Look, we all remember the big, flashy moments. The dragons, the decapitations, the "Hold the Door" tragedy that broke everyone’s heart a few weeks later. But if you really sit back and look at the trajectory of the show, Game of Thrones season 6 episode 4—titled "Book of the Stranger"—is where the endgame actually started. This wasn't just another hour of television. It was the moment the scattered pieces of the puzzle finally started moving toward each other.
It’s easy to forget how much was at stake back in 2016. The show had officially moved past George R.R. Martin’s books. We were in uncharted territory.
The Reunion Everyone Was Waiting For
The episode kicks off at Castle Black, and honestly, it’s one of the most emotional beats in the entire eight-season run. Sansa Stark arrives.
For years, the Stark family had been getting decimated. We watched them die, get tortured, and flee in opposite directions. So when Sansa walks through those gates and sees Jon Snow? It felt like the audience could finally breathe. It’s funny because, in the books and earlier seasons, Jon and Sansa weren't even close. They were the two siblings who probably liked each other the least. But at that moment, they represented "home" to one another.
Sansa is the one who pushes Jon. He’s tired. He’s just been murdered and brought back to life—which, let's face it, is a pretty valid reason to want a vacation. But Sansa has evolved. She’s no longer the girl who wanted lemon cakes and songs. She’s a survivor of Joffrey and Ramsay. When she tells Jon they have to take back Winterfell, she isn't asking. She's telling him. This is the spark for the "Battle of the Bastards," and it starts right here with a bowl of terrible Castle Black stew.
The Politics of Vaes Dothrak
Meanwhile, Daenerys Targaryen is stuck in what looks like a dead-end plotline. She’s been captured by the Dothraki and sent to the Dosh Khaleen, which is basically a retirement home for the widows of Khals.
A lot of critics at the time felt this was "treading water." They were wrong.
The climax of Game of Thrones season 6 episode 4 is Daenerys reminding everyone why she’s the protagonist. She’s trapped in a grass hut with a bunch of men who are debating whether to sell her or keep her as a slave. She just laughs. It’s a chilling, confident laugh. When she tips over those braziers and burns the Temple of the Dosh Khaleen to the ground, it’s a massive visual reset.
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She walks out of the fire unburnt—a callback to the season 1 finale—and thousands of Dothraki bow to her. This is the exact moment she finally gains the massive army she needs to actually cross the Narrow Sea. Without this episode, she’s just a wanderer with three dragons she can't quite control. After this? She’s a conqueror.
Littlefinger and the Vale
We also see Petyr Baelish back in action. He’s manipulating Robin Arryn like a fiddle. It’s a reminder that while the Starks are trying to be honorable and Dany is using fire, the "Great Game" is still being played with whispers.
- Littlefinger convinces the Vale to join the fight.
- He uses Sansa’s safety as the primary motivator.
- He effectively secures the military force that will eventually save the day at the end of the season.
It’s a masterclass in political maneuvering, even if it makes your skin crawl.
The Pink Letter
Then there’s the letter. The "Pink Letter."
In the books, this letter is a massive mystery involving Mance Rayder and a lot of northern conspiracy theories. In the show, it’s much more direct. Ramsay Bolton sends a missive to Jon Snow that is so vile, so unnecessarily cruel, that it leaves Jon with no choice. Ramsay claims he has Rickon. He threatens to do unspeakable things to Sansa.
This is the narrative engine. It shifts the show from a defensive posture to an offensive one. For years, the "good guys" were just trying to survive. Now, they have a target.
Why This Episode Ranks So High for Fans
If you check the ratings from that era, "Book of the Stranger" consistently sits near the top of fan-favorite lists. Why? Because it rewards the viewer.
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George R.R. Martin’s world is famously punishing. Usually, when you want something to happen, the opposite occurs. You want Ned to live? He dies. You want Robb to win? Red Wedding. But this episode gave us a rare win. It gave us the Stark reunion and the Dany power-up back-to-back.
It also handled the King’s Landing fluff reasonably well. Margaery and Loras are suffering in the Sparrows' cells, and Cersei and Olenna Tyrell—two women who absolutely loathe each other—finally agree to a truce to take down the High Sparrow. It’s the "enemy of my enemy" trope executed perfectly.
The Thematic Weight of the Title
The title "Book of the Stranger" refers to the Seven-Pointed Star, the holy book of the Faith of the Seven. The Stranger is the god of death, the outcast, the unknown.
In this episode, everyone is a stranger in a strange land.
- Sansa is at the Wall, a place she never belonged.
- Dany is in a city that wants to subjugate her.
- Theon returns to the Iron Islands, a place he barely recognizes.
They are all trying to find their footing in a world that has shifted beneath them. It’s a very human episode in a show that often gets lost in high-fantasy magic.
Real-World Impact and Legacy
When this episode aired, social media went into a complete meltdown over the Jon and Sansa hug. It was the most-discussed TV moment of the week.
From a production standpoint, the burning of the temple was a massive feat. They actually built a large-scale set and burned a significant portion of it to get those shots of the Dothraki bowing. It wasn't just all CGI. That's why it looks so grounded and terrifying.
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Director Dan Sackheim did a great job of balancing the intimate close-ups (like Jon and Sansa's faces) with the epic wide shots of Vaes Dothrak. It’s a balance the show struggled with in later seasons, but here, it was spot on.
Misconceptions About the Timeline
People often get confused about how fast everyone is traveling in this season. One week Littlefinger is in the Vale, the next he's near the Wall.
Honestly? You just have to let it go. The showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, basically admitted that timelines in the later seasons were "fluid." If the plot needed a character to be somewhere for a dramatic payoff, they got there. It’s a bit of a departure from the methodical pace of the first three seasons, but for an episode this satisfying, most people were willing to look the other way.
What You Should Do Next
If you’re doing a rewatch, don’t just skip to the "Battle of the Bastards." You have to watch Game of Thrones season 6 episode 4 to understand the emotional stakes of that fight.
- Watch the eyes: Pay attention to Sophie Turner’s performance. This is the episode where Sansa truly becomes the Lady of Winterfell.
- Listen to the score: Ramin Djawadi uses a specific blend of the Stark theme and the Night's Watch theme during the reunion that is just haunting.
- Track the geography: Look at a map of Westeros while watching the King’s Landing and Iron Islands scenes. It helps you realize how the world is "shrinking" as all the characters begin to collide.
Take a moment to appreciate the dialogue. Before the show became dominated by "spectacle," it still had these quiet, sharp exchanges that reminded you why the writing was so acclaimed in the first place. This episode is the perfect bridge between the old "talking" Thrones and the new "action" Thrones.
Go back and look at the "Pink Letter" scene again. It’s one of the last times we see the characters reacting to a physical piece of information that changes the course of history. In the age of instant communication, there’s something visceral about a handwritten threat delivered by a man on a horse. It sets the stage for everything that follows in the North. After this, the path to the Iron Throne wasn't just a dream for Dany or a nightmare for the Starks—it was an inevitable collision course.
The episode ends not with a cliffhanger, but with a sense of purpose. That’s rare for this series. Usually, we’re left wondering who survived. Here, we knew exactly what was coming next. And we couldn't wait.