scene in the kennels is probably the hardest thing to rewatch in the entire series. We don't see the dogs tear Walda and the newborn apart, but the sound design does the heavy lifting. It’s a turning point for Ramsay’s character. He moves from being a side-show sadist to the primary antagonist of the North. By killing his father, he removed the only person who could keep his impulses in check. Roose was calculated; Ramsay was just a wildfire.
Back in King’s Landing: Cersei’s Growing Isolation
Down south, things weren't much better. Cersei Lannister is stuck in the Red Keep, mourning Myrcella and dealing with the fact that her son, King Tommen, is essentially a puppet for the High Sparrow.
The Mountain—or the zombie version of Gregor Clegane—is now her primary shadow. We see him crush a man’s head against a stone wall just for making jokes about the Queen Mother. It’s a brutal reminder that while Cersei is politically weak, she still has the ultimate deterrent.
What’s interesting about her arc in Game of Thrones season 6 episode 2 is the dynamic with Tommen. He’s terrified. He’s guilty. He barred her from her own daughter’s funeral to "protect" her from the High Sparrow. When he finally apologizes and asks her to help him be strong, it’s one of the few times we see Cersei show genuine, unmanipulative motherly love. It’s the calm before the wildfire, basically.
The Iron Islands and the Kingsmoot Setup
We finally went back to Pyke. Balon Greyjoy, the last of the original "Five Kings," finally bit the dust. His death was long overdue. The scene on the rope bridge during the storm is incredibly atmospheric.
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Enter Euron Greyjoy.
Played by Pilou Asbæk, Euron’s introduction changed the vibe of the Iron Islands storyline instantly. "I am the storm, brother," he says before tossing Balon into the sea. It was a cold, effective way to reboot a storyline that had been stagnant for seasons. This set the stage for the Kingsmoot, a political struggle for the Salt Throne that would eventually tie the Greyjoys into the larger war for the dawn.
Meereen and the Dragon Tamer
Tyrion Lannister had the most "don't try this at home" moment of the season. With Daenerys gone, the dragons Viserion and Rhaegal were starving in the pits beneath the Great Pyramid. Tyrion, being the nerd he is, remembered reading that dragons are highly intelligent and don't do well in captivity.
He goes down there. He’s terrified. We’re terrified.
He tells them a story about how he wanted a dragon for his name day when he was a kid. It’s a touching, humanizing moment for a character who usually hides behind wine and wit. When he unchains them and they don't eat him, it reinforced the fan theory that Tyrion might have some Targaryen blood in him. Even if that theory didn't pan out exactly how fans wanted later, in that moment, it felt like magic was returning to the world in a tangible way.
Why This Episode Still Ranks So High
Critics and fans often cite "Home" as one of the best "setup" episodes in TV history. It moves the needle on four major fronts simultaneously:
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- The Wall: The leadership vacuum is filled by a literal miracle.
- The North: The Boltons are no longer a stable threat; they are a ticking time bomb.
- The Iron Islands: A new, chaotic player enters the board.
- The Dragons: They are no longer just pets; they are active participants again.
The writing by Dave Hill avoids the "filler" trap that often plagues mid-season episodes. Every scene serves to strip away the old guard. Balon, Roose, and the "dead" version of Jon are all gone. The show was clearing the deck for the final act.
The Technical Mastery of "Home"
If you watch the behind-the-scenes footage, you'll see how much work went into the atmosphere of this episode. The lighting in the Wall's chambers—dim, flickering candles—contrasts sharply with the cold, blue exterior. It creates this sense of claustrophobia that makes Jon's revival feel like a literal "bursting" out of the dark.
And the music! Ramin Djawadi is a genius. The score during the resurrection scene doesn't go for a big orchestral swell. It stays quiet, rhythmic, and tense. It waits for the breath.
Moving Forward: What to Take Away
If you’re rewatching the series or diving into the lore for the first time, pay attention to the theme of fathers and sons in this hour. Ramsay kills Roose. Euron kills his brother (the father figure of the Iron Islands). Tommen tries to reconcile with his mother because his "father" is dead. Jon is reborn, effectively ending his "Ned Stark's bastard" identity and starting his path toward discovering his true lineage.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Writers
- Analyze the Pacing: Notice how the episode alternates between high-violence (Ramsay) and high-tension (Melisandre). This prevents "battle fatigue" in the viewer.
- Character Deconstruction: Use this episode as a case study in how to transition a character. Jon Snow goes from a corpse to a leader, but the change is internal first.
- The Power of Silence: The most important 30 seconds of the episode have almost no dialogue. Let the visuals tell the story.
To get the most out of your next rewatch, try to spot the subtle hints about Jon's parentage that are sprinkled into the dialogue before and after his resurrection. The showrunners were playing a long game, and Game of Thrones season 6 episode 2 was the moment they finally started showing their hand.
Check the Bran Stark flashback scenes earlier in the episode too. Seeing a young Ned Stark and Hodor (Willis) at Winterfell wasn't just nostalgia—it was the groundwork for the "Hold the Door" revelation and the Tower of Joy. Everything in this episode is a thread that pulls tight later on.
Next Steps for Content Enthusiasts:
If you're documenting TV history or writing your own scripts, focus on the "inciting incident" within mid-season arcs. "Home" works because it provides a massive payoff early in the season rather than making the audience wait for a finale. Study how the episode handles five separate locations without feeling disjointed by using thematic links like "family betrayal" to bridge the scenes.