On a Sunday marred by real violence in Orlando, I was reminded of the first Game of Thrones episode I recapped, last year’s ninth. In that installment, fighting pits in Meereen reopened, leading Tyrion to quip, "There has always been enough death in the world for my taste. I can do without it in my leisure time." I said then that the show, whose stock in trade is senseless violence (and really, is there any other kind?), was trolling itself and, by extension, its viewers. As "No One," the eighth episode in season six, unfolded with axe killings, hangings and a decapitation done entirely by hand, the show soldiered on in its quest to shock a world increasingly immune to shock.
Fantasy Fandom: Pondering Game of Thrones, "No One"
